Have You Ever Wondered What 'MIC' Stands For?

The phrase "Military-Industrial Complex" (MIC) was made famous by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who in his 1961 farewell speech warned us about MIC, by stating, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
MIC refers to the alliance between the military and the war industry, who profits from war production.

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY (copy and paste this link to hear President Eisenhower articulate this passage of his speech)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five star general, before he became the President of the United States of America; he had first hand experience with the MIC, i.e. he knew what he was talking about.

Military Spending History

FY	DoD Base Budget vs.	Total Spending in Billions of dollars.

FY DoD Base Budget and Total Spending 2015 $496.1 $736.4 2016 Actual $521.7 $767.3 2017 Enacted $516.1 $793.7 2018 Budget $574.5 $824.6
Ref. https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-military-budget-components-challenges-growth-3306320 Our federal budget currently is 4,1 trillion dollars (1000 billions is 1 trillion, and 1000 millions is a billion); ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_United_States_federal_budget Considering the above numbers, our military spending is about 20% of our total federal budget. In 2016 we in the US spent more money on our military than the next eight countries combined.   Ref. https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison   When one looks at the foregoing, the warning by Eisenhower should come to mind. Other than North Korea, nobody is threatening to attack our nation, and the first and last time we were attacked, by a foreign power was in 1941, by the Japanese.  Even today, there is no hard evidence that North Korea has the capability to reach our country with their rockets. And, even if they could, we have the hardware to knock many of them out of the sky, we are told. Any reasonable person would, or should ask, why are we spending such an exaggerated amount on our military, coming from taxpayers money? To add insult to injury, trillions of dollars were reported unaccounted for, i.e. lost? 9/10/2001: Rumsfeld said, on TV, $2.3 TRILLION Missing from Pentagon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU4GdHLUHwU (copy and past link to see video) The next day, 911 came along, and as misfortune would have it, the Pentagon accounting offices were destroyed, during the attack.  Needless to say, to this day nobody knows, or cares, where this money was spent on, or whether it was filling somebody's private pockets. To add more insults to injury, the external auditor (Ernst & Young) now says, it cannot account for 800 millions. "The Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has reportedly "lost track" of hundreds of millions of dollars it spent,  said Ernst & Young, the accounting firm conducting the first-ever Pentagon audit, according to Politico. E&Y discovered that DLA "failed to properly document more than $800 million in construction projects," said Politico, which also reported this is just one of the many instances where millions of dollars went missing as the accountability system inside the Pentagon is broken. Worse, according to Politico, the first-ever audit, covering the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2016, signals complete incompetence about how the Pentagon handles its $700 billion annual budget." Ref. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-05/pentagon-auditor-cant-account-800-million-spending What is so hilarious, this was, apparently, the first ever audit carried out by an outside auditor. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is a multi-billion a year agency (about 366 billions in 2016), which was never audited, until now. Here at home, in our nation, we have so many urgent needs for the poor, education, healthcare, infrastructure like mass transportation, etc. and many others, too numerous to list them here. With all these needs, what is our Government doing, it spends too much on the military, and cannot account for trillions of dollars, money that could solve many of the nation's problems. Yes, we are voting every 4 years, but just because the party in power changes from time to time, it does not change the fact, that either party is in on the deal; each of them maintain the status quo, by continuing the mismanagement of our nation's financial resources. We don't have to fight them, we just must embarrass them daily, until normalcy reappears, and even then we must stay vigil, at all times. Right now we are all sleeping at the switch. Let us take a leaf from the young generations' book of social media, and spread this type of information, to every American, who is old enough to read. Most of our fellow citizens are struggling daily, by working full-time jobs, and have little time to research what is really going on. We can help them by providing this type of information, in abridged format. This is what a democracy is, foremost, all about. Voting is OK, but it changes little, if anything.

ADDITIONAL LAND GRAB BY THE MILITARY?

The LVW NEWS reported 2.15.18 in an article, with pictures, that the military seeks more wilderness areas for the purpose of destroying it. When is enough enough? As can be seen on the picture, the military has already a tremendous land area, that they are currently using to play war. While the additional land wanted appears to be small by comparison to the land they already occupy, it represents 300,000 acres, no small potato. What this picture clearly demonstrates is, that the military has already grabbed a considerable land area, that the taxpaying people can no longer enjoy for recreational use.

The military may be a necessary evil, however, there has to be a limit on how much they can take from the public domain. Already the quality of life is severely impacted by tremendous noise pollution, caused by low flying jets over the homes of many. At times our homes and its contents are severely shaken in the process. 

Merriam Webster defines Land Grab as follows.: a usually swift acquisition of property (such as land or patent rights) often by fraud or force. 

We have become a nation where violence and destruction is all around us; our children are no longer safe in schools. Young impressionable minds absorb all this diet of violence we feed them with video games, depicting military brutality at every turn. The AK-47 and AR-15 have become the weapons of choice to kill our children in their classrooms. Instead of preserving wilderness areas for the present and future generations for peaceful, educational, and recreational purposes, the military with their apparent unsatisfiable appetite for more land will diminish this opportunity. The military, who is to be ready to protect the homeland, from the enemy, looks now more and more like the enemy, by destroying our homeland. Land taken from the people is for all intense and purpose, land destroyed, along with nature and animals in it. When is enough enough?

We have until March 8, so the paper reports, to register our opposition to this land withdrawal, by our Government, for the benefit of military expansion, in our state. For more info visit www.nttrleis.com, or call 702-652-2750; you can also email your comments to nttrleis@leidos.com. Pickup the 2.15.18 edition of the LVW NEWS, page 65 has the article with more info.

Let Us Stop It!

Please pass this article on!

Darkest areas are at issue.
 

 

We Need A Paradigm Shift In Our Culture

The following was transmitted to President Trump on his website, Feb. 16, 2018.

If we as a society do not change our culture drastically, we can talk about mass shooting prevention until we are blue in the face, nothing of consequence will happen, and shootings in schools and elsewhere will happen again and again.  We as a nation have failed too many times, at all levels, in every category of local and federal Government Agencies, including the FBI, the School Administration, and Citizenry.

The world Trade towers' story was perhaps the biggest blunder, since Pearl Harbor, if indeed it was caused by outside agents; many professionals in engineering and sciences, including Metallurgy would argue that the heat generated by burning Jet Fuel in air will not melt steel. 

FACT: Jet fuel burns at 800° to 1500°F, not hot enough to melt steel (2750°F).

For the sake of this article, let us say, the towers came down because of the witnessed impact by the Planes, piloted by foreign agents.  Here were more than enough warning signs, to foil this plot, had the agencies responsible for our protection done their job; they did not see the obvious over and over again.  One could almost get the feeling that nobody wanted to handle this hot potato, or worse still, nobody gave a damn about our safety.  In any event, the FBI, and others, did not do their due diligence, in this matter as well.

The recent mass school killings in Parkland, Florida, just a few days ago, almost mirrors the incompetence exhibited before 911 happened; here too the many warning signs were ignored, or for lack of competence, not recognized what they were.

Now let us look at what went wrong.
The school administration took the easy way out, by just kicking the student out, without investigating the root cause for his unsociable behavior; I have read or heard so far nothing about such an effort.  After such a tragedy, involving the loss of life, and serious injuries, schools are quick to provide counseling to the survivors, but apparently the troubled student received little, or most likely no counseling, by the school, or the school district; he should have been referred to a professional psychological counsel.  We all know that children, and young people act out to get attention.  This is especially true for teens, who yearn to be respected like adults; they want to be somebody, they are trying to cement their self-esteem.

Now let us look at a better way to handle a similar situation.
Let me share a real life situation, which I experienced a while back.  One of my supervisors came to see me, to report that a certain inspector, who was a Vietnam Vet. had said to him, that sometimes he feels like coming to work with a gun, and kill all those who are constantly bullying him, at the workplace.  I ask my supervisor, how he responded to the individual.  Whereupon he told me, " I said, what the hell are you talking about".  At this point it would have been easy to fire, the inspector, on the spot.  I chose a different route to solve the problem.

I ask that the inspector come to my office at once, for a talk.  When he arrived, looking very upset, I invited him to seat next to me; I did not sit behind my desk to demonstrate my authority, which would have been very wrong.  After assuring him that this talk was not between him and his manager, he opened up bit by bit.  I learned that he was under the care by a VA hospital for some time for PSD, without much success.  When I asked, why does he think his fellow employees are harassing him, he could not point at a specific reason, they, apparently, just enjoyed bullying him; he broke down in tears.  His self-esteem appeared to be rock bottom.

Here is what I did to resolve the issue.  First I offered for him to go home for the rest of the day, with pay, to calm down.  Then I asked him not to report for work, at his usual place of work, but to report to another division, a few miles from the former place.  Finally I asked him to keep our conversation private.  A couple of days later I visited him at his new job, and before I could asked him how things were going with him, he told me that he liked his new job, and that his fellow workers liked him.  It was very obvious, his self-esteem was on the mend.  I followed up several months later, and found him to be all smiles.  When I asked his supervisor about him, the man was also all smiles; we had a win-win situation.

I have been managing Quality Assurance/Inspection departments, for major Aircraft and Aerospace companies for many, many years.  I also lectured on Root Cause Identification and Corrective action, at a number of Technical Symposiums, and I think I am qualified for saying, that the school administration handled this student, less than professional.  It appears their action contributed to the sad outcome of this story.

From what I could gather, early in the phase of this matter, other students were knowingly or unwittingly making this student feel less than welcome, in his surrounding.  The student's perception must be acknowledged.  His alleged bad behavior was most likely caused by what he perceived to be a hostile environment.  The school administration knew, or should have known, in what situation this student found himself.  The school administration forgot that every student is also a customer, without whom they would not be in business; one must never see a customer leave ones business upset and humiliated, because human nature will look for vindication, or worse try to get even.

Most schools in our country manage barely to instill the necessary academic knowledge, and skills into their students; more importantly, the fail together with the parents, to show them what good social behavior looks like.  I live near a middle school, and I see these young people, on our streets when they are on their way home, and I can assure, they lack good social manners.  They have no respect for public or private property, nor consideration for the world around them.  What are our schools doing to eradicate bullying?  To make matters worse, we are providing these young people with smart phones, so they can insult and malign others, in an anonymous fashion, and have driven some to suicide because of it.

As far as the FBI is concerned, their excuse that they were unable to link the screenshot provided to the person who posted this insane statement, about wanting to be a professional school shooter, is not only sad, but totally outrageous.  They were sitting on vital input provided to them, doing absolutely nothing to prevent this tragedy.  After the killing, they now suddenly were able to connect the dots.  That reminds one of the police department, who did not act properly, when a young women athlete reported sexual abuse by the team doctor.  An apology by them, this late in the game, only adds insult to injury.

The first order of business to solve any problem must always be the search for the root cause, only then can we take action for the immediate fix, followed by lasting corrective action, to prevent any recurrence.  We need parents and relatives to talk to the young people in their family, and guide them to become good members of our society.  Next the schools must reinforce good social manners, in and around the school, and the world at large.  So far I see little of any evidence that this is happening.  Too many parents, today, are too preoccupied with themselves to bother with the very children they produced.

When I grew up, all the neighbors in the immediate surrounding had the God given right to discipline us unruly children, and when we complaint about them doing so, we got another lecture from our parents as well.  Nowadays, should a neighbor scold or slap an unruly child, he his immediately threatened with a lawsuit by the parents, who did not fulfill their obligation to educate their off-springs to act always in a civil manner, respecting others, as well as their property.

Last but not least our law enforcement agencies, who get pretty good pay, must earn their paycheck, by performing their fiduciary obligations, and protect the people 100% every time; too many times young people are ignored, as a matter of routine.  Young misguided people can inflict great pain, on all of us, when they perceive that we do not respect them as a person, by ignoring their mental anguish.  From our own experience, we surely all know that growing up is not easy!
 

US A Plutocracy - No Longer A Democracy?

In October 16, 2005 Citigroup wrote a report for their wealthy clients, which eventually was leaked, I suppose, and can now be found on the internet, where I found it, and others that followed some time later.  When we read their summaries, I think we get the picture, what they think about the average citizen in this country, and others who also operate their economies as a plutonomy.

First let's look at two definitions:

What is Plutocracy?

• Government by the wealthy.

• A country or society governed by the wealthy.

• An elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.

 What is "plutonomy"

"Plutonomy (from Greek πλοῦτος, ploutos, meaning 'wealth', and νόμος, nomos, meaning 'law', a portmanteau of "plutocracy" and "economy") is a term that Citigroup analysts have used for economies "where economic growth is powered by and largely consumed by the wealthy few."

 In the summary of this report they wrote;

"SUMMARY
➤ The World is dividing into two blocs - the Plutonomy and the rest. The U.S.,
UK, and Canada are the key Plutonomies - economies powered by the wealthy.
Continental Europe (ex-Italy) and Japan are in the egalitarian bloc.
➤ Equity risk premium embedded in “global imbalances” are unwarranted. In
plutonomies the rich absorb a disproportionate chunk of the economy and have
a massive impact on reported aggregate numbers like savings rates, current
account deficits, consumption levels, etc. This imbalance in inequality
expresses itself in the standard scary “ global imbalances”. We worry less.
➤ There is no “average consumer” in a Plutonomy. Consensus analyses focusing
on the “average” consumer are flawed from the start. The Plutonomy Stock
Basket outperformed MSCI AC World by 6.8% per year since 1985. Does
even better if equities beat housing. Select names: Julius Baer, Bulgari,
Richemont, Kuoni, and Toll Brothers."

In this report we can also read,
"4) In a plutonomy there is no such animal as “the U.S. consumer” or “the UK
consumer”, or indeed the “Russian consumer”. There are rich consumers, few in
number, but disproportionate in the gigantic slice of income and consumption they take.
There are the rest, the “non-rich”, the multitudinous many, but only accounting for surprisingly small bites of the national pie."

"At the heart of plutonomy, is income inequality. Societies that are willing to
tolerate/endorse income inequality, are willing to tolerate/endorse plutonomy."

"Protectionism or regulation. Here, we believe lies a cornerstone of the current wave of plutonomy, and with it, the potential for capitalists around the world to profit. The wave of globalization that the world is currently surfing, is clearly to the benefit of global capitalists, as we have highlighted. But it is also to the disadvantage of developed market labor, especially at the lower end of the food-chain."

"Our conclusion? The three levers governments and societies could pull on to end plutonomy are benign. Property rights are generally still intact, taxation policies neutral to favorable, and globalization is keeping the supply of labor in surplus, acting as a brake on wage inflation."

"The U.S., UK, and Canada are the key Plutonomies - economies powered by the wealthy.
Continental Europe (ex-Italy) and Japan are in the egalitarian bloc."

Ref. https://pissedoffwoman.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/citigroup-plutonomy-report-part-1.pdf

In March 5, 2006, their summary reflects the following.

"SUMMARY
➤ The latest Survey of Consumer Finances, for 2004, has been released by the
Federal Reserve. It shows the rich continue to account for a disproportionately
large share of income and wealth in the US economy: the richest 10% of
Americans account for 43% of income, and 57% of net worth. The net worth to
income ratio for the richest 10% of Americans increased from 7.4x in 2001, to
8.4x in the 2004 survey. The rich are in great shape, financially.
➤ We think this income and wealth inequality (plutonomy) helps explain many of the conundrums that vex equity investors, such as why high oil prices haven't
seriously dented growth, or why "global imbalances" are growing along with
the equity bull market. Implication 1:Worry less about these conundrums.
➤ We think the rich are likely to get even wealthier in the coming years.
Implication 2: we like companies that sell to or service the rich - luxury goods,
private banks etc. Favored names include LVMH and Richemont."

 Ref. https://pissedoffwoman.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/citigroup-plutonomy-report-part-2.pdf

In September 29, 2006, the wrote the following:

"The Global Investigator
The Plutonomy Symposium — Rising Tides
Lifting Yachts
➤ Time to re-commit to plutonomy stocks – Binge on Bling.
Equity multiples appear too low, the profit share of GDP is high and likely going higher, stocks look likely to beat housing, and we are bullish on equities. The Uber-rich, the plutonomists, are likely to see net worth-income ratios surge, driving luxury consumption.
Buy plutonomy stocks (list inside).
➤ Plutonomy stocks at a premium, but relative pricing power is key.
➤ Our Plutonomy Symposium take-aways. The key challenge for corporates in this space is to maintain the mystique of prestige while trying to grow revenue and hit the mass-affluent market. Finding pure-plays on the plutonomy theme, however, is tricky.
➤ Plutonomy and the Great Conundrums of our age.
We think the balance sheets of the rich are in great shape, and are likely to continue to improve. Don’t be shocked if the savings rate worsens as equities do well.
➤ What could go wrong?
Beyond war, inflation, the end of the technology/productivity wave, and financial collapse, we think the most potent and short-term threat would be societies demanding a more ‘equitable’ share of wealth."  Emphasis added.

Ref. https://pissedoffwoman.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/citigroup-plutonomy-report-part-3.pdf

I admit, the referenced reports herein represent heavy reading; the charts do not reflect the current state of affairs, however, we get the message, don't we?

I recall reading in one of these reports, that in their opinion, the US is no longer a democracy, because the super rich are now calling the shots.  I find myself in complete agreement.  We see that also in other major countries, and until the majority has enough of this abuse, it will go on.  The fact that we have elections, does not alter the fact that the working men and women, are getting the short end of the stick.

This Plutonomy can only exist, because the majority, which is poor compared to the super rich, have an innate dream to one day join them, by perhaps winning the big lottery one day, or by some other fantasy coming true, etc.  Once the majority realizes and accepts the truth, it will spell the end of this plutonomy, we are now subjected to.  History is full of examples where the masses finally saw the light, and reacted, and often it was not a pretty picture.

 We are told over and over the tale of the American Dream, and if we work just hard enough, we can achieve anything.  Most of the current wealthy were born with  silver spoons in their mouths; I venture to say that almost all of the self-made Billionaires did not get there, within the rules of the law.  Somebody got the shaft, and contributed to their lucky (?) fortunes.  Just look at companies like Herbalife, and others less blatant.  Companies who pray on the poor, less knowledgeable, and the greedy, who risk their retirement, aspiring the American Dream.

The American Dream is mostly reserved, and enjoyed by the ruling class, in this country.  A number of other countries have similar outcomes.  For the working stiffs, the American Dream is nothing but a mirage, and failing to see what it really is, keeps the Plutonomy going.

As an aside, the front people of the super rich, also known as our members of congress, for the most part are multi-millionaires.  When one follows the link below, one can see how rich the majority of them really are.  There are a few, probably newcomers, who have not collected their share yet; just give them time.
https://media.cq.com/50Richest/

Instead Of Doing The People's Business Opposition Members Of Congress Are Seen Pouting

I watched the 2018 State Of The Union Address, and it occurred to me, that every year when one is presented, the opposition party, either Democrat or Republican, is acting like a spoiled child.

It is clear to me, these representatives are not representing the American people, but are in this business to serve themselves.  Whenever the cookie jar is taken from them, we see them stone-faced, even when good news for the people is announced.  They hate when the party in power appears to have done well for the people; they cannot even fake concern for the American people.

The comments above apply to both parties, it is all a question of timing.  Congress, as a consequence, is not functioning as it was designed by the founders.  It is now all about me and myself only; greed is now so pervasive, and the Congress is no good example  for our children, the future generation.

They know that their stone faces are nationally televised, but they don't care; they believe it is their duty to act like assholes, and they feel good about it, apparently.  When are our politicians going to grow up?   Of course, many members of Congress used to be lawyers, and in this business it is not about justice, for the most part, but all about winning; losing is very painful, it hurts the ego.

The pictures below speak volumes.  Why do I show mainly pictures of Nancy P.?  She best reflects what I was saying above; she is by no means the only example, too many others are available.  I remember many stone faced Republicans, from the past, when they were in opposition; I was not lucky to find quickly some of their faces in pictures.

When in opposition:

 

When in the ruling party

  

Lies And More Lies - Open Letter To President Trump

The following was posted onto the website of President Trump, to his attention.

"Mr. President,

How can America be great again when your Government continues the lies of all the previous Governments, in recent memory?

My case in point is this LIE, repeated year after year.  My letter from the Social Security Administration announcing my new benefit amount for 2018 starts with a big LIE!  It says,

 “Your Social Security benefits will increase by 2% in 2018 because of the rise in the cost of living.”

What it should have said is this.

“Your Social Security benefits will increase by 0.6% only in 2018, because we allotted 1.4% to the Medical Industrial Complex, granting them a $24.00 a month increase, in your case, which represents 21.8% over your last year’s monthly medical insurance premium.

We apologize that the 0.6% increase does not even come close to the 2.0% current inflation, i.e. cost of living increase.  However, you must agree that screwing you is much less burdensome, and thus more cost effective for us, than had we done our job and hold the Medical Industrial Complex to cost increases not exceeding the official rate of inflation.”

Your Government, like the many before you, has elected to let the ongoing Medicare fraud continue, by allowing, and thus paying inflated medical charges, without any apparent opposition.  How else can our Medicare cost keep going up at these rates?  During your campaign you promised to tackle this problem, and save a lot of taxpayer money, in doing so.  Where is the evidence?

For example, I made this year about three visits to the doctor’s office, all of which pretty much routine, like renewing prescription, discussing blood tests, and fighting an ongoing cold.  In each case I was not seen by a doctor, as in days gone by, but by a Nurse Practitioner, or a PAC, Physician Assistant Certified.  Adding to that the new E-Visits, which is more time saving yet, the cost of doing business is less yet.  I am convinced, every one of these charges claimed from the Government forgot to mention that a lower, less expensive individual, or method, like E-Visits, did the job, and not a Medical Doctor.  Had claims like these been honest, I would have seen a reduction in premium, and not an increase!

Now, Mr. President, how can America be great again, when, according to the Government, it is occupied by over 320 million idiots, by us the public?  It is clear to me, this great America does not include us retired workhorses, who made America great, in years gone by.  In fact, our Governments managed very well to keep us in constant fear about our earned and paid for Social Security benefits, by threatening payment cuts, at every opportunity.  Shame, shame, and more shame!

I am looking to you to stop these fake facts, emanating from your Government now.  You rightfully object to fake news; well, I object to fake facts, dressed in misleading statements by the Social Security Administration, or any other departments.

This 0.6 % increase, in real purchasing power, is an insult to everyone's intelligence, and clearly shows how little your Government thinks of us; we are indeed idiots for accepting this without rioting in the streets.  America will never be great again, as long as our Government misuses our tax dollars to feed the already super rich, at our expense!"

Bad Business Practices

I recently received a second notice from my city's utility department, trying again to shake me down for protection of my exterior piping.  It reminded me of the well-known Mafia practices, giving you two choices, neither of them good.  Below see the tactic employed in a very unethical way, in my opinion, which got them a bunch of money, I am sure, from people who got intimidated, by the wording of the notice, and the missing option to opt out, on the "ACCEPTANCE FORM".  In the end, they tell us you can buy it or buy it, buster (see form below).

You may ask, why am I sharing this experience of mine?  It simply underscores what I had written before; the customer is no longer the king, but the servant of even organizations, which should in reality serve us, the customer.  Am I the only one that experiences this form of abuse?  I think not.

As an aside, the probability that the water line from the city supply line, at the curb, to the home becomes defective is, in my opinion, very low.  hence this kind of deal is a moneymaker for whoever profits from this 'protection plan'.  Granted some will accept the cost for this protection.  As far as I am concerned, this is equivalent to buying insurance in case one is hit by lightening; it could happen, but is highly unlikely.

Something To Think About

My friend, John D., sent me an article that showed an interesting chart,  which I will share below.
 We are probably all familiar with the saying,
  "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it"  - Edmund Burke
 I would like to modify this slightly by stating, 'Those who ignore history are apt to repeat it'.
It was in 2008 when the last housing bubble exploded with terrifying results, yes, just about nine years ago, and here we are actively occupied to create another housing bubble; the chart below clearly shows that.

Taken from https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2017/11/the-biggest-ponzi-in-human-history/

Granted this is a very busy chart, however, it clearly shows that we are, worldwide, well on the way to not only create another housing bubble, but to invite another housing market collapse.  Even Germany who did not participate prior to 2008, has now joined the irresponsible crowd of nations, and, apparently, has found a reason why to participate, in the madness, this time.

For a while, right after the collapse, the lending industry (banks, etc) placed some hard rules in place, requiring reasonable assurance that the borrower has the means 1) to purchase the property, and 2) service the mortgage.  It did not take long before many lenders, who needed/wanted more fees, etc. were relaxing these more strict requirements.  In addition, interest rates are kept, to this day, at a very low level, inviting again those, who really should not purchase a property; they cannot afford, in the long run.

I am afraid the next housing collapse will make the prior look like a little bump in the road; this time it will be much more devastating, because the evil planners will want much more than previously.  The curve describing human greed is an exponential one!  For the most part, housing values have regained their previous losses and some.  It will be risky to acquire real estate in these uncertain times; some countries are more risky than others, to be sure.  But, in the end the 'Domino' effect will be the equalizer.
  

Is The News Media Competing with Tabloids Nowadays?

A while back news used to be informing, its entertainment value was next to zero; news reporters and 'Anchors' stuck, for the most part, to the facts.  Stories were checked diligently for facts and veracity, before they were printed.  Reporters were respectful towards people they interviewed for their stories; they asked serious questions without being a crusader for one political party or the other.

Today when reading or watching the so-called news of today, one cannot escape the feeling that the newscasters/reporters are more concerned with making a name for themselves by asking, in their opinion, hard and though questions underscored with aggressive, and often insulting demeanor on their part.  The once respected news outlets are today no better than the many supermarket tabloids; their aim is to preoccupy and entertain the masses with gossip like stories, while promoting the political agendas of the media owners.  Too many times stories are created without any facts, just to get even with whoever took issue with their reporting of a story, or event. Internet research shows, the majority of Americans do not trust the media; this trust erosion is not new, but trust is at its lowest now, as reported by a number of polls.

There was a time when readers and viewers would not stand for this nonsense, but in an era when many of us can be convinced that wearing jeans torn, and having large holes are fashionable, this bygone discrimination, apparently, no longer exists within too many of us.

 "When you mix fiction and news, you diminish the distinction between truth and fiction, and you wear down the audience's own discriminating power to judge."
–Bill Moyers

These pictures, shown below, were taken at a better department store in Las Vegas 10/22/2017; these items were not inexpensive.

When Respect Is Death ...

You may have also noticed that, of late, public comments and actions, by too many of us are totally devoid of any respect.  National symbols connected to our history are blatantly destroyed, or planned to be on the chopping block.  It appears, some of us wish to totally erase some of our history, that is, attempt to obliterate our past; they do not understand that history is what it is, history.  They desperately try to suppress our dark and not so pleasant past; in so doing they do more harm than good, it just does not work, ask any Shrink.  When we erase our past, how can we tell whether or not we made any progress, in our society?

There was a time when many people, in the past, did not agree with their then current president, but they always respected the office of the president; after all, a majority elected him, and people respected the choice of others, without malice.  Today not only is the person of the president attacked, but more importantly, the office of the president is under attack, with the help of a partisan media, I might add.  Just listen to the media pundits, or watch their interviews where venom is leaking from the corners of their mouth; their bias is blatantly obvious.

One hears, Clinton had more votes than Trump (about 2 million more), however, her surplus votes came from large cities, hardly representing the country as a whole.  Besides, Trump did not make the rules; the system of the Electoral College, ensures that rural areas of our country also have a voice.  Trump is very unpopular with many people, most of which did not vote for him, in the fist place, and he has a way of rattling some nerves.  Unlike most presidents of the past, who never voiced their true feeling, or opinions before the masses, speaking with veiled words, that were hard to decipher, Trump does not hide behind measured statements, he mostly speaks his mind, no matter what the cost, at times.  We mostly know where he stands; this makes us, at times, feel uncomfortable; we are not used to that.  Yet, when some of the recordings of past president saw the light of day, we learned that these men, did use some strong language, and expressed their opinions, in private, that were anything but presidential.

Without a doubt, Trump is, at times, his own worse enemy; his Twitter account creates many problems for him.  He clearly has no degree in English, and often puts his pen to paper, before he gives matters the consideration they deserve.  He is indeed too human for our liking it seems.  In our minds, once a man or a woman is elected to office, they have to be perfect in every way.  This of course is totally unrealistic, and yet we are ready to throw stones at them, at every opportunity.

In recent memory we had our share of natural disasters, and since presidents are usually placed on a pedestal, by many, with super hero qualities and powers assigned, any mortal relief actions are deemed inadequate.  Some of us are of the opinion, that if one throws enough money at a major natural disaster problem, it should be resolved in short order.  Failing that, the president is a bum.  We, the people, do not nearly appreciate the problems a Hurricane, for example, can create, where no matter how much money one throws at it, it takes a long time to bring aid to the needy, when roads and other infrastructures have been decimated, by the event.

This time it is Trump's turn to be the scapegoat for the lack of immediate restoration of normalcy following not one but three major Hurricanes.  And, there will be future presidents, who will not fare any better, without a doubt.  We, the people, are what we are, as imperfect as our presidents seems to be.  When Captain Cook was mortally wounded in Hawaii, the natives exclaimed, he bleeds!

I Completely Agree ... But

It is certainly no secrete that we have, in the USA, a serious problem regarding social and racial inequality, and I agree there should be no harm in publicly acknowledging this fact.  Our constitution's second amendment does indeed afford us protection, as stated below.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

 Some of the professional athletes, of late, are trying to draw attention to these stark inequalities in our society, and that is a good thing.  However, showing outright disrespect concerning our national symbols, like our flag, and the national anthem, is not the right way to go about.  Since a very long time people, historically, have always stood up straight, with one hand over the heart, while our anthem was played.  President Obama, apparently, may have been the exception, on at least one occasion, when he was seen, on TV, having his hands folded below his navel area, while the anthem was played, or the pledge of allegiance was spoken.

We should also consider the millions of Americans, our brothers and sisters, who have given their lives, in a number of wars, carrying these symbols in their hearts, and our flag into battles.  How can anybody show utter disrespect for our national symbols, in light of all these sacrifices?

In my opinion, it is certainly disingenuous, on the part of these athletes to decry social inequalities, when they themselves are part of the problem.  Together with their owners, they are guilty of indirectly stealing great sums of money, from mostly working people, who in many cases live from paycheck to paycheck.  In defense of the owners, I must acknowledge that they are practically forced into gouging the public because of the high fees/salaries demanded by their players.  These astronomical salaries far exceed what they should receive for their services.  I venture to say these players are not any better than the players of old, who, by the way, performed mostly without the use of drugs, and for a lot less money.

I would not be surprised that buying tickets to sporting events, today, will often result in shortchanging the needs of families.  These athletes, apparently, have no problem with this; the money they carry to the banks is saturated with blood, sweat and tears of the working people, no doubt. Whenever I watch their self-righteous performance on the national news networks, I smell a strong odor of hypocrisy.   If they really care about our social inequity, why don’t they donate 50% of their inflated salaries to help minimize this social problem?

Their donations could also help in minimizing racial inequalities, by building better schools in mostly black areas, finance clinics to provide better healthcare, and ensure all people of color, and others in inner cities, have at least one good meal a day.

Their public performance cost them nothing; to the contrary, it gives them top billing on national television that normally would cost in the thousands of dollars.  These players, while exercising their first amendment rights, are doing so in a very disrespectful, hurtful, and insulting manner, while at the same time providing a bad example for our young people of today.

Myself, I stopped going to the games a long time ago, when I saw the extreme greed attached to these events; these professional sports, today, act like a cancer feeding on the host, the public.   They forget that when the host eventually dies, they also perish.