Showing posts with label socialism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label socialism. Show all posts

Monday, May 27

Types of Government

Authoritarian Governments

Some governments are run by one powerful person or a small group of people in a country. These types of governments are called authoritarian because the people must serve the government. Because of this, authoritarian governments frequently do not respect the rights of individuals. Sometimes, an authoritarian government may give the appearance of being something other than authoritarian. For example, they may hold elections, but those in control of the government will make sure they keep the actual power. Before the United States was founded, most countries were ruled by authoritarian governments.


Nicolae CeauČ™escu was the dictator of Romania from 1965–89 (image courtesy Biography).
Democratic Governments

Not all governments are authoritarian. In some countries, the people decided that the government should serve the people instead of the other way around. These governments are called democracies. There are many different kinds of democracies; most are responsible for creating an environment that promotes the common good. The common good is the idea that governments can try to make decisions that help most of the people in the group. Within a democracy, who is authorized to make decisions, in what ways the government is responsible to the people, and the kinds of choices people have vary widely. In most democracies, the ideas of rights and liberties is important. A right is something a person should have access to just because they are human. A liberty is a form of freedom that no government should take from an individual. The rights a person has simply because they are human are called, “natural rights.” Democratic governments tend to respect individual rights and liberties to a greater degree than authoritarian governments. At times, democracies may not respect the rights of a minority group because they are designed to follow the will of the majority.


The Durant City Council is a representative democratic government body (image courtesy the City of Durant).

The US Constitution begins with the phrase, “We the People” to make clear that the people of the United States are where the government’s power lies, and that the government exists so that we can govern ourselves.


Students demand equality in Oklahoma, 1963 (20246.38.84.5, John Melton Collection, OHS).

Some governments are organized according to a set of rules that must be followed. The rules explaining how a government must operate are called a constitution. A constitution can also include protections for individual rights and liberties for all people, including minority groups. Governments that follow their constitution and laws closely respect the “rule of law.” Governments that follow the rule of law offer more protection for individuals because the decisions governments make have to be based on the rules. Another thing the rule of law introduces is the idea that there are some areas of life where the government cannot interfere. This idea is called “limited government.”

One way to understand “rule of law” is to think about your favorite sport: it has rules, right? You want to make sure the rules of the games are enforced fairly to all teams. This is also true of governments.

Another idea that some democracies consider important is the idea of equality. Many democracies will include in their constitutions that all people are equal and include rules to ensure that the people that run the government treat each person as having equal worth.
Monarchy

A monarchy is ruled by a hereditary leader, such as a king. Monarchies can be absolute, constitutional, or ceremonial. An absolute monarch controls the entire government; an example of this form of government is Saudi Arabia. A constitutional monarch has power and serves as the executive, but the constitution limits this power; Monaco has a constitutional monarchy. In a ceremonial monarchy, the monarch has very little power and performs ceremonial duties; Great Britain is an example of a ceremonial monarchy.


Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdul-Rahman al Faisal al Saud founded Saudi Arabia in 1932 (image courtesy History Today).
Dictatorship

A dictatorship is ruled by a group of people selected by one person. The people who run the government are responsible to the dictator and no one else. The country of Turkmenistan under Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow is a good example of a dictatorship. While the country has a constitution, a parliament, and elections, Berdimuhamedow is able to make changes to the rules as he wishes whenever he wants.


As of 2022, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow is the authoritarian leader of Turkmenistan (image courtesy Reuters).
Oligarchy

An oligarchy is ruled by a smaller group. There are many different kinds of oligarchies. In many places, the military holds the power. This type of government is called a stratocracy. Currently, Thailand is a country under military control. Another kind of oligarchy, a plutocracy, is where the wealthy are in control. During the Renaissance, the city-states on the Italian peninsula were often plutocracies. The country of Iran is a theocracy, which means that the country is controlled by a group of religious leaders. Another kind of oligarchy often practiced is rule by one political party, such as the Communist Party in China.


The Communist Party of China is a kind of oligarchy (image courtesy The Diplomat).
Parliamentary Democracy

A parliamentary democracy is a form of democracy in which the people elect a legislative body called Parliament. The executive, usually called a prime minister, is selected from this group. Often, parliamentary democracies will have many different political parties, and the parties will have to cooperate in running the government because no one party has a clear majority in the body. India has a parliamentary system.


The chambers of the British Parliament are well known (image courtesy CNN).
Presidential Democracy

A presidential democracy is where voters select both their representatives in the legislative body and the executive. For example, in the United States, voters choose their representative every two years, electors who select their president through the Electoral College every four years, and their senator every six years.


George Washington served as the United States’ first president (image courtesy of the White House).
Participatory Democracy

A participatory democracy is a form of government in which people have greater responsibilities than voting for representatives. This could include serving on advisory boards, commenting on policy changes, or proposing legislation. A specific kind of participatory democracy is called direct democracy. A direct democracy is a government run by all the people of a place. Most of the time, other types of governments will include elements of participatory democracy rather than organize the entire government around the idea that everyone should be involved in making day-to-day decisions.


A town hall meeting is a kind of direct democracy (mage courtesy New York Times).

Wednesday, January 4

Venezuela and Socialism


In the 1950s, Venezuela was the fourth wealthiest country in the world. Today, Venezuela is poorer than it was prior to the 1920s, its infrastructure is deteriorating, and its economy has been shrinking since the turn of the century. Hyperinflation (out of control price increases) has left the currency worthless and made it almost impossible for Venezuelans to afford basic necessities. Millions have fled the country’s inhospitable conditions. 

How did the country go from having a GDP on par with that of the United States, New Zealand, and Switzerland to having almost 90% of the population living in poverty?

Introduction
This brief takes a closer look at Venezuela’s past and present social, political, and economic circumstances, the role socialist policies played, and how this relates to conversations within our own government. Understanding the history of such an evolution is an important way to keep similar tendencies from reaching other shores, including our own.

Case Studies: On the Ground in Venezuela
In what was once Latin America’s richest nation, over 75% of Venezuelans are living in extreme poverty. According to a September 2021 report from the National Survey of Living Conditions, created in 2014 to make up for the absence of official data, the percentage of Venezuelans living in extreme poverty rose from 67.7% to 76.6%. This is a reversal of the improvement in previous years after the government started cash transfers and relaxed price controls. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the crisis in Venezuela that had already been ongoing for years; before the pandemic, the UN World Food Programme estimated one-third of Venezuelans struggled to get enough food to meet the minimum nutritional requirements.

The
U.S. State Department announced in September 2021 that it was sending $247 million in humanitarian assistance and $89 million in economic and development assistance to aid “Venezuelans in their home country and Venezuelan refugees, migrants, and their host communities in the region.” This includes $120 million from the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and $216 million through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), bringing total U.S. humanitarian, economic, development, and health assistance for the Venezuela crisis to more than $1.9 billion since 2017. 

Food assistance;
Emergency shelter;
Access to health care, water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies;
COVID-19 support;
Protection for vulnerable groups including women, children, and indigenous people;
Assistance to democratic actors within Venezuela;
Integration support for communities that host Venezuelan refugees and migrants, “including development programs to expand access to education, vocational opportunities, and public services.”

As of early 2022, more than 7 million Venezuelans in Venezuela are in critical need, and almost 6 million have fled to 17 countries across the region.  READ MORE...

Sunday, August 14

Gambling With Our Money

Countries that have adopted and enacted socialist ideas and policies to various degrees, and have seen success in improving their societies by doing so, are Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.

So...  one cannot say that Socialism is bad for a country because the evidence above would contradict  that statement.

However, let's look at these countries and ask a couple of questions:
  1. Do any of the countries have great militaries?
  2. Do any of the countries have great economies?
  3. Do any of these countries have great technology?
  4. Are any of these countries exploring outer space?
  5. Do any of the countries help other countries with their wars and/or natural disasters?
  6. Are any of the countries Global Leaders?
  7. Do any of these countries have the same freedoms as the US has?
  8. Do any of these countries have the quality of life that the US has?
We must understand that life has tradeoffs and in this case, socialistic countries do no have the resources or the financial support to become super powers...  and, it is this super power status that puts the US in a position to lead the world.

We claim that we can have both providing our wealthy Americans are willing to pay their fair share in taxes...  BUT THEY ARE NOT...  and have their money sheltered in tax free accounts off shore...  typically in the Grand Caymans.

If going GREEN weakens our economy to the point that China becomes a greater economic and military power, we will regret that decisions for generations...  many of these democratic progressives do not think that will happen...  but they are assuming that the money will be there from taxes...

This is a huge gamble...  and, could be a huge mistake...


Tuesday, August 9

Relax... Don't Worry...


Dan Bongino took Rush Limbaugh's spot on talk radio and moved from NYC to Florida and is a regular guest on FOX News...  Today he was interviewed on FOX News as a result of the FBI's raid of former President Trump's home in Florida...   claiming that Trump took classified documents when he left the Whitehouse, knowing that his defense would be, I declassified them before I left office...  but they did the deed anyway.

Dan was LIVID, to say the least and while he said that he was a conservative and therefore a Republican but not because of the current Republicans in Congress because they are a DO NOTHING group of politicians and need to immediately be removed.  Dan said the GOP now TALKS BOLD AND BIG but when it comes to action, they accomplish nothing.

Dan Bongino pretty much reflects my sentiments about all of the Congressional Republicans except for Lindsey Graham and a couple of others that FOX News interviews regularly...

The Democrats play dirty but piss, bitch, and moan when others play dirty against them...

The Democrats lie and really do not feel guilty about their lies as they continue to make these lies daily...

The Democrats are moving closer and closer to a Socialistic form of government where the government provides you with everything -- just like the movie/show STAR TREK...

The Democrats have mainstream media covering the ASSES, networks like CNN, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, PBR...

If this is the kind of government that you want...  then have it...  and, the reason that I say this is because HISTORICALLY all socialistic governments FAIL...

History always repeats itself whether we like it or not and regardless if this is what some of want or don't want...

In order to have a socialistic government, two things have to happen.

First - the government must insure that it can collect taxes from the WEALTHY in order to pay for the socialistic society...  USA millionaires and billionaires already have their money shelter away from taxes in the Grand Caymans.

Second - the government must insure that ALL BUSINESSES will be willing to pay their fair share of whatever...  or be taken over (OWNED) by the federal government...  then the government can manage the business any way they like.

Do you really think first or second will happen in the US of A?

Right now, about 70% of what we receive is considered to already be SOCIALISTIC in nature, such as:

  • Public Education
  • Public Transportation
  • Public Parks and Recreation
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Unemployment Insurance

These programs already cost the country so much money that we are ASSHOLE deep in debt with CHINA owning ONE-THIRD of that debt...  can you imagine that China owns 1/3 of our debt?

What do we do when they DEMAND their money back?

Friday, January 21

Socialism


Many people wonder what heaven is like -- so many, in fact, that philosophers and scholars over the years have hypothesized about how heaven on Earth can be achieved. The term "utopia" was coined in 1515 by British writer Thomas More. Utopia describes a perfect place or society, where everyone is equal socially and economically.

The political and economic theory of socialism was created with the vision of a utopian society in mind. Contrary to other economic systems, there is no real consensus on how the ideal socialist society should function. Dozens of forms of socialism exist, all with differing ideas about economic planning, community size and many other factors. Despite the variations in socialist thought, every version advocates the benefits of cooperation among the people, steering clear of the "evils" of competition associated with capitalism.

True socialists advocate a completely classless society, where the government controls all means of production and distribution of goods. Socialists believe this control is necessary to eliminate competition among the people and put everyone on a level playing field. Socialism is also characterized by the absence of private property. The idea is that if everyone works, everyone will reap the same benefits and prosper equally. Therefore, everyone receives equal earnings, medical care and other necessities.

As we've learned, socialism is difficult to define because it has so many incarnations. One of the things socialists agree on is that capitalism causes oppression of the lower class. Socialists believe that due to the competitive nature of capitalism, the wealthy minority maintains control of industry, effectively driving down wages and opportunity for the working class. The main goal of socialism is to dispel class distinctions by turning over control of industry to the state. This results in a harmonious society, free of oppression and financial instability. Some of the other forms of socialism include these goals:

Guild socialism: Based in early 19th-century England, workers' guilds (similar to unions) were responsible for control and management of goods.

Utopian socialism: Advocates social ownership of industry and a voluntary, nonviolent surrender of property to the state. Implemented in communities like Robert Owens' New Lanark.

State socialism: State socialism allows major industries to be publicly owned and operated.

Christian socialism: Developed in England in 1948, this branch was born from the conflict between competitive industry and Christian principles. Christian socialist societies are characteristically led by religious leaders, rather than socialist groups.

Anarchism: Opposes domination by the family, state, religious leaders and the wealthy. Anarchism is completely opposed to any form of repression and has been associated with some radical events, including assassinations in Italy, France and Greece. U.S. President William McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist.

Market Socialism: Often referred to as a compromise between socialism and capitalism. In this type of society, the government still owns many of the resources, but market forces determine production and demand. Government workers are also enticed with incentives to increase efficiency.

Agrarianism: Form of socialism that features the equitable redistribution of land among the peasants and self-government similar to that in communal living. Agrarian ideals were popular in the rural United States well into the 1900s, although increasing government control deterred their growth.  READ MORE...

Thursday, January 13

CAPITALISM: A Giant AMWAY Pyramid Scheme

Our free market enterprise system has been specifically and uniquely designed to keep a majority of people from moving up the financial ladder from the standpoint of any financial gains they have received over a given year are offset by inflation and the devaluation of the dollar.

Minimum wage in the 60's was $1.25 and today it is $7.25  but gas was $.18/gallon and today before Biden it was $1.50 or so....  YES, we earn more, but it costs more to live so if were to factor in inflation, our dollar was more valuable in the 60's...

Let's look at our situation through a person's net worth...

NET WORTH CONCEPT
Top 20%
One Percent broken down
.25%  are high billionaires
.75%  are low billionaires
  • 1%
  • 9% are multi-millionaires
  • 10% are high/medium millionaires
Bottom 80%
  • 10% are low millionaires
  • 30% are high hundreds of thousands
  • 20% are medium hundreds of thousands
  • 16% are low hundreds of thousands
  • 3% are $50,000 to hundreds of thousands
  • 1% are less than $50,000

Our Free Market Enterprise system is based upon GREED...  there must be greed otherwise we will have no economic growth...  We need no more than 3% inflation to achieve consistent economic growth.

How do Corporations increase Revenue?
  • Engineers design products with built in obsolescence
  • then companies sell us warranties in case things go wrong
  • advertising encourages us to buy shit we don't need
  • new fashion designs each year
  • new car designs
Floating Previous Knowledge
1.  IBM had a policy of keeping their executives in debt - harder to change from IBM to another company - studied this in grad school
2.  The Peter Principle - people are promoted to that level which is just above their incompetence

Another concept of suppression is public education
  • elementary thru high school only prepares us for college not to go out and work
  • college prepares us for grad school not to go out to work
  • grad school prepares us for a PhD not to go out to work
  • Once employed with our college degree, very little of our college classes prepared us for the job  
  • Education from 1960 to 2021 has been dumbed down... 
WHY?
Aren't educators smart?

In order for the 1% to remain in the 1% we must have systems in place to keep the people from CLIMBING UP THE LADDER not just to upper management but to their level...
  1. Debt helps
  2. Lack of knowledge helps
  3. Domestic turmoil helps
  4. Early retirement programs help
  5. Inflation helps
  6. Internal conflict helps
  7. Wars help
  8. Pandemics help

How did these individuals become so wealthy?
Gates
Jobs 
Zuckerburg 
Buffett become 
Bezos become 
Musk become 

How are people like that created?
They circumvented the rules...   

Our Free Market Enterprise System is not illegal because you can get to the top like Gates, Buffet, Jobs, etc. but it is highly unlikely that you will achieve that goal...  unless you find some way to circumvent the rules.

Did You Know?
Gates and Jobs were given windows by IBM
Jobs improved the operating system and Gates stole it from him
Windows was the first operating system so all PCs simply incorporated that OS
Gates was in the right place at the right time...  or LUCK...   

Wealthy people don't believe in LUCK...  they say that LUCK FAVORS THE PREPARED which is not luck at all because you were prepared.

SAM WALTON was a billionaire, but he was also uneducated and it took him his entire lifetime to build up his money.  He circumvented NOTHING...

On HULU there is a series entitled the people who built america...  or something like that...  they all circumvented the rules or broke the law in some cases and in other cases they STOLE the information from their competitors...  RUTHLESSNESS

The General Public is being controlled:
  • COLLEGE is designed for us to make more so we can spend more
  • Companies will teach us what we really need to know
  • Advertising will teach us to spend more than we really need to spend
  • Engineers will design products that need to be replaced prematurely
  • Insurance companies try to get us to be insurance poor
  • Business is designed to take you money and give you less and less in return via a product
  • The more we have people trying to take your money the less money we will have to grow our wealth and move up

A FRIGGING PYRAMID



Friday, August 20

A Conservative Liberal's Opinion

 


I was raised a Democrat by my Democratic parents and I remained a Democrat until 1980 when I earned an MBA from the Babcock Graduate School at Wake Forest University and realized that the economic policies of the Democratic Party were not conducive nor were they in line with our Free Market Enterprise System and Capitalism.

Yes...  it is true that Capitalism has created a multitude of Millionaires and Billionaires but it has also created the most POWERFUL ECONOMY in the world and that is not an easy task...

However, I still hold onto many of my liberal beliefs that have nothing to do with the economy because I believe that people have RIGHTS that should not be enfringed... like the right to choose or the right to own a firearm or the right of free speech and religion.

Most Importantly, I believe that our FEDERAL GOVERNMENT should NOT TELL its citizens what they can or cannot do.  I also believe in a small government, low taxes, a strong military, and a viable educational system that is focused on the retention of knowledge and not on grades.  I am totally opposed to debt or increasing the debt to provide services to the citizens just because a group of people think we should regardless of the cost.

We should provide only those services that we can afford and as long as we can afford them, then we should provide as much as we can, to show the rest of the world that the USA is a great place to live, work, raise a family, and retire in.

  • What the Democrats are doing is not just WRONG but economically FOOLISH...  
  • What the Democrats did in Afghanistan tells our allies that the USA cannot be trusted...
  • What the Democrats are doing by allowing illegal aliens to enter the USA shows a complete disregard for our laws...
  • What the Democrats have done when it comes to defund the police is idiotic but moronic as well and shows a complete lack of judgement and insight...
  • What the Democrats have done with Critical Race Theory has and will continue to increase the bitterness and divide that already exists between blacks and whites in this country...
  • What the Democrats are doing by using Capitalism to pay for Socialism is irresponsible given that no socialistic country has ever been successful...

It is doubtful that the Democrats will ever change their mindset of their party platforms...  so, my return to the Democratic Party will never take place in my lifetime...

It is a shame that I feel this way because I affiliated with the Democratic Party not because of my parents influence on me but because of John F. Kennedy...  the democratic party today is not anywhere close to the democratic party of JFK...  and that mistake will never be corrected as long as its present leaders continue to believe the way they do.


Thursday, June 10

The WOKE Left

 I joined the us military so that I could protect the freedoms of the united states so that the woke mob could operate freely and with prejudice or discrimination...

And, I would do it again if asked or if needed...  because I believe in freedom that much...
In other words:
  • If the US wants to become Socialistic...  that's fine
  • If the US wants to become Marxist...  that's fine
  • If the US wants to destroy competition...  that's fine
  • If the US wants make the wealthy pay...  that's fine

What freedom means is that we have the freedom to become whatever it is that we want to become as long as a majority of the people in this country feel that way...  and, that is also the one FLAW associated with any DEMOCRACY and that is the fact that a DEMOCRACY can VOTE itself out of being a DEMOCRACY any time it wants to...

The other issues here are, at least for me, I am 73 years old, and will probably only live another 20 years or so.  I am not going to have anymore children nor will I have any grandchildren...  so whatever the WOKE mob wants to do, will not impact me or my family.

And, I am too old to give a shit about other families or the children of other family or their children...

My only real concern and I actually have most of that financially covered is INFLATION...

All I really have to worry about financially, economically, educationally, philosophically, or militarily is my wife and I...  SO...  if our government turns socialistic, all that means to me is that they will take more money away from the wealthy and redistribute it to the poor or people like me...  

My healthcare services may suffer a little because everyone's healthcare is going to be free so the ERs in the hospitals are going to be SLAMMED all the time and no doubt people will die in the hallways while they wait for attention.

IS YOU WOKE MUTHER???

Friday, March 26

Take Care of Me

 I WANT OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO TAKE CARE OF ME...


I want FREE healthcare

I want FREE housing

I want an increase in Social Security

I want FREE education

I want a guaranteed income

I want the wealthy Americans to share their wealth

I want the police to be defunded

I want the black people to always be given the advantage

I want an end to white privilege

I want only black law enforcement personnel

I want the conservative voice to be permanently censored

I want our government to control all businesses

I want businesses to be forced to employ workers

I want our military to be substantially reduced

I want an end to petroleum crude oil and natural gas

I want an end to gasoline cars

I want an end to interstate speed limits

I want illegal drugs to be legalized and taxed like alcohol\

I want white pregnancies to be aborted

I want it to be illegal for black females to have an abortion

Thursday, March 25

Socialism NOW....

CAPITALISM is an economic and political system in which the country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit rather than by the government...

It is because of capitalism the the United States has so many millionaires and billionaires because they only motivation for these people is increasing their profits.  In order to increase one's profits, one must have a labor force that can be manipulated an financially abused so that the owners can increase their profits.  These profits usually go into the pockets of the owners or back into the company to expand BUT NEVER is shared with the workforce that were responsible for creating those profits.

THIS IS WHY CAPITALISM SHOULD BE REPLACED BY SOCIALISM...

Government should own the trade and industry so that the profits can be highly taxed, used for expansion, or equally divided among the workers.  However, in lieu of sharing profits with the workers, governments can use the tax to provide free services like:
  • free education
  • free healthcare
  • free housing
  • free food
  • free clothing
  • free transportation
  • free entertainment
  • free recreation
It is TOTALLY UNFAIR that some people are born with extraordinary athletic skills and can therefore used those skills to make more money than those people who are not born with those skills...   UNFAIR...  UNFAIR...  UNFAIR...

Fixing America

After living almost three quarters of a century, I have developed the realization that American Democracy IS NOT a good form of government because it places the control in the hands of an intellectually ignorant public who has no idea what is best for them and could easily be persuaded to cast their votes in such a way that it eliminates their ability to have freedom of choice without fully understanding what they have done to themselves.  The American public is mentally lazy and politically and  economically void of any kind of intellectual commitment to acquire a working understanding of what needs to be done.

We should have a government where the general public has NO CONTROL at all like what is found in a Dictatorship or Communism.  Americans need to be told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it or else they will make bad choices.

After living almost three quarters of a century, I have come to the realization that Capitalism and our Free Market Enterprise system is COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE for Americans.  Capitalism has allowed 20% of the population to live a wealthy lifestyle while the remaining 80% live a lifestyle that is substantially less than what they deserve.

  • We don't need athletes that are multi millionaires
  • We don't need actors/actresses that are multi millionaires
  • We don't need musicians and singers that are multi millionaires
  • We don't need CEO's that are multi millionaires
  • We don't need physicians that are multi millionaires
  • We don't need public officials that are multi millionaires

It is the responsibility of THE WEALTHY to not just take care of their family but the rest of the population.  Their wealth should be shared with the rest of the population.  If they don't want to share their wealth, then they don't need to earn it...  but, if they do earn it they should share it.

OUR GOVERNMENT should control ALL CORPORATIONS AND BUSINESSES on behalf of the rest of the population...   and OUR GOVERNMENT should not allow the population to have CHOICES and FREE SPEECH.  

SOCIALISM and quite possibly COMMUNISM is the only form of government that should be allowed in the United States so that it can take proper care of its citizens.

Wednesday, March 24

Isolationism

The United States has no business inserting itself in the politics of countries of which we do not approve believing instead that AMERICAN DEMOCRACY is the only and best governmental system in the world...  that is to say that COMMUNISM, a DICTATORSHIP, and SOCIALISM is simply wrong and not productive for a thriving economy.

THAT BELIEF IS WRONG...

The government of CHINA is COMMUNISTIC and the economy of China is thriving and will, in a few short years, be greater than the economy of the United States.  Not only is the economy thriving but the military of China, its Army, Navy, and Air Force is much bigger than the United States.

Russia is a semi Socialistic/Communistic country and while its economy is not as large as either the United States or China, it is still a bustling economy that is getting stronger by the year.  It also has a fierce military that would not be easy to defeat.   

So, Communism as well as Socialism as well as a Democracy are all three viable forms of government and one form of government is no better than any other form of government, except for individual freedom and there seems to be more individual freedom in a Democracy than in the other 2 forms of government.

The United States has been involved in the politics of global countries for over 100 years and the rest of the world has had enough of United States involvement.  We need to stay the hell out of the business of other countries.

We need to reduce the money given to the military and use that extra money to do more and more positive stuff for our residents...  like:
  • free healthcare for all
  • free education for all
  • special privileges for minorities
  • free housing for all
  • guaranteed basic income for all
  • basic clothing allowance for all
  • guaranteed daily meals for everyone

The United States should take care of its own people before it tells other countries around the world how to manage their affairs and govern their people.

The United States should open its borders and allow whoever that want to immigrate come to the US regardless of ethnicity, social status, or criminal record.

The United States should decriminalize the use and sell of ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS as these drugs are necessary so that citizens can pursue happiness.

America is NO LONGER THE GREAT COUNTRY IT ONCE WAS...  
America is full of systemic racism...
America is divided...
America is based upon white privilege...
American education is bad and inappropriate...
American religion is false and hypocritical...
American law enforcement is a joke...
American politicians care only about themselves...
American citizens are one joint away from being fools...



Wednesday, January 20

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: Star Trek Was SOCIALISM

It is only fitting that today, the day that President elect Biden is sworn into office and the Democrats control the House and the Senate that we explore the origins of SOCIALISM in the US of A...   and, it is believed, at least by me, that the origins of SOCIALISM did not start with our Government providing services to the general public like:  education, transportation, parks & recreation, unemployment, social security, and medicate, but that SOCIALISM in the US of A started with the television show STAR TREK...  because it captured and forever locked in the heats and souls of the American Public into thinking that it was perfectly natural for the government to provide you with everything.

STAT TREK was about a UTOPIAN world in the future where there were still hundreds of countries on EARTH but only ONE GOVERNMENT:  The Federation of Planets...

Can you imagine China, Russia, North Korea, the Middle East, Europe, South America, Africa, Australia agreeing to be controlled by ONE GOVERNMENT?

With that said...
everything in one's life was provided for FREE OF CHARGE...  housing, food, clothing, allowance of money, education, healthcare, etc.   and, if you did not want to work, then you did not have to work but your share of the pie would ONLY BE BASIC...

The more you offered to society through education, experience, and the desire to WORK, the greater your share of the PIE...  like a bigger house, a bigger allowance, more food, a bigger vehicle, better vacations, better seats on an airplane...  etc.

  • There was no JEALOUSY
  • There was no ANGER
  • There was no HATRED
  • There was no RACISM
  • There was no EXTRMARITAL AFFAIRS
  • There were no WARS BETWEEN COUNTRIES
  • There was NO DIRTY POLITICS
  • There was NO BIASED MEDIA

Everyone from EARTH was considered an EARTHLING with NO COUNTRY AFFILIATIONS[...

There was UNIVERSAL HARMONY...

BROUGHT ABOUT BY THIS BRAND OF SOCIALISM...

And, the American people bought it...  hook, line, and sinker...


Friday, January 8

Breaking Down Capitalism



What the Wealthy Control                              What the Wealthy Do Not Control
Employment                                                                    Education
Wages                                                                              Art
Taxes                                                                               Writers and Writing
Wars                                                                                Recreation
Healthcare                                                                       Fishing/Hunting
Government/Congress                                                    Buying Habits
Freedoms                                                                        Who to Marry
Logistics/Transportation                                                 Having Children
Resorts                                                                            Religion
Automotive Production                                                  Voting Decisions
Hollywood                                                                      Our Free Wills
Music Industry                                                                Our Hate/Love
Marketing Influence                                                       Passive Resistance
Professional Sports                                                         Our Minds/Thoughts
News Media                                                                    Our Drug Use
Law Enforcement                                                           Our Alcohol Use
Military                                                                           Our Breaking Laws
Money Supply                                                                Social Media
                                                                                        Bill of Rights
                                                                                        Socialism                            

NOTE:  CAPITALISM is what gives the WEALTHY their POWER...   SOCIALISM takes power away from the wealthy and gives it to the POOR and those that are RICH but not wealthy.  SOCIALISM increases the size of government but REDISTRIBUTES the wealth...  and in time, the wealthy and their control will begin to disappear...

LET'S ASK THE WEALTHY TO GIVE HALF OF THEIR WEALTH BACK TO THE PEOPLE... JUST HALF OF THEIR WEALTH...  AND, IN SO DOING THEY WILL STILL BE WEALTHY BUT THE REST OF AMERICANS WILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT BETTER LIFE...


Saturday, November 21

Where Do Our Taxes Go?

Information provided by USA TODAY...

Biggest tax spenders

Total spending by the federal government in 2018 was $4.22 trillion. But some programs actually raised money, such as leases for the Outer Continental Shelf, which lowered the total 2018 outlay to $4.11 trillion.

The majority of tax dollars helps to fund defense, Social Security, Medicare, health programs and social safety net programs such as food stamps and disability payments, along with paying off interest on the national debt.

Here’s how it breaks down.
  1. Social Security: $987.8 billion or 23.4% of total federal spending
  2. National defense: $631.2 billion or 15% of total spending
  3. Medicare: $588.7 billion or 14% of total spending
  4. Health: $551.2 billion or 13.1% of total spending
  5. Social safety net programs: $495.3 billion or 11.8% of total spending
  6. Interest on debt: $325 billion or 7.7% of total spending
* * * * * * * * * * 
What really surprised me was that Social Security represented more of our Federal Budget than what we spend on our NATIONAL DEFENSE...

AND...  if you look closely at all the programs that are actually forms of SOCIALISM, you will easily see that 62% of our tax dollars goes in that direction.  Only 15% is spent on our protection and less than 8% is spend on our NATIONAL DEBT which is increasing because of all the social welfare type programs.

NOW...  when I think about it, I am very pleased that our tax dollars are spent this way because I am living off of Social Security and Medicare pays all my healthcare bills along with my supplement...

I personally spend about $600 each month on medical expenses or about $7,200 each year and because of me having two cancers, my medical bills are approximately $500,000 each year which as you can imagine is a very good deal.

AND...  when Biden and Harris finally take over the reigns of government, I feel confident that my Social Security will increase along with my Medicare Benefits putting me into a much better financial situation.

AND...   as long as we keep what the government pays on our NATIONAL DEBT, it will be FUTURE GENERATIONS that will be responsible for paying it off...  which pleases me and it should please you.

Tuesday, November 3

Recently Wondering

To tell you the truth...  (actually implies that I have not been telling you the truth before...  but, is still a phrase that is commonly used in the South)...  I wonder often but recently I have been wondering about what might happen to AMERICA if President Trump DOES NOT WIN his bid for re-election...

Not only will the Democrats win the Presidency but they could win control of the HOUSE as well as the SENATE and if that is the case, AMERICA will change...  and, in my opinion will change for the WORSE not for the BETTER...  but again, this is one's perception...

First of all...
Biden will DO AWAY with Trump's TAX CUTS which will impact everyone even those that do not make enough money to be considered in Biden's tax increases

Second of all...
Biden will be influence by the PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS who will push for MEDICARE FOR ALL and while that is a positive humanitarian effort for everyone, it will stretch our medical resources beyond their current limits.  It will be like everyone going to the ER instead of their family doctors.

Other ACTIONS...
  • A Civil War between Political Party Supporters will take place throughout the country
  • Washington, DC and Puerto Rico could become States which will submit Democrats to the House and to the Senate
  • Legislation towards severely limiting the Second Amendment will be passed
  • Legislation towards opening our borders to unlimited immigration will be passed
  • Legislation towards tearing down the border wall will be passed
  • Legislation toward expanding the Supreme Court will be passed
  • Legislation towards preventing Republicans from ever gaining a majority will be passed
  • Legislation towards free college education will be passed
  • Legislation towards a guaranteed income will be passed
  • Legislation towards going GREEN will be passed
  • Legislation towards redistributing law enforcement monies will be passed
  • Legislations towards paying black reparations for slavery will be passed
  • Legislation towards reducing the military will be passed

FEARS:
  1. Biden will fall ill and Kamala Harris will become President
  2. Russia will take advantage of a Liberal President and Congress
  3. China will take advantage of a Liberal President and Congress
  4. North Korea will take advantage of a Liberal President and Congress
  5. Trade deals will be negotiated that do not favor Americans
  6. NATO will no longer trust America's Military Support
  7. Terrorism will no longer fear America's retaliations
  8. A college education in America will be damn near worthless
  9. America's NATIONAL DEBT will increase beyond its ability to pay back
  10. The worth of the American Dollar will decrease



Tuesday, October 6

Socialism Lives

Socialism,
social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Furthermore, everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control property for the benefit of all its members.

What does this actually mean for you and I?

It means...  FOR EXAMPLE...  that instead of Walmart being owned by the Walton Family it is owned by ALL THE EMPLOYEES and they share equally in the ENTIRE WEALTH of the company...

If Walmart generates $100,000,000 in PROFIT each year and there are 1,000 employees then each person receives $100,000...

Under CAPITALISM, some employees might receive $30,000, some might receive $50,000 while only a few might receive $100,000...

ANOTHER ISSUE is the fact that under SOCIALISM there is no guarantee that each employee will work equally as hard each year to receive their $100,000...

Social Scientists see this same sort of behavior happen when there are UNIONS that negotiate the salaries of the workers as workers know that they will get paid regardless of how hard they work.

Thursday, October 1

GREED: America's Downfall...

In the summer of 1967, I was working as a laborer for a Road Construction Company called Regal Construction up Upper Marlboro, MD that was building a new stretch of Interstate Highway in that area. and had no desire to know if the company was building other highways or not because I was ATTENDING COLLEGE so that I would not have to work as a laborer at $2 per hour.

My reason for attending COLLEGE was personal and selfish:  I wanted a better job and more money...

Little did I know that this was the foundation of our economic free market enterprise system... to continue to make as much money as one can arrange over a lifetime of work and use that money to buy bigger and better THINGS over one's lifetime of work...

As one gets older and wiser and accumulates more wealth, one learns to shelter that money away from taxes even though one knows that taxes are used to provide services to those who are not wealthy and support our government's growth.

In addition to providing for the national defense and negotiating treaties and deals with our countries, our government provides PUBLIC;
  • education
  • transportation
  • highways
  • parks and recreation
  • welfare
  • medicare
  • housing
  • unemployment
  • social security
Each one of these governmental services is a FORM OF SOCIALISM and in order to increase the payouts to any of these services, the government MUST increase its base of TAXES or borrow money from FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS...
DATA FROM 2020


Currently, ONE THIRD of our NATIONAL DEBT is owned by CHINA.

As the wealthy become more wealthy, they shelter away from taxes more and more of their money knowing that the government needs those taxes to pay for increases in those services...  so, the tax burden always falls on those who cannot shelter their taxes like the WEALTHY.

While this is not FAIR or EQUITABLE, it is the AMERICAN WAY which is protected by the AMERICAN LAWS...

Illegal immigration consumes more and more of those services (as well as the low paying jobs) as their numbers increase to the detriment of the American People who also need those services and jobs.

Some of our DEMOCRATIC PARTY citizens want to provide FREE COLLEGE EDUCATION to everyone including ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS which will, over time, INCREASE GREED EXPONENTIALLY and our Businesses and Industries who are also facing increases in taxes and fewer profits to pay for new product research, have NO REASON to provide employment to these EDUCATED AMERICANS.

Our Government CANNOT FORCE business and industry to HIRE WORKERS unless our government OWNS these businesses and industries which under our current governmental law is not possible or permissible.

THEREFORE and in order to increase the services to Americans, our Government will need to ACQUIRE all of America's Businesses and Industries in order to provide employment to all the college educated citizens so that they can enjoy greater income and enjoy the pleasures of GREED by buying more and more.

AND...  it is these actions...  that will cause America's Downfall...  as our free market enterprise system begins to bite itself in the ass...


Tuesday, September 1

Another Morning in East TN

When I was a boy growing up in Alexandria, VA, Labor Day Weekend marked the end of summer because as soon as the weekend was over, we returned to public education and while the weekend was always enjoyable, the threat of going back to school was hanging over everyone's head even though most of the kids my age never gave that reality much thought until it actually happened.  Today, in most States, public education returns in the middle of August and because of the Corona Virus, those schools that do have students in their classrooms will be totally different than when I was a boy.

STINK BUGS ARE LIKE POLITICIANS
It is easy to remember things like this because being retired and having few hobbies or friends that I see regularly, I have nothing much else to do but remember.

However, for some of us here in East TN, the end of summer does not just mark the return of public education and a gradual decline of the heat, but the return of STINK BUGS.

According to TN State University, brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a invasive pest of fruits, nuts, vegetables and ornamentals. The bug was first detected in Allentown, PA in 1998 and has since spread across the United States. The bug was found in Tennessee during 2008 and has since become an agricultural and nuisance pest in parts of the state.  Seasonal cues trigger stink bugs' search for winter quarters; the shortening days and falling temperatures sending them scuttling for cover. If they sheltered beneath tree bark or mulch, it would be one thing. But they prefer sharing your home over winter, piling into cracks and crevices by the thousands.

What got me to thinking about stink bugs was finding one in the kitchen sink on my way out to the back porch to sit, drink coffee, and write.

And...  while I like watching FOX NEWS as opposed to the biased news of ABC, MSNBC, CBS, and CNN, I got tired of them repeating over and over and over again how misleading mainstream media is, how screwed up the Democrats are, and how the 2020 election could have negative consequences for the US as a whole.

After 72 years of life and 45 years of working in a career, I have witnessed very little change in this country and very little meaningful action by either house of Congress.
  • So what, if America goes Socialistic...  America already has Socialism
  • So what, if America's wealthy gets higher and higher taxes...  that will never apply to me
  • So what, if Democrats increase Medicare/Social Security...  that will simply benefit me
  • So what, if the Stock Market goes down and down...  I have enough money in savings
I will be dead or dying if and when CAPITALISM starts to die out
I will be dead or dying if and when CHINA takes over America
I will be dead or dying if and when RUSSIA becomes a global leader economically

One of the criticisms of JOE BIDEN is that he has been an elected official for 47 years and has done nothing to change:
  1. the wealth gap
  2. gender equality
  3. racism
  4. education
  5. illegal drugs
  6. immigration
  7. crime
HELL FIRE PEOPLE...  this is not just JOE BIDEN but ALL DEMOCRATS and ALL REPUBLICANS...  the only difference now is that the mainstream media instead of being fair and balanced are BIASED FOR  THE DEMOCRATS...