When I first started I mentioned that I thought that Hunter S Thompson with Gonzo journalism was the forerunner of the modern blog. And with the election I was thinking about him again. Most people tend to think of the good doctor as a counter culture ranting drug crazed writer lost from society. Of course this basically comes from the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Many people don't understand the depth of who he was as a writer and observer of our society.
Technically you can say it is now the 40th anniversary of the book Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972. The book did come out a couple of years past '72, but the gist of everything comes from that election. More so than Las Vegas this book in my mind was the litmus test for Gonzo Journalism. The constant updates from the trail, the reflection of what was going on in our society at the time, and his personal adventures create the full effect of what I interpret Gonzo journalism was all about. Maybe not his best work, but a good account of being Gonzo.
Thompson was an observer, an interpreter, a storyteller, and even a story unto himself. He had a knack for finding the reality in what was going on around him no matter the state of reality he found himself in. He could also express himself so well. Sure much of Las Vegas was wild hyperbole about the drug culture and a snapshot of what he came to experience, but most people tend to lose track of the story he was able to maintain through the haze of that week. The story wasn't what he did, but what was happening around him. I say most people don't understand, but the flip of that is many people have read through the haze to find his discouragement with the end of the 60's and what that generation failed to accomplish. Everything seemed to get washed out and nothing ever came of it.
And now 40 years later we seem to be on another course to not realize drastic change is needed in our society. Unfortunately we do not get Thompson's wit and wisdom in this election. It intrigues me to guess what observations we might have if he hadn't so selfishly blown his brains out. The Republican primary would be ripe for Thompson, not just because they are all lost themselves, but his interpretations of what they are missing about our society. He had an uncanny way of finding the truth through all the crap politicians etc would layer on us and yes some of his beliefs would filter into some of his interpretations, but overall he was able to remove the muck to get to the final point. Also the man was smart enough to use a thesaurus. Does anyone even know what that is nowadays. I could use one occasionally.
This election is so unlike what we faced in 1972, but there is one group of people that may have just as much as effect on the outcome as they did in 1972, but with different reasoning. Nixon so infamously noted that that silent majority would rise to elect him and basically they did. Or not in so direct a sentence, but his recognition of their existence does give you an hint of Nixon's understanding of the political landscape of the time. Even though Thompson directly feared everything about Nixon he did have respect for Nixon's political IQ. The same group in the modern version may play heavily into next fall's election or their absence may hand over the country to Obama again. The silent majority pretty much is the vast middle and upper middle class that is predominantly moderately conservative. As much as they contributed to Nixon's landslide, their absence or the alienation of them by the weak Republican candidates may just give way to Obama. We have always had an extreme right, witness the 68 election with George Wallace, and at times they can be vocal and active, but more so our country is made up of the silent majority. Thompson's reflections about our times would have been great reading.
Thompson is really underrated by many in his ability to understand what he observes. Many people have not read his early writings from the National Observer when he was a bit more subdued in his personal life. Or some of his general writings post F&L 1972. He had a keen sense of what was once called " the vibe" or gist of what he was writing about. Yes there are the great stories like his story on the Kentucky Derby and meeting Ralph Steadman, but also his book on the Hell's Angels which tell a story that gets lost in the lore of that group. His understanding of who they really are vs some appendix of hippie history is so often missed.
Johnny Depp was on Letterman many months ago because Rum Diary had been released and he was discussing his friendship with Thompson and his impressions. Mr. Depp said that he felt that Thompson was great at becoming the story or something similar. I think he partially gets it right. Not in the sense that he was partially wrong about Thompson, but not completing the richness of Thompson. Thompson not only could become part of the story, in fact many people probably could do crazy things and become part of the story, it was Thompson's uncanny ability to be part of the story, but also tell it better than most people could in any situation. Thompson had the ability to write, to express the action and the thought,to bring the reader into the story and live it through his eyes or to see his point through his eyes. Yes not everyone agrees with him, but if you truly spent time reading his work you can see the story as he lived it. This is rare in an author. James Clavell is another author I like and he can really create a story, you can feel what is characters are feeling, can jump into the book and become part of the story with them. And Mr Clavell could really write stories, layer after layer and a great joy to read. This was all fiction though. His work closest to Thompson's would be King Rat, but still a story told from the characters in the book. Thompson brought you down to eye level,you were looking straight at the story and action as it happened. His infamous adrenaline made the story even better because there was this non stop feel that something was always coming up and you waited on the next curve to come at you at 100 mph.
All this being said though Thompson is no longer with us, brought to bear by his own hand and unfortunately for us such a shame. A time when we need people to speak out, to go on the offensive against the craziness our government and leaders are throwing at us, we need strong voices to rip away the masks, to expose the lack of real leadership in our country, we are missing one of the best voices for this task.
Some strange and quiet thoughts on a wish it is a lazy spring day.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Jumping on a band wagon well.......
Well actually jumping on one of my ongoing thoughts or my own bandwagon. The more I think about it I really think the concept of a renewal of a Progressive Conservative party is what we need right now. Like I have mentioned before the Democrats and their policies just haven't worked and the Republicans don't have a policy anymore. They just seem to think getting what they want will work just because they say so.
Most Americans are at least moderately conservative. So you would think that the Republican party would be in good shape, but deep within the general republican faithful they are suffering the huge disconnect from the elite Republican leadership that has no clue how hard it is for the middle and lower middle class nor an understanding of the true problems facing the country. The Democrats seem to have a clue, but lack any affordable and/or workable solution. So where does that leave us?
This is my second try at defining the issues really affecting the future of our country. We do not need to change our constitution, we just need to change who is trying to run our government. Basically we need new blood with an understanding of who we are and where we need to go.
So lets look at a few topics that need to be addressed. This is by no means inclusive or do I have them prioritized. These are just the main issues facing us from the general view point of progressive conservatism.
The first issue or topic of course is the economy. You can create a wide variety of programs or ideas to jump start the economy. It is putting programs in place that ignite new industries that would be most beneficial. So nothing new said here, but looking at the next two topics better explain where a progressive conservative agenda might be different and mixture of new policies directly affect all three. And I am not trying to solve today ,but define or create an ongoing dialouge.
The second topic is education. This is really a key driver in the wholesale changes we need. Our education system is not set up to adapt to a changing world. It is rigid and success is measured in all the wrong ways. The entire system needs to be overhauled. Some examples for now with the understanding that there are thousands of good ideas out there. First there is the thought that not everyone should go to college, but that leaves us with a the task of who should go. We should not decide that, that belongs to each person. What we should do is spend more time helping/educating our children to decide what works best for them. We should spend less time on standardized tests and more time on aptitude and development. Children should spend more time being taught variety of subjects early then testing their understanding not for grades but to learn interest and conception. We still need to cover some basics like language development, math, civics, and reading. Basically create a more progressive core curriculum for everyone, but at the same time the process as they go up through the grades should start to determine what they can do best. Think about it this way: simply over time you would be able to understand which child might be a better engineer or a better car mechanic ie design vs practical application. Now we couldn't choose for the child but the child would have a better understanding of what fits best for him or for better informed choices by the time they reach standard college age. Again this is simplistic example. You must also give EVERY child a strong core education so each child can be successful in their chosen profession or life. You cannot tell someone what to do, but you can educate for better preparation. Also think about the full concept of education which involves the understanding to respect each individual. So lets say a child decides to become a mechanic he should be educated to the point of still being able to understand the world around him and even more such as being able to run a business if he decides to open his own shop. Again a need for core competencies with advanced concepts as he reaches traditional college. This is just a simplistic diagram of something bigger.
The third topic is poverty. I have started a recent set of blogs devoted to this topic. Lets assume the reality that there will always be poverty. You will never be able to completely eradicate it. The infamous war on poverty though is a viable concept. The key is to give each person the ongoing opportunity to move out of poverty. Failing to allow for class movement creates a system designed to fail. Take into account that there is class movement that is now a growing increase into poverty. This sends us as a society into fail mode. Yes you can argue that there is still some opportunity to move up,but this is becoming less and less. The key is to reverse the current trend that is growing exponentially from the current recession. The typical Democrat policy is to keep giving help. This has become too costly and hasn't worked. A more progressive approach would be to create economic zones that work with the education concept slightly outlined above so we can start helping a generation of children become better off. Basically this is one aspect of a multiple prong attack on poverty. Our education system has failed those in need and we keep trying to make it better by changing the measurements not the actual process. I will talk more about education another time, but for now understand that wholesale changes are needed to help us going forward.
The economic zones are another aspect in attacking poverty. I tried describing an idea around them in an earlier post. The gist is to get people in under developed areas to become responsible for the development of the area by creating ownership of the development. Basically if the people can own the means to build themselves out of poverty true wealth will be created for those that succeed. Sure not everyone will, but some of the by product will be more jobs too. So you create new wealth and enlarge the middle class. Two very important keystones to a strong democracy. So basically instead of the government helping people you have the people helping the government by becoming successful, using less resources and adding to the overall economy. Yes the government gets involved, but not by using money, but by giving the structure and framework for the people to build.
The above is some very generalized stepping stones to creating public policy that fits our current needs. Much more detail of course is needed. Do you see anything close coming from Democrats or Republicans, especially when you consider the concept of treating people with respect? In each of these examples self reliance is important, yet guidance and structure are worked into the process to protect people as they build.
Another issue is working capital in general for the economy. Basic free market concepts do work to build an economy and help a society grow. What is different is that free reign and hoarding of resources cannot be accepted as the norm. I don't want to take away anyone's hard earned money, but there comes a point where excessive greed and money for the sake of money is detrimental to the common good. Can you pick a number and institutionalize a policy around it,?no. Should you be allowed to just remove money off the top and say no more for you,? no. It becomes important what a person does past a certain point that matters. If you live in a society that lets you benefit from your efforts it doesn't mean you have to stop and give it all back, but there is and this is a definite there is a certain amount of responsibility you have to giving back. And that can be done in a variety of ways. The society needs to create a framework that gives you the opportunity to give back without hindering you as a person. Yet this framework must exist. Two quick thoughts on this topic, and I have said both before. Greed is more costly to society than poverty and greed does cause poverty, and second the winners cannot be in charge of the rules. This by human nature will cause problems. Our founding Fathers argued this extensively and was the topic of a few of the Federalist papers. Where does it become important for pursuit of happiness etc cross the need to govern the people? Sorry that was simplistic question for a much bigger discussion Adams, Jefferson, Madison etc had.
And there is another discussion waiting in the wings and that is what is conservative vs liberal. Remember liberal by our founding Fathers definition was to become more democratic, funny how the democratic party seems to be running contrary to this, and conservative is to protect the core values of a society, and the Republicans run counter to this by ignoring the needs to provide equal opportunity for all. Which leads me to my last thought of the evening. Progressive conservative is a viable concept developed early in the 20th century that needs to be brought back with modern variations to move this country forward. This concept really provides for the best of conservatism and the true liberal concept of expanding democracy.
Folks it is time for change and we can do it with what we have, thank God for our constitution that lets us make change positively.
Most Americans are at least moderately conservative. So you would think that the Republican party would be in good shape, but deep within the general republican faithful they are suffering the huge disconnect from the elite Republican leadership that has no clue how hard it is for the middle and lower middle class nor an understanding of the true problems facing the country. The Democrats seem to have a clue, but lack any affordable and/or workable solution. So where does that leave us?
This is my second try at defining the issues really affecting the future of our country. We do not need to change our constitution, we just need to change who is trying to run our government. Basically we need new blood with an understanding of who we are and where we need to go.
So lets look at a few topics that need to be addressed. This is by no means inclusive or do I have them prioritized. These are just the main issues facing us from the general view point of progressive conservatism.
The first issue or topic of course is the economy. You can create a wide variety of programs or ideas to jump start the economy. It is putting programs in place that ignite new industries that would be most beneficial. So nothing new said here, but looking at the next two topics better explain where a progressive conservative agenda might be different and mixture of new policies directly affect all three. And I am not trying to solve today ,but define or create an ongoing dialouge.
The second topic is education. This is really a key driver in the wholesale changes we need. Our education system is not set up to adapt to a changing world. It is rigid and success is measured in all the wrong ways. The entire system needs to be overhauled. Some examples for now with the understanding that there are thousands of good ideas out there. First there is the thought that not everyone should go to college, but that leaves us with a the task of who should go. We should not decide that, that belongs to each person. What we should do is spend more time helping/educating our children to decide what works best for them. We should spend less time on standardized tests and more time on aptitude and development. Children should spend more time being taught variety of subjects early then testing their understanding not for grades but to learn interest and conception. We still need to cover some basics like language development, math, civics, and reading. Basically create a more progressive core curriculum for everyone, but at the same time the process as they go up through the grades should start to determine what they can do best. Think about it this way: simply over time you would be able to understand which child might be a better engineer or a better car mechanic ie design vs practical application. Now we couldn't choose for the child but the child would have a better understanding of what fits best for him or for better informed choices by the time they reach standard college age. Again this is simplistic example. You must also give EVERY child a strong core education so each child can be successful in their chosen profession or life. You cannot tell someone what to do, but you can educate for better preparation. Also think about the full concept of education which involves the understanding to respect each individual. So lets say a child decides to become a mechanic he should be educated to the point of still being able to understand the world around him and even more such as being able to run a business if he decides to open his own shop. Again a need for core competencies with advanced concepts as he reaches traditional college. This is just a simplistic diagram of something bigger.
The third topic is poverty. I have started a recent set of blogs devoted to this topic. Lets assume the reality that there will always be poverty. You will never be able to completely eradicate it. The infamous war on poverty though is a viable concept. The key is to give each person the ongoing opportunity to move out of poverty. Failing to allow for class movement creates a system designed to fail. Take into account that there is class movement that is now a growing increase into poverty. This sends us as a society into fail mode. Yes you can argue that there is still some opportunity to move up,but this is becoming less and less. The key is to reverse the current trend that is growing exponentially from the current recession. The typical Democrat policy is to keep giving help. This has become too costly and hasn't worked. A more progressive approach would be to create economic zones that work with the education concept slightly outlined above so we can start helping a generation of children become better off. Basically this is one aspect of a multiple prong attack on poverty. Our education system has failed those in need and we keep trying to make it better by changing the measurements not the actual process. I will talk more about education another time, but for now understand that wholesale changes are needed to help us going forward.
The economic zones are another aspect in attacking poverty. I tried describing an idea around them in an earlier post. The gist is to get people in under developed areas to become responsible for the development of the area by creating ownership of the development. Basically if the people can own the means to build themselves out of poverty true wealth will be created for those that succeed. Sure not everyone will, but some of the by product will be more jobs too. So you create new wealth and enlarge the middle class. Two very important keystones to a strong democracy. So basically instead of the government helping people you have the people helping the government by becoming successful, using less resources and adding to the overall economy. Yes the government gets involved, but not by using money, but by giving the structure and framework for the people to build.
The above is some very generalized stepping stones to creating public policy that fits our current needs. Much more detail of course is needed. Do you see anything close coming from Democrats or Republicans, especially when you consider the concept of treating people with respect? In each of these examples self reliance is important, yet guidance and structure are worked into the process to protect people as they build.
Another issue is working capital in general for the economy. Basic free market concepts do work to build an economy and help a society grow. What is different is that free reign and hoarding of resources cannot be accepted as the norm. I don't want to take away anyone's hard earned money, but there comes a point where excessive greed and money for the sake of money is detrimental to the common good. Can you pick a number and institutionalize a policy around it,?no. Should you be allowed to just remove money off the top and say no more for you,? no. It becomes important what a person does past a certain point that matters. If you live in a society that lets you benefit from your efforts it doesn't mean you have to stop and give it all back, but there is and this is a definite there is a certain amount of responsibility you have to giving back. And that can be done in a variety of ways. The society needs to create a framework that gives you the opportunity to give back without hindering you as a person. Yet this framework must exist. Two quick thoughts on this topic, and I have said both before. Greed is more costly to society than poverty and greed does cause poverty, and second the winners cannot be in charge of the rules. This by human nature will cause problems. Our founding Fathers argued this extensively and was the topic of a few of the Federalist papers. Where does it become important for pursuit of happiness etc cross the need to govern the people? Sorry that was simplistic question for a much bigger discussion Adams, Jefferson, Madison etc had.
And there is another discussion waiting in the wings and that is what is conservative vs liberal. Remember liberal by our founding Fathers definition was to become more democratic, funny how the democratic party seems to be running contrary to this, and conservative is to protect the core values of a society, and the Republicans run counter to this by ignoring the needs to provide equal opportunity for all. Which leads me to my last thought of the evening. Progressive conservative is a viable concept developed early in the 20th century that needs to be brought back with modern variations to move this country forward. This concept really provides for the best of conservatism and the true liberal concept of expanding democracy.
Folks it is time for change and we can do it with what we have, thank God for our constitution that lets us make change positively.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
three random topics
The Beach Boys were being interviewed on the radio the other morning and the Mrs mentioned again that she doesn't like them. I love the wife, but it seems UN American not to like them.
I am not a big fan of Obamacare, however, something needs to be done. Talking to people in general I have been hearing how crazy healthcare costs to family budgets are becoming. WhatI first thought were extreme examples now seem to be the norm. With deductibles some people are using whole paychecks or more just to meet their deductible payment on test Drs. are ordering. I do not what the answer is, but something has to be done. Some of the problem goes back to Congress being influenced by lobbyists. How can we get better policy if only certain groups write policy. First we need to decide who should benefit the most from healthcare, patients or insurance companies. And yes I know there is more to the issue than this and insurance companies and healthcare providers can make money, but not at the expense of someone's health or life. Again I don't Obamacare is the answer, but the hands off approach by Republican party is not going to cut it either. This is just another reason why I am advocating for a progressive conservative agenda or party or even a progressive conservative candidate from the Republicans. I think Republicans cannot choose a candidate is because deep down mostly middle class Republicans are tired of hearing all the get Obama out of there rhetoric and want to hear a candidate that will address the issues facing our country. People don't always think the government should solve all our problems but creates policies that solve them....mean people do not want govt to spend our way out but to actually have policies that benefit the country as a whole.
Three quick sports rhetorical questions: how bad will the Cowboys suck now that Washington has RGIII, can you say strike 3 in Japanese yet, and did you change your brackets now that Melo is out for Orange Men?
I am not a big fan of Obamacare, however, something needs to be done. Talking to people in general I have been hearing how crazy healthcare costs to family budgets are becoming. WhatI first thought were extreme examples now seem to be the norm. With deductibles some people are using whole paychecks or more just to meet their deductible payment on test Drs. are ordering. I do not what the answer is, but something has to be done. Some of the problem goes back to Congress being influenced by lobbyists. How can we get better policy if only certain groups write policy. First we need to decide who should benefit the most from healthcare, patients or insurance companies. And yes I know there is more to the issue than this and insurance companies and healthcare providers can make money, but not at the expense of someone's health or life. Again I don't Obamacare is the answer, but the hands off approach by Republican party is not going to cut it either. This is just another reason why I am advocating for a progressive conservative agenda or party or even a progressive conservative candidate from the Republicans. I think Republicans cannot choose a candidate is because deep down mostly middle class Republicans are tired of hearing all the get Obama out of there rhetoric and want to hear a candidate that will address the issues facing our country. People don't always think the government should solve all our problems but creates policies that solve them....mean people do not want govt to spend our way out but to actually have policies that benefit the country as a whole.
Three quick sports rhetorical questions: how bad will the Cowboys suck now that Washington has RGIII, can you say strike 3 in Japanese yet, and did you change your brackets now that Melo is out for Orange Men?
Sunday, March 11, 2012
an example of a couple of ounces of the millions of pounds of cure needed
The United Way in Dallas is advertising for Director, Fincancial Stability and Asset Building. Reading through the job description it says they are looking for a dynamic professional to develop community plan to address financial stability and asset development. For us lay people who don't have much business writing experience I see this has a program to help lower income people learn to balance budget and find ways to save.
And why do I mention this job, well it goes back to my thoughts around poverty being a much larger problem than the main stream press and politicans seem to grasp. This position is a good idea and the United Way is looking to incorporate other programs. This is a small step to a much larger problem.. Actually I wouldn't mind finding a way to be in this type of position, be a bit like me putting my money where mouth is; overall though this is a very small cure step to an enormous problem. And another of my ongoing thoughts is that there are many solutions and ideas out there to solve problems, it seems noone finds the energy to implement them. Even for this program I have already heard of similar activities by an organization called Avance (accent on e), they are giving classes about family budgets to their lower income clients, and their program comes from another organization called Anthem. The ideas are out there, you could even adapt some of Dave Ramsey's teachings. Yes his ideas are more for middle income families who have a somewhat decent income to start, but with some adjustment, his programs and teachings could be used.
Yes this is a good idea, but it is only a small piece. This is the type of program that wil get some people to come and a percentage of those people will implement the ideas and get some benefit and may over time develop a bit of a better life for themselves. This falls into the category of you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Not every family will take advantage of this program, no matter how hard you try and get them there. And again a limited audience for this program, you are targeting families that have something to work with to get started.
The real issue is the snowball effect poverty is having on our society right now. And to stop this you need to change attitudes all across our society. I could write forever on the problems that are developing right now, some examples are obvious, increase in crime rate, deteriorating neighborhoods, apathy towards education and its importance, and general sense of contributing to the society at large. These are always by products of poverty, but with it growing so rapidly under the radar there is going to become a time when we will lose control and left wondering what happened. Is this a doomsday prediction, actually no because the world always seems to move on, but life as we know it especially the life the Republican elists keep trying to say we have will disappear. And frankly I like our country and the hope of opportunity so I fear drastic change to us will occur unless we find more dramatic ways to address the war on poverty.
We cannot have our government spend our way out of poverty and I have mentioned this before, but we cannot ignore it any longer. Especially with the last financial crisis that still lingers, more people are losing real income and real wealth so the ability to develop our economy is waning quickly. So what to do, well I am trying to keep my eyes open, yes the program above is not the full answer, but would help once we find ways to change attitudes, and right now our first effort should be with the children in poverty so we can at least start to remove generational poverty from our country. Keeping one more generation from falling into this trap will be one of the biggest victories for the 21st century.
Again the ideas are out there, where do we find the sense of urgency to change attitudes, behaviors, and implement them?
You cannot believe the crap coming out of Washington DC, Fox News, and then the lack of info coming from rest of the National press and think everything is okay. If you are a real American it is time to get off your couch and drive through your city, spend some time all around your town and it won't take long to realize how much of your city is slowly being eaten up by this cancerous disease called poverty.
Another idea I have is to use tax policy to address how people behave. Think about this, greed takes away resources the rest of society can use to solve problems. So if you live in a country that lets you be successful you can choose to give back to the society as gratitude for your opportunity or you can be taxed to pay for the problems your excessive hoarding of resources generates. Being rich is not evil, what you do with what you have is the determinant factor to who you are.
More on taxation and how people can give back to help our situation to come.
Some more rambling thoughts on this rainy cool Saturday evening here in Dallas.
And why do I mention this job, well it goes back to my thoughts around poverty being a much larger problem than the main stream press and politicans seem to grasp. This position is a good idea and the United Way is looking to incorporate other programs. This is a small step to a much larger problem.. Actually I wouldn't mind finding a way to be in this type of position, be a bit like me putting my money where mouth is; overall though this is a very small cure step to an enormous problem. And another of my ongoing thoughts is that there are many solutions and ideas out there to solve problems, it seems noone finds the energy to implement them. Even for this program I have already heard of similar activities by an organization called Avance (accent on e), they are giving classes about family budgets to their lower income clients, and their program comes from another organization called Anthem. The ideas are out there, you could even adapt some of Dave Ramsey's teachings. Yes his ideas are more for middle income families who have a somewhat decent income to start, but with some adjustment, his programs and teachings could be used.
Yes this is a good idea, but it is only a small piece. This is the type of program that wil get some people to come and a percentage of those people will implement the ideas and get some benefit and may over time develop a bit of a better life for themselves. This falls into the category of you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Not every family will take advantage of this program, no matter how hard you try and get them there. And again a limited audience for this program, you are targeting families that have something to work with to get started.
The real issue is the snowball effect poverty is having on our society right now. And to stop this you need to change attitudes all across our society. I could write forever on the problems that are developing right now, some examples are obvious, increase in crime rate, deteriorating neighborhoods, apathy towards education and its importance, and general sense of contributing to the society at large. These are always by products of poverty, but with it growing so rapidly under the radar there is going to become a time when we will lose control and left wondering what happened. Is this a doomsday prediction, actually no because the world always seems to move on, but life as we know it especially the life the Republican elists keep trying to say we have will disappear. And frankly I like our country and the hope of opportunity so I fear drastic change to us will occur unless we find more dramatic ways to address the war on poverty.
We cannot have our government spend our way out of poverty and I have mentioned this before, but we cannot ignore it any longer. Especially with the last financial crisis that still lingers, more people are losing real income and real wealth so the ability to develop our economy is waning quickly. So what to do, well I am trying to keep my eyes open, yes the program above is not the full answer, but would help once we find ways to change attitudes, and right now our first effort should be with the children in poverty so we can at least start to remove generational poverty from our country. Keeping one more generation from falling into this trap will be one of the biggest victories for the 21st century.
Again the ideas are out there, where do we find the sense of urgency to change attitudes, behaviors, and implement them?
You cannot believe the crap coming out of Washington DC, Fox News, and then the lack of info coming from rest of the National press and think everything is okay. If you are a real American it is time to get off your couch and drive through your city, spend some time all around your town and it won't take long to realize how much of your city is slowly being eaten up by this cancerous disease called poverty.
Another idea I have is to use tax policy to address how people behave. Think about this, greed takes away resources the rest of society can use to solve problems. So if you live in a country that lets you be successful you can choose to give back to the society as gratitude for your opportunity or you can be taxed to pay for the problems your excessive hoarding of resources generates. Being rich is not evil, what you do with what you have is the determinant factor to who you are.
More on taxation and how people can give back to help our situation to come.
Some more rambling thoughts on this rainy cool Saturday evening here in Dallas.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
not sure what to title this maybe fear factoring the constitution
Don't remember which court of appeals came down with this ruling, but I heard that law enforcement can now search your phone without a warrant. The reasoning is so that a person d oesn't erase data that m.ight be incriminating. A spokesperson somewhere made the comment that this might help solve crimes and then said or help find a child and it is important to get the info off the phone to find the child. The original case was about a drug case. Now no parent wants to lose a child, probably a parent's worst fear. To use this example to allow the constitution to be abused is really taking the cake. Let's create fear to take away our rights. Or to justify taking our rights. I do not want to see a child harmed, but we got to stop letting fear destroy our constitution. There is way too much potential for abuse by law enforcement to allow this to happen.criminals are to be tried in court and guilt or innocence is determine ud. It is not the duty of the courts to make policy on how to fight crime but to determine whether methods are constitutional or not. Here the court forgot they swear to protect the constitution. And again the door for potential abuse is left way too open. Let us hope this gets appealed quickly and better heads prevail. In this situation my phone could be investigated just for disagreeing with this decision. Yes think about those implications.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
There is a difference between being a conservative and being a prick.
I believe in right to life or that the government shouldn't pay for contraceptives. I am also disappointed that the senate failed to respect religious beliefs and that certain organizations have to pay for contraception etc in their health care. Especially this last one, it is an affront to the principles that founded our constitution and against the constitution in general.
What ticks me off just as much is some blowhard that calls himself a conservative and then uses his position to bully, name call, berate people and act like he is making a conservative point. This type of behavior actually hinders the conservative cause because it makes the rest of us look like an idiot by association. The fact that the Republican party isn't denouncing him more just shows they are more concerned with being image conscious than truly being conservative.
Rush Limbaugh is not a conservative. He is a wanna be kindergarten sandbox bully that intefers with truly trying to get a conservative agenda going in this country. Unfortunately too many people in this country tend to like this behavior not realizing this doesn't help us get back our values, nor protect the constitution. His constant use of bullying tactics does not represent what a true conservative is about.
The values of our country are based on honest discourse, Judeo-Christian thinking, free speech, an understanding that change will happen, free enterprise (not necessarily pro corporation, but pro trade and commerce), and RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER AS INDIVIDUALS. Mr Limbaugh fails to understand this so for him to call himself a conservative is an insult to anyone who cares about us as people. Mr. Limbaugh there is a reason for what our founders wrote and none of it shows up in what you say.
His behavior along with a couple of other so called conservative personalities resemble more either the Gang of Four using their position to challenge who is following policy correctly and deciding who is politically on the right side or pages from Mein Kampf than true U.S. constitutional values.
Conservative means treating people with respect, not trying to be the loudest kid on the block.
What ticks me off just as much is some blowhard that calls himself a conservative and then uses his position to bully, name call, berate people and act like he is making a conservative point. This type of behavior actually hinders the conservative cause because it makes the rest of us look like an idiot by association. The fact that the Republican party isn't denouncing him more just shows they are more concerned with being image conscious than truly being conservative.
Rush Limbaugh is not a conservative. He is a wanna be kindergarten sandbox bully that intefers with truly trying to get a conservative agenda going in this country. Unfortunately too many people in this country tend to like this behavior not realizing this doesn't help us get back our values, nor protect the constitution. His constant use of bullying tactics does not represent what a true conservative is about.
The values of our country are based on honest discourse, Judeo-Christian thinking, free speech, an understanding that change will happen, free enterprise (not necessarily pro corporation, but pro trade and commerce), and RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER AS INDIVIDUALS. Mr Limbaugh fails to understand this so for him to call himself a conservative is an insult to anyone who cares about us as people. Mr. Limbaugh there is a reason for what our founders wrote and none of it shows up in what you say.
His behavior along with a couple of other so called conservative personalities resemble more either the Gang of Four using their position to challenge who is following policy correctly and deciding who is politically on the right side or pages from Mein Kampf than true U.S. constitutional values.
Conservative means treating people with respect, not trying to be the loudest kid on the block.
Friday, March 2, 2012
too early for spring fever craziness
Not that I am a big fan of large amounts of physical labor but it has been the kind of week where being a farmer or gardener would be more productive than all these crazy tax reform ideas spilling around in my head. Tax reform is almost like an oxymoron, the concept just does not seem to work. The thoughts are swirling and who knows there might some ideas to simplify for some types of taxpayers. For now though the weather has been gorgeous and working outdoors with nature wouldn't be too bad. Enjoy
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