Our Weakened Country

The U.S. has to tip-toe around the tulips until it rebuilds its manufacturing capacity. China does all the manufacturing now, so China will win any war in the long-term. Our leaders let all the factories go overseas, with the result that 99% of all our stuff is made in China. Let's face it, China holds all the cards. Every computer gadget we buy is made in China. China knows all the technological secrets by now, because security is just an after-thought to most governments and businesses. The reality is that China is THE world power. The U.S. is just a proud old lion, about ready to serve as vulture food.

Unfortunately, Trump is as stupid as the rest of them, or rather more so. All he thinks about is jabbing liberals in the eye with the transgender ban, the Wall and denying medical care to the poor. He never thinks about China eyeing Hawaii, Guam and Alaska as future Provinces. The inhabitants there would serve as slaves until the land is repopulated with Chinese...or North Koreans.

Rebuilding America is the last thing Trump cares about. Trump just cares about being the center of attention with his loud, nasty, ugly hyena-face with somebody else's hair pinned on top. Trump is a petulant child, not a man. If leaders like that waste of space would do something other than brood over real and imagined slights, things might move forward. More likely, the U.S. is destined for long-term decline. The people, unaware of history, bored with science, and only semi-literate with their gadgets and toys, plastic Jesuses and opiates, seem incapable of looking after their own interests and electing any kind of leader worth his salt.

If I Won a Million in a Lottery

If I won a million dollars in a lottery, after taxes and fees, then most would have to be put away for the future. I would try to preserve most of it in bond funds, so that I could enjoy a decent income every year and no longer have to work for a living. That is not to say, I would quit my job. I probably would keep working, because let's face it, a million bucks ain't what it used to be. I happen to love my job and the people I work with, anyway.

I'd put, say, $600,000 into savings, so that a modest 4% annual return would result in $24,000 a year. Nice to get 24 grand for doing nothing, eh? Stock funds are all well and good, but why risk it if you don't have to?

The other $350,000, I'd spend on furnishing a fabulous house, not a mansion, mind you--but I could afford a nice 3,000 square foot brick home in a hilly area, and surround it with a high fence for security, in case the bottom drops out and the world goes crazy. One never knows. I wouldn't want to live too far out in the sticks, but nearby to my favorite amenities: the police, fire department, and hospital. I like police, I like firemen, and I like doctors. Those are really the necessary professions in a society.

I'd tithe 5%, or $50,000, to worthy individuals who need a bit of help, friends and relatives that need a new car, say. I'd prefer direct contributions to individuals rather than giving to big organizations, because organizations can be like a black hole, and one never knows where the money goes.

What's interesting to me about the lottery is treating it as an experiment into the art of divination. If it were possible to divine a future event, such as a lottery drawing, then that has certain implications, the first being that the future is either predestined and knowable by some beings or else maleable by them in some way. An entity would need to be either powerful or prescient to predict a winning lottery number. Treating a lottery purchase as an experiment also has the advantage of limiting exposure. Of course, the mathematical odds against winning a lottery are so great, that a lottery is an extremely poor, even stupid investment. The only way it can be considered, in my view, is as a divination experiment, and for that purpose, only one ticket is required, not many. If a single purchase fails to win, then it follows that the experiment failed, end of story.

Science is Cool

Science is cool, as demonstrated in this recent article about diamonds raining down from the sky. I think that in the U.S., more needs to be spoken about science, and scientists should be on T.V. giving their educated opinions. We need to hear a lot less from the politicians and their hangers-on, because those types don't know anything, whether it be the economy, the climate, or even military endeavors. To know nothing, and to think one is wise, is dangerous. What we don't need is FOX TV. Instead, we need FACT TV. What is really going on in the world, and why? What are the reasons for it? A really good scientist is a cautious one, reluctant to draw conclusions based upon limited data, and always considering myriad possibilities, so long as they remain possible and supported by evidence.

Illustrative Samsung Corruption Case

South Korea seems a decent and respectable, if conservative and right-wing, country, and their decency is reflected today in the fact that a really rich man is facing actual jail time for corruption. He had a team of 28 lawyers working for him--imagine that. I'd be lucky to have one, juggling my case with a dozen others, probably boozed up and disinterested, at that. I find this case remarkable, because a rich man might actually go to jail, and illustrative, because the sentence seems light at five years.

A poor man may steal something, or deal drugs, or both, and get twenty years, sent to a hard prison, where who knows what will happen to him, and who cares? A rich man may steal millions, and get no jail time at all, or if he does get some, it's going to be a light sentence at one of the easier jails, where at any rate he will get preferential treatment.

That's the main problem with justice in our world. It's not new. Always has been, and still is. It's the left-wingers that want to change this scenario and make justice truly blind. In other matters, such as love, ordinary life, and medicine, the rich may have all the advantages, but in matters of justice, to which human beings attach a spiritual significance, they should be equal to the poorest of the poor. Now, the right-wingers would not agree with that. They would say, to be rich is to be handed a blank check. Until the bank account is empty, the check can cover anything, including any sin. Money is equated with piety. To me, that is blasphemy. But there are even "Prosperity Gospel" Christians who believe money means Grace.

At any rate, I can't imagine such a sentence being handed down in an American courtroom. The rich here get off. No matter what the crime is, they get off, except if the crime is against other rich people. If there are rich victims, you know, rich people matter, so an exception is made, as in the case of Maddoff, who sinned against his own kind.

Even O.J. Simpson got off a murder charge, because he was rich. Color of skin did not matter one iota. I don't think black Americans understood that race was not a factor in that case. They rooted for O.J. and seemed elated when he got off. I recall black coworkers cheering as if they had won something. For my part, I was not surprised. He was rich, he would get off. A poor black man would be on death row right now. Not everything is about race. Money is far more important.

Now, if most blacks were rich, then the shoe would be on the other foot. There are plenty of poor whites, and ironically, they seem to be the ones marching in these white nationalist protests. They lack all class consciousness. They fail to understand, they are viewed under the same lens as the poor blacks. All are dispensable. Racism is opposed because it disrupts productivity and profits. Most barriers in society are generated not by race, but by class. It is not the blacks that are out to get whites. That has always seemed a ludicrous proposition to me. Why some whites want to single out a minority race as a scapegoat for all their problems just seems like blind animal stupidity, like a dog biting its tail because a flea bit its behind.

Serpent Brazille

I watched Donna Brazille, former head of the Democratic National Party, on the Daily Show, and just thought, "Thou Serpent."

In point of fact, which she did not deny nor refute, she cheated and gave Hillary Clinton the questions to the debates with Bernie Sanders, thus betraying all Democrats and, I suppose, all Americans. Where was her sense of Patriotism, of basic morality and fairness? Where? She should be ashamed to show her face on national television, but is not, and instead trumpets herself in the hopes of future rewards, and thus is exposed on the spiritual level, which is all that really matters. At least she is easy to see through, and there is gratitude for that. She is no great shakes, just a roach feeding upon the detritus of similar creatures. Hillary, too, deserves blame for accepting the cheats, and much is exposed about her as well. The Trump fiasco is, in no small part, their fault, on their conscience, such as that tattered creature may be.

Rather than pointing the finger right and left, Hillary Clinton should focus on spiritual purification, and specifically upon improving her modus operandi. Shortcuts are not the way. Sometimes the harder way is best. To lose to Bernie Sanders was right, if Trump were then defeated, but out of myopic selfishness, Hillary chose the path of cheating, which speaks volumes about her previous actions and lends credence to unsubstantiated claims against her from long ago. Bernie may have placed her in his administration, had she fought with honor. If a cretin like Trump beat her, clearly she is not a good candidate for public office and never will be.

Republican vs. Democrat

For me, the clearest and earliest distinction between Republican and Democrat came in the 1970's. Jimmy Carter's administration studied moving the U.S. over to the Metric system. Reagan's administration nixed that plan and committed the U.S. to be the sole adherent to the antiquated old English system. That is why we boil water in 2017 to 212F, instead of 100C. It is why we have to use all these formulae to figure out how much a fraction of an inch is, and how much a fraction of a gallon is. Fractions upon fractions, none simple, none decimal-based! The U.S. is the only holdout today using Farenheit and other old-timey measurements. The rest of the world uses Metric. Our country is embarrassed before the entire world. Thanks a lot, Reagan.

The Republicans are unscientific and hostile toward education. They dwell in the past, and don't accept change of any kind, unless it involves going to war, in which case, they're for it.

The Democrats embrace science, support education, surround themselves with learned men and women, and embrace positive change. That is why I vote Democrat.

What's Wrong With Best Buy

What's wrong with Best Buy is the same thing that's wrong with Sears and Target and all the other bricks-and-mortar dinosaurs. After they go bankrupt, perhaps their space can be used for something useful. The problem is that their upper management, the corporate types, don't get that they are living in 2017, not 1970. Best Buy's plan of action is push sales of high-margin gadgetry to the suckers that walk through their doors. Lots of luck with that. Meanwhile, I do all my shopping online. Best Buy's web site sucks and so does Sears'. They don't get 2017. What they need to do, right now, is sell out to Amazon. Just take pennies on the dollar for their stock price. Because they are already irrelevant.

Staples is the same. I walk into Staples, and it is a wasted effort. They have nothing I need, nothing I want. All that Staples wants to sell me are the high-margin gadgets like tablets and phones. I need specific accessories, like a cable or adapter. Staples doesn't have it. So they aren't going to get me into their store, ever, in a million years. I buy all the high-margin stuff online, anyway. If Staples knew anything, they would focus on just the things they are good at, instead of trying to cram everything office-related into one store.

The only thing I remember about Best Buy is that, twenty years ago, I bought a refrigerator from them with no money down and zero interest. I paid it off before the interest came due. They charged me interest anyway. They violated the terms of the agreement, and I wound up paying a hundred-odd dollars and staying on the phone with their customer disservice for an hour or two. Have not been in their store since. That's twenty years of sales lost, because Best Buy places the emphasis on screwing the customer, rather than providing good service. All these cunning little tricks and traps for the unwary may succeed in the short-term in garnering a little bit of money, but consider for a moment the sales I've directed, not to Best Buy, but to their competitors, because I would never suggest anyone buy anything at Best Buy.

Motley Fool is wrong about Best Buy, but right to describe themselves as fools. Best Buy doesn't need more online promotions or advertising for their web site. Everybody knows about Best Buy already. What they need is to make their web site one-tenth as good as NewEgg's. Right now, Best Buy has the worst web site in the universe. They need to crawl out of the land of Suck. What they should do is to go to NewEgg and just buy NewEgg's system. Pay them a billion, whatever it takes, but get the system and the people that designed it. Only then could Best Buy stave off bankruptcy, maybe, if they're lucky.

Global Warming Comes to North Korea

Looks like the temperature in Pyongyang may be rising 1000 - 2000 degrees in the near future. Global warming is coming to North Korea a bit sooner than the rest of the world. They have only their mad dog dictator to thank for that.

What People Don't Understand About the Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings saga is a Spiritual parable. Without an understanding of the Spiritual, there is no understanding. There are layers within layers. Some things are clear, and other things are hidden. It is a great work, but only those that believe in Spirit accept it as such.

Wasted Money on Haiti

The Haiti government wants to ban not only gay marriage, but any demonstration in favor of LGBTQ rights. I am reminded of all the U.S. taxpayer money, billions most likely, wasted on those savages throughout not just the decade, but the century. Not a single crust of bread should we have ever sent them. For as long as Haiti has existed, it has been nothing but a whiny, troublesome third-world country, always with the hand out begging for scraps, never producing anything of any value to anyone, other than voodoo superstition and zombie lore, which they really believe in. Now the ignorant savages talk about their moral values! A belly-laugh is the only response to that. Next time they beg for medical supplies, refer them to their local witch doctor.

Marijuana Edibles

Apparently, H. Sapiens will work and experiment until even a safe substance is made unsafe. He has the creative genius for that.

Marijuana edibles always were a terrible idea. It is evil to hide a surprise in an otherwise innocuous commonplace food. Any chocolate bar with THC could be ingested by an unsuspecting person.

The only people that ever used edibles in the first place were idiots. There is absolutely no reason to use edibles, ever. Weed vaporizes efficiently and cleanly. Thus, anyone that can breathe, can vaporize. So there is no need to cook with marijuana. This idea that you eat or drink and feel nothing until two hours later, when you either trip to heaven or hell, is both stupid and criminal. Warning labels aren't enough, because labels get mislaid, discarded, or just ignored.

I predict marijuana will be legal, but not edibles. Too many problems with edibles. No one likes to be tricked, least of all H. Sapiens. Those that trip against their will will be filled with hate and thirst for revenge. Cooks, you have yet to know every ingredient in your cauldron.

Suggested Charities

Corporations and, it seems, even government have a compulsion for donating time or money to charity. I have some suggestions.

Apple, Microsoft, and all the Linux Distros should donate to free eye care, for producing desktops with blinding white backgrounds that burn out the eyes of computer workers.

The narcotic departments should donate to medical marijuana farms for depriving patients of their life-saving medication for so many years. Also to rehab clinics for focusing on marijuana, just because it is easy to detect, when the real enemy were the hard drugs--meth, smack, and pills.

The U.S. military can donate to the U.S. taxpayer for blowing so much money on blowing ragheads up. They could have been using old, obsolete, expired or at any rate, cheap munitions and try to save the government some money, but no, they have to use million-dollar smart bombs to defeat a two-bit moron. I'll bet you one thing. I'll bet the ragheads can pump jihadi babies out of their female slaves faster than we can replace million-dollar bombs. Military decisions need to take in account the financial cost to the U.S. taxpayer.

The utility companies can donate to the U.S. taxpayer for blowing billions on nuclear plants, then abandoning them and switching to coal because its cheaper, and at the same time saddling the taxpayer with the costs. They should not be allowed to have their cake and eat it too. The owners need to cough up the money to pay for those expensive plants that were never used.

Climate Change

I imagine all those Trump supporters are the ones most riled up about Climate Change.

For those Trump supporters, this must be the number one issue for them, if they read much or pay attention to what's going on.

If not--crocodile smile. Am I afeared? Nay. I'll be gone, and I've no kin to carry on. 'T'will be Thee & Thine that drink the wine from that vine. I predict--disaster. Thus I mark this with the predictions category.

Looks to me like Trump is preparing us for a big old bankruptcy of an environmental variety.

That's all Trump was ever good for in business--bankruptcy. He was really clever, when it came to taking advantage of suckers. About 47% of the electorate fit that category, according to the last election. I bet they don't fasten their seatbelts, either.

Venezuela Goes Down the Tubes

The latest country flushed down the proverbial toilet is Venezuela. How come none of the military down there have an ounce of patriotism in them, enough to rise up and depose the petty little dictator, Maduro? The same situation presents itself everywhere in the world. Dictators simply persist, and the military goes along with it just because of fear or benefits. Monarchy is, perhaps, the natural state of mankind. That is not an endorsement. It is a flaw. A good king is one thing, but good kings are about as rare as diamonds.

Trump Admin Suffering from I.D.D.

The Trump Administration is suffering from Intelligence Deficit Disorder, also known as I.D.I.O.T. I wonder how long before a foreign country really pulls one over on us. Check out how vulnerable the White House is to simple spear-phishing.

Obama was an intelligent man, and it was reflected in his whole Administration. What we need right now is Obama back at the White House. Maybe his wife will run in 2020, if these United States are still around.

North Korea's Threats

In the nuclear age, a threat is as good as a promise. North Korea's threats to the U.S. homeland should be taken seriously. We should act as though the missiles are launching right now at all the major cities of the United States. We are about as ready as we are ever going to be. Now is the time. Seize the moment and throttle the viper.

Thanks Trump

Thanks for ensuring a new generation of gays will vote Democrat their whole lives and for motivating them to vote. More voter participation will be a good thing and result in a Congress that better represents the people.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan

Revenge rape against 16 year-old girls is O.K. in Pakistan. That is why you don't want to let those savages in to Western countries. All they know for a thousand years is rape, torture, and Islam. If they come over to the West, it will be for the same motives the Vikings came West. They need to stay where they are and fix their backward country instead of betraying it.

Still Using Linux Mint

I donated $25 to Linux Mint just because it is my go-to distro, and I can't imagine being without it. Linux Mint is a curious beast built on the back of Ubuntu. Mint offers a more customizable and convenient desktop for the end-user. It's not a huge improvement over Ubuntu, but is an improvement, and the user gets to have options about which desktop to use. The only reason Linux Mint ever existed was that Ubuntu's chief of grief goofed everything up with the Unity fiasco and other cat-herding exercises.

Japan and Phillipines Need to Cough Up $$$

One thing Trump was right about, although he will never follow through on the point, was that our foreign partners need to cough up money to pay for our defense of them. It isn't right that Japan sits on its laurels while we pay for their defense. And as for the Phillipines, the bloodthirsty thug down there should be presented with a fee for protection. Foreign aid should be ended outright, and foreign fees should be assessed instead. It is about time that other nations help the U.S. pay down the national debt. It isn't right that the Republicans go spending more on defense and then saddle future generations with paying it off. The foreign nations that benefit from this military spending should be paying for the debt.