Wow has this discussion gotten out of hand. The original thought regarding this was that American citizens needed to have the ability to DEFEND themselves from the dangers of the country. That the settlers couldn't wait for law enforcement to protect themselves from the British, roving natives, to provide their families with food, and the wild animals that could pounce on them at any time. The right to bear arms was also strengthen by the need to have the "minutemen" able to produce a force in minutes to defend themselves from the British army.

Except for the occasional protection from a "wild" animal and hunting the need to own personal weapons has just about disappeared. The lack of trust in either our legal system or the fear of "big government" is being used to justify the right to arm groups (NRA) to fight against anything they think will diminish gun ownership. It has gotten to a point of down right stupidity! The end result is that there are 80 deaths per day relating to guns in the USA. That is nearly 30,000/year or about half of the total of deaths by auto. Most of these deaths are young people or people under a lot of stress and they decide to not only wipe themselves out but to take their entire family while their at it!

Most of the laws proposed or in place do not prohibit the ownership of guns but try to establish guidelines on their care or where they can be used. Why does an individual need to carry a concealed weapon? In the days of the old west individuals with a concealed weapon were not to be trusted. If you were packing then you carried it where everyone could see it! I still can not see the justification of a concealed weapon as a deterrent for crime. If one in ten people pack it means I have a 90% chance as a criminal to be right in robbing you. The reality is that it would be more like a 1 in 99 chance as less than 1% of the citizens carry a concealed weapon.

Carrying a weapon has had no effect in reducing crime. Texas has as much if not more crime per capita as New York and in fact violent crimes in New York have dropped since they put into effect their gun laws, the same is true with Washington, DC.

I have no problem with an individual collecting as many guns as they wish. If fact I have a brother-in-law that has a very nice collection. As a hunter I also do not have a problem with having a number of long barrel weapons. I have had shotguns, 308. 30-06. and 270's in my possession at one time or another along with an assortment of 22's, but what do I need an AK-47 for? or BAR?

If there was a take over of the US government by forces set to destroy the "American" way of life they would have to control the military, not very likely and believe you me the military's capability far out strips Joe Citizen's arms.

No the current attitude and views on gun control is just another sign of America's refusal to advance into the 21st Century. When I became a man I put aside the toys of my youth.
Clinging to archaic laws regarding gun control and health care is just two symptoms of why the US is beginning to slip as a leader of the world.
 

Today I took my wife to the doctor's as she has not been feeling well lately. On the way home we stopped for a few items at Safeway. We rarely buy the local paper as we generally read it on line, but today we did. When we got home I headed for the computer and my wife decided to read the paper. After a few minutes I heard her and could tell she was upset. It was then she told me she had just read the obituary of the girl that was our first babysister for our daughter. She had long since grown up, married her high school sweetheart, and had had children of her own. We heard, years ago, she had MS but had not heard anything more for a number of years. I always remembered her smile and there in the picture that accompanied the obituary was her smile. She had aged and her face wasn't the same youthful one I remembered but the smile was the same. Just find it strange but wonderful that in a paper we rarely buy anymore her obituary was carried on the day we decided to buy one. Life can be strange at times and it is sometimes funny how things come about.
 

As countries scramble to improve a shaken economy we are beginning to hear tales of things getting better…. But, are they??
When this crisis first hit the economy the DOW was over 14,000 points and it fell below the 7,000 mark. Today it sits just below 10,000. The half way point between the two extremes is around 10,300.

Back in 1929 after the crash the market returned to the 50% mark and then, in 1931, it collapsed again and it was not until the start of WWII that the economy actually recovered. TEN years later! If the market follows that same pattern then the closer to 10,300 the DOW comes the better chance of a second collapse… Will it happen? No telling but it makes market watching really interesting for the next few weeks and October has never been good for the market.

Another factor that could drive the economy down is the devaluing of the US dollar. One can not just print trillions of dollars and keep interest rates low and not expect a negative effect on the dollar. A devalued dollar has some good points. It makes US products cheaper and it tends to keep the American tourist at home, both are good for the economy.

Americans tend to confuse capitalism with democracy. Today the country that has embraced capitalism the most is the most communist country in the world, China. In fact it currently owns 22 TRILLION dollars of US debt. Recently the Chinese government has told its citizens to buy gold.

Currently gold is valued at around $1,000 per ounce and it is expected to continue to climb, some are now talking about a $2,000 gold price. It was only a few years ago it was below $300.00.
There is going to be pressure to raise interest rates. That should start to happen in the spring of 2010 and at that time look out! If it is done too soon or too fast it will send the economy into a tail spin, if it is not done at the right time it could result in inflation. Either way it will put us between a rock and a hard place.

What is one to do? In football terms “when in doubt punt!” To put it in economic terms its time to buy gold! Then it doesn’t matter where the economy goes.

 

Got a few responses to my blog on "It Begins" some agreed and others said no, racism has nothing to do with the opposition to the President... For the most part I think many people are not opposing him because he is "black" or "white" depending on your viewpoint. I honestly think that they are upset because of what they believe he stands for regarding health care and a number of other issues and race has nothing to do with it.

Unfortunately I believe that there is a too big of a group that race is the issue. The interesting thing about what is happening in America is the shifting dynamics of population. Poor people tend to have more children than wealthy people. This has been occurring since there was division between wealth and poor. Most of America's poor are non-white. Sometime in the next few generations (2042) non-Hispanic whites will be less than 50% of America's population. When that happens and as that is happening a different set of values will be rising. These values will be focused on health care, education, and jobs. They will be wondering why there isn't universal health care, why their child does not have the same opportunities as others in getting a good education, and why are jobs being sent overseas. Non-Hispanic whites strong support of capitalism and fear of socialism will be the driving wedge between these two groups. It took America 139 years to grow to 100 million people. The USA will grow by a 100 million between now and 2042! Most of these new citizens will not be white! I think there is going to be a backlash and it may be starting.......

Seems like most people no longer trust major news media but get their information from the internet and that is like using the National Enquire to make your decisions about current events!

Just look at what is happening about the "Obama Song"! This song was done nearly two years ago as part of an assembly on Black History Month. There were "acts" about Lincoln, King, and a number of other key figures in black history. It was not done for a national audience but was taped by a parent and it sat in a draw until the uproar about Obama's speech to school children. When the speech was shown to be none of the things that the critics claimed it to be, out comes this tape, as if it was done last week! Hell the man hadn't even been nominated! More National Enquire reporting making fact out of fiction!


 

The more I think about it the more I think a year’s resolutions should be done not at the beginning of a year, but on one’s birthday… So here are my ten resolutions for the next 12 months:

1. To be able to read this next year
2. To read something every day
3. To write something every day
4. To appreciate my wife and tell her I love her every day
5. To have less of me than there is today (199 lbs.)
6. To complete my family’s history for my grandchildren
7. To travel someplace new or revisit somewhere once a month
8. To make new friends and get in touch with old ones.
9. To have more smiles in my eyes than tears.
10. To be sure to stop and smell the roses along the way.

The neat thing about this is when I sat down to write this my thoughts were different than the ones I would do at the end of a year. Then I looked at specific goals, like how much weight to lose, or how much money to save, or some item to acquire. This time around material goals were still among the ten items but were a minority instead of the majority. As one gets older the goals of career, finance, and material things become less important. The goals of family, love, inquiring, travel for joy, and the expansion of one’s mind seem to be much higher on the list.

Those that learn that early in life are blessed and I guess it is better to become aware of it later in life than not at all… I have stated that youth is wasted on the young but maybe experience is wasted on the elderly?

 

I fear that we are now seeing the beginning of the rise of political violence in America. It was only a matter of time with all the vile comments being made about the President and the belief that some have that he is trying to turn America into a socialist state and take away "rights".

It started in Kentucky when a federal employee was kidnapped, tortured, stripped naked and murdered! If we are not careful this could escalate into a race war! Both blacks and latinos are in more danger than they have been in years. The blacks because of the president and latinos because of the immigration issue.

Everyone says that the debate about the president isn't about race.... Bu-----it! Why is it the 95%+ of the critics of the President are white??? Don't tell me its because most of the critics are white..... There are large number of non-white reporters and talk show hosts on both sides of the political spectrum.

The storm clouds are gathering and I fear that some may not wait until 2012 to remove the president....
 

I see Michael Moore has a new movie out where he exposes capitalism as: "an economic system that legalizes greed", a system where 1% of the people own 95% of the wealth and in order to maintain this they we have to convince the people that if they work hard, they too can be rich one day.

I don't know how accurate or staged Moore's films are, but I do know that every time an issue goes against big business their general reaction is to try and convince Americans that proposed laws to change auto safety, smoking, and now health care will some how have a negative effect on the Bill of Rights or basic freedoms. They use scare tactics and a LOT of money... Today they even have people concerned about their own president.

Truth is that most people today confuse capitalism with democracy. Capitalism is the economic system least likely to be democratic than any other economic system. At the turn of the 1900's governments had to step in to breakup the monopolies that had developed in just about every industry. Companies are not accountable to society they are accountable to their stockholders and in some cases to a single individual. This represents about 5% of the population and it is the reason why America still depends on non-democratic countries for oil and other basic resources.

Capitalism loves to deceive the population. A great example is in athletics where they will highlight an athlete that came from a poor background and leave the impression on the people from his background that they too can be successful if they just work hard at their goals. So millions of young folk quit school to work on their "game", but that's OK as long as they buy the "Shoes!"

Capitalism will use anything to promote their products. Today "Pimps" have replaced the athlete, after all we already know they use drugs and sex to make money so there is no disappointment, as with athletes, if they get caught. We highlight young actors that think their Scottish and don't have to wear underwear. Gangsters become rap stars and millionaires and we don't do a thing about it! But let a President say we have got to improve our health system all of a sudden we got a socialist on our hands! Give me a BREAK!

Americans have gone along with the delusion for the last 30 years. Ike warned us back in 1960 of the dangers and he was dead on! Today most Americans believe that capitalism is good and socialism is bad. That socialism is anti democratic and to be fought at every turn. Many Americans would like to see every nation in the world become a democracy, but fear the idea of a world government. They fear the lost of freedom, but fail to realize the civil war was fought over rights and when the federalist side won rights were extended to all the people of America not just the white ones.

The 1990's saw the fall of communism and since then America has had no real enemy to focus on except for the terrorist who attack everyone. It seems that without an enemy Americans have decided to attack themselves???




 

Today is the day I was welcomed into the world many years ago... When I turned 65 I wrote about some realizations. After three years many of them still seem right so I decided to reproduce them.

ON BEING 65

As one approaches the age of 65 one comes to a number of realizations.

• It hits home that there is more past than future.

• The things that happen in your youth are ancient history notes to today’s youth.

• Starting a new career without contacts is t o u g h.

• Things would be a lot easier if experience did not take up so much time.

• Slowing down is not because one has aged it is just a more enjoyable way to experience life.

• Every answer raises more questions. After 2000 years, we have far more questions than answers.

• The mind seems to be going at 65 while the body travels at 45.

• Youth IS wasted on the young!

• By the time you figured it all out, you tend to forget where you put it!

• The body may grow old but the mind is forever young.

• The cycle of life sometimes takes shortcuts.

• Things you thought happen just yesterday occurred ten years ago.

• Old friends ARE old friends and new friends tend to be old.

• One cries far more often as one gets older.

• If you don’t have a plan of where you are going how do you know when you get there?

Since then I have come to a few more:

> The journey may be short or long but at any rate if you don't stop to smell the roses along the way you will miss half of the enjoyment.

> Don't get mad get even!

> Journey's do not start with a single step, they start with an idea and end with a realization.

 

Recently I have been wondering about how we have gotten to the point where people on two sides of a debate no longer listen to one another but seem to take delight in trying to out shout one another and believe the information provided by the opposite side is either a distortion or an out and out lie.

The result is that each side instead of trying to find common ground end up defending their position no matter what the cost is to the country as a whole.

The United States was founded by two basic groups of individuals. The first group saw their individual states as the center and that the people of their state had the right and obligation to determine what was right for their individual state. They were bright enough to know that there were certain things that they could not do on their own. They realized that to become free they needed to join with other states to defeat a common enemy, that if they were to prosper they need certain trade agreements, and if they were to communicate with each other a system that could send messages to one another had to be developed. They knew something’s needed to be done at a level higher than what any individual state could manage.

The second group saw beyond the needs of each individual state and saw the advantages of a federal system. They saw two main issues that they believed required a federalist approach. First and foremost was the need to defeat a common enemy and the second to develop a system that allowed commerce between the states to the advantage of all.

Both groups agreed that no one individual or group should hold all the power to govern and came up with a system of checks and balances to prevent that from happening. Fortunately Washington had the wrong first name for those who supported the idea of another king.

Political parties developed around the principals of state power versus federal power. In the beginning the spirit of cooperation continued and the idea of compromising was developed into a fine art. Unfortunately as time went on and as the founding fathers began to die out the art of compromising began to wane.

By the 1850’s lines began to be drawn in the sand and when the Republicans nominated an individual that stood for policies that strengthen the federal government and would allow the federal government to impose restrictions on state rights, they could no longer talk but act! Sound a little familiar?

For nearly a hundred years the Republicans would be shut out of the south, but over that time the two democratic parties would go through a transformation. The first to change would be the Democratic Party and then the Republican Party.

The Republican Party at first saw little need for change. It held control of the White House and Congress from 1860 until 1912 except for the two times Cleveland was elected. During this time the Republicans believed in government being activity involved in trade decisions, the gold standard, and doing what was needed to gain the support of the wealthy. The Democrats on the other hand had been reduced to championing state rights and most of their support came from the south.

Then in 1896 a young 36-year-old lawyer won the Democratic nomination for President and things changed for the Democratic Party. He would not win in fact he would fail three times trying to become President. But he did set a new standard for the Democrats. His speech the “Cross of Gold” attacked “big-city” businesses and sided with the “common man”, the farmers, the miners, the steel workers, and rural America. This standard would be picked up by Wilson, FDR, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Clinton, and finally by Obama.

The Republican Party continued to win the White House until 1912. In 1912 the Republicans developed a split personality. Half of the party wanted to develop laws to protect women and children in the work place, favored conservation reform, labor unions, and wanted judges elected. The more conservative elements wanted to increase tariffs, favored big business, and wanted judges appointed. In the end the two groups could not agree and a third party was formed.

It would be the only time in US history where a third party actually ended up in second place in a Presidential election and the Democrats had elected only their second man to the office since the 1850's. The individuals that remained in the Republican Party were the individuals that believed in more conservative political views and the Party moved from one that supported federal power over state power to one that thought less government was better government and that the individual should not be impeded by government interference.

In 1920 the Republicans returned to the White House using the slogan a “return to normalcy”. They repeated in 1924 and 1928 as the good times had arrived.

1929 ended the good times and a Democrat candidate promised a “New Deal” in 1932. His ideas attracted the more “progressive” Republicans, appealed to the workingman, and maintained the Democrat hold on the south.
FDR took any idea that he felt would work to improve the economy of America and he prepared for a war he knew was coming. This resulted in a number of “socialist” ideas being part of the “New Deal” and it also resulted with a huge reelection in 1936. The election victory was so big that many predicted the end of the Republican Party.

By 1944 the Republicans had found their new voice. They campaigned against the “New Deal”, sought smaller government and a less-regulated government. These principals have remained to this day.

The 1948 election is noted for two things. The one everyone remembers is the upset of Truman over Dewey, but the more important event was the Democrat Party embracing a civil rights platform. This resulted in the south producing a third candidate and the migration of southern voters towards the Republican Party had begun.

In 1952 the Republicans looked to a war hero to return to power. Eisenhower was a moderate and had been seriously looked at by the Democrats in 1948. He was the first candidate to make an effort to appeal to women voters and the first to successfully use fear as a campaign strategy. The Republicans continued to cozy up to big business and when Ike left the White House he warned Americans of the “military-industry complex”.

1960 saw the Democrats find their voice in both an individual and a cause. The Civil Rights movement came to a head and southern voters movement towards the Republicans became a stampede.

But the war in Vietnam and a tired sick President resulted in the Republicans regaining the White House in 1968 and they would hold it until 1992 except for four years when Ford made the mistake of pardoning Nixon.

During those years Americans got caught up with the idea of lower taxes, smaller government, and the encouragement of individual rights over the rights of society. Regan Economics was to be the savoir of America. This concept allowed social programs, which had helped Americans, to be either down sized or underfunded, and if possible eliminated.

The two major political parties drew the line in the sand. On one side was the party of small government, lower taxes, less government involvement, and support of the individual. On the other side of the line was the party that recognized that not all individuals benefited from a smaller government. That the rights of the many where being denied by the actions of the few, and there were things the government could do to help all Americans.

For nearly thirty years things went well for the Republicans but by the early 1990’s cracks in Regan Economics began to appear. It was lead by the greed of individuals and big business. Companies like Wal-Mart captured the buying public by providing products at the lowest possible price; companies began to look throughout the world for the cheapest possible produced items. First it was Japan and then Taiwan and now it is China and India. First it was for clothing and toys and then it became bigger items like automobiles, radios, TVs, cameras and computers.

Free trade was the answer as it would open American goods to the world and we would prosper as our products went worldwide, but as we imported cheaper goods and showed other countries how to improve the quality of their products, we soon discovered our industrial leaders were now exporting jobs as well as products. As their profits went up Wall Street fell in love with them and supported their efforts.

The Republicans failed to see the need to regulate big business and when the economy faltered in the early 1990’s the Democrats took advantage to recapture the White House. In turn the Democrats were able to ride the wave of a resurging economy but they too failed to make things right. More and more American jobs went overseas and America became dependent not on jobs from producing goods but on servicing others, construction, and on tourism.

By 2000 American people were once again not too sure who should lead the country so they narrowly picked an individual who was an “outsider”, had experience running a government, and the support of the religious conservatives

In the beginning of 2001 Bush came as the “unitor” and he was able to bring together both parties to pass an education bill. He tried to approach other important issues but then 9/11 happened and everything went south!

By 2007 the cracks in the American economy had widen, the inability for the government to regulate Wall Street, the shipping of jobs overseas, the need for funds to support two wars, the collapse of the housing market was too much for the economy and it collapsed.

This resulted in the American people looking for a new savior. Americans did not want more of the same and whoever won the Democrat nomination would become the next president regardless of the Republican’s qualifications and abilities.

After nearly 65 years since the end of WWII America was no longer the leader of the world. Its educational and health standards had slipped. Its industrial capacity no longer lead the world. Instead of being a leader in technological advancements it is, in many cases, an also ran. It has become a world leader in polluting the atmosphere and a nation deep in debt!

The worse was still to come. Shortly after electing a new president instead of rallying behind him, for the first time in American history lines were immediately drawn to oppose him in a manner not seen since Andrew Johnson was president.

What does the future hold? Read my next Blog when I look into the foggy future.

 

Just a few words to say I now know what it feels like to be an owner of a PC. For the first time in thirty years I had trouble with Mac's new platform Snow Leopard. It ended with me taking my computer into a Mac Store and after they finished it took until 1AM to reinstall my files and pictures.

Seems like everything is now working and I will have a bit more to say later in the day.