Robin Hood

My wife was reading to me her response to a question asked by a friend.

The question went, "If I cannot make the money my family needs, is the government obligated to give me my neighbor's money?"

She asks the follow-up question revealing just how ridiculous the concept is. Her reply, "What about IQ's and intelligence? Are we going to take smart people's brains and give part to the dumb because the dumb ones can't think as well?

Well, guess what, Robin Hood, DID NOT WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT! Robin Hood stole from rich government to give to the poor, brutally TAXED people. The government wanted to fund government initiatives and to give support to its cronies. He was a hero because he gave the STOLEN money back to the people. I am sure the government officials said, "We are giving YOU all these programs and big buildings so that you and everyone else can use them." That is a lie! It is a scam! It is like charities that have 50% administrative costs.

There are many reasons why the revolutionary war was fought, and why Americans felt the need to be independent but the last straw that broke the camel's back, the firing pin that released the rage of the American people was TAXES. The people felt that they were being unfairly taxed. They wanted a freedom not offered anywhere else in the world. We did not want to be tied to the social requirements of Europeans, of Asians, or of Africans. Everyone who has historically come to the US has wanted the same thing, "to be free." Americans have always been deeply independent, they don't want people to get something for nothing. In America, everyone can or could acheive based on his or her own merits. The old world had too much NEPOTISM. The people could not acheive because others with power and wealth limited them in some way. As Americans if we want to start a business, we do it; if we want to move to a different area, we go; if we want a different religion, we join it. We don't want anyone telling us what to do with our time, money, or beliefs. We are a free people.

The main problem we face today is that other people can vote to take away our freedoms. Where is the next New World? Where can those who will not be enslaved by mob mentality or by opressive laws go to maintain their freedom? I will do anything to be free! I will only be ruled on principles of freedom. I don't want to force anyone to anything.

Now, is this concept of freedom limited in its view? What about "the greater good?" What about when some people have to die so that others may live? This question requires that free peope unite and make decisions that everyone, well at least a majority can agree on. Now we are back to the questions about government, its purpose and existence. Government exists to protect its people, to ensure the rights of the people, to prevent people including domestic enemies from hurting others. That includes regulating and punishing people that disadvantage others physically (including health and safety), financially, and intellectually. Government enacts laws to protect its people from would be criminals in banking, industry, and the nations lands and environment. These laws should state what is or is not acceptable. Examples would be, "It is not acceptable to steal from any person or company." "It is not acceptable to attack or hurt another person." "It is not acceptable to release toxins into the environment." These are the basics. This is the tree trunk to which our government should cling. It should do nothing else.

Government programs are a SCAM. Education should be supported by the individuals receiving an education. Healthcare, this one blows my mind, why is government involved at all? If a doctor or clinic, or hospital hurts people, they should be put out of existence by the government. Social security, elderly should be supported by families, church and/or people in the community. I would like to elaborate, but I don't have the time. And besides, there are TOO MANY government programs to attack. But the principle that they operate on is a scam. Their budgets are determined purely by the number of participants involved in the program. Federal and State Programs like WIC, medicare, food stamps, low income housing, and etc. receive budgets based on how many people they support. They have to go to these governing bodies and say, "Look, look at all the people involved in our program, we NEED more money, give it to us and if you don't, we can't HELP your electorate. And we will tell your electorate that YOU won't help them."

Our current government (both Republican and Democrat alike) is about power and greed, and keeping those in power just like dictators and kings of old. Well, I, as a citizen of the United States, who gives power to the government to rule over me, find that it is NOT acceptable for government to steal from me, enslave me or prevent my right to live in freedom. Is there anyone out there who agrees with me?

Auto Industry

Have you ever thought that this years car sales aren't great because the cars and trucks they are selling just aren't that impressive? I look at the biggest names that come to my mind in America: Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Is there anything really revolutionary about the cars they are making this year that is better than last year? Is there any safety system that has proven it can dramatically save lives? Is there any with an attractive design that draws people in by the groves? The answer is NO. What has the auto industry really done? They offer a "new" car, just like the old one only newer. It rides like the old one did when the old one was new. It stops like the old one when the old one was new. It is just like the old one but with a "new car smell." If the government would stay out of things (both in causing the problem and in fixing it!) Capitalism would ensure the best competition and the fastest improvements. That is capitalism's purpose. If the auto industry doesn't give us something we want or need, someone else will! We will replace the stuffy corporate big wigs with a revolutionary generation of changers. Capitalism is great! It provides a way so that any convincing person with a good idea can change the world.

Auto industry has lost its luster, the solution is may not be smaller cars or alternative energy, it may be an entirely new system. If it is mass transport, flying machines, working from home, automated assembly, scanning and "beaming." I don't know, but it is something other than what we are currently doing.

Guess what is the problem with my solution? Yes, government. Government officials through ear marks, social programs, grants, and etc as ceased to work for the greater good. Government "by the people" has ceased to exist because they are so in thrall with what the can do for the society that they have forgotten what they should do for society. They should keep everything simple (from heath care, to taxes, to defense.) Government should be easy to understand and transparent. Government officials through their own ambitions have created loopholes and hidden systems for themselves and their friends to take advantage of the American people.

In an effort to get certain candidates elected, media has ceased to educate the people on issues and prefers only to bash and bolt. Media should be unbiased (which we know is impossible) therefore they should provide all biases so that truth might more easily be uncovered.

Economic Crisis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL36nwCSYUM

If you want to know why we are in the economic boat we are in, please watch this video.

John McCain

I found this exerpt with John McCain from four years ago. It is nice to see someone in politics that doesn't change with every new headline.

Were dinosaurs on the earth 4000 years ago?

The most important question Matt Damon can ask of Sarah Palin is about dinosaurs? He says that he needs to know her answer to this question because she will have the nuclear codes...


I don't think Matt really understood the question or the reason he asked the question.

While she was governor of Alaska, she worked to get the theory of creation taught side-by-side with the theory of evolution. Don't be fooled by the sarcastic, condescending tone in Matt Damon's voice, he obviously supports Sarah Palin, as I will explain.

When it comes to the nuclear codes and nuclear weapons, it is the privilege of this nation to hold the most destructive weapon in the world at its command. If there was ever a question about the need to use these weapons, we would want that question to be answered by someone with equity and fairness. We would want someone who looked past popular belief or opinion polls and would consider all available views.

The decision to drop two nuclear bombs on Japan was probably the most difficult ever made during WWII. It was a decision that Harry Truman had to live with for the rest of his life. He authorized the deaths of thousands of civilians, innocent people dragged into a war waged by their government in the pursuit of pride and power. President Truman had to balance these people's lives with the lives of thousands of others who might have had to die in order to end the war. Eventually, he made the decision to dissolve the lives of more than 100,000 people. History looks back and judges him both as a hero and a murderer. So be it, but they never had to balance lives as he did.

But what if the question to use the destructive power of a nuclear weapon was presented to a biased and prejudice person? What if that person only saw the world in one way, and considered all other ways to be childish, silly, or simply beneath their stature? Or what if that question came to someone who considered the definition of life to be above their right or ability to determine? The results would be devastating. If they were absolutely opposed to the use, the consequences could be catastrophic; if they were trigger happy and had no value for life, the results could be equally catastrophic. Judge for yourself who should hold the "nuclear codes." And remember nothing in this world ever has just one side.

History-making

Well, I hope you are as involved in this election as I am. I have taken the opportunity to watch some of both the DNC and the RNC. These events function as a way to display to the country the person who will be nominated for election from each of the political parties. I have read and listened to the news containing quotes and highlights from the candidates and prominent party members' speeches. I have to say that they mislead and confuse the audience against the truth, they bias and misconstrue facts! They present the views only of the journalist without bearing on the candidates, their qualities or positions. I ask you, my dear friends, why? Why do we need these journalists, reporters, and commentators? What value do they add to the story, what do they provide that we cannot possibly comprehend by reading or hearing the actual speech? If you objectively want to know which candidate most completely aligns with your views, just listen. You don't need sarcastic comments, you don't need flattering overtones, you need truth, and you need facts. Do you think that journalists want truth? Do you think they want facts? No, they want to sell! They are ENTERTAINERS!
Throughout this election, I have heard talk of making history...the first African American, the first woman, the first yadda yadda yadda...who cares? Why should we care whether we elect the first of anything? I liked the way Rudy Giuliani tried to phrase the question we should ask ourselves. The American people have two resumes presented to them, each with the names and political party removed from them. We read the resumes, interview the candidates ad select the best person for the job. It doesn't matter if that person has race, gender, religion, age, or handicap. So many people have fought to eliminate these barriers, these unfounded, unimportant prejudices. We have made great strides in accepting everyone into the American culture. Those journalists that claim history making events are perpetuating inequality. They are accentuating differences. They retreat into their on stereotyping prejudices. Again I ask, "what value do they add?" History-making...a history-making event would be to select a Congressional or Executive candidate based solely on their qualifications and not on the political, do-nothing commentators.
I have heard this Congress called the "do-nothing" Congress. I have heard our President called a "lame duck." But who is making these comments, and what value do these comments add to our society? If you want to know something, go to the source.
Don't get me wrong, media has a purpose in politics. They should keep polititians honest, they should expose truth and facts that politicians often try to blur. But the moment they begin to write commentary, they become entertainers.

Gift Cards

Never give gift cards as gifts. Let me repeat, "Never, never give gift cards as gifts!" I know I was told never to say never, but I simply can't help myself. No one should buy a gift card in lieu of a real gift or cash. Why do I make such a definitive and absolute statement? The Toyota Way has taught me that the primary goal of an efficient company is to decrease the time from when the company buys the raw materials/products to when they collect the money for the products they sell. Now companies sell you the opportunity(gift card) to purchase something more expensive(inflation) in the future, whoohoo! The marketing department and the city government invented gift cards as a way to increase the company and city profits, they claim the money as quarterly profits and they still have the products (the value of their company has increased). Most people spend more money than the gift card includes because they don't want to leave any money left on the card again increasing money made by the company. Finally there is a statistic that a quarter of all gift cards aren't redeemed. Sorry grandma. What is the benefit? Gift cards make the giver feel the gift is more "personal." But they make the gift less valuable. They decrease the value of cash by reducing the receivers' options while the time value of money is decreasing the value due to inflation and lost opportunity costs. The giver has to pay sales tax on the gift card, and the receivers must again pay sales tax on the products purchased with the card. Where is the value?

Great new website!

I have discovered what so many people already knew. www.junkscience.com
Although I have yet to explore the many facets of this site, I know that my search for logically thinking people has not been in vain. I have finally found a website where good science can be published without a lot of hype. The basic text of the website lends itself to the importance of the articles published on its pages. It doesn't draw a lot of attention to itself with flashing banners and out of control graphics. It is simply...science.

I have many times ranted about the ridiculous display put on by the media. I can't seem to make it any more clear than put it in simple economic terms. In the US, all major networks and news agencies are commerciallized, therefore they must sell something, make a profit and reinvest just like any company. So what does media sell? Well, back in the day, news was sold at the cost of obtaining, writing and publishing the news. But companies found that they could advertise their goods and services within the news media. Which may I ask is more profitable/easier for a company, to gather a bunch of dimes from a million people or a million dimes from one company. The answer is obvious when your read the Sunday ads...I mean paper. It has become difficult to find where news ends and media begins. (Actuall on that front, we found an ad that was written like news, with articles picture etc....very good ad from the point of view of the company) But what makes a company want to place an ad with one news agency over another? It must be that the news agency reaches more people or a target market or something. All news agencies have the same news to work from, so in order to sell more/reach more people, it must create something more interesting than the other news agency and thus, hysteria. Hysteria sells, when you as a consumer don't know what is going, you turn on the news, they produce hysteria, they sell more. This is no longer news but entertainment. I am fine with entertainment, but the media should never touch science, they shouldn't interview scientists (because their expert is usually no more informed than the next Joe) they should not report scientific findings. Just let the scientific journal publish science. Please, media agencies, stick to entertainment!

Playing in the dirt

As all kids don't grow without a little bit of dirt, I took Hannah outside to enjoy a few moments of fresh air. I really just needed to cut a few leaves off our basil plant for dinner, but I got carried away. As I looked up from my aggressive weeding program, I notice our dear sweet Hannah playing gleefully in the dirt. She happily sat on a potato mound. She dusted off the top of the mound with her sweeping arm moment that she is quite famour for at dinnertime. She put her hand to her mouth several times, which I know will just make DW cringe. Never boring with the mounds of dirt in the garden.

Fargone

I have so many questions I would love to ask US (speaking to our society and not individually)! Have we become so communist that we want to 'extra tax' a group of companies because they are profitable(big oil)? When did the political left sway so far as to desire universal heathcare(all democratic presidential candidates)? Have we forgotten what it really means to be an American; to believe that anything is possible with enough work and desire(unions and lottery)? Are we so lazy, are we so hooked on easy money that we vote to give it to ourselves(income tax rebate)? Has Texas' Robin Hood made communists(Texas' Robin Hood public school reform)? Have we not read Ayn Rand in all her capitalist, individualist glory(Atlas shrugged/The Fountainhead)? Why do we strike for money(many union examples)? Is it because we lack the drive to earn something more because we deserve it? Can we truly be so easily influenced by unscientific, unrealistic media campaigns(global warming whose name has subtly changed to climate change)? Does the person in the editing booth really make the story?

I am so tired of whiners! And that statement makes me a whiner, which annoys me even more!

What is wrong with us? What is so bad about our lives? Why can't we be happy? I will answer for you: What is wrong with you? You are impatient and unsatisfied. You are prideful and unjustified. You have lost your moral compass. And you don't know which way to go and thus you go nowhere. What is so bad about your life? Nothing. You have just forgotten to appreciate what you have received because you are constantly looking too far ahead to notice what is all around you. You don't appreciate your daily breath and thus you pollute. You don't appreciate any cover over your head and thus you go in debt or envy for something better. You don't appreciate your meal and thus you waste. Your lack of appreciation makes your life bad. Why can't you be happy? You only think about yourself. You aren't happy because you mis-take your roles in life. All of us fit in society like an individual piece of a puzzle. When you don't know your bounds and limitations, when you misrepresent the bounds and limitations of others, when you try to fit into someplace that is wrong for you, you are unhappy. Please, be happy and realize I am talking about everyone except you.

Sleep

This morning you might have eaten breakfast, you might have exercised, you might even have gone to a full service spa. This afternoon you may have eaten lunch, maybe you had to work, or even gone to the zoo. This evening you maybe had dinner with your family, pulled weeds in your lawn or worked on your hobby. All of these things may or may not have been important, but the thing that you did without realizing it that is the most important thing you did today was to wake up. I could write about the deep-rooted philosophical nature of the fact that you woke up, but I am not feeling very deep today.

Instead, I want to write about the importance of sleep mostly from observation. The first distinction I will make is quality sleep versus quantity sleep. I have heard that some people have sleep apnea sleep or fall asleep all the time and never feel rested. I can't really comment on these medical cases. So leaving aside any medically related sleep problems, I will comment on my observation of normal people sleep. Sleep increases your ability to remember, I don't care what you've read about ginseng, sleep will help you remember everything clearly as long as you get it in your head in the first place (but that is a different topic.) Sleep increases your energy, instead of relying on caffeine or other harmful drugs, try using the natural chemicals created in your body for providing that extra boost. Sleep increases your awareness/ your ability to focus. I have seen hundreds of people that are sleep deprived that just make mistakes, simple mistakes like walking, like talking, like calculus. (Despite what you may think, real world calculus cannot be done by anyone in their sleep.) The same thing goes for people that are overtired. Construction worker are the worst on this, they work all day and they are "almost done" with a job for six hours. They fall asleep in their truck late and wake up to find a crappy job that they have to redo. Sleep reduces irritability. When you have had a good night's rest, you will find that you are far more patient, more understanding and appreciative. You are also less aggressive, less annoyed, and less condescending. Sleep increases coordination, as evidenced by my daughter. I have observed on many occasions that as she gets more tired, she tends to fall down more, this typically ends in injury, Motrin, and sleep.

I am sure that there are other benefits to sleep, however, I am far too lazy to list them all. I am unmotivated to think critically because I am lacking sleep. Probably you also lack the ability to think clearly, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this blog. So do me a favor and get some sleep.

Kids

Children are ____.!? Well, children can be many things to a parent at many different times of the day. Previous to my wife being pregnant, I hadn't really planned on kids very early in my life. But I have learned and changed so much in the last three years it may have been worth it. I still feel like the same person I was long ago (so it seems) but I no longer have a free, unbound spirit. That sense of freedom that I once enjoy is no longer there. That is not a bad thing, my daughter (age <2) now seems to evoke within me the greatest happiness. Mostly because she is someone with whom I play. We enjoy rolling around on the floor, walking around the neighborhood, pulling weeds, and rolling balls. She has filled a role in my life, she is my friend, she has made me responsible, she relies on me for basic needs, she relies on me for bounds and rules, she has fun with me, and she looks forward to seeing me when I get home each day. I love her. The feelings I feel are like none that I have ever felt before. I know I am going to get some reaction from long-time parents, but up to this point, we get out of our daughter what we put into our daughter (with a little twist called personality.)
On the other side of the fence, what have I exchanged for the "joy of parenting"? ...A few other things I never really loved (like hours of shopping with my wife), some of the things I thought were ok (like going to parties and meeting new people) and pretty much everything I thought was fun.
It is a fact of life, you need to have kids. Kids keep you sharp and intuitive, they keep you young and fresh, they provide a lifetime of laughs and most of all a never-ending abyss into which you can throw money and watch it disappear.

Total Money Makeover

I made the mistake of mentioning to a supervisor that I was reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki. He immediately pounced with the high and mighty aspirations of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover which he promptly gave to me. I downed the children's book in about three sittings. It was full of stories about people who were very in debt but through the Total Money Makeover, they were now debt-free or almost there. It is quite an accomplishment to have so many people thank him for helping them see that there is a way out of debt and out of credit. The book explains the simple steps that follow, but if you want to save yourself a few hours, just call me and I can explain that whole process in about ten minutes (It is simple, but he had to make the book hefty enough for people to take it seriously.) Before you begin with step one, you have to be committed to getting out of debt. That means creating and sticking to a budget at all costs. Easy enough to say when there isn't a buy one get one half-off sale going on...anyway.
Step one: Save one thousand dollars as fast as possible (for emergencies)
Step two: Start the debt snowball, pay only the minimum payments on everything except the smallest debt and pay every extra penny you have toward getting rid of that debt. Pay off your debt, one creditor at a time.
Step three: Build a real emergency fund (3 to 6 months of survival money)
Step four: Fund your retirement with fifteen percent of your income
Step five: Save for your child's education
Step six: Pay off your mortgage
Step seven: Build wealth and enjoy it
In my opinion, this is a very simple, very good plan. I started calculating how long it would take to pay off our debt, and it looks like we can be debt free (besides the house) in only 11 months. Once we are out of debt, we will have more money to save and invest, and we won't be seriously scared by a downturn in the economy. That sounds pretty good to me. My family will have a total money makeover.

Assets and Liabilities

I have been reading the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. It is an interesting story of a person being trained from a very early age to simply understand money. The book was written to the financially inept with a lack of actual information. It seems that the author tries to tell his story in a way to exonerate him from actually giving advice. With that said, I am glued to this book. It explained the one concept that I needed to understand. Assets make you more wealthy; they provide you with money. Liabilities make you less wealthy; they provide you with expenses. Therefore, in order to be wealthy, you must acquire assets rather than liabilities. I did not come from a wealthy family, I do not expect to receive an inheritance other than momentos. In order for me to be wealthy, I have to work for money, I can then use that money to acquire assets which will then put my money to work. The author symbolically describes your dollars as employees, you can give away your employees, or you can put them to work.

Anyway, I have put myself in a situation that makes acquiring assets more slow. But eventually, I will have it figured out. I really hope I don't have to work for the next 40 year just to die on the street because I couldn't afford a nursing home...

Reduced options

Well, you can't count on people in general to make the right choice. I remember the phrase, "a person is smart, but people are dumb." That phrase has never rung more true than with public elections. I think it is funny how Republicans look back to President Reagan as a truly great President, and the Democrats look back at President Kennedy. When you compare the individual achievements of these two presidents, you realize what matters most to each of the groups. To the Republicans, they want someone who does what they say they will do. To the Democrats, they want someone who looks good (hence the failure of John Kerry.) But anyway, getting back to my point. Why do people as a collective make poor choices? The simple excitement of being accepted, (if only for a moment.) If you notice, in groups, there is always someone that is so likable, you'd follow him to the ends of the earth. These individuals are the decision-makers. They aren't not usually the leader, they are not the do-er, these individual are the fires that motivate the whole. Unfortunately, they aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, and thus we have the "dumb group".

Cyclops?!

These people are not "four-eyes" or your everyday "two-eyes," these cyclops are the lucky 'ones.' Their lives are always filled with questions. "How tall is that building?" "How long do I have to walk to get to that mountain?" "How will I ever know who my real friends are and who is just being nice because I am different?" But don't feel sorry for those regular cyclops too soon, giant cyclops have it even worse. They have an adjective decribing their body type. In the world we live, it is harassment to give someone an adjective. Whether it accurately and properly describes or not, adjectives are to be removed from all descriptions of people. No more are we allowed to have hair color, eye color, body size, personality traits, race, or belief descriptors.
I once met a giant cyclops who lived in a lonely cave, all he wanted was to have a friend over for dinner. Would you belive this, that person put out his only eye and snuck out before dinner. What is the world coming to?

The next President as I see it

As for the next President, my primary vote probably goes to the American, Mitt Romney. He is truly a self-made man with no reason to run for public office other than to help other Americans. Why did Warren Buffet give $37bil to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation instead of Joe "the non-profitteer" Sly? Because Bill Gates has no reason to help people other than helping people. Mitt wants to help America become what it should be, not by whining, not by buying friends both in the country and out, and not by waiting. His financial position, similar to Benjamin Franklin, allows him to be a true servant of the people. To all of the people out there who haven't made up your minds, look at the intentions of the candidates, what is in it for them.

If not Mitt, I would vote for Ron Paul. He is a very straight forward person with an easy going personality who seems to take no advise from Politicos (However, he is from Texas, we can't have two in a row!) John McCain is like George Bush, he has good intentions, but relys too heavily on his aides and advisers.
On the Democrat side, between Hillary and Obama, ...wow, what to say? Similar to Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean, we know we can count on a dishonest person to always be dishonest, and Hillary would always do what is best for Hillary.
When it is all said and done, as I said before, we focus too much on the leader, the generals don't do the fighting and dying or the standing and waiting. The president doesn't make laws, he gives direction. What direction do we want, whose intentions do we want to try fulfill?

Buying a house

If you have never been so stressed out that you wanted to jump into an icy river to relax, try buying a home. About half of the people I know own their own home, and to look at them, you'd only see normal people. But lurking underneath that facade of calm composure, there exists a deep well of what some call "experience." (That is just a fancy word for saying, they have made lots of mistakes.) I never imagine buying a home would be so complicated or so expensive. A few months ago when the US was in meltdown mode because a few billion dollars were lost in bad mortgages, I thought, "how could those people have ever dreamed of borrowing so much money under such terrible terms, and why would a lender loan those people so much money in such a sly way when the reality was that they wouldn't be able to afford their loan?" Now I look at it with open eyes. Here are my reasons why lenders and borrowers are in trouble.
1. Borrowers are brainwashed into the need to own a home.
2. The nitty-gritty of a home mortgage quite confusing.
3. The realtors, loan originators, brokers, appraisers, and anyone I haven't though of, all make money at the time of transaction; they aren't in it for the "long-haul." Once they have their money, they are gone.
4. Money in the financial world is relative. They talk in numbers, not dollars.
5. Real estate was one of the last places people can find money for nothing.

There are four ways to get money. First people look to get money by producing or manufacturing something (or owning an asset that producing something.) Second, they look to get money as a reward for brokering/producing a transaction (i.e. sales.) Third, they get money by borrowing it. And fourth, they let others borrow money for a price. In the US, we got tired of producing things, are getting beat by others at brokering deals, ran out of money for others to borrow, and now we are the borrowers. Ahh... the new American dream.