Obesity Musings

Several pieces of trivia I've learned over the years seems to gel into an idea of why our obesity rate is high in the U.S. and other countries.

Here are the pieces:

• Hot dogs and Twinkies do not rot in landfills.
• McDonalds hamburgers don't rot.. according to two sources: radio program, conversation with friend.
• When cows are in the feed lot prior to slaughtering, they are fed corn which the cows cannot digest properly.  I was told their stomachs would perforate unless they are fed antibiotics.
• Antibiotics kill friendly bacteria in our intestines and a recent study associates antibiotics with obesity.

So, is it the bacteria in our intestines responsible for obesity?  Seems like the evidence is building up.

Now I have to see if there are any studies done on the bacterial mix in the intestines from different cultures, especially those cultures that do not have an obesity problem.

And, I'm wondering if the antibiotic resistant bacteria are killed by the two glasses of wine recommended by doctors for men, one for women?


Just thoughts,

Eric

Cain's Naughtiness

"Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged"

Do you know of any human on earth who has not sinned (Besides Jesus Christ)?

I don't anyone who is perfect. I KNOW I'm not. 

Let's face it.  All of us have done things we regret and it is very hard to fess up to them.  

I don't care if Herman Cain is innocent or guilty.  Herman is a human just like the rest of us.  We all make mistakes, there are plenty of times when we wanted to say one thing and another thing came out of our mouths.

These mistakes are called "life". 

I remember a time when I wanted to help someone.  I wanted to forewarn this person about rumors being spread (unjustly) about a mistake this person was supposed to have made.  I thought it would help this person deal with the situation if forewarned before things blew up into madness.

When I did this, this person heard something completely different and thought I was accusing him/her of making a mistake.  I tried to explain, but communication didn't occur.  The SHOCK of the unexpected blocked this person from hearing me trying to explain what I said and that I only wanted to help.

So, what happened from my effort to help?  I was reported to upper management with a complaint and went through much of what Mr. Cain went through.  It was a nightmare that came from trying to help someone out.

Now, I see Mr. Cain going through the same thing.  It is not fun, it has you second guessing yourself constantly asking yourself questions like "What did I do?", "How could I have said this better?",  "Am I insane?, "Do I have a double personality?" "What was heard?"

I've come to the conclusion that what we see and hear is what we expect to see and hear.  So if I said the water is red, the person who heard me would swear I said the water was blue.

There's another thing that bugs me.  Men are supposed to be perfect.  How can any man be perfect with a ton of testosterone floating through his blood?  IF Mr. Cain had a weak moment, MORE POWER TO HIM.  It would only attest to the fact that he is A MAN!  Much better than having a wimp running things.

Now the other side... WOMEN. 

Did you ever read the book "Men Are From Mars, Women from Venus"?

This book explains that men and women think different. That's why the battle of the sexes.

One thing that women have over men is that they are much better communicators than men.

Men just plod along trying to get their point across.  (Relative to women who can talk your head off.)

Let's face it... we all make mistakes, some are embarrassing and we learn from them. Our mistakes help us build our character and we are much less likely to make the same mistake again.

Coming from a man's perspective, if a man propositioned a girl, she should be flattered and can deny easily. No problem. 

Going berzerk at being propositioned to says to me there's a mental disorder there.  We are all adults and adults can understand the underlying nature of sexual attraction.  Gosh, if we didn't have sexual attraction we'd die out as a species. The 7 billion people in this world attests to the fact that sexual attraction exists. 

So, all you muckrakers out there. You aren't doing yourself any good.  

If your are right about the allegations against Mr. Cain,  you are just verifying the fact that Mr. Cain is a MAN, who, like most men, make human mistakes once in a while.

If you're wrong, you are no better than a malicious gossiper.

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that our memory is not perfect. Memories change over the years much like the story that's passed on from one person to another.

How can anyone relate something that has happened over 6 years ago with absolute accuracy?  Lawyers understand this, judges understand this.  Witnesses have shown over and over again that they aren't reliable because they can only remember what the perceived and their perception could be totally wrong!

Let's focus on the point that Mr. Cain has figured out how to help us all out.  His 9-9-9 plan is robust.  You can tell by his lead in getting the other candidates to come up with a knock-off of his plan.  

What Mr. Cain calculated was an optimum.  Look at the other proposals... 23%????  

Any number greater than 9 in any of these other proposals indicates to me that the "LESS THAN OPTIMUM" is being promoted for "SPECIAL INTEREST ADVANTAGE"  

Follow the money and see how the other proposals leave in chances to do an end run around the best plan available.  Numbers don't lie.  Herman Cain knows that.

I like Heramn Cain's Dynamic Analysis

Herman Cain Cannot Lie

I like Herman Cain's Process

I've worked in a lab and spent many hours trying to analyze, mathematically model, and optimize formulas for consumer products.  During my years of learning, I discovered dynamic analysis and learned that it was very effective in finding the best solution to "multivariate" problems.

When I heard Herman Cain mention that he is a mathematician and uses dynamic analysis, I knew

he was going to be a winner.  Math cannot lie.  Herman Cain knows this.

Enjoy this video I put together. It explains how dynamic analysis can fix our country.

They Want me Dead

Why do they want me dead? 

Bernanke announced the cost of living went up 6%. 

Social Security recipients are getting a 3.5% cost of living which should pay for the 3.5% increase in medicare deductions in Jan 2012. 

Co-pay for Medicare A-B is 20%. My "Agent Orange" cancer costs ~$60,000/yr.

The best supplemental insurance I can get requires minimum $5000.00 "out of pocket" before the rest of the expense is paid for. 

This program leaves about $7000/year left for living expenses.... not enough to survive on. Food prices rising 200%/yr. All prices up....

They want me dead.

CHANGE

I wrote a post somewhere and lost it.  So, I'll try to re-construct the idea and embellish on it.

Did you ever wonder why groups of people stay where they are? 

Why don't shanty towns disappear? If you were born in a shanty town, you are most likely to live your whole life in a shanty town in spite of the fact that you could leave it for a richer life elsewhere. 

The same goes for those born in ghettos, deserts, or low lying coasts where many people die from storm surges and high tides every year..

I learned about this WHY from the experience my sister had.

Here's her story.........

My sister married a man she met through writing to a soldier during the Vietnam war.
He was from west Texas, she from Wisconsin.

He decided to move to Wisconsin to live with my sister and they both spent several years there.  However, he missed "home" and finally convinced my sister to move to West Texas with him.

In Wisconsin, we had trees, grass and enough rain to keep things green. West Texas is basically flat desert with cactus, mesquite, dry, dusty, and a horizon filled with pump jacks. It smells of oil and the drinking water is brackish.

But West Texas was home to my brother-in-law and he missed it. (My predilection is green, his is wide skies and brackish water.)  Now my sister misses the trees and green and sweet water.

I then realized that people feel more comfort living in areas where they were born and grew up.

Why is this so?

People like to stay in familiar surroundings because they know they can survive there. If they are taken out of their "survival" zone, i.e. to less familiar surroundings, they feel less secure. (Not said well, hmm.)

People fear the unfamiliar. Change is always scary, uncomfortable. Any change from their infant past will always cause discomfort. The same goes for any change from the usual in adult life.

Change for the better is always dreamed about, but only in the context of familiar surroundings.

Nuff said.

AN IDEA ON HOW ALL OF US CAN GET RICH

 Background

Last night, I went to one of Herman Cain's rallies in TN. Before going, I went to his website, http://www.hermancain.com/999plan to see if there were any changes since last time.  YUP, there was.

I can now see his strategy (and it makes all the sense in the world) and it is brilliant.

In his speech last night, and he revealed another portion of his 9-9-9 plan and the logic behind it.

There is NO WAY the far leftists and "rightists" can stop his momentum.... he will always be one step ahead of them.

For security purposes, I cannot tell you what I perceived and I hope and pray he will be able to continue his campaign, because everyone, Radical Left, Radical Right, and everyone in between will learn from him that can promote their own goals.  He's leaking these concepts, one by one, and they are moving to a crescendo that will be well worth the wait for everyone.   I know his intentions are honorable.

Why am I so interested in Dr. Cain?  Because he leaked a phrase that no one picked up on.  His phrase told me that he is definitely on the right path.  His leaked phrase is undeniable, accurate, and cannot be spun, twisted, or misinterpreted.

Like Herman's life, I was brought up to know that if I wanted something, I had to work for it.  I had a job since 4th grade and did those jobs that nobody wanted.  I worked on a produce farm with migrant workers from age 12 - 18.  To augment my $0.35 to $1.10/hour wage during my farm "career", I also had a paper route at the same time.  I'll never forget the two weeks I worked to fill in for a  friend of mine in one of the worst jobs I could imagine: washing dishes in a bakery.  All the big greasy pots and pans, stacked two-three feet high all over the place had to be washed thoroughly with hot water and detergent and disinfected with a 180F water rinse.  (It was brutal, and after the four hot sweaty hours it took to do the job, I went home (on a bus) stinking like lard totally worn out.)  To me, this was "normal", i.e. no complaints because that was the way it was.

 In kindergarten, my mother walked me the mile to get there (winter, too).   In elementary school to 4th grade, I walked the mile to school.  After 4th grade, we moved to a newer home in a newer neighborhood which was about 8 miles away from elementary school, so we either rode our bikes, or took the city bus to get there. I walked 5 miles (one way) to  high school and back no matter what the weather was.  (Like -17F below zero with high winds.)

I didn't even think of complaining, because that was the way it was.

(Don't worry, my idea is coming, the above background is needed to understand it.)

Protests are everywhere right now.  On the screen I see a lot of people complaining about Wall Street, the "corrupt" Banks, people who are paid by communists, unions, and other special interest groups to try to get something from whomever they are bashing.

This behavior makes me cry.  Why? Because NO ONE TOLD THEM ABOUT THE WAY THINGS TRULY ARE AND HOW THEY WORK.  Not knowing the true FACTS on how our world runs causes stress and emotional outbursts.  NO ONE LIKES INSECURITY.  Lack of knowledge causes insecurity, worry, and illogical outbursts.

Know this.  NO ONE OWE'S YOU ANYTHING, not even your parents.  Life happens, some good, some bad and that's reality.  We can fix our lives in many ways, some honorable, some not. BUT WE CAN FIX IT - IF WE DECIDE IT IS UP TO US as individuals TO FIX OUR OWN LIVES.

(Getting closer to my idea.)

One thing about MONEY.  Money is a piece of paper that represents the value what an individual has done for someone or for society. The value of a dollar is the amount of effort (or possession) a person agreed to do (exchange) that is worth that unit of value.  (If someone gave you that dollar, that someone had to provide a dollar's amount of value to society.) 

A nation's wealth is not money, it is the result of effort. For instance, a nation's wealth includes roads, highways, homes, mansions, yachts, junkers, inventory, land, resources, and intellectual property.  A nation's wealth is the total of all the values it possesses.

So, now, let's get to our unemployed youth.  The beginning of the solution to our economic troubles.

(Remember, ECONOMY = FLOW of Values (money),  Pieces of paper stuffed in a mattress does NOT flow so it provides no benefit to the economy until it is put into motion (spent). (But, those pieces of paper are savings, a good thing for spending later when we can no longer provide value.)

We see youth protesting across this nation without a clue as to why they are protesting. Some will say they got cheated in their education and now flip burgers with a PHD in basket weaving with a BIG student loan debt hanging over their heads for the rest of their lives. (Like "green" degrees?)

Here's my IDEA....
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Let's give our youth the opportunity to build their own future. This will be especially doable in the ghetto where there a tons of abandoned buildings.

Let's set it up so our youth could own their own home/mansion if they built it themselves with free raw materials and a piece of land given to them. All they would have to do is decide what they'd like to live in and go for it.

Every land fill, every abandoned building has all the resources needed to build a mansion. If there are any electronics in them, they could even have gold plated faucets.  All they would need to do is dream their dream and be given the permission to do it. Each facet of building the mansion would be thought out if greed is implicated. (Junk Yards are also a great place for re-cycling resources. Nuts, bolts, electronic components anybody?)

Our youth are very creative and motivated to have something for their very own, to be unique, to stand out in the crowd, to have and be able to provide value.  Any project that fails will provide the experience to do better the next time around.
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You can take the idea above literally, or figuratively.  The idea is to allow our youth (and anyone else) to provide value for themselves (as well as others.).

For instance, (and some of these are lame... I know.)

• Teams of unwed mothers could provide babysitting services for each other while the rest of the team works to provide value for everyone in the team. Home decorating, recycling used clothing into drapes, shades, new clothing to sell,  dying old clothes to make them look new, making quilts to help keep the poorer of us to stay warm.  Ever think of using old clothes (rags) to make tie-dyed wallpaper, pillows, or pet beds? (Goodwill has tons of recycling ideas in their stores.)
• Education Loan Strapped Students can cut a deal with the government that would allow them to provide value to society such as... re-cycling old buildings, cleaning/painting government property, working in national parks, fighting wildfires, renovating national monuments, cleaning up the environment.
• Home care for the elderly.  Help our elderly and handicapped citizens to stay in their homes.  This would save the government (us) money by reducing the cost of housing our older folks in government sponsored facilities.

Even the gangs in Los Angeles  understand commitments and pacts.  Stories of their wounded warriors being cared for by their gang mates pop up in the news.  This idea can be expanded to teams of "value" producers. Let's say a team gets together to renovate an abandoned home with the understanding that once the renovation is done, they can either sell it or live in it.

Providing ownership changes the way items of value (such as homes and buildings.....) are treated.

I expect a lot of criticism... but today is not one of my "brightest light bulb" days.

Let these ideas fester for a while, I'm sure someone will come up with a real winner using this thought process.

I have no claim on intelligence,.  I realize this, and I'm too old to think otherwise.  (Second childhood is GREAT!)

Enjoy, laugh, consider.

Herman Cain's 9-9-9

I like Herman Cain with his 9-9-9 idea.  BUT.......
I do not understand why he has to have three tax sources.  It makes no sense to me.

Why? Because any cost of doing business is passed onto the buyer. (i.e. the price a buyer has to pay includes the cost of doing business.)  The buyer also pays the profit that those higher in the food chain get. (Whatever the market will bear.)

So, in reality, corporations don't pay taxes, merchants don't pay taxes, no one pays taxes except those who purchase things.

So, I want to one-up Cain's proposal.  Instead of 9-9-9, why don't we just accept the fact that it is only the buyer who pays all the money needed to run the government.

If Cain's calculation adds up to 27%, getting rid of two of the 9's would result in less than 27%... MORE SAVINGS.

Now, if we could get rid of the IRS and all the tax laws except a "Sales Tax", we all would save a lot of money and get rid of all the parasites that make us do non-productive work. (Like spend time and money trying to abide by tax law.)

Sorry tax accountants, tax lawyers, most of the IRS employees. You've got to go. Wouldn't it feel better to do productive work instead of non-productive work (parasite) work? It might be more fun catching cheaters: lobbyists and cronies that try to cheat others from being able to compete fairly.

Take away the temptation of trying to get favors from our government, and corruption would go away. Corruption would be less profitable than doing things honestly and ethically.

"Income tax would no longer be called "income tax" because the only function our federal government is supposed to do is protect our borders and our national security so that us citizens can do our thing. So, the "sales tax" imposed by the government would be called "Security Tax."

Now, all other functions like building roads, providing public services like public transportation, garbage collection, treating water... etc. would be handled by the States.  So the states would also impose a sales tax to pay for their necessary functional responsibilities.

Just think how cheap things would be after all the parasitic costs are eliminated!  More money in our pockets, more time to do what we want to do.  (I, personally, spend too much time trying to figure out taxes.)

If we just admitted the fact that buyers pay all taxes and provide the profits to the manufacturers, our life would be much simpler, less costly, and happier.

Introducing a Friend

Yes, I have friends.  If I don't, that's OK, too.

I know what friendship is, and I'll be a friend to those who consider otherwise.

But, today I'd like to introduce you to Terry Pollard.

He makes me "redfaced" a lot when I spew out some of my garbage, because he's more often right than wrong.

Terry see's things in a different way which is both disconcerting, but also enlightening.

I like him.

Terry is dedicated to his beliefs and stands by them, no matter what.

His life has been threatened and he's been seriously injured because of his willingness to stand up for what was right.

So, I'd like for you to see his blog.

http://pollardsmind.com/Home_Page.html


Eric

SHELL GAME - TAXES

Anyone who purchases anything pays income taxes. (Let's leave inheritance taxes out of this conversation. We'll leave this to some future blog about government corruption.)

So... Here Goes!

If you purchase something, you purchase it from someone in business. Nuff said.

Now ANYONE who is in business is in business for the purpose of making a profit.

Profits are taxed at some level. (Minus deductions which are the result of honest efforts to increase jobs, aka taxpayers, or dishonest efforts by some to get an unfair competitive advantage, aka corruption.)

Honest businesses will pay their taxes and add their tax costs to the price of the product/service you buy.

So, at the end of the day, rich or poor, or anyone in between pays income taxes.. THE CONSUMER PAYS ALL INCOME TAXES.

So, when I hear about "the rich should pay their fair share", I go insane!

If you want something to buy, then you have to have a business to buy it from.  A business must exist to provide the goods and services you need and want.

So, in order to survive, and for a reason to exist, any business will HAVE TO add their costs to the price you pay, including taxes.

All this bickering between left and right, between unions vs non-union, is meaningless. The bickering exists for one reason only:  TO GAIN AN ADVANTAGE over others.

I think we all have a sense of what's fair and what isn't.  Let's just look at the bigger picture.

You don't want someone leaching off of you.  So it is safe to say that leachers should be identified and banned/removed/motivated to NOT LEACH.

We're in this world together.  Let's be good... OKAY?

Addicted to Oil

As I mull over the nonsense I see in politics and our economy, I came to a realization that might explain it all.

President Bush gave us all a clue by saying "We're Addicted to Oil".

Then I see that most of the energy sources we have available on our own land are "off limits" because of some environmental threat. (Most of our Western States are "protected".)

Remember the Oil Embargo in 1973?  The rationing, long lines at the gas stations?

This is when our politics seem to have all gone haywire. More distracting issues and walls put in our way for getting access to our own energy reserves.

All of a sudden we had "global warming", pushes for Solar, Wind, and wave energy.  All much more expensive sources of energy than what we can get out of "carbon" fuel.

Conspiracy theories abounded and are in place today.  Pick and choose which one you want to believe.


Here's what I think is going on......


The oil embargo was an experiment to see what would happen to our country if, all of a sudden, we no longer had access to foreign oil. The result was immediate disaster for the U.S.

Our leaders are given this "bad news" after being elected into office, and immediately see the danger of doing anything that will anger OPEC and jeopardize our nation's security.

So, here we have dance around the whims of our energy suppliers (OPEC mainly) in order to keep our country going. So OPEC says, "Oil will cost you this much, you will pay, or else we'll shut you down".

China sees our predicament as a way to capitalize on our dilemma. They will lend us the money to pay the high oil prices OPEC demands. Now, we are indebted to them. Our only hold we have on OPEC is our ability to defend them with our military.  But, now, China has sufficient military resources to take the place of the U.S. (Using our money we pay to them for our debt to them.)  It is a vicious scheme to control the world.  Our enemies say "Jump" and we have to ask "How High".
OPEC no longer needs us, they have China!

I thought of a way to get around this dilemma, but don't want to publish this here.  This end-run has to be done in absolute secrecy.  (I will pass this info to some people I trust in case I get shut down here.)

So, at this point, The U.S. is toast unless we pay the extortionists.

Sorry for the negativity, hope I don't step on anyone's sensitivities.  But reality is reality and we have to deal with it.

My Paradigm (For now.)

A Comment I Made on Another Post.

(Edited)

As I read the comments here, my paradigm looks familiar. We all have our paradigms. 

Everyone has those ground breaking "AHA'S" throughout their lives.

Life is a problem/solution process.  Not all "solutions" are perfect, but our existence proves they worked.


I have this feeling that, as we all go through this process of learning here, we will all have our own unique "essence" that fits our own existence with a common drive for more happiness, security, and personal value.... we all want that!

The following comments I'll make here is my paradigm... 

no one else's.

 I am not preaching here to get anyone to see things the way I do.

We are all unique and must find our own path to happiness and survival.

The concept of "wealth" fascinates me.
Many of us feel that wealth means money (which is a paper representation of value) that one can use as proof of their own personal value.  The more "money" someone has, the more they feel they have/provide value.


However, my paradigm says
 (and it won't be your paradigm) 

My value is provided by helping my "group" (family, neighborhood, city, state, nation, world) to survive more comfortably. The more I can help my "group" survive, the more value my group gives to me. In other words, the more value you can give to others, the more indispensable  you are to your group which will cause them to assure your own existence/happiness. Remember the phrase "What goes around, comes around"? I feel none of us do this by intent, it just works out that way.


Oh! How different (yet the same) we all are!

Each of us are motivated by the need to be "valued".

We all pursue things to assure our own value to others in our own way(s), be it kindness, getting noticed by doing crazy unusual things, or by positioning ourselves in a place where others cannot do well without us.


No one can provide value through force.

A lot of the problems we face in this world is due to a governing bodies  that want to force you to be someone  they think you should be. (Clumsy, but I think you'll get the point.)


We are all different.

I applaud anyone who is not afraid to be their own person.
Like my daughter said after I asked her (when she was a teenager) why she didn't want to wear the same clothes that her classmates wore.

Here's what she said which made me so proud of her,

"I don't care what others wear, I wear what I like to wear. I'm Heather!"


So, at the end of this I wish you all the best in finding your own paradigm that will bring you happiness, your own sense of value, and your own kind of "wealth".


Eric

Mindsets - A Political Post

The people in our country are being divided, name calling, lieing, attacking each other, with spots of violence showing up.

So, I decided to put together a list of beliefs that I see from the behavior of each faction in the news today.

Here goes......

Faction/Belief based on behavior.

1. Democrat:  I'm a nice guy, but I'm too lazy to be one. I'm also not very motivated to work.  If I could, I'd retire today and veg all day.  So,  I want our government to do my good deeds and take care of me. Then I can be free to do what I want to do.
2. Democrat (Leader): I'm the MaMa. I like taking care of people. It makes me feel needed. If I didn't do my job, then no one will like me and I'll be worthless.
3. Republican (In the house/senate):  I'm too lazy to do the good deeds of others, they should do their good deeds themselves. I'm also against feeding lackeys.
4. Republican voter: Hey! I'm tired of being bombarded by laws I cannot understand and keeps me from pursuing my dreams. I want freedom and my time back. (Too much time wasted to understand and follow laws.)
5. Union member:  It's a dog/eat/dog world. I'm going to do whatever it takes to survive, and that includes making sure I get what I want regardless of who I take it from.
6. Globalist: We'd have much less trouble in this world if there were no enemies. The only way we can do this fast is to make this world consist of only one governement that has absolute control over the behavior of everyone.
7. Tea Partier:  I want to do what I want to do without anyone getting in my way. Don't go telling me how to do things and how to live.  Get out of my face, don't take my stuff, and let me be me. I have a dream and I want to pursue it without complications imposed on my by others who don't understand what I'm doing. And it's MY MONEY... not yours!
8. Radical Muslim/Radical Islamist/terrorist:  I'm a guy, I like sex, and I'm going to get it wherever I want, whenever I want no matter what.  If you get in my  way, I'll kill you. (see http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_jihad.htm) for explanation of what I mean by Radical.) I'm speaking about permutations (convenient to an agenda) of the interpretations of the Koran (Qur'an.
9. Leftie:  I'm a historian, and we need to give reparations to all the people we've cheated in the past.
10. Left Leadership:  I like the power given to me from the people who trust me.  If I give them everything I promised them, they won't need me anymore. So, I'll have to make sure they'll need me forever!  (Good money in that!)
11. Corporate Leadership: I HATE MY JOB! (but I like the money.) What a nightmare! I've got to keep the investors happy, my employees happy, my wife happy, my children happy, my government happy AND compete with all my competitors, some of whom cheat!.  I have to continuously be on the lookout for attacks from all sides, I have to deal with cheaters (China), politicians, problem employees, and unions. Why can't we just focus on keeping our customers happy so that they will buy our stuff? If they buy our stuff, we can provide better returns to our investors.  But with the EPA, Unions, and IRS getting into our face, we can't do that. That's why I hate my job. 

Is this a suicide note?  Maybe, when we consider the mentality and recent behavior of the factions listed.

Let's all grow up, OK?

Precedence

Here's a political post.... sorry.

There's this "thing" in my head that I cannot shake off.

It has to do with our white house doing an end-run around the congress and senate regarding the treatment of illegal immigrants. (The Dream Act)

Our Legislative branch is telling our law enforcement agents to NOT deport illegal immigrants unless they've committed a crime in the US.

This tells me that our white house just told our law enforcement to ignore federal law.

Since our legal system is based on precedence, we can assume that we also can ignore federal law without consequences.

So, all federal laws are no longer enforceable because of this precedence.

I'd appreciate your comments on this.

THE MEANING OF LIFE

The Meaning of Life.

It is outside the bounds of religion, but is consistent with it.

The meaning of life is....

To exist for the purpose of improving the lives of others and of lives to come.

Notice: There is no SELF interest here.

But your interests will be served without your taking action to help your self interest.

(Yea, I KNOW. The more words spoken about this the more criticism I'll get.)

I'll give you my reasons now:

1) All of us have a survival instinct.
2) Our survival is enhanced, when we team up. (Like packs of wolves.)
3) We like to feel secure and our security is enhanced when we feel others will help us survive.
4) Our value in a group is dependent on what we can provide the group to help the group survive.

We can provide value in various ways. Here's a list of some of the values to provide.

• Teach others how to provide value to the group. Farming, food preparation/preservation.
• Provide shelter, warmth, food, basic needs.
• Entertain to improve the psychology of the group.
• Provide comfort to make existence more enjoyable.
• Provide wonder and curiousness to spur improved means for survival.
• Provide direction. Each group needs a goal. A future path built on past and present experiences.
  The path being aimed at improved survival.

I think that covers it. Each value mentioned has many permutations.

Now, survival is also dependent on available resources.....

Here's where "group" must include to assemblages of groups. (Global Commerce.)

Math tells each group how many can be in the group to survive well on available resources.

I guess a population control mentality has to exist. Locally for now. Globally, later.

Think I'm tired now....

Did I just write this?

(Blush)

My Perfect USA

This idea has been noodling in my head and I can't stop thinking about it.

It involves the nasty politics, name calling, distrust, lobbying or lying with an agenda.

This current scenario doe not have to exist if we adjust a few things.

Presently, there are two main activities occurring in our society..

1) Productive Work: building houses, manufacturing products, providing services.

2) Non-productive work: Law enforcement, writing laws, collecting taxes, politics (Yes, all politicians try to get a bigger piece of the tax revenue pie.)

What would happen if our country focused all of its efforts on Productive Work, and eliminated as much Non-productive work as possible.

Here are some thoughts that I invite others to embellish upon.

1) Eliminate any tax responsibility from Corporations who hire people. (This would free up the money and non-productive time that corporations spend on tax accounting, tax lawyers, and all other the tax compliance issues. i.e. the employee would pay income taxes, flat rate, no sliding scale. Say 5% ????)

THINK OF CORPORATIONS AS HIRING MACHINES. That's their only job. That's it.

2) Corporations could not lobby for any special favors or consideration. In other words, if the company cannot provide a service that people want, they will have to adjust their business to supply what people DO want, else fail. No longer could companies come to Washington to lobby/ask for assistance. They are on their own.

This way, companies would no longer have a need to be "evil", there would be no advantage for them. In other words, they could focus all their time and resources to building their business and be competitive
( = more jobs. , more tax revenue)

3) The whole idea here is to create a demand for employees. If employees are in short supply, there will be competition between corporations to get them. This translates into higher pay for employees, training, health insurance, retirement benefits, and other perks to keep and make good employees. (Better perks = less dependence on Social Security and Medicare.)

Other thoughts....

If corporations did not have to deal with taxes, then overseas corporations would want to set up business here in our country = more employment for US citizens = more revenue for national security and major multi-state infrastructure.

States would have to compete for employees. In other words, those states that are more corporation/employee friendly would be more successful. This would engender a need for all States and corporations to compete against each other by improving their products, benefits, and productivity.

The dollar would be super strong, because it would represent real value made by PRODUCTIVE work, not debt or unfunded entitlements.

Corporations and employees will still be subject to the law. Environmental and employee protection laws would have to be in effect to prevent cheating the system.

ANY ACTION THAT CAUSES AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE OVER OTHERS WOULD BE REGULATED.

There should be term limits for regulators:: Congressmen, senators, the president.
Each government job would have a defined and limited responsibility.

Harsh penalties for all cheaters.

Education would focus on entrepreneurship and creativity. Course schedules would be prioritized toward productive work. Laziness would be ridiculed.

Employees should realize that in order for them to be in demand, they will also have to compete against each other. In other words, they would be induced to improve their productivity and support the company to keep it competitive.

Arts flourish in productive societies. Arts are important for engendering creative solutions to current problems.

So..... noodle this in your head a little. I've heard a lot of good ideas from others that could fit into this paradigm and with a little more thought, we could have a society that eliminates much of our human suffering.

Population control? Hmmm.. think about this. If you have a child at age 20, you will be competing with them for your job when you're 44. Or, hows about this?

Eric

Let's Buy Out the IRS

IDEA!

Did a light bulb ever go off in your head and you think its the best idea ever?

Well, I had one two days ago.

It is a way to get us out of our debt crisis.

Let's pass a bill that allows "the rich" and anyone else who employs people
to buy an exemption from filing and paying taxes.

Before you run away from the "smell", please read on.

Here's the situation.......

1. Corporations are holding onto capital and not hiring because they are unsure of the taxes they'll have to pay and new regulations they'll have to pay for.
2. Anyone who is in a business spends an inordinate amount of time trying to comply with (guess) 40,000 pages of tax code and the 14+ new regulations our legislators pass each week. They have to hire tax accountants, tax lawyers, lobbyists to get tax favors from the government, and spend money under the table to get our legislators to put special interest loopholes into the tax code, and on and on and on!!!
3. All of this is VERY Expensive, aggravating, time consuming, and non-productive work.
4. Corporations are finding it more profitable to outsource overseas because of the wages, taxes and regulations here in the U.S.

1. The "rich" are demonized because they "steal" the poor man's money by not paying them enough, by getting special favors from the government because they are "crooks",.. because they are "evil".
   Many corporations HAVE TO be all of the above to be able to compete!
   Ethical business owners suffer the most.
   May the best CHEATER win. (Else go bankrupt.)
   
   
2. The primary "customers" of most large corporations are its stockholders. If you don't satisfy them, you're toast. So there's always going to be robbing from Peter to pay the stockholders
   
   
3. Overseas corporations avoid setting up production in the US because of the high taxes, high wages, and complex regulations.
   
   
4. Unions (which are no longer needed since there are regulations in place to make sure there's no more child/slave labor) fight the "evil" corporations for a piece of the pie that the corporation's need to pay the stockholders.

What if?

1. Corporations could eliminate their IRS burden and shift these expenses and focus into growing their corporation?
   
   
2. Corporations could change the work their tax attorneys, tax accountants, and lobbyists do into productive work instead of reactive work?
   
   
3. The small businessman would no longer have to be strapped with all of the regulations that the large corporations have to follow? A sole proprietor, single owner of corporation, LLC, or other business entity is responsible for the same 40,000+ and growing regulations as the big corporations are who can afford top notch tax attorneys, tax accountants, and lobbyists.
   
   
4. Companies overseas could come to this country and set up shop without fear of the IRS?
   
   
5. These companies didn’t have to be audited?
   
   
6. Our government wouldn’t have to spend a ton of taxpayer dollars to pay the wages of IRS agents?
   
   
7. Corporations could focus all of their time on new products, technologies, growth instead of wasting a significant portion of their efforts trying to comply with, getting around, or changing the tax laws?

Here’s my suggestion.

1. Pass a law that allows corporations to “buy” exemption from IRS regulations if they promise to re-invest their tax overhead expenses into job creation. This buyout could be an annual fee equal to historic tax compliance expenses.
   
   
2. All citizens are responsible for paying taxes in the form of a US sales tax? (Flat tax).
   Or... more employees means more income tax revenue to fill government coffers.
   

Expected Benefits:

1. No one gets favored over another.
   
   
2. Corporations won’t be forced to cheat to survive and be able to compete. Their survival will be based on the products/services they offer.
   
   
3. Investment transferred into productive work would increase innovation and jobs.
   
   
4. Competition for employees would raise wages and benefits
   .
5. Overseas investment would come to the US because of its business friendly atmosphere.
   
   
6. Increased productivity would bring more revenue to the government to pay for national defense and other things it is responsible for. (Which isn’t much, according to the constitution.)
   
   
7. Corruption would no longer be necessary. At least in the tax/favors area.
   
   
8. Special interests would no longer apply.
   
   
9. The playing field would be leveled naturally.
   The term “cheaters never prosper” will become true again.
   
   
10. Fear of changed regulations would go away.

I know this is all pie in the sky...

but there's got to be at least one good idea in this mess.

Let it noodle in your head for a while...

(This is my way of brainwashing you to think the way I do. :)

Tee Hee

Unlimited Green Energy Identified

I uncovered an unlimited source of energy that is totally "Green".

Problem is.... an unlimited source of electricity from a device with few working parts that will last a thousand or more years or more without maintenance will change our concept of economics. Money will no longer be a needed. (This is BIG.)

Imagine changing "work for pay" into "work for play". Everyone in our world could pursue what they want to pursue without needing money. Free food, free shelter, free cooling and heating, free everything. Free everything is possible now if we just do it.

My concern is how to introduce this source without impacting our current form of economics. Those in power must see how unlimited free energy will change everything to the good for them, too.

Food, water, pollution, wars, suffering, will no longer be a concern. I can see a society that looks forward to making or playing with the latest "toy". When the latest toy gets boring... no problem, just drop it into the "conveyor" sewer for recycling into a newer "latest" toy.

Unlimited free energy means salt water desalination, costless transportation, no-more "dirty jobs". Machines can be our labor force while we enjoy life as we choose.

I believe there will always be companies that will produce new products... not for pay, but for satisfaction and recognition.

I know this sounds stupid, but in Eric's Head, it's not.

I'm keeping this source under my hat until I can find someone who shares my vision and concerns on how to introduce this without causing harm to those caught up in our current form of "doing business."

P.S. I tried to share this discovery with our Department of Energy and asked for a contact to discuss the idea under confidentiality agreement. The answer I got was "Not my area of expertise. " (Our tax dollars at work!!!!!!!!)

Play with the concept of totally free, unlimited energy in your head for a while. Think machines, robots, separation plants, all on auto-pilot. It's a fun thing to do.