Due Process
When did we decide as a country that our principles only apply to American citizens. We promote democracy and rule of law all over the globe, witness Iraq, at least with our tongues and guns. But someone that is expected of terrorism, does not deserve Due Process of Law according to Jehovah Bush. This applies to U.S. and British citizens, and of course, to all the secondary citizens in our holy empire that belong to countries of less importance, e.g., Pakistan for instance. I pick Pakistan since I know someone from there that ended up in prison for two years without Due Process of Law. He was never charged with any offense and was then released. No sorry-we-did-that, we-ruined-your-life, but-it-was-for-a-noble-cause --excuse, or anything similar. He WAS well off and could almost afford spending a few hundred thousand on lawyers that could do nothing, since he did nothing, and was charged with nothing, but simply held in prison, by Jehovah Bush who thought he was of the right color and ethnicity to be suspect. All of his family had American citizenship, so of course, they were not suspect visa-vie our nobility and high principles.
Of course, we set the stage with the way we handle the drug-war and income taxes, where the Government has extraordinary powers to protect us from ourselves and condemn any mere mortal without due process. Did you see that story on 60 Minutes this week where a guy was put in prison for using too many pain pills (and allegedly trafficking in drug sales) for a severe back injury? The government decided, and convinced a jury, that he could not take as many pain pills as he bought although after three months of surveillance they could not find any evidence to support this assumption. Now, in prison for 25 years, he gets morphine on demand from Jehovah Bush. His wife and young children now love America.
A government taking power is nothing new. A people not fighting back when they are being destroyed (Jews) is nothing new. Declaring others to be evil and then killing or punishing them (Salem Witches) as part of a noble cause is nothing new. So why I am amazed that the American people do not get upset with the Patriot Act or Guantanamo Bay? We have no values other that consumption (as in consumerism). If it doesn’t impact the shopping mall, then who gives a shit. I guess I am the last radical who believes in Due Process on the planet. And, oh yea, the Democrats are taking a strong stand against these abuses and for Due Process of Law. Oh yea, I forgot, they might lose a vote if they said a suspected terrorist should get Due Process of Law. Standing up for something and losing their meal ticket is expecting too much. And American, once was GREAT.
Do you believe everyone on our planet is our brother? If so, how do we make laws and policies that help our brother? How do we need to change our thinking to lift the boats of all brothers?
Monday, January 30, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
American Values
American Values
What is the number one American value? I don’t want lip service here. What do our actions say the number one value is in America. How do we judge each other. Nothing noble here. Raw reality. Some hints?
When we judge a career, what is the first thing we say about it?
What is the number one activity in America?
Where do teenagers spend their time?
What do teenagers want to wear?
The number one value in America is the acquisition of wealth. Look up “The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition” on the Internet. They pretty much describe American actions, policies and inclinations. How is the religion of acquisition practiced by the masses? Consumerism. It is what makes us tick. We are what we acquire, and with that I agree, sadly.
What is the number one American value? I don’t want lip service here. What do our actions say the number one value is in America. How do we judge each other. Nothing noble here. Raw reality. Some hints?
When we judge a career, what is the first thing we say about it?
What is the number one activity in America?
Where do teenagers spend their time?
What do teenagers want to wear?
The number one value in America is the acquisition of wealth. Look up “The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition” on the Internet. They pretty much describe American actions, policies and inclinations. How is the religion of acquisition practiced by the masses? Consumerism. It is what makes us tick. We are what we acquire, and with that I agree, sadly.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
The End of Easy Street
The End of Easy Street
Few people seem to have noticed that 2005 was a land mark year. No, it wasn't something that Bush did. It was the first time since oil became a major fuel that we did not discover more oil than we used. Many believe that we are at the peak of world production of oil. Most believe everyone is pumping all they have. Oil production from a well follows a bell-shaped curve. Sum all the curves for each well together and you have the world production also following a bell shaped curve (with a few bumps).
But, guess what? It may be happening in other commodities. Copper for instance. Prices are at the $2/lb level, double the ten year average. Ore quality is dropping and new projects are coming on slowly and are of general poorer quality than existing mines. Yea, there are still some places like Zambia and Zaire that have it good deposits that are not being exploited. But there are places like the Garfield Smelter in Utah where they are spending hundreds of millions to just get another ten years of life out of the mine.
Add China to the equation. If they keep growing like they have for the last ten years then there isn't enough oil and copper in the known Universe to make it happen. So, what gives. Couple that with the U.S. government and people borrowing money to feed their addictions, i.e., consumerism and the Chinese loosing control on their currency (albeit gradually) and diversifying to other currencies in their reserves .... duu? Not enough hints? Where is the U.S. dollar going? The only thing keeping it a float at the moment is that it is the world currency. So, if it loses value everyone in the known Universe loses. But, at some point, Bush and Congress will spend enough that even the Chinese will not be able to prop it up and simultaneously buy energy and copper, etc.
Where is all this leading. The end of cheap energy and commodities will impact those that consume more than their share.... the U.S. with 5% of the world population consumes 25% of the world energy. It is not a done deal that the U.S. can't respond, but we are at the back of the pack and twenty horses are rounding the final turn in front of us. Seabiscuit would have had trouble coming back. Yes, weare not in front anymore. I ramble.
If any economy and any people in the world can rally and change the outcome it's us.... greedy Americans. But, at the moment we are diverted on killing children in Pakistan to get a terrorist and a million other worthless and even wrong endeavors while we are being blind sided by some serious changes in the world economy. It may very well be that the U.S. life style has peaked, the lifestyle based on cheap energy and unlimited resources.
Few people seem to have noticed that 2005 was a land mark year. No, it wasn't something that Bush did. It was the first time since oil became a major fuel that we did not discover more oil than we used. Many believe that we are at the peak of world production of oil. Most believe everyone is pumping all they have. Oil production from a well follows a bell-shaped curve. Sum all the curves for each well together and you have the world production also following a bell shaped curve (with a few bumps).
But, guess what? It may be happening in other commodities. Copper for instance. Prices are at the $2/lb level, double the ten year average. Ore quality is dropping and new projects are coming on slowly and are of general poorer quality than existing mines. Yea, there are still some places like Zambia and Zaire that have it good deposits that are not being exploited. But there are places like the Garfield Smelter in Utah where they are spending hundreds of millions to just get another ten years of life out of the mine.
Add China to the equation. If they keep growing like they have for the last ten years then there isn't enough oil and copper in the known Universe to make it happen. So, what gives. Couple that with the U.S. government and people borrowing money to feed their addictions, i.e., consumerism and the Chinese loosing control on their currency (albeit gradually) and diversifying to other currencies in their reserves .... duu? Not enough hints? Where is the U.S. dollar going? The only thing keeping it a float at the moment is that it is the world currency. So, if it loses value everyone in the known Universe loses. But, at some point, Bush and Congress will spend enough that even the Chinese will not be able to prop it up and simultaneously buy energy and copper, etc.
Where is all this leading. The end of cheap energy and commodities will impact those that consume more than their share.... the U.S. with 5% of the world population consumes 25% of the world energy. It is not a done deal that the U.S. can't respond, but we are at the back of the pack and twenty horses are rounding the final turn in front of us. Seabiscuit would have had trouble coming back. Yes, weare not in front anymore. I ramble.
If any economy and any people in the world can rally and change the outcome it's us.... greedy Americans. But, at the moment we are diverted on killing children in Pakistan to get a terrorist and a million other worthless and even wrong endeavors while we are being blind sided by some serious changes in the world economy. It may very well be that the U.S. life style has peaked, the lifestyle based on cheap energy and unlimited resources.
The Great Wall of Mexico
The Great Wall of Mexico
There is a lot of fuss about the security of the Mexican Border. Why is there a problem? Duu? Because Mexican workers need jobs and we need Mexican workers. And, because our policies don’t allow this to happen.
What about American workers losing their jobs. There are two parts to this. One is the last legitimate prejudice in the world. You are allowed to be prejudice against someone because of where they are born. You may support policies that embody this prejudice and still be an okay person. Well, not in my book. At best you can be misguided. A child born in Mexico, on the south side of the Rio Grande, deserves a job just as much as one born on the north side of the river. Period. The only question is how to make it happen. Anything that moves away from this principal is being prejudice against someone because of his or her place of birth. Nationalist is very close in principal to racism.
Second, U.S. workers are losing jobs. But, it will happen whether or not the Mexicans are involved. See China. See India. Wakeup, smell the competition. If the U.S. wants to stay on top of the food chain, then learn one word: Education. Mexico doesn’t matter much in the bigger picture. It is called, watched my lips, G..L..O..B..A…L..A..Z..A..T…I…O…N. Globalization, coming to a job near you. Couple that with the upcoming End of Cheap Energy and mission control, “We have a problem.” The Mexicans, the south-of-the-river people are as likely to be a part of this solution as north-of-the-river people.
There is a lot of fuss about the security of the Mexican Border. Why is there a problem? Duu? Because Mexican workers need jobs and we need Mexican workers. And, because our policies don’t allow this to happen.
What about American workers losing their jobs. There are two parts to this. One is the last legitimate prejudice in the world. You are allowed to be prejudice against someone because of where they are born. You may support policies that embody this prejudice and still be an okay person. Well, not in my book. At best you can be misguided. A child born in Mexico, on the south side of the Rio Grande, deserves a job just as much as one born on the north side of the river. Period. The only question is how to make it happen. Anything that moves away from this principal is being prejudice against someone because of his or her place of birth. Nationalist is very close in principal to racism.
Second, U.S. workers are losing jobs. But, it will happen whether or not the Mexicans are involved. See China. See India. Wakeup, smell the competition. If the U.S. wants to stay on top of the food chain, then learn one word: Education. Mexico doesn’t matter much in the bigger picture. It is called, watched my lips, G..L..O..B..A…L..A..Z..A..T…I…O…N. Globalization, coming to a job near you. Couple that with the upcoming End of Cheap Energy and mission control, “We have a problem.” The Mexicans, the south-of-the-river people are as likely to be a part of this solution as north-of-the-river people.
What It's About
What made America great? Do our values reflect a great country or one in decline? Is the Patriot Act something we should be proud of? How about the Great Wall of Mexico? How about the bombs we drop on Pakistan? What about our airports, safer or just for show? Are the elected parties (Democrat and Republican) there for us or just to hold onto power? How are we responding to a Global Market Place? Globalization? Foreign Competition? What values are we passing on to our children? Commercialization? How are we going to respond to the end of cheap energy? What do the new reality shows say of our collective consciousness? What about the war on Drugs? What about racism? What about nationalism? Affirmative action? The death of religion? These are a few subjects that I have an opinion on, stay tuned.
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