If you are unemployed, consider this: Only people with jobs get the low interest home loans. Only people with jobs get the zero interest auto loans. By the time you get a job, interest rates will be back up, and even though you have a job you will really be much poorer than you were before. No matter what you do from here on out, you will never be able to catch up. Those with good jobs now will forever be at the top of the food chain, and you will always be at the bottom. California has the 5th largest economy in the world ~ why don’t they assert their states rights and protect their own citizens against job erosion? Well, because nobody ever read them their rights.
It is insane for the government to be passing laws legalizing the status of immigrants when the status of so many Americans – white, black, yellow, red, or green – is abysmal. It’s unconstitutional, in fact, for the government to create new citizens until all the existing ones are taken care of. Every American put back to work means half a dozen more jobs from dependencies; an illegal immigrant put to work means no dependent jobs because they send 85% of their paycheck home. Not even real American workers can do that, what with all the taxes and insurance and deductions.
The American political establishment has given up on the inner cities and those who live there. How unAmerican! You can’t have a strong America without strong cities and inner cities. The first step is to take a bite out of crime by prohibiting the sale of metal bullets to anybody but law enforcement personnel. Everybody else can use rubber bullets. When they shoot and hit somebody both parties will at least live to regret it.
The gay marriage issue is probably best solved by states rights. It would not be right to impose a single standard upon the whole nation by a Constitutional Amendment. Of course it goes both ways too ~ states can prosecute homosexual acts as sodomy if they want; just as other states have the right to allow gay marriages.
Although, a case can be made that pressure by the gay community to make their condition “normal” has deprived psychologists of a valuable tool that could have reduced the incidence of child molestation, adultery, and even offenses on minors by priests. As far as that goes, the ultimate objective of the gay revolution will be laws passed that allow the government to invade – and prosecute violations – in the bedroom. Too bad the X-files weren’t around back then.
Cookies – those unseen and unannounced tools that scavenge data on all visitors to web sites – should be outlawed. When Green Peace wants information on you, they hire people to stand on the street corners, show you their credentials, and give you a form to fill out and sign. Getting private information by any other means is an invasion of privacy and a fundamental violation of the Bill of Rights. Not that anybody believes in Rights any more. We’ll give up anything to get a job – and that’s just what Washington wants to hear, and to write into law.
Spam is a problem. The first thing that must be done is to form an official definition of Spam. Generally broadcasting junk mail to random addresses is bad. Carefully posed messages targeted to a specific audience and offering pertinent and valuable information the addressee could reasonably expect to be interested in are not so bad. It would be nice if the browser people could create a tag for emails that would allow people to easily screen all non specific messages, but permit traffic on specific topics. Make opening your mail something to look forward to, rather than to dread. Once they figure out how to do that on the web, they can apply it to snail mail.
The fastest growing expense for the U.S. economy is medical care. If any relief of this quickly escalating spiral is to be found, the medical profession is going to have to be a little more accepting of natural remedies. They’re going to have to educate people about stress, it’s proven role in causing serious disease; how to cope with it, reduce it via exercise and meditation, and how to understand it to then live a more productive life. Another idea is to have a military style “sick call” system for minor emergencies and walk ins. Most people can then be tended to by physician’s assistants, fast and inexpensive. Naturally, the entire medical community – using our own exam fees – will lobby vigorously against any such thing.
We need to take on the problems of alcohol and drug abuse on the community level. Individuals should be able to ask to have a “no alcohol” or “no drugs” or “no tobacco” icon put on their drivers license to help them in recovery. Here’s another motto, “better tobacco than drugs.” Think about it ~ with tobacco being culturally such a bad think now, why can’t we manipulate kids into smoking instead of drugs; if half their high is off of bucking authority anyway.
The latest theory on the illness known as Gulf War Syndrome is that it is strictly psychological in nature, caused by prolonged, severe stress. We’re talking about a total degeneration of the body’s ability to function, up to and including terminal cancer. The medical community doesn’t have a clue as to its cause, or its cure; and they aren’t even looking very hard. I wonder if the military is prepared for an epidemic of the Gulf War Syndrome if the hostilities in Iraq continue at this high level? Or here in America, if chronic employment continues unabated?
As far as that goes, if stress can cause cancer, then why is nobody investigating the possibility that a reduction in a patient’s stress level can play a role in curing cancer. Are the pharmaceutical special interest groups so anxious to make money with their drug cures that natural healing methods are outlawed? As an example, I favor pornography over viagra ~ which is just another controlled substance that wrecks havoc on the mind, the body, and the psyche. It should be used as a last resort only; not as a drug of convenience. The Church should be concerned, how undermining such fundamental human drives will affect the soul.
I support Janet Jackson’s freedom of speech at the super bowl 1/2 time show. I also support the way the media leaves next to nothing to be imagined in how they dress actresses in all the prime time TV shows. In many ways there is more sensuality than in a simple picture of a naked body because the TV melodrama combines music, motion, language, and circumstance. By comparison Janet Jackson’s split second performance is nothing at all; I would classify it is subliminal, given all the other action on the viewing screen at the time. George Bush’s “rats” ad during the Florida primaries of the 2000 election did far more damage ~ it got him enough votes in that state to win the election. How come the FCC never investigated THAT ?!@$#
The new Miss U.S.A. is a junk food addict. Her first utterance as queen was to say that experience is far more important than education – that you can never, ever learn as much from a book as from experience. A fitting tribute to the Fortune 500 sponsors of the gilded event, because experience required money, and money spent frivolously. Think of all the young women this Miss U.S.A. will affect during her year long reign, turning them away from college and toward a life of serious consumption and shallow experiences populated with air headed peers. Just imagine how much that year will undermine the efforts of millions of hard working women in the work force, who have struggled their whole lives for respect, responsibility, and authority. It’ll all be gone, soon… because of the Borg who are harvesting their estrogen just as sure as industry splurges on cheap energy and everybody else rapes the Earth’s plenty for short term profit.
Janet Jackson’s half time expose’ has initiated an avalanche of righteous consternation all across the media in America. Talk show sexuality has been excised, daytime soap operas have been branded as too steamy, and racy pop music videos have been yanked from prime time and slotted for light night exposure. The fundamentalist religious right has taken control with a vengeance, and in only a few weeks time have rolled back the sexual revolution of the 60’s and are headed straight for a Victorian England style inflexibility. In no time at all women will be out of the work force, back home, subservient, and servile… This is headed far more extreme than any Christian dogma that ever existed, but toward the Islamic fundamentalist of veiled women considered to be the property of their husbands.
Clearly, the Arab sheiks have invested heavily in the American media. They have begun to assert their control now, to convert the western world to Islam. They do so cleverly, by supporting the Christian fundamentalists whose views on women, in particular, are not unlike their own ~ the Southern Baptists, who believe women should follow their husband’s lead wherever they go; the ultra Orthodox Jews whose wives must sit behind them in Sabbath services. These Arab sheiks know the historical animosity between Christians and heathen Arabs, and seek to avoid another episode of the Crusades by asserting total, Nazi level control over our media outlets. Every terrorist action rolls back out civil liberties. Eventually no civil liberties will remain, and they will have won. America will be just like Saudi Arabia with the super rich sheiks, with their huge families of playboy children driving Rolls Royces, and groveling masses of the poor who differ from slaves in name only. That is already happening with the likes of Sam Walton, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and tens of thousand more of the super rich.
Authority has never had it so easy as in the modern day. There is so much daily confusion in the world – exposed as people are now to unsettling events everywhere in the whole world – that people in authority are much sought after as bastions of conformity and dependability. George Bush is so popular for the very reason that he is an ignorant, crude, moronic red neck with medieval values and self centered morals – and John Kerry less so, because he is a thinking, changing, evolving man with pride and good sense and good taste. John Dean plummeted in the polls as soon as problems surfaced in Iraq, because the people’s threshold for unpredictability in their world had been surpassed.
The government released retail sales figures today – the number jumped 1.8 percent versus the 0.6% predicted by economists. The stock market panicked, dropped 2% despite solid earnings from many big companies. Everybody said the Fed would have to raise interest rates to slow down the steaming economy. They’re wrong because most of those products in retail sales aren’t even made in America, and they know that. The massive outsourcing of jobs has changed all the parameters, and Wall Street is still reacting to all the old parameters ~ all those Ph.D. economists are probably confused as hell right now, trying to figure out this profound flaw in their holy predictions. The sad part about this is that nobody has the courage to doubt the economists, even to the point of panicking when their expert predictions are wrong.
Moreover, their predictions have been consistently wrong since this whole so-called recovery began years ago, and people still haven’t shown even the first tentative signs of doubt… talk about brainwashing. This is something on the order of what the Nazis did.
Meanwhile, Intel’s stock – after reporting a 90% increase in revenue from a year ago, and a 60% profit margin on all their computer chips sold – dropped after hours. Four out of five computers in the whole world have Intel processors – little wonder they can get 60% profits; but lots of wonder why nobody has accused them of being a monopoly. The government didn’t mind going after Microsoft, because two competitors were backing them; but Intel doesn’t even have any competitors to help make the government’s case.
People don’t like to be manipulated. They like being told they’re being manipulated even less. People also have a genetic hatred of whistleblowers – which they would consider me, for saying all of this – and this instantly takes away from me the credibility and authority I need to get the point across.
America is just like the Borg. We are exporting Wal-Marts, MacDonalds, Starbucks, and virtually every other mass marketing franchise all over the world. Those industries have already destroyed every corner grocery store, friendly hardware store, family doctor’s office, and diner in every small town in America. Now they are going to do the same to every other culture in the whole world. There was a best seller published fifteen years ago called The Closing of the American Mind. Now America’s global influence is causing a closing of the global mind.
Much ado has been made in other sections about how humanity is trending toward a Borg type of physiology – half machine, half flesh. As the general level of intelligence drops because of bad nutrition, drugs, ADD from bad indoor air quality, and sundry other reasons people will demand to have that intelligence supplemented artificially. In fact, they are counting on it. Their blind faith in science and government and technology is so absolute that they willingly give up the benefits of millions of years of evolution, comprised in their high level of intelligence. Besides, if technology can’t do it then they can always convert to Judaism (or become a scientist) and join the hive mind. The problem, of course, is that Jews and scientists as part of the hive mind already, are losing far more of their intelligence than those who are not. Even now, isolated from the hive, they would be complete vegetables who could barely stay alive on life support systems. Again, I have tried in any number of ways to tell them so, but naturally they deny it all and remain convinced they are the “chosen people” and will rule the future of mankind as they always have.
A new million dollar award was given out today to the “inventor” of the World Wide Web ~ a man who is already a billionaire. The award is for contributions to society that enhance productivity. No doubt Michael Dell was a runner up for his book – and his company’s policy – of advising employees to associated only with other employees, even to the exclusion of family members. This has always been a part of the corporate culture – especially in Japan and multinationals – now it has become a mitzvoth. Individuality is disruptive, distracting, counterproductive, and expensive.
Being creative even on your own time is frowned upon because it makes you unhappy at your work, and this spreads to your peers. Creativity is bad, conformity is good.
Culture is public enemy #1. People with culture buy quality merchandise, expect competent sales people to assist them in their purchase selection. People with culture are not easily swayed by glitzy advertising, peer pressure, or keeping up with the Jones’s.
Modern commercialism is anti-culture. They promote the illusion that buying their products will give you culture; a far, far better culture than the real sophisticates espouse. This happens by the same principle that the “parents: the anti-drug” and similar ads make it seem like they are helping parents fight drugs; but, in fact, are an advertisement for the drug culture ~ that’s how the kids see it, being rebellious youngsters already. Likewise for the anti-smoking ads. To the normal viewer they are what they say they are; to the real targets for the ads, they are advertising their product, just like always. Even more so, in fact, because the sophisticated below-the- surface subterfuge really appeals to lots of people ~ the under educated, under employed, and otherwise discontented folks.
Over fifty percent of all internet users have broadband or cable speed connections. President Bush wants that everybody to have high speed access within three years. The result will be that the low tech websites will drop off the acceptability level, leaving only the large commercial sites that can afford the bandwidth, upgrade their site on a regular basis, and continually market their site. The “rebel fringe” had their heyday with the early internet, being able to build acceptable websites quickly and cheaply to promote their agenda. Universal broadband connections means only the large, well funded activists will be able to maintain visibility – and the cost to them will accelerate exponentially from now on, as they are overwhelmed by powerful conservative interests. Web users will increasingly expect to be entertained by lavish multi-media websites, before they even think to read anything – much less anything that is even slightly askew to the status quo. The internet, once a powerful force for change, is increasingly an even more powerful force to quell change because the truly motivated free thinkers will spend all their money trying to make their voice heard; and when they quickly run out of funds, their voice will be gone forever. The only such websites with any reasonable chance of surviving are ezines and they will be coerced into conformity by advertisers, as new charges for email delivery by mass emailers force an increasing dependence upon these advertisers.
It is understandable that you believe all of this to be if not made up, then extreme. However consider recent comments by Elton John on the “American Idol” singer contest, in which he was abhorred by the extreme racism of the voters (20 million people cast votes) by consistently relegating very obviously talented black artists to the last place. The moral is that if it’s done by a democratic action, then it’s not racism.
Respect for authority has been brainwashed into people, from the first day in kindergarten onward. The war on terrorism makes this more so, since it has exposed the uneducated masses for the first time to the whole world and they are scared – just like educated people are scared of deep space travel – and they focus obsessively on authority (politicians, CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies ~ the death of McDonald’s CEO today caused the markets to plummet; how bizarre). In the case of the legal justice system, the judge has far more power even in jury trials, to affect the verdict. Jurors follow his every clue, ignoring even the most obvious evidence, wanting only to do what the authority figure wants. Terrorists being tried by military tribunals get a fairer hearing than a citizen tried by his peers in open court.
I would attribute the indiscretions done by American troops against terrorist detainees in Iraq to be caused by our shallow culture.
Americans – especially young people – have no culture whatsoever, nothing that sets a moral or ethical standard. Our schools are geared toward teaching them raw knowledge, not erudition or creativity or appreciation of the arts. Until that changes there are no rules or regulations or punishments that will prevent that sort of thing as happened in Iraq from happening again. The military culture is even more shallow than the civilian culture – the Army figured putting a black beret on top of every soldiers head would make them civilized. It’s not what goes on top of their heads, but what goes in their heads – and especially their hearts that matters.