America, San Bernadino and Conspiracy

I was going to begin a series of blogs on the fear that seems to be driving our Nation, but I need to say something about our latest nightmare, the San Bernadino shooting. I knew before I looked that by this morning, not 24 hours later, cries of conspiracy would be hitting the Internet. Sure enough, this morning, Alex Jones and others are crying 'false flag' and saying that this is a set up by the Government to  push gun control.                               

First, let's get the definition of conspiracy clear. If I sit with a friend and plan to get together for lunch, we, by definition, have 'conspired' to have lunch. The word does not imply any great evil. It just means to plan with someone. You can conspire to buy food for hungry people or to create a new drug to treat cancer. It is human nature to conspire, after all we are social creatures.

As far as all of the various conspiracies that have been explored by various 'fringe' writers, I have little doubt that most are true, in a way. People talk about all sorts of nonsense and seldom is any of that idiocy put into action. Some is, and here things get sticky.

Yes, there are people who are trying, and have tried for years, to take control of the World, and yes, they have implemented many plans, with varying degrees of success. Some of those plots have been carried out and they have been horrific. Government documents have been found that clearly, with no room for doubt, show that the Powers that Be, the World's power elite, pushed us into WW1and backed Hitler financially and continued doing business with the little madman even after the war started.  We know that Government officials have been involved in smuggling heroin and cocaine into the US and we know that they pursued many ways to gain control over the human mind during the CIA's despicable, nightmarish MKUltra program.

So, it is possible that last night's tragedy is part of a Government plot to cause panic and raise the fear level to a breaking point. When that point is reached, many will be glad to hand over their guns and several of their Civil Rights, That may be. It might work.

But, at this point, all is conjecture. We know almost nothing. There may be some who know what happened, but they're not talking. It is obvious that these were not just disgruntled employees gone postal. The plan was too perfect and too perfectly executed. Besides, how many folks keep a stash of rifles, handguns, full body armor and pipe bombs laying around the house. This was planned and planned well, but by who, we don't know. It is not out of the realm of possibility that this is but a small part of a much larger plan designed to take away more and more of our rights.

Or, not. This could be just an aberration, one of those weird things that happens. But, even if it is, the Powers will try to use the chaos and the resulting fear to their advantage.

The sane response is to say, 'we don't know,' and then wait as the facts emerge, if they ever do, We may never know just what happened. But, we can definitely pay attention to how this tragedy is manipulated by those in power, and resist their efforts to tighten the noose they already have around the Bill of Rights. In short, just stay cool, watch what happens and don't let anything that happens  throw you into a state of panic.                                                  

American Business - The Great Scam

 In my blog on TV, I touched upon the fact that the networks keep dredging up cheap, sorry reality shows, half-witted comedies, and, on many of the cable networks, endless reruns of old programs and a constant stream of a limited number of bad movies, and suggested that if we turned them off, sponsors would cancel, and they would have to change their routines. I then realized that maybe they wouldn't do that at all, that maybe, they didn't always care about money.

Now, I know that makes no sense, on the surface, but stay with me. Every year, this country does around 60 billion dollars business in illegal drugs and all of that money has to be laundered. Without going through all of the steps invloved, suffice it to say, that often, the best way to do that is to borrow good money from banks, keep that, and dump the illegal funds on the open market. You cannot spend the tainted money without the cops, the DEA  and IRS getting a bit too nosy, so why care if you lose it. You have replaced it with clean money.

The more you have, the easier it is to get bank loans, so. you create businesses, get your loan, and spend the bad cash without thought. Again, if you lose it, who cares. Heck, you can even use some to pay back that bank loan. If it seems complicated it is, but big time criminals can hire accountants who can manipulate that money better that David Copperfield can manipulate a deck of cards.

Look around when you travel your town and pay close attention every time you go out. Go to a local mall a few times and look at the little stores, not the big-box stores like Target, but the little boutiques and specialty shops. You will be amazed at how few customers ever go in them. There is no way possible that they are making enough to pay the lease on the store, their utilities, their employees, insurance, and taxes.  They cannot be making enough to justify restocking the shelves on the rare occasions they actually sell something. The story often told is that they make all of their money during the holidays, but just take a look around mid-December. Those stores may get a few browsers and make a sale or two, but, as folks are loading their cars to leave the mall, you will see that most of the bags are from the big name store.

Why, you might ask, would such a thing be allowed to go on? Good question, and here's the answer. Leaving aside talk of such nasty things as bribes, payoffs and blackmail, the economy cannot afford to have all of that drug money pulled out. If suddenly, law enforcement put a stop to all drug trafficking or the Nation was swept with some sort of anti-drug religious fervor, and all of that trade money disappeared, the economy would be stunned. Collapse would be too strong of a word, but businesses would stagger and reel a bit, and many would suffer greatly until the ship could be righted.

This, I believe, is one reason you see so many stores that just don't seem to care about attracting and keeping customers. They don't have to.

America's Young Workers

I would like to say something nice about young, working people. I have worked aroound a few and noticed something interesting, a new approach. I was brought up to believe that after trying a few jobs and goofing around a little, you had to settle into a job and stay there, slowly moving up the ladder by working as hard as you can. I did just that and after over 20 years and enough hard work to cause a lot of damage to my body, the job fell apart and I was out. I discovered that my long term loyalty was not appreciated as time and time again prospective employers said that having only one job they could call for reference was no good. I pointed out that it showed stability and hard work, but, no.

I then drifted from little job to little job finally settling in a terrible job that had one advantage, stability, so I stayed. We all got a twenty-five cent a year raise and each raise brought more and more demands. I finally broke down physically and was forced to take early retirement Social Security. But, this isn't sbout me.

I have seen young folks in minimum wage, dead end jobs and they refuse to take them as any more than that. They show up, do a reasonable amount of work, with a reasonably decent attitude and when the boss gets too demanding, which they always seem to do, they just leave. No emotions, no attachment and no stress, and that is a realistic approach.

But, when you talk to them, you find that many of them, many, are studying, working on projects and thinking of new ideas for businesses and, when they feel ready, they have no qualms about giving it a go. Do they all succeed? Of course not, but even when these ventures fail, they cheerfully walk away ready to revise the plan and start over or to try a new plan. And, they do sometimes succeed, always because they thought up a new product, service, or approach to business that works.

Of course this does not apply to all young people, some truly are just dull clods, just as many older workers are, but it seems that more and more, behind that face saying, "you want fries with that?" there is a mind that is planning and scheming. To those, I have two bits of advice. First, stay fearless and keep at it. Two, be careful at that little stop gap job you have; those bruises and sprains you get when you're twenty come back and bite you in later years. Whatever happens, don't give up and don't give in to the pressure to take the easy way.

America _ Liberally Conservative

Americans are sometimes said to be conservative, but I don't think that is exactly accurate. I find us to be liberally conservative and that is not as contradictory as it sounds. We are more than willing to change, we simply want a good reason to do so.

We are certainly not reactionary. I know few who want a return to gas lights and horse drawn carriages. No one in their right mind wants a return to the days of unfetterd capitalism and the days of the great Robber Barons, the days of no labor laws and guys who would not hesitate to have a few heads broken if you objected to their policies. Having written that, I realize that there are  a few who do want that, but they are blessedly a minority and definitely not in their right minds.

Socially, we have become very tolerant and, again with some exceptions, we have no desire to return to the days of Jim Crow laws and no desire to heap abuse on gay people. And, again, blessedly, the days when men wanted women, as the old saying went, 'pregnant, barefoot and in the kitchen' are gone. If there are still any males looking for that, they are apt to be quite lonely because women will not put up with it.

On the other hand, we like our change slow and will reject anything that makes no sense. We insist on having a bit of time to adjust and think things through and we always reserve the right to change back to old ways if the evidence begins to show that the change was a bad idea.

This is why I think we have to have some knowledge of the past. This gives some grounding, a way to compare old and new. I will give a simple example, something silly. Years ago, Coke came out with a new version, which was awful, and folks rejected it. Coke brought back the old version, calling it 'Classic Coke' and we responded well. Something new was tried and we chose the old. However, had the new been better, we would have readily embraced the change. This is what I mean by liberally conservative; we will change,but with a good reason.

I find myself leaning toward older music, books and movies. This is not because I am a dinosaur stuck in the past. It is just because I find little of worth in the modern popular arts. I am of the belief that this is because artists no longer bother to learn the basics, the old styles, and have nothing to build on. As a result, the arts of today, for the most part, are just airy fluff, no substance, no depth. I wish I was wrong about this and I do try listening to current music, reading new authors, and watching current movies and, with a rare exception here and there, I find nothing of value.

Again, change is great, but one thing you learn with age is that you simply cannot build something unique and new. All that we are, all that we create or build carries the past with it, the countless years of work and study and experiment. It is useless to ignore that framework. It is equally useless to try to cling to that past. Grow by building on the foundations of the old. Remember Isaac Newton's great line, "I stand on the shoulders of giants." Also remember that the past didn't hold Newton captive. Move forward with the help of those past giants.

American Sundays

Sunday morning is no time for such nonsense as politics and wars, so I just want to write about being human. At one time in this Country, Sundays were a special day, a day just to relax and be the wonderful human being that you are. We have lost something great in the last 40 years or so.

Few will believe this, except those of us who are old enough (I refuse to use the phrase 'baby boomers.' I loathe that phrase.), but there was a time when darn near everything was closed on Sunday. Grocery stores, gas stations and every sort of department store simply closed on Sunday. Most restaurants closed and the few that opened were open for only a few hours. Movies and golf courses were open , but not only were there no bars open, you could not find a place open to buy any alcohol. Even the local drug store was closed. The pharmacist did post an emergency number in the window, but anyone who called that number knew they had best be near death's door when they called.

Now, of course, this was a throw back to the old Blue Laws that attempted to legislate morality down to the least deed. They were absurd; it was surprising the Churches even let us go to the bathroom on Sunday, but by the time I am speaking of, while some of those laws were still on the books, no one paid attention to that. People just took Sundays off because it was a valued tradition.

We did, and still do, need a day off, a time to do just whatever we want to, even if that is sitting there staring off into space. In fact, that is sometimes a great idea. My Dad worked himself silly; 12 hour days, six days a week were not unheard of, 5 and a half days were usual, yet, nothing could keep him from his Sunday off and that was the attitude of most everyone I knew. It was a tradition, a wonderful one.

What did we do? Lots and nothing. Big breakfasts and hours of sipping coffee and reading the big, thick Sunday paper were frequent pastimes. Golf was a favorite recreation, or sometimes a movie. A huge Sunday dinner was a constant, as was visits to relatives, where hours were spent talking about nothing, just hanging out and enjoying being together. Ball games of various sorts were watched by most and kids gathered outside to play their own, scaled down versions of the Big Time games, (ever try playing baseball with 4 man teams; it will definitely keep you on your toes).

Rainy days were sometimes the best. There were still the big meals and visits to friends and family, but, rain gave everyone a good excuse to, at least for awhile, sit back, put their feet up and do as close to nothing as possible. Books were read, movies watched on TV, board games and card decks came out, and, more often that not, naps were taken. It was wonderful.

What of Church? Well, what of it? Some went, some didn't. Among those who went, I knew few who went out of any religious fervor. To most, it was a social event, sort of like a club meeting, and that's fine. Many who never attended Church had beliefs, they just didn't like the Churches. Again, that was and is fine. Everyone relates to what they consider the sacred in their own way.

I believe that the very act of taking a day and devoting it to remembering humanity, yours and that of others, is. in itself, a sacred act.

Today, it is a rarity to find a store closed on Sunday. Many, many people are out working as I write this and I sympathize with them, especially if they are old enough to remember the days when Sunday was something special.

America Loves Experts

I have touched on this before, but I can't get it off my mind. Day after day, as you watch news programming, you are confronted with an array of experts. They pose and pontificate and sagely nod at the cameras as they talk to the hosts about the woes of the world. Only one problem, they don't have a clue what they are talking about.

What proof do I have of that? Simple. They seldom get anything right Remember back to the days of George W. Bush, henceforth to be known in this blog as the Shrub. As he launched the attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan, talking head after talking head appeared to assure the American people that we would prevail and banish the evil doers in short order. 15 years later, we are still there, still fighting and watching lives destroyed by bombs and insurgency. The only difference is that we now are also involved in Syria.

We were told by countless medical experts a few years ago to get ready for a pandemic of H1N1 flu. A few cases showed up and proved to a very mild strain. Ebola was to be a scourge that would wipe out large chunks of Africa before turning to the US. It killed for a brief while and died out. More die in Africa from hideous tribal warfare than from disease. Sars was poised to spread from Asia to the west; it didn't.

On a less dire note, what we are supposed to eat and the foods we are to avoid changes on a regular basis. Coffee, alcohol, butter, milk, and red meat were all declared only slightly less toxic than arsenic; now, they are considered okay, at least until next weeks study. Water was declared the key and folks became obsessed with remaining hydrated, giving rise to the bizarre sight of people constantly strolling around with plastic water bottles. When I was young, we just had a drink before we left home and I don't recall to many people dying of dehydration. Now, the consensus is that too much water has become a real problem. Salt, which I truly thought would be banned, is now considered a necessity.

When we began to experience our deep economic collapse, back in the Shrub's day, financial experts said that while we were in a rough time, we certainly were not in a recession. They kept saying that, quite literally until the day the government said we were in a recession. "Hang onto your investments," they cried, as people lost their retirement funds. "The banks are sound," they assured, until said banks began whining for bailouts. When we bailed them out we were told that they would start immediately lending money and that would jump start the recovery. Instead they sat on the money and gave themselves enormous bonuses. (how you can get a bonus when your business almost failed is beyond me).We were assured that the housing bubble collapse was brief, as it kept worsening. "The economy has turned the corner," we were told, as unemployment continued to rise. The economy was declared sound even though jobs refused to reappear.

Why do we do it? Why do we sit and watch these idiots parade across the screen, day after day, spouting nonsense? Either these fools are deluded to the point of near psychosis or they are lying to push a point that they think will benefit themselves. Day after day, the news channels drag these numbskulls out and solemnly ask their expert opinions when, again, they are either compulsive liars or lost in Wonderland with Alice. These are people who have years of experience on top of years of study. How can they be so consistently wrong? And, more to the point, why do we Americans who have more good common sense in their little toes than these pundits do in their entire body, keep listening. Turn on the news, get the headlines, and if nothing of earth-shaking importance is going on, turn the news off. Play with the dog, read a book, go for a walk, just turn off the news. If you must keep the TV on, watch something more intellectual; I recommend SpongeBob Square Pants.

America and Donald Trump

I have recently been noticing a strange trend on the news. I really need to get away from watching the news, it is very bad for the psychic health, but I think this is both interesting and important. It seems that many in the media are daring to bring out the big guns and call Donald Trump a fascist. Now, the Donald is not my favorite person, but fascist is a) going too far and b) an incorrect use of the word. The word 'racist' is also showing up and one and two of our pompous pundits are cautiously using the word 'Nazi.'

Fascism is a specific ideology that places the entire function of the nation under the control of the state and corporations. All of the important aspects of life are controlled by the  industrial/government complex. To implement this policy, strict, very strict control is necessary, often including extreme surveillance, harsh punishment for dissenters, and strict education/indoctrination into the state agenda. Trump, to my knowledge has advocated none of these. He is pushing for surveillance of Muslims and mosques. Given the expansion of terrorism, this is just good sense; it would not seem useful to spy on Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. In addition, does any one believe for one moment that this is not being done already? Trump is simply saying what everyone is thinking.

Economically, Trump is not suggesting the state control of the economy. In fact, I have never heard him be anything but supportive of properly run small business. Socially, I have never heard him moralize, unless you call advocating the punishment of the violent and the criminal, moralizing. He does not seem to me to be especially bigoted. Yes, he has attacked the illegal Latin immigrants, but has spoke admirably of Latins who are here legally and are productive members of society. Honestly, I have never heard him make disparaging comments about Black people who are law abiding and hard working, although, like any sane person, he dislikes those who are destructive and parasitic.

Trump is a loud-mouth and a bit of a bully, of that I am convinced, but that is a far cry from being a racist, fascist, Nazi. He is certainly not politically correct, but neither am I. There is one aspect of his candidacy that I do find distressing. His populism could easily morph into demagoguery which can lead to disaster. First, the demagogue may become so enamored with his power that he seeks to expand into a sort of dictator. Second, those around the demagogue may, behind the scenes, co-opt his power and put it to their own use, leaving him as the figurehead for an agenda he had no intention of developing. So the candidacy of the Donald does have risks, but look at the alternative.

Hillary Clinton is an extension of old President Willie Clinton who was a forerunner of our current dunce, Barak Obama. This sleazy trio make a great pretense of being liberal but, if you look at their deeds and policies, you see a clear attempt to turn this Nation into a State and Corporate controlled  economy with all of us marching in lock step as good little cogs in the machine. Left in their hands, the Country will rapidly turn into an Orwellian nightmare, or will become a hotbed of revolution that would make our Founding Fathers take notice and while revolution always sounds grand and romantic, it is not. Necessary on occasion, but definitely to be avoided if possible. Do not allow that woman in the White House. For a detailed and frightening look at the history of the Liberal/Progressive agenda, I urge you to read Jonah Goldberg's book "Liberal Fascism."

Will I vote for Trump? Maybe, but not enthusiastically, and if he is elected I believe we will have to keep a very sharp eye on his actions. I would rather see a saner, calmer voice step forward, but I really don't see much hope of that and I, without exaggeration, would vote for Homer Simpson before I voted for Hillary.