Did any of you people in Los Angeles see last night's "Nova" episode on KCET last night? If so you were treated to the proposition that one physical object could be in two places at the same time. There is a physicist who in 1954 came up with the notion of Parellel Universes. This is not at all an unfermiliar concept to either Star Trek fans, or those who have watched the program "Sliders". This physisicist was wrestling with the stramge laws of subatomic particles, which exist in their own set of physical laws. We know that "quirks" pop up from place to place mysteriously without having to travel there. This author in previous postings has suggested that the key to alternate universes or parrellel universes lies in the make-up of subatomic particles we can observe in this universe. But even here the Heisenburg uncertainty principle tells us that we can isolate wither the location of an electron or the places of an electron, but that we cannot observe both occurances together. This physicist on the show worked for three years from 1954 to 1957 on this principle of simotanious location of the same object, but then he gave up his work because it wasn't catching on with Bohr and other physicists who were older than he and presumably knew more. But lately the work has been unearthed from the archives of a university and looked at anew by scientists. This physicist went so far as to state that even a cat could be simotaniously alive and dead at the same time. The idea of a single physical object occupying two universes at once is not alien to we at the Federation. We have stated often that the nature of the subatomic substance determines the sort of space that surrounds it. To put in simpler terms you can understand better: I have a solution to the puzzle that was not touched upon last night but that I have several times spoken of in my blog posting. This is the idea that Time, in addition to a fourtn dimension, also occupies a fifth dimension. If eight lines raying out from a single point is the sign of "Life", how about an infinite number of lines going out from that same dot. This lays down the possibility of parrellel universes, and alternate realities, both for physical objects and for human lives. People can "have more than one fate". Anything that CAN happen WILL happen in one Universe or another. There is an almost Religious aspect to this notion of one physical substance occupying more than one Universe or space-time dimension. Have you considered the Catholic Nicine formula for the Holy Trinity. It says "God is of such a nature so as not to confound the persons nor to divide the substance". Many people have scrated their heads and wondered "How can this be". How can an object have two different actions or consequences to those actions. In the demonstration in the show they locked a cat in a room with some radioactive substance - - and if enough of that substance decays then it sets of some other action that releases other poison that kills the cat.
Many people have mused to themselves "I wish I had more than one lifetime to learn all the things I know my brain has the capacity to learn. Certainly in looking at the statistical analytical stuff that wolframalpha.com performs - one concludes quickly that there is much material yet to learn in the area, for instance, of statistical analysis. I changed one of their sample equations to make it harder, and the program came up with five possible solutions that would "satisfy" the equation on a cartisian x and y graph. One might extrapelate in a "Where's Waldo" quiz, that Waldo may be at several places in different universes simotaniously. Each contingency would still satisfy the "substance" of "x", which is Waldo. These are things to think about.
Yesterday - - and the Day Before
This is not an R I A A approved Blog
Spock says that any object with a positive mass when in a positive gravitational field will continue to fall to the surface of the planet.You may remember the song by Jay and the Techniques, “Keep the Ball Rolling”.This is what Obama and the democrats want to keep doing in terms of all of the political hot button issues of today.One issue on the minds of some of us is when the government is going to release all of the secret information they have on the Kennedy and King assenations.Back on March 5, 1967 Tom Green told us the government would release all the secret information after fifty years or something.One would hope that a Presidential administration would not try and block a scheduled release of information.The Church Senate Committee formed various conclusions thirty years ago, where they didn’t rule out conspiracy.Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to look up the conclusions this committee came to as to both the assassinations of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King.After all, the wheels of progress should bring about total enlightenment.Once the snow ball gets rolling, who knows what the final result might be.But the specter of 1966 looms in the air and Republicans see this congressional election as a continuing beacon of hope.In this year the Republicans won about 46 seats in congress and Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California, which are two things nobody thought would happen.Liberals look in the abstract and reason that if an idea is basically sound, and people are encouraged to act on this idea, then the momentum for this idea or ideas should continue to accelerate.If you’ve seen rivers in Southern California during and just after a rain storm you know what I am talking about.They become raging rapid rivers and death traps for all who enter.And so it is that Democrats logically would expect Republicanism to be swept away by the liberal tide.For instance as I said above, we have decided to hike fuel efficiency standards to 35 miles per gallon, and we have tightened up air standards.To a liberal this is just the natural progression of events.To be fair, this efficiency bill will add $1,500 to the price of every vehicle you buy, but this will be more than compensated by the savings in gasoline.Ironically the auto makers themselves are not the ones who opposed this mileage legislation but only the reactionary republican block in congress.The auto makers are for this bill because it will unify the standards in the whole country and end confusion.People will also be buying an investment in the future.The credit card bill is another badly needed piece of legislation whose provisions should have been enacted into law a long time ago.But sometimes a faulty premise interferes with the natural course of events.Take the plot of “Dial M for Murder”.It was character Mark Halliday who said, “The reason why the jury found Margo guilty is that they didn’t believe her story”.(testimony of the wife)If you knew as a premise that the wife were telling the God’s honist truth, then you’d have to conclude that someone else was lying, somewhere.In like manner the key to Double Indemnity was unlocked when Edger G Robinson came up with the idea that the murder victim “was never on the train”.Sometimes a key premise can straighten out a whole lot of other thinking.In the case of early Christian Church history one big premise was that Marcion was ex-communicated by the Pope as a heretic in 144 AD.Of course this to the, I believe, wrong conclusion that the Church even had a Papacy in 144 AD.Thom Hartman has based in part his opinion on the death penalty on the premise that one and eight prisoners who are eventually executed were wrongly convicted.If I were to buy wholly into this premise, I would be out signing petitions today to ban the death penalty.Hartman points out the arbitrariness of the Death Penalty and how few people who commit capital crimes are actually subjected to the ultimate penalty.Democrats in congress who pride themselves as centrists - - often work from the premise that “The past is the past” and “we shouldn’t go digging it up” or we shouldn’t “obsess over the past” when it comes to crimes of the Bush Administration.A bad premise can gum up the works and put a slamming halt to needed action.There is really no reason why the democrats shouldn’t continue to win and win big in the next congressional election of 2010.There is still a lot of needed work to be done, and the rate of accomplishment is still sluggish.If we allow republicans to raise doubts and introduce negative thinking, progress could grind to a halt altogether.
Thom Hartman led off his radio program this morning with two topics.The US Supreme Court has decreed (ruled) by a five to four decision that you don’t have the power to sue an official of the Federal government.Justice Kennedy, as usual was the swing vote.Justice Brier wrote the strongest dissenting opinion, Hartman says.The case involves an Islamic Pakistani who was thrown into jail and beaten up for several crimes.Most of the crimes he doesn’t contest but he said that John Ashcroft and another guy, Robert Muller III from the FBI personally had it in for him.Brayer’s dissenting opinion offered extensive case law involving being able to sue subordinates for abuse of power.People are disgusted with this supreme court.People like Clarence Thomas apparently are utterly lacking in curiosity and don’t ask any questions, but Thomas rules how his worker subordinates tell him to rule.The other story involves Donald Rumsfeld and his introducing of religious propaganda into the workings of the Defense Department.He would cite epistles of St. Paul used to justify the crusades, and have various pictures of Saddam Hussein with an appropriate scripture, or show a rolling tank and have the caption, “Put on the full armor of God”.Hartman has wondered whether Bush was just a willing idiot-figur-head in this whole affair.Is Rumsfeld the “brains” of the outfit (and I used that term advisedly) just as Chaney was the “brains” of how we treat our military prisoners, or what?From the very first cabinet meeting Bush asked people “Tell me how I can invade Iraq.When are we going to do that?”My hope is that these two stories will get the proper scrutiny by the media, so that the people will realize the issues involved.
.Randi Rhodes on her show today was talking about how no state can pass a law contrary to any federal law.That’s not what the constitution says.The constitution cedes all power “to the states or to the people” all powers that are not specifically spelled out or prohibited to the states.Therefore air standards are none of the Federal government’s business if you’re in San Bernardino choking on our smog, you should have the right to regulate your own air or your own airports, if you don’t think federal laws are up to the task.Likewise today the Supreme Court affirmed this states rights principle in their medical marijuana ruling that I’ve very happy about.The court refused to even consider a case that challenged California’s right to regulate or not regulate marijuana as they choose.If you are a city and don’t want guns in your city, just as you may not want them in your private business, I would say that you have the right to set your own standards.Proposition 2 pertains to the powers of the Federal government only and specifically mentions the states as having rights.In terms of the FICA law,I always regarded the de-facto tax as fourteen percent or so.If I were an employer and told the tax were abolished tomorrow, I would give back the money to the payee.
Apparently that My Space case where the woman pretended to be a teenage boy to induce a thirteen year old troubled girl to commit suicide isn’t as cut and dried as we all thought.I would have considered this a major felony case.But first of all the girl isn’t even considered the victim; My Space is.Secondly they reduced the charges to a misdemeanor, and the judge is considering throwing out the charges altogether.This would be another in the long list of cases of, “Justice denied”.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
ON BEING SELF - AWARE
Thom Hartman said on Friday that the Internet as we know it may be already becoming "self-aware". That is, it's a system that has or will develop an virtual Ego. How can this be? This is when an organization begins to think independently and come up with its own solutions to problems, which wasn't prompted by any human being. The internet may be learning to fill in gaps in its own knowledge and be actually learning how to think better, just as we human beings want to do. We all know about how HAL the computer developed an Ego and became a problem. But I happened to think that one inanimate object I would like to see develop an Ego is the US Constitution. They call it a "Living Document" but it isn't really. But still I would like to seem some generalized awareness that the US Constitution is in grave jeopardy from the various Imperial presidencies we've had over the past forty years. Some have suggested we scrap the thing and call a new Constitutional Convention and re-write the entire document. But in my humble oppinion this is the worst thing we in America could do. Because you know the first things to go will be the civil rights of the individual and increased specified powers of the executive branch, which won't have to be "implied" any more. Some people say that when a message needs to be gotten out, God sees the need and empowers people and even dumb animals to powers of speech they formerly didn't have. In the Bible God caused even a jackass to speak, out of a need to get a message out that wasn't being said. Let us hope that the average American citizen today at least has the self-awareness of a jackass. (Selah)
There are two major improvements in use of computers in the past few days. Google now has a "show options" button by which you can process your search results into a form that may be more relavant to you. They have that wonder wheel, which branches out derivitive topics from your original imput topic to the search engine. Also in the news just this weekend of a public release of "Mathematica" or the search engine now called Wolframalpha.com. This engine can do complex algebraic formulas and graft them with ease. It will give you a full financial profile on a corporation or two corporations, at the drop of a hat. There are various tutorials on the most productive ways to use "Mathematica" people should view. What you realize is that the world of number analysis is more complex than you can imagine.
I would like to address readers who are now only reading the first sentenses of paragraphs in blogs to see if they want to read the rest of it. I congradulate you on your efficiency. But I'd like to not at this time go along with suggestions that I stick to one topic. A lot of times topics are related in tangiential ways that deserve to be connected and related to each other. Were I to separate all my blogs into discrete topics, it would be a probject too massive to handle.
I am alarmed that people like John and Ken and a host of others are suggesting stridently that the people of California vote down all the propositions in this coming election on Tuesday that the government wants past. People who revolt and say "no more taxes" just aren't thinking straight. That's what the Proposition 13 people did over thirty years ago and we are still feeling the adverse effects today. We don't want government gutted. That's what Ronald Reagan did forty years ago and we are still feeling the effects. This economy will not be in a slump forever, and right now we should plan for the future, for a better tomorrow.
Yesterday I watched a video which tied a lot of loose ends up for me as far as this notion of once we had a civilization that was more advanced than anything history suggests. People who look at the pyramids of Egypt will observe that the first three are of much higher quality and workmanship than any pyramid since, even though this is contrary to the old axion of "newer is always better". Some say that the positioning of the three pyramids are the position of the belt of Orion in the heavens, not now, but as of 13,000 AD. Also the Sphinx is said to be incredibly ancient. The erosion on the Sphinx is suggestive of not wind damage but water damage, and lots of it. Which leads me to my point. There was a massive devistation of Planet earth in 13,000 BC during of "The Age of Leo". Gene Scott once suggested that the face on the Sphinx was originally of a woman and not a lion. Astronomers point out that in 13,000 BC we were on the verge of leaving the age of Virgo and entering the Age of Leo. Either one makes sense. So what happened 13,000 years ago? A comet hit. The Mayans have spoken of five major world disasters brought about by "surpents". Comets and asteroids are like surpents. The writings of the Egyptians and Babylonians and Hebrews were all shown to use similar astrological and astronomic imigry. 13,000 years ago a giant asteroid called the resumption of the ice age. First of all what it did was to break up an ice glacure dam in the Great Basin of North America, known then as the great inland sea. There were formations that, like the Sphinx, were wiped out, and the verdict is water erosion, and lots of it, rather than wind erosion. It is believed that Earth was an interesting place then because all of the wolly mammoths were still around. The whackos are right. It was an asteroid that killed them rather than just the ice age. The comet caused a massive redistrubution of the land surfaces and many high civilizations went either water, or under sand. You've heard of the Biminy stones in the Bahamas region. In Southeast Asia there are likewise under-water civilizations that have been inundated with water. The Great Pyramid doesn't have the usual Egyptian hierogliphics on it. The writing this ancient civilization used was different, as I have alluded to about the ruins on Reigel VII. Later on civilization reasserted itself. One of the chief objects of worship in civilizations of the Third Melinium BC was the Bull. Taurus the Bull. The chief god of the Babylonians was called Marduch, the Bull. Another hero of Egypt was the figure of Orion, who is said to be related to Osirus, God of the Underworld. The hunter was seen as the greatest of them all. Then we move on to the age of Aries the Ram, and so the Hebrews are hung up on the worship of the Ram and lambs. The Mayans have stated that there were five major devestations of the world. We know of the asteroid that killed the dinasaurs 65 Million years ago. The devistation of 13,000 BC may be a more major one because man may have been in a state of high civilization at that time. Of course the bottom line is what will happen on December 21st. 2012? This is the date that the Mayans say will usher in a period of judgement much as the advent of Cortez in 1521 ushered in a period of judgement. We too could be powerless to cope should space aliens land here from god knows where. Perhaps we can learn from the Aztechs. They were ruled by fear and allowed chaos to take over. Perhaps if we are more unified as a planet, we will fare better.
Today they played that original version of Revolution I on KRTH. This is the version that John Lennon wanted out as a single. To me it would only be fitting. This version is long and slower and goes on for seven or eight minutes and "morphs" into "Revolution 9". This recording just like "Good-Bye, My Love" "Cosmically Conscious" "One of Nature's Children" and "Sour Milk Sea" are Beatle songs not included on the Anthology but should be. I have no idea why they were omitted. John Lennon refers to the White Album as being the album where the Beatles fell apart. He didn't mention Abbey Road. If you believe our material, the fake John Lennon was back in evidence and wrote most of the "John Lennon" songs on Abbey Road. All of the Beatles have stated in one way or another that keeping the group together was like trying to preserve a corpse. All of the life had gone out of the group, and the public announcement was only a recognition that the group was already dead. You know, John Lennon wrote "There's nothing you can do that can't be done". If we state this another way we get "You can't do anything unless it's actually Possible to do". Joel Olsteen made a good speech talking about how Jesus will raise the dead but it's our job to "Roll Away the Stone". We do what we can do before Jesus does what only he can do. As pleasing as this sounds, in my life it just hasn't worked out that way as far as Christianity has been concerned. It was a wise man who said "Facts are grim things, and you ignore then at your peril". (Selah)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
One lesson I've learned in life is that overestimating a person's intelligence on a matter said party has been deemed to have expertise in - is just as much, if not more a reality than underestimating a person's intelligence. Today Tom Hartman came up with a self admitted dubious "explanation" for President Obama's sudden reversal of position on the subject of releasing torture photos at Abu-grave. He said "My hope is that Obama is playing chess while the other person is playing checkers". There is one thing wrong with this assrtion: If everybody watching the game sees only checker pieces on the board it's a fair assumption that "checkers" is the game that's being played, whether you "think" you're playing something else or not. Stated another way, President Obama isn't fooling anybody but himself if he thinks his "roll over and play dead" trick is winning him any intelligence points with his Democratic base on the left. We all see the situation for what it is. Lately, Hartman has come up with the "Make Me" principle. Supposedly FDR was asked about integrating the armed services and he told them "Make me". The idea here is that if there is enough public pressure on a President, if he follows through with said action, and somehow something goes wrong he can point at election time and say, "Public pressure made me do it". So it is that Hartman is banking on the Supreme Court or somebody "Making" President Obama take needed actions. From a puretly "Profiles in Courage" standpoint we learned about in films in school, this thinking doesn't make the grade.
A lot of liberals who are smarter than Obama gives them credit for have their own ideas as to what's going on: Obama is being pressured, or worse, blackmailed by wither the CIA or democrats in congress friendly to the CIA. When someone abruptly reverses position on a key issue they formerly held near and dear, any cop would look at the situation and say "blackmail is the first place to look". I just learned from an MSNBC article that Eric Holder himself has been rather soft on torture in the past and in no way can be counted on to "do the right thing" and file appropiate charges. As you may also know, torture photos have been published in the Sydney Morning Herald and they appear in "George Washington's blog" a blog I would highly reccomend. The address is georgewashington2.blogspot.com - and you can paste that if it still isn't a working link.. THAT WON'T WORK: TRY THIS LINK: Here Are a Few of the Torture Just as American tradition is in George Washington's shadow when it comes to a tradition of humane treatment of prisoners of war, so it is that I see "George Washington's blog" as a superior source to myself to turn to for blog commentary. Thom Hartman says "Perhaps inflaming world oppinion is a good thing now. After all, if we wern't guilty of anything there would be nothing to get inflamed about". Personally I hardly see how Obama's withholding of the torture photographs won't inflame Islamic passions even further. They will say to the new recruits, "Here are some bloody torture photographs inflicted on our people. Oh by the way, there may be worse ones than these except the United States President is afraid to release them". Psychologically we all need to be keen on the "desensitization phenomenon". Psychologists use it to aid in patients getting over phobias. But it also works in that the Nazis knew that "gradualism" is something that people can live with. They needn't accept the whole Nazi Platform at once. All they need do is be a little more exposed than they were yesterday to acclimate themselves to the latest set of government abuses. All of the Republicans are banking on this hope. Plus there's the fact that Republicans flat out lie. They say that Nancy Palosi and other leading democrats were told all about waterboarding and they went along with it. There are two things wrong with this statement. First of all if they were told, they were sworn to secrecy and would be violating a confidence if they made what they knew about torture - - public. And secondly these democrats claim that water-boarding was among the things that they were told were NOT DONE. If you rely on Sean Hannity to get your facts, you're in big trouble right off the bat.
Voltaire said that people who are led unknowingly into believing an absurdity, will be so tainted that they will allow any abuse or torture to support that absurdity which they were told. Voltaire was ahead of his time. The following is an Italian proverb supposedly. "When all is said and done- - - - more is said than done". People have ideas. Democratic liberals have ideas but somehow too little of those lofty words ever translate into actual action. Here is another quote: "We have figured out just about everything - - except how to live". That's by John Paul Satre. I'm not saying I agree with that one I just thought I would throw it out there. Here's one, "Sometimes things are just what they seem". I think Pink Floyd said that.
There is a group of economic pessimists out there who say that "Happy Talk" will not carry the day. It sure didn't further my growth as a Christian, I'll tell you that. The term is one of disparagement. I think it's always best to look on the bright side. If you don't plan on things getting better, how will you deal with "better" when it comes? My only reservation about this economy is that there was a book I read two years ago before any of our current crises - - and that book author said that we as a nation were pretty much economicly screwed even with the statistics which were ALREADY know. The level of our corporate debt - - and I mean a debt we all owe as a nation - - is staggering. Thom Hartman has said "Untill we again start manufacturing our own products here in the US - - we are going to go into one economic bubble after another". That's the cold hard reality, and one that the current adminestration doesn't want to even consider as a viable possibility. I would say to hold on to your gold futures at this point. It certainly isn't time to sell yet.
It turns out that our family did have an ancester on the Mayflower. But he fell overboard on the trip over and drowned. "Allright you people - - Homer - - Barney - - Anybody - - I could use that life preserver about now".
OK you O C D fans, listen up. (especially you who didn't meet with C I A agents) What did Margo Wendice and Mark Halliday Have for dinner on their final date In the Movie, "Dial M For Murder?" That's just what I had for dinner tonight.
Friday, September 26, 2008
NOTHING WAS REVEALED
I thought of doing this blog before the debate tonightbecause I sense that the prolog was more revealing than the actual event and basically I was right. If you ask me who won the debate my inclination is to say the moterator, Jim Lerrer won it because he kept trying to get the principals to get to the nitty gritty issues and talk to each other. It was p0inted out that in the foreign policy part of the debate apparently Obama said, "Senator, you're right" eight times. Giuliani portrayed it as a "lessen in foreign policy" delivered by Mc Cain. Obama said he would talk to Amajinidad of Iran "without pre conditions" but then added that of course you would need "praparation" to get all the diplomatic proticols down first. On the subject of Georgia both agreed that we should forcefully oppose Russia but Mc Cain was the more forthright of the two and perhaps won the one upsman contest on this issue. On Iraq I think neither candidate stressed that it's time for the Iraqi to stand up and be counted and that we should incourage nationalism of the Iraqi people which will in itself repel foreign overatures and influences. One must remember that Iraq fought a war with Iran for eight years, so the danger of some Shiite influence is minimal here. Mc Cain scored some points, bogus or not, in saying he could cut defence cost overruns. Obama failed to stress enough the 90% support Mc Cain has given Bush these eight years and how Mc Cain is tied to Bush. I don't know of Obama explained clearly enough that there was a change in local Iraqi policy just prior to the surge where a segment of the population agreed to work on our side, and in turn, we in this country finally understood local concerns and motivations. In terms of the bail-out agreement Obama spelled out his concerns about the agreement, and his hopes for provisions and safeguards that would be included in it. I still don't know where Mc Cain stands on the bail-out agreement. In terms of health care neither candidate fingered the drug bill Bush got passed as the biggest boondoggle and give-away to the medical insurance companies. Also the idea of volume discounts for drugs and dickering down the price wasn't mentioned. Obama correctly stated that we need to fear a bomb in a suitcase more than we do one being launched by a missile.
14 FROM 100 MILLION (Released September 26th. 2008)
Gypsey (Moody Blues) Yahoo Edit Beggars Farm (Jethro Tull) Too Much Time on My Hands (Styx) Bitter Creek (Eagles) Shape Changes (Jefferson Airplane) Milk and Honey Days (Fever Tree) Eats (Brownsville Station) (?) Piggies (Beatles) When You're Hot You're Hot (Jerry Reed) Indiana Wants me (early 1971 artist) Jessica (Almon Brothers) Magic Bus (The Who - Live at Leeds) Second Impression (Emerson Lake & Palmer) Third Impression (Emerson Lake & Palmer)
This album was released throughout the Federation at 10 AM Sirius A time, that runs on New York time on the 39th. anniversary of the release of Abbey Road. The front cover has the sub title of "Bush Babies - The Next Generation" and the print is all red on black background, which is fitting considering- - . Also included on the front cover is the symbol for the demon Asmodeus. There are numerous "clues" on this album- - and also on the back cover which seems inspired by the cover of "Return of the Rocker" by Elvis, with a visable Kennedy sign, but also other items like cheer leader pom poms and a sign to vote No on proposition 8, so you know I didn't write this. WDRV radio this morning played some interesting songs from the psychedellic era. Tracks one through five, and track seven were previously released a month ago on a limited basis as a "Six Pack". The last two tracks were also included on an album called "Strange Places" released in January of 1990, which featured some old Hotel lobby like from the movie Key Largo or something with potted palm trees around and some gangsters hanging out.
Important dates to look for in the future is an event next Tuesday which will be key in determing future events. The next key date is October 6th. which should be a Monday, and the next Thursday, October 9th. is another key date. Another "key date" is in the past May 23rd. and unless the deed of this date is somehow "undone" dire events will follow, but progress is being made in this area. My watch-word for the day is "Look out for unintended consequences". The title of this album is based on the idea that going up in the repture will be one hundred million people because scripture says "Behold he comes with ten thousand times ten thousand of his saints". I think this is originally from the Book of Enoch. This album is featured by a number of abrupt starts and stops in the music.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
ONE - TWO - THREE
Let's summarize the points that Randi Rhodes has been making about this investment trust co. bail out bill. First of all not at stake are the fates of Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac. These have already been bailed out. Furthermore, Bear Sterns and A I G have already been bailed out. Goldman Sachs is reorganizing to become a bank so that they qualify for FDIC insurance. So just what is the 750 Billion for? Presumably it's to just throw around to whomever Hank Poulson thinks is deserving of the money. So it looks like there are three provisions that should be in any deal or else it's a no-go. The first is that C E O's should be fired without a "golden parachute" and the ones that remain in control should undergo a drastic cut in salary. The second provision is that people who actually took out the Mortgages should be allowed to re-negotiate their loans so that the lending institutions can re-coup their money. And the third is that they should only get 150 Billion or one fifth of what is proposed. That way a president Obama will have control over the rest of the money and force these lending institutions to be on their best behavior. Even doing all of this the deal is still very generous. But what I don't understand is why Mc Cain and Obama are so quick to jump into the swim of things. Both would be better served by trying to pin the whole thing on President Bush as we said inour last posting.
THE FACE OF JUSTICE
Let's return to our virtues. Of course the image of justice is that she is blindfolded and that things are weighed impartially in the ballance. Impartially, like fairness, are words we don't hear often enough. There is a scripture that goes "God is not a respecter of persons". I wish people would contemplate what this means. Of course implicit in justice is honisty. People should go to get a fair and equitable deal. Some say that to be fair is to be obsessive. Show me how being unfair is better. Another comcept I'd like to discuss is ballance. Things are weighed in the ballance and so both sides must be made equal. Implicit in this is keeping emotions in ballance. I'm sure cops have to face this every day of their lives. There is no room for undue anger of "Huberous", which is kind of a wrathful pride. There are other emotions such as delusions of grandure that Christians also suffer from when they are psychically out of ballance. Certain principles we would call of supreme value, which means that there is no value higher. Do you believe that we are all children of God and that he made us and that human life is precious and sacrosanct? If so and you're Abraham you wouldn't sacrifice your son to gain the favor of some God who, according to the movie, he didn't even know the name of. In this case the issue of justice and the right to life supersedes gaining favor with some God. Some may say "Well, to meet out justice might involve some divine wrathfulness & we must prevent this at all cost". It's the words "at all cost" that are the sticking point here. The book of Revelations talks about divine wrath as a means of establishing justice, and who am I to second guess the revelation of God. In this case establishing justice is of greater supreme value than God keeping his cool. Furthermore one must not misuse the term "ballance". Certain scriptures are meant as absolutes and not to be "ballanced off" by another scripture. Hence I don't have that much respect for a certain Calvary pastor who is always doing "ballancing acts" with scripture he comes accross, or Jesus on KFI who say that promices of God have to be "ballanced" with pragmatism. If God says something it's either true or it's not. And if it's not than God is a liar and it's best to find that out now. Likewise if President Bush says something it's either the truth or a lie, and we should acertain to find out which quickly. One will note I did not include grace as a virtue. Follow my logic. People who say they are for grace will also tell that it's free. And if it's free than it has no market value. Grace can be likened to the jewelry that Liberace wears while playing the piano. It has nothing to do with the quality of his piano playing. Grace, as we have stated before, can easily be used as a lever to manipulate people. Hence grace is A-moral. It all depends on how it is used how moral it is. Not all lies are "malum en se" as Gordon Liddy might say. Lies are evil if they distort a "whitness" to some event where you are sworn to tell the truth. Lying to a friend how much you paid for your Mercedes doesn't fall into the category. On election day I do believe a politican's honisty should be heavily weighed. Any congressman this year is leaving themselves extremely vulnerable in taking such a giant bail-out step this close to standing for re-election.
THE SEVEN MORAL VIRTUES
According to Jeopardy, Aristatle taught that moral virtues could be differentiated from philosophical virtues. As for myself I don't see the difference. Today Thom Hartman was talking about five moral virtues both political parties appeal to in campaigns but the list is highly skewed in favor of the Republicans on a four to neutral basis as I see it. The one virtue that both parties agree on is care verses harm. Nobody wants to do harm. Everybody favors care and compassion. Another is fairness and recriprocity verses the alternative. This is a Republican one and the best way to illustrate it is affirmative action and the quota system, by which white people are discriminated against. Another so called virtue is Unity verses Diversity. The republicans will say that being IN "the group" is superior to being OUT of "the group". Another is authoritarianism verses anarchy. The final one is purety and sanctity verses moral corruption. If these were the five virtues, the republicans would win every time.
Let me tell you about my list of seven virtues. I have discussed them before but now I could like to include their polar opposits. The first one is Faithfullness and fadelity. This is being true to a virtue or a principle. It is loyalty to that deserving loyalty. The polar oposit is obviously being a flake and an oppertunist. The second virtue is Hope. Going along with this is seeing the positive and not the negative in everything. This is such an important quality I put it on my list largely because of the attitude of my family which wallows in negativity at virtually every turn. In World War II the Andrew sisters talked about accentuating the positive, because they knew this is what it took to get the job done. There is saying "When there is life there is hope". You can turn it around. "When there is hope there is life. The next virtue is compassion or charity. It's polar opposits are abusive behavior and apathy, which in most cases is not "benign neglect". It is sowing good karmic seed into the world. The fourth virtue on my life is courage. This comes to facing up to some moral challenge that requires one to do the right thing regardless of the personal cost to onesself. It's polar opposit is cowardess and those who make up lies and excuses for things they feel "convicted" about. The fifth virtue is Justice or the pursuit of rightness and fairness, which should be inquenchable. Some people say that justice and fairness are not important, but they are usually autocrats. The sixth virtue is perseverence or patience. This is not being patient with something that is inopperative. For instance on March 24th. 1976 I "gave my heart to Jesus" but waiting for any blessing from this act is as vain as vaiting for Hell to freeze over. It's patience in the sense of "not being weary with well doing". It's strength and perseverence tword a goal, or dying in the attempt. Some call this one "Fortitude". The seventh virtue is prudence or wisdom. You will note that anger is not "malum en se" or evil in itself. But lack of many of these virtues can and does result in anger. Anger often is not looking far enough into the future to see the probably results of your action. Some Christians might say that "sacrifice" is an inherent virtue. No, sacrifice is like anger in that it's all the context in which it is used whether it is a moral cause or not. Just as if you ask a gardener he will say that "harm" is not always a vice if it's used against unwanted weeds or preditory insects, so sacrifice is no virtue, if you sacrifice something of great inherent value, for something cheap and transitory. Perhaps getting to the point a Christian might well say "Jesus laid down his life for our salvation". The problem with this is that if you have a mass murderer who is being sentensed and another alien being steps out of his UFO saying "I will pay the price" first you better check to see if the space alien is a mortal being. If the being cannot die or be killed, then he cannot pay the price, even were suchy a thing advisable to begin with, which it would not because it violates fairness and individual responsability. The other thing is some say Jesus always trusted God. It is physically impossible for an omnicient being to either Trust or Not Trust because he knows everything that is, and as such can neither "speculate" on one thing or the other because he knows the end from the beginning. Gene Scott for similar reasons cannot "sacrifically give" as he tells his congragation to. He lived on a dollar a year salary with an unlimited expence account and as such no matter how much he chose to "give" he would just take from his own seemingly inexaustable expense account. Have I clarified things for you?
A REALLY BADLY WRITTEN STORY-LINE
The big news is that John Mc Cain has "suspended" his campaign. In my book if Mc Cain is not at tomorrow's debate, he should step down as republican standard bearer because he has abrigated his duey to run for President. Others have point out that "You can't just decide to suspend being President" or as Obama says "A President will often be called to do more than one thing at one time". Mc Cain flaked out on David Letterman and I don't blame him one bit for being put out. It can be argued that George Bush is wholly responsable for this whole deboccle because he set up the "ownership society". This was the waving of ordenary regulations so that poor people could buy a nicer house. But the fact is when Bush was confronted with the need to amend these policies the regulators were told to butt out, and even State laws were declared unconstitutional, when they tried to install their own regulations. The point is that Bush is doing this bail out just like he did with the Iraq War. He's trying to rush congress, just like with the Patriot Act, into passing something it hasn't fully investigated, with no checks or ballances or oversight. As to this notion about not having tomorrow's debate- - obviously this is to buy Mc Cain time because he hasn't prepared, or perhaps because Sarah Palin hasn't prepared for her debate. This whole bail out bill is just "buying time" untill after the election when then it's OK to have it all fall apart. It was pointed out that Herbert Hoover did something very much like this in bailing out the Banks in 1931, but it didn't work then and probably won't work now. The President gave a good C Student speech last night. There was nothing extrordenary about it but he did make some rudamentary points we've heard many times before. I have a feeling this whole bill is going to be passed with almost no changes because what this president wants, this president gets. Mc Cain doesn't know how he'll vote but he acts as though he did and his vote is so urgent it merits the suspending of a campaign. But I don't see why Obama doesn't complain more about the way he's been one-upped and manipulated by his opponet.
Now we hear that Sarah Palin consulted with an African witch doctor who is responsable for the burning of 25 witches in Tanzania. Supposedly he's really a Christian and he "drove the spirit of witchcraft" out of Palin. There are other reports that Palin has had one or more sexual affairs. Of course everyone is wondering why Sarah Palin has been kept isolated from the Press. Have we ever had a situation like this year in any previous political campaign in the history of this country? I don't think so. Those of you looking for "signs" look till next Tuesday because I predict something will happen then, on the 30th. that will more so than imagined now, illustrate just what a bad decision we will have made if we go along with this Republican business bail-out package. I repeat: there is something we don't know now that if we did know, and we will next Tuesday, we'd never in a million years do this thing.
Monday, September 22, 2008
THE ONE MISTAKE YOU MADE WAS IN YOUR HEAD
So many people wish 9 - 11 had never happened or that we could magically go back seven years on the callendar to before it did. Before them the Bush adminestration had no direction. My family is never so "in their element" as when there is some "crisis" in my life that I'm supposidly ignoring that wasn't there the day before- - the day before they invented it. I don't know about you but this past astrological month of Virgo has really sucked for me. I'm happy now to be in a new season. Perhaps the fall will be more auspicious, because really from the git go of the summer solistis things have been rather jinxy for me. Have you noticed a few archetectural features missing in the democratic landscape this year. Ted Kennedy is gone. And his absence is sorely missed. Also Tim Russart is dead and is no longer around to ask those incisive questions of his about the candidates. But what I'd like to know is "Where is Joe Biden"? We've heard very little from him. He seems to have dropped off the radar. Also we've heard precious from either Bill or Hillary Clinton. Which brings me to my major theme and that is- - the Democrats made a major mistake in not nominating Hillary for President. You don't look for Superbowl candidates based on a football team that peaked in September. And you don't look for a Presidential winner based on a man whose campaign peaked in February. Since the start of March, Hillary consistently beat Obama in the key head to head contests. And the chickens are coming home to roose. Obama continues to suffer from that deficet of not being strong with either white women, or your typical lower working class blue collar Reagan Democrat, such that the rust belt is noted for. My reasons for favoring Obama over Hillary last spring were based on a number of key misperceptions. Most importantly, I viewed Obama as the next Jack Kennedy, whose campaign would catch fire and he would gain momentum with each passing month. Both Jack Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt ended up governing more to the left of how they campaigned, once they got in office. But we're hearing how Obama made a secret deal with the Iraqis that he would keep the troops in that country as long as Bush or Mc Cain would, despite what he says in public. In May I had no way of knowing about the massive reversals of positions by Obama discussed in the previous postings. Some other areas such as abortion, I thought Hillary was too extreme, and yet Obama favors killing the baby even when it is out of the womb. Hillary would never have done the massive cave in on issues that Obama has done since June. If Obama was not afraid to take on Hillary, why does he seem to cower in the presence of Sarah Palin? I'm puzzled as to why Mc Cain gained strength by "going back to his base" and yet Obama thinks he can win by moving to the right all the time alianating his own base.
We have the issue of the economy now. To put the situation in metaphorical terms, it's as though in the spring of 1945 it looked pretty sure that we would defeat Japan in WW II but then we dropped the bomb, and suddenly the whole contest is in doubt because maybe the Japanese are praying now to their Emperor-God, whom we are suddenly afraid of. That's what it's like being afraid of Sarah Palin. Some may say I haven't attacked John Mc Cain with equal vigor. Well obviously a member of the Keating Five who has as his assistant a person with a "Golden Parachute" from Hewitt Packard, who fired a bunch of employees but rewarded their CEO for doing a bad job- - obviously this affects Mc Cain's credibility. And absolutely under no circumstances would I vote for Mc Cain. He's spent so much time supporting Bush bills in the past and supporting deregulation- - that now to come in and say "I'll make it all better if I'm elected" is nothing short of silly. Obviously we should hold hearings into salaries of C E O's and start investigating the most obviously guilty. In your personal life if you run into money problems you cut expences and try to raise income. But not the government. I don't have the vaguest idea how or even if we can pay for this giant bail-out plan of Government. People say to "let market forces have their way" would be unspeakable. But others say that nothing we do now, even this massive bail out plan of lending institutions, will even work in the long run. I cannot even fathom how an additional half a trillion dollar government expenditure will affect our solvency as a government. What Obama needs to do is start naming names of the most culpible people who deserve to be in jail. I don't know why O J Simpson is walking around free with all his millions that he owes to the Browns and Goldmans. Maybe we should bring back debtors prison. What we do know is that Mc Cain is almost an architypal "crook" that whatever mess we're in mow will only get worse with Mc Cain as president. We will be going from the frying pan into the fire on so many levels. In fact, Mc Cain is probably guilty of stuff right now that he could be thrown in jail for. Obama has to get really specific and spell out all of the nitty gritty detales of this financial mess and start naming names and dates and places and pointing fingers- - if he ever expects to win the White House.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
A QUESTION OF JUDGEMENT
A lot of us lately have had a "Come to Jesus" moment when it comes to the economy lately. We realize without the intervention of some Higher Power we cannot help ourselves. This is now the case with the national economy. But as Jimmy Stewart says in the movie "Actually, it's just money that we've loaned to ourselves". We should think of yesterday's intervention as a "United we stand; divided we fall" type of thing. The government has intervened in a massive way to buy up all these shakey mortgage loans which are themselves bought and sold like comodities. Only now you can pick them up for pennies on the dollar. If the mortgages do not default, they will be worth a whole lot more than that in money markets, and the tax payers rather be on the hook for that money might actually see a profit in the coming future. President Bush knew that he had to act soon. Candidate Obama has pointed to various proposals he's made in preceeding years which, he would have it, if they were followed we wouldn't be in the crisis we're in now. Seeing it is how it's "money we owe ourselves" another thing to keep in mind is "There for the grace of God go you and I". But the thing is if these big lending institutions like Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley go under, we will all suffer in the wake of their destrutions as the waves ripple out. You know that. Johnny Wendell was saying "perhaps a bad recession wouldn't be such a bad thing". As exhibit A against Johnny's notion I give you the plot to "Sunset Boulivard". You remember when that William Holdman character was told by his agent "The best thing that could happen to you now is to lose your car. That way you'd be forced to sit behind a typewriter and come up with something decent". If you've seen the movie you realize "It didn't work out that way". Some advice deserves to be tossed in the waste basket two seconds later. There is such a thing as "The urgency of Now". We are living with the urgency of Now, with the national economy. Help has to be timely or it will be useless. You know the addage, 'A stitch in time saves nine". You don't wait till your car is smoking before taking it to a mechanic. If you do it may already be too late. If you're an Obama fan you think like Mal Evans (who died in Jan. 1976) who says that the government should let the free market prevail and let the chips fall where they may and let each rich person suffer according to his own karma. Johnny Wendell may think a recession is a nice "time to take a vacation" or something or to "reorder the priorities on your life" but the fact is if these people really had their ear to the ground they would have done what I recomended a couple posts back and start buying up stocks at these low rates and get real bargains. Also my judgement was sound in saying that now is a time to sell or short oil futures. Just think how rich I'd be if I had money.
Judgement is also a factor with Obama and Mc Cain on how they conduct their campaigns. At the end of the day it's a good thing to say "I backed the right horse; I bet on a winner". Obama for one can't say that when it comes to success or lack thereof of the Surge in Iraq in 2007. I said in February 2007 on "Man's misguided guest to be God" that I thought the surge would work. My big problem with it was that apparently the move bypassed congress. I would hope none of us would wish failure on the other political party just to further our own success. If you are you are not being a Christian, and I recomend you see your local pastor and have a talk with him about it. When we hit the top of the oil futures market, I said so. I think it's just wrong and probably unpatriotic to wish failure in Iraq on our troops just to further your own political aims. There is one Bible passage against the "Nya- - Nya- - " people pertaining to the nation of Edom, who taunted Israel when they were "getting it". As the following editorial states- - Obama's rather bull headed stance on the subject of the Surge of 2007 is a major area where he exercised faulty judgement.
We need to keep the people of Houston and Galviston in prayer. Over half the people in that area are still without power, and some in Galviston may not have electric power for weeks. Kids can't even attend school. People's travel is restricted and people in Galviston who were evacuated are not allowed to return to their homes.
A friend of mine who gave me a loan of more money than I expected today had an anti gay flyer. There are a number of points that merit repeating. Marriage is not just for the couple themselves, but for society as a whole, with the knowledge that kids will be raised in a proper environment. As Hillary's book states "It takea a village". If just isn't the parents but a whole neighborhood that determines how moral a kid will turn out. Also marriage protects women. It does this by saving them from man's more beastly instincts, because some men would "accumulate" wives only to either ignore them or abuse them, and in the end society would not be served.
Here is the editorial that has been edited with one sentense added, and you smart ones should be able to find that one with no problem at all.
Mr. Obama's "new kind of politics" - which was based on telling the truth, being a principled politician and treating one's opponents fairly - collapsed once he secured the nomination in June. He reversed course with dizzying speed on NAFTA, FISA, public financing of campaigns, whether the D.C. gun ban was constitutional, meeting with rogue leaders without preconditions and the unity of Jerusalem. He even qualified his Iraq policy by stating it would be "refined" according to "conditions on the ground." Most recently, in light of the economic downturn, Mr. Obama stated he might reconsider implementing the tax increases in his economic plan.
Mr. Obama appeared authentic during the Democratic campaign as a liberal champion: In running to the left of Hillary Clinton, he was passionate, fiery and convincing. Yet since his mad dash to the center, he appears uncomfortable: He stammers and stutters in response to questions rather than speaking forthrightly. The polished, Ivy League-educated senator now uses "folksy" expressions. This downhome speaking manner is geared toward attracting white, blue collar voters - and is not in consonance with his impeccable oratory. He is now packaged and artificialAnd that ain’t no way to win no campaign no-how.
Mr. Obama stated that voters need not be spooked by his thin foreign-policy resume, but should look to his judgment. These statements were cheered throughout the primaries when the Iraq war was going badly. But once the surge succeeded, Mr. Obama has been unable to convince Americans that his judgment is in fact sound.
For weeks, Mr. Obama refused to acknowledge the success of the surge. Now, he acknowledges it at last, but still does not admit that he was initially wrong in his opposition. Clearly, his judgment on foreign affairs is often overcome by prejudices or expediency. Again, he set the terms of the debate and then failed his own test.
Many voters and critics are still asking: Who is Mr. Obama? He has told us who he is through his record and deeds: a liberal politician who will abandon all his principles at the drop of a hat in order to be elected. This is not new or fresh: It is precisely the "failed policies of the past" that he brilliantly identified, but cannot surmount.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
WHO CAN YOU BELIEVE IN?
There is just too much chaos today to get all the information in one posting. Thom Hartman is talking about all the other government bail outs of people and corporations that is going on. Either the tax payers will have to pay for all these bail outs now, or else our children and grandchildren will have to pay for them. Governor Swartzenegger is in the news afresh now because he plans to veto the hard fought and heavily wrangled over state budget hammered out by our state legeslature. Even though the current bill contains no borrowing, and the dreaded one cent sales tax is not included, still Swartzenegger plans to veto this bill because it over-withholds people's state incom taxes, and it also dips into the "rainy day fund" for reasons our governor does not consider valid. What this means is that even if the democrats should successfully override the veto- - Swartzenegger still says he plans to veto every other spending bill associated with this budget bill so that our state government will be in a state of continuous chaos. As such there are moves afresh to recall this governor, the same way we recalled Governor Gray Davis before him.
There are certain economic statistics the media isn't telling us. I've heard from one source on the radio that our federal budget deficet is now projected to be over five hundred billion for this year. I never heard that. Certainly such a high figure should be a fair topic for our current political debate as to whether we should raise or lower taxes. Another statistic I've still never heard is the one that says we have spent two consecutive down quarters as far as corporate earnings is concerned. So far they will not even acknoledge that the G N P has gone down one bit. The government is still calling what we're in as a "slow down" rather than a full blown recession. I would only imagine that somewhere down the line before November the truth about this economy has to come out. If you looking for economic advice from me right now, my advice is to buy Gold because I think you'll find todays rates will turn out to be a bargain looking back from a year from now. If the democrats want to play a little dirty all they have to do is play the fear card and say "If the Republicans get elected your social security and medicare coverage is in grave jeopardy". There are so many old people who vote, as well as those near retirement, certainly accusing Mc Cain of wanting to privitize health coverage and social security are safe cards to play.
What they are saying now is that oil prices will continue to decline till the day after the November election, and from that day on, President elect Mc Cain will laugh in everyone's face as prices climb to new highs. There is talk that the "trooper gate" scandal they are investigating now with Gov. Palin, will be put on hold till after the November election so that "bias" is not introduced into the campaign. Of course if the Republicans win the investigation will never be held. Now I hear that Palin was lying about something else. She's saying something went wrong with the tele-prompter during her concention speech. Now the democrats are saying the tele-prompter was working just fine and that she made the whole thing up.
Thom Hartman reminds is that "the surge in Iraq is working" because we are paying people in Anwar privince not to shoot at us, but "If we don't get out of the country soon they're going to start shooting at us again anyhow". Meanwhile in Pakistan they have said they will not allow U S incursions over the Pakistani border in pursuit of Al Qaida. Meanwhile there was that Sixty Minutes feature that stated that the Afghanis hate the United States now more than they hated Russian troops who occupied their country because of all the people we have wantonly killed, and that the Russians were more humane. I'm just saying that the perverbial "rug" we are shoving everything under, is getting mighty lumpy. One wonders when there is a day of reconing when all the dirty secrets of the Bush Adminestration will come to light.
OK folks, I think I've found the loophole I was looking for in my prayer to God last May 23rd. I was going to reproduce the text here but let's just say one line that struck my fancy was "We need Obama nominated so as to give the American people a real choice in November". I thought if the American People had a choice they would go for Obama in droves. God proved me wrong. God made a fool of me. Part of my deal with God was to defend and preach Christianity and to defend anyone who calls themself a Christian whether I liked them or not. Let me ask you something. Do you believe God knows what is in our hearts? Despite text on a page, do you think God was smart enough to know "what I meant" by my saying I wanted to be involved in the preaching of Christianity and defending it? Jesus on the radio once said "If there is a church filled with flakes and hypocrites, you should join it and change it for the better" - - and perhaps lend it credibility. My hope and prayer was that if I were involved in the preaching of Christianity, I could preach it right and not from the corrupt motives of others. But how can my voice compete with Sarah Palin? Millions upon millions of people see her and her life and her phoney veneer and hypocricy and lack of believability. How can a "vessel" like her restore credibility to Christianity? She is making things worse at a far faster rate than any blog of mine could hope to make things better. People will look at her life and deeds and conclude "I knew Christians were a bunch of flakes and Sarah Palin is my proof". Can I not come back to God and accuse him of malfeasence or "bad faith" in executing my prayer?
Much of what we know about Catholic Popes including Pope Pious I, who was the nineth pope, comes to us from a book compiled in the middle ages called "The history of the Popes" (in Latin) As such the excommunacation date of Martion at 144 AD is probably from this book written centuries later, some say by Jerome. We know now that not only is "The Christmas story" omitted from Marcion's scripture, but also any reference to the second coming of Christ. I find this amazing. Could my own "theatrical fantasy" of weeks ago be truer than I dared believe? That the "second coming" portions of scripture were about someone besides Jesus who spoke of The Son of Man in the 3rd Person, perhaps John the Baptist? One of these passages I have always been fond of. Where there is the saga of the unfaithful survant, who eats, drinks, and parties and doesn't do his job but instead beats up and mistreats his fellow survants. What will the son of man do with such a survant when he comes? How would Mc Cain stack up here? (Let us meditate on this truth now- - - )
I have believed there is a Rat on the premises here. Someone hired by my brother of the female perswasion. I won't narrow it down further than that, who reports everything I do such that when I talk to my brother he is forearmed with a version of "the truth" told by someone else, whom he believes more than me. People from the Federation such as Stewart Sutcliffe say this person is culpable, and not to trust her or give her any amunition. When you suspect a Rat, their every action and glance you view in a different light- - "forearmed" with what they are really thinking.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
AWASH IN RED INK
Well, if I had been playing the market my instincts would have been good. I was thinking when the market was down "just" 69 points this morning that it was a pretty good time to step up and scoop up real bargains in the market. The market closed up over 140 points. Commentators were saying how the market was bearing up well today under the recent pressures. As you know, the bull is dead. Mayrol Lynch was bought out by the Bank of America, and Lehman Brothers went under. Now there was the question whether A I G insurance would survive. I was thinking that the government, despite what politicians of both parties were saying, would end up being bailed out by the government, and that is just what happened. A I G was another one of those companies that's "too big to fail". Of course what nobody wants to see is someone like Sarah Palin shooting her mouth off about the economy, something she obviously knows nothing about. If she did she wouldn't have left the city she was Mayor of in hock for twenty million dollars for that ice rink. She is the queen of payola and ear marks. Mc Cain is part of the Keating five, so he is in no position to comment on the economy either. But what we have seen lately is the disappearence of Joe Biden. When he was chosen I thought "Well, the Democrats have got themselves a real attack dog now, something that Obama is weak in". But instead we hear from Rush Limbaugh of all people that Biden's press plane is virtually empty because nobody cares what he is doing or saying. We have to remember that it will be Biden that takes on Palin in their debate. Mc Cain will have to go it alone in his debate with Obama. Now we hear that the "contract" or agreement on the debates is kept strictly secret and the agreement will not be made known to the public. We know the candidates will not be allowed to address each other directly. Rush Limbaugh has a point in saying without taking risks there is no responsability. But it's the really big corporations that neither take risks nor assume responsability when the bottom falls out of the market. Many born again Christians speak of themselves as being above any risk of failure. Like some cosmic hand has personally assured their prosperity. And as you know there are no bigger cowards as far as taking any risks is concerned, than a born again Christian. The connection here is that some people are willing to "play the game fair and square" while others cheat. The facts are that America's economy is fundamentally unsound because it's built primarily on debt and speculation, rather than an honist day's work. We in America don't "produce anything" any more. We just shuffle paper around. With all due respect, people like Rush Limbaugh have no idea what it's actually like to work for a living. He doesn't even serve his public but is a shill for the corporate big interests. If we want to bring back values, we should do that. And the first step is getting someone as president and Vice President who aren't in their hearts fundamentally crooks.
You know I was praising God the night Obama was nominated. But since then things have done nothing but go down hill. Sarah Palin is the biggest nightmare ever to hit the political scene. She possesses everything we would NOT want in any political states person. I can't but help think her spell over the American public is going to end soon. When I made my famous deal with "God" back on May 23rd. I really bought a pig in a poke. Of all the deals I have offered God why did he pick this "fleece" to honor? I didn't even ask that Obama win in November but only that me be nominated by his party, a fact that was almost a certainty anyway as of May 23rd. Of course Sarah Palin has her religious faith in the Assembly of God. But it's a heretical offshoot that was declaired heretical in 1949 thanks I'd guess to its "dominion theology". Remember this couple is a member of an Alaska secessionist group, too. Obama in any other year would be ahead 80% to 20% by now. That's how fundamentally bad this ticket is. But the American public is fundamentally stupider than anyone dared guess. So instead the media has their "horse race".
There is something I learned in psychology about a child of three or four going through the "imprinting" stage where he can be "warped for life" or whatever. We see this in politics now. If you were to ask a grade school kid how long Sarah Palin has been in the public eye, I bet few would say "only two & a half weeks". My guess is they'd say "Oh - five years or something". Yet we are all imprinted to think Sarah Palin is some established "standard" in politics. You get the same thing in religion where at some point- - I'm guessing after the Second Jewish Revolt of 135 AD, that people "got over their shock of the event" and invented Christianity, and having invented it they chose to give it immortality so they "cannonized it" and declared its writings sacred- - such that the "profundity" of these events around this time- - that no future event in the history of the world could ever be deemed worthy to compete with it. I hope this isn't the case with Sarah Palin. How interesting that Bob Woodward's book knew nothing of Sarah Palin. If he had known I suppose (I speak in jest now) that he would have spent at least a third of his book "answering her political charges". No doubt Bob Woodward expected when his book came out it'd be given a lot more press than it's gotten, which is almost none. Bush would be on the mat hanging from the ropes about to go down for the count. But as in the case of the Jews in 135 AD, it's likewise with George Bush now. A negative is turned into a positive. Now Mc Cain bills himself as "something new" and a "mavorick". He is anything but, with his 90% record voting with Bush. But the American People are so completely stupid they can be sold this pig in a poke and eagerly buy the product.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Johnny Wendell had it as his topic this morning the idea that a John Mc Cain victory in November may in the end not be such a bad thing. It's pointed out that this economic mess we're in as a nation now is only going to continue to get worse and worse. Loan companies won't be in a lending mood any time soon, and as long as they are tight with a buck, this period of economic constriction is only going to continue. People forget that pre Palin, the slogan among democrats was voting for Mc Cain would mean a third George Bush term. What if that became a reality? Wendell argues that this would only be fitting that Mc Cain would inheret the economic mess that Bush created. Of course he'd have to face a more stridently democratic congress and senate thest next two years. And in the year 2010 there's another election and by that time almost two thirds of the senate could be democratic. This would really be a good time to impeach and convict Mc Cain and remove him from office then and he'd go down in disgrace like no President has before him. Perhaps at that time we could impeach Palin, too. Wendell believes that in terms of programs the President wants, the next congress would not be at all cooperative with a President Mc Cain. This would extend to their choice for supreme court justice. It's pointed out that whoever is President next year will in the end be taking blame for the recession be it Mc Cain or Obama, much as Nixon was eventually saddled with the Viet Nam War. Of course you know, don't you that it was Johnson who privitized the Fanny Maes and Freddy Macs in 1968 to conceil the cost of the Viet Nam war that was ballooning our deficet. This enabled Johnson to go out with a surplus his last year of fiscle 1969. People are bothered because the government appears to be bailing out Fanny Maes and Freddy Macs but in reality they never should have been pritivized to begin with and we'd never have the problems we have now. Whoever is president next year will have to raise taxes, and I think even Mc Cain will see that raising taxes is the only pragmatic thing to do. On the other hand if Obama wins this year, Wendell believes that Sarah Palin will be nominated for president in 2012 and win. I don't see that happening but Johnny does. Personally I think this "rope a dope" stratigy has its limits.
The other big item of news now is this new wave of Caging that's going on all over the country. Mc Cain's forces are having absentee ballots sent to people likely to vote for Obama as President. But there is a wrong address or the wrong city office is referenced. The idea is they hope voters will ignore these mailings and so their names can be crossed off the voter rolls. The media is trying to keep it a close race so that they can maximize their ratings. Of course we all saw Sarah Palin's performance on ABC news the other night. She couldn't answer a basic question like to comment on the Bush doctrine. This is the doctrine of anticipatory attack against a nation. Did you also note how eager Sarah Palin was to be President? She apparently didn't bat an eye when asked to be on the Presidential ticket with Mc Cain. There are roomers that she wasnt even on Mc Cain's top ten choices but that some "guiding hand" picked her. Of course you know that the way the media works now is they don't ask the hard questions any more because the candidate will never come back to that program again but go somewhere where they ask her soft ball questions. There is no news divisions any more, only "info-tainment". KABC doesn't mind showing us a train wreck for over an hour straight with no commercial breaks. Yet all that time we didn't even know basic facts like how fast the trains were going, how many were on the train, or what kind of fuel was that that exploded. Neither did we have much information on the percent of the people who were injured. If they could cover that story for over an hour straight with no break- - what if that time were spent telling us some new medical or scientific discovery or some new computer program- - or having political dialog of some sort of grilling a politician with questions? That hour (and it was probably more) could have been used for all sorts of things instead of consigning us to twenty second sound bites. Essencially all they had was "fill" material all that time. You know what that's like.