Littlestuff Weekender-3-17-2012

We have an abbreviated Weekender today as farm work beckons (plus there’s that little mid-afternoon break for Buckeye basketball). The GOP contest moves to the Land of Lincoln (and corruption) on Tuesday. It appears that as of this weekend, Romney has a slight lead in the polls and is trending upward. Illinois Republicans generally lean toward moderates more often than their Midwestern neighbors, so a Romney victory there would not be too surprising. Plus Santorum cannot win all of the delegates even if he sweeps the entire state because he failed to file a full delegate slate. He appears to be about 10 shy of a complete ticket.

Greece has been propped up again (temporarily) and the fingerprints of the International Monetary Fund are all over the loan. You know who the primary underwriter is of the IMF, don’t you? You are via the generosity of the United States Congress….using your money…of course. Here’s the scenario: IMF loans money in return for Greek promises to implement austerity measures. Greece’s public employees and welfare recipients violently protest, and the government caves. Nothing changes until we do it again. Meanwhile….Spain, Italy and Portugal are watching closely for clues about how they should react when they finally slide into the massive holes of debt they have created.

After reviewing my basketball bracket this morning, I now know why it’s called March Madness. It is still March and I’m going mad. Ohio University, a 13 seed, defeated the University of Michigan, a four, last night.

Today (Saturday) is St. Patrick’s Day. I wonder if the Obama Administration may change the name of the holiday to something like “Global Contraception Day.” Big Government wants the presence of the church to be limited to behind closed doors, and recognition of a “saint” may be going too far.

We are dog sitting for our daughter’s family’s two Scottish Terriers while the clan is attending a soccer tournament in Richmond, Virginia. Apparently the Lord decided that if He gave Scotties lots of energy, He need not give them any brains. If barking were an art form, I’m sharing space with Andy Warhol and Picasso. It’s difficult to comprehend how such short little legs can create so much mayhem. Our beloved Golden Retriever, Frosty, is begging for valium.

It must be Spring because Groundhog Day was 6 weeks ago plus the official beginning of the season is this coming week (equinox). The temperatures have been exhilarating for the past few days, but rain and ground moisture limits what can be done around our Little Pat-Ch of Paradise. Our pond is overflowing and the neighborhood ditches are full.

Have a great weekend and a superb week. Monday’s column deals with funding for scientific research and is titled “Obey the Master.” Don’t buy any Greek bonds.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Learning is Painful

Learning is Painful. The more I learn the more difficulties I detect. The more I see, the more torn and confused I become. Where to start? There are certain types of learning that are pleasant and warm. A new recipe or a gardening tip is representative of pleasant new ‘knowings.” Likewise discovering a new restaurant or encountering a long-lost friend are both feel-good types of learning. Admittedly not all learning is necessarily painful, but there is one particular learning experience that I find profoundly painful. When I come across some new irrefutable knowledge that upsets a basic paradigm or world view of mine, my pain is palpable. It forces me to react one of two ways: to ignore it and blithely go on with life (this approach could be emotionally and psychologically dangerous because I KNOW the truth) or attempt to unravel and rebuild my entire structure of assumptions and beliefs that were anchored to the faulty foundation. Think of it like someone knitting or crocheting (?) an afghan, and when it’s completed, she or he detects that a hitch, a stitch or whatever they’re called was missed early in the process. Oooops! Unravel and begin again.

My most painful paradigm shift began in 2004. My wife and I were living in Downingtown, Pennsylvania….at the far west end of the “Main Line.” We were aggressively working for Pat Toomey’s Senate campaign for the Republican primary versus Arlen Specter, an unreliable opportunist who was enamored with Scottish law. Shortly before the election the polls indicated that Toomey was within three points of the incumbent and closing fast. In swoops Air Force One with President George W. Bush, who with Rick Santorum, the other Senator from Pennsylvania, cheerfully endorsed Specter over the truly conservative Toomey (who now represents the Commonwealth in the Senate). The race closed to two and half points, but the fickle lefty, Specter, prevailed. I had been extremely active with the GOP for more than 4 decades, but I learned a valuable lesson on that fateful day. For most politicians….regardless of labels….party and advantage always trump principles. My world view had been jarringly flipped. My sense of the order of things had been trashed.

Yes, I knew that many politicians were self-serving and followed the expedient path, but “W” and Senator “Pro-Life” were rock-ribbed and resolute…….uh, not really. For them as with most of their colleagues principles were talking points rather than internalized driving forces for action. Principles for them…were nice but not necessary. As the old bromide states: I saw the fork in the road….and took it. My closed view and partisan preferences were now open for scrutiny. My self assessment about what mattered most for me was begun. My analysis of the nation, its vision and its reality, was undertaken. Many of my civic and political assumptions had been proven to be false. The fabric had dropped a stitch and needed to be unraveled and reconstructed….more thoughtfully and more substantially.

Fortunately for me and the significance of my quest I was taking a course in Bible Ministry from Liberty University at the time. It helped to anchor my questions and focus my search for true meaning while ignoring distractions such as “the letter behind a politician’s determines his/her worthiness.” All bets were off for me, and all doors would be opened and explored. Reacquainting myself with the founding, the framing and the discussions that surrounded them was vital. Although I had been a consistent reader of U.S. history, I focused on the Colonial and Revolutionary periods followed by Reconstruction and Early 20^th Century analyses. My goal was to understand the building blocks that were crucial for forming, reforming or altering the nation. What ideas or philosophies moved the players in our national drama? I sought to discover their underlying assumptions and resolute principles. During this process I became aware of how dismissively many viewed the “originalist” position. They blared that it was old fashioned, out-of-date and unable to cope with our modern times.

The critics were either too dense to understand or too underhanded to admit that our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were anchored on immovable principles that supersede the ordinary whims of self-styled elite people. My paradigm shift involved an epiphany of awareness that enduring principles are sufficient if people are virtuous and moral. The state (government) in the early days is a reflection of the people. In other words…a moral people yield a moral state, but as the people discard their moral and virtuous principles, the state begins to form in their image. The end result is that the immoral and unprincipled state develops into an entity that is openly hostile to morality and principle while emerging as the master rather than the servant of the people. The state claims to be upright and virtuous, but its self-serving definitions are at odds with the inalienable rights of the people and are contrary to the principles on which the nation was founded.

As my learning and understanding increased, my internal pain was exacerbated because I became increasingly aware of how far my country had drifted (or fallen) from its original standard. My pain is the result of a broken heart.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

   

FED Up

At a basic level the idea of a central bank and clearinghouse for the United States of America makes sense. It seems apparent that big banks, medium-sized banks and small banks will from time to time need a ready supply of cash to offset short-term or momentary needs. Just as many retailers rely on wholesalers to stock and supply their products, a bank accepts deposits and loans money at a profitable rate of interest. Their cash reserves rarely equal their deposit totals, so they may find themselves short of cash even with an outstanding portfolio of performing loans. It should be apparent, however, that the Federal Reserve Bank has abused its charter and its purpose. It has become a tool of the government and global banking interests.

The elementary problem with the FED as it has been designed is that Congress has subordinated its constitutional responsibility for the coining (printing) and valuing our money to a consortium of private bankers. Odd isn’t it that despite all the overreaching by government into the private sector, it is a constitutionally mandated role or obligation that Congress chose to privatize? Why banking? Why money? The entire FED revolves around debt. As money is loaned out by individual banks, they go to the FED to restore their reserves. The FED must print the money and LOAN it to the banks. Without debt the FED would not have a real function other than the constitutional coinage one that Congress gave to it. So the bottom line is that the powers for printing money and creating debt reside with a cabal of private mega-bankers. Cheery thought, huh? You might ask “how do they create debt?” When a bank seeks additional funds for loaning, the FED creates it digitally. In other words if the local banks didn’t have the funds for additional lending, borrowers would have to go elsewhere for funds but the money supply would be more stable.

The unceasing printing (digitizing) of money expands our indebtedness and our money supply…thus generating de facto inflation. Without a corresponding surge in production of goods and services every dollar created increases the number of dollars ‘chasing” a finite supply of products or labor. More dollars chasing fewer things means higher costs. Increasing debt and inflated/lower-valued money are not recipes for a prosperous nation. In the short-term inflation may lull the unsuspecting into assuming that prosperity is flourishing, but will have the opposite effect after a time as goods and property become more difficult to purchase because of escalated prices and higher interest rates.

The FED because it is private uses the resources and wealth of the United States as its own “net worth” as it props up other national currencies and governments. The value of the dollar is directly related to the productivity of the United States, the number of dollars in circulation and the confidence that the indebtedness will be repaid. If any of those three factors experience some slippage, the corresponding effect will negatively impact the U. S. economy. If any of the three major factors underperforms, the government must collect additional revenue to maintain some level of equilibrium to avoid massive runaway inflation, excessive interest costs or severe reductions in productivity. Thus, the FED with full compliance from the government through its policies practically insures higher levels of taxation for American taxpayers. Taxes collected through force are theft. Taxes that stifle economies and intrude on individual freedom are tyrannical. Because of its power over our productivity, our indebtedness and our money supply, the FED, in effect, controls our economy. Our government increasingly controls our lives, and the Federal Reserve manipulates our livelihoods.

It should be dawning on you that as debt problems increase, taxes go up. When interest rates begin to ratchet upward due to inflated money driving the cost of borrowing higher, the governments’ needs for debt service will grow astronomically, the resultant tax increases will stifle the economy and higher taxes plus lower economic productivity joined with massive debt leads to catastrophe. It is an inescapable cycle that can at the best be postponed for a while but becomes worse during the delay. In their efforts to manipulate the market, the currency and debt, the FED will create economic bubbles that will enlarge and eventually burst. As the FED scheme and rig the system, shrewd investors will seek other avenues for avoiding the FED action….thus the bubbles will be created.

Compounding the problem of the FED’s unhealthy and unconstitutional control of the basics of our fiscal and economic systems is the fact that they operate with impunity. We the people have no standing to audit the Federal Reserve or to insist on transparent accountability. In 1913 Congress handed the keys and the car to the Wall Street manipulators and self-serving big bankers. Now Congress lacks the courage to reclaim its constitutional duty yet continues to meddle in a plethora of other unconstitutional arenas. We are now on the precipice of economic collapse. Although the nation and its people will suffer, you can wager your home and all your worldly goods that the Fed governors, their favored bankers and career politicians will emerge unscathed. Obviously….I’m FED Up.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

  

Placebo Effect

The main street media are loaded with good news from the government. A recent unemployment survey suggests that 100, 000 fewer claims were filed than there were in the previous cycle. Government officials optimistically state that our economy is showing signs of incremental improvement. Politicians of all stripes praise the artificially low interest rates as a sure-fire impetus for creating investment and jobs. Our brass-laden military leaders and their civilian counter parts extol the advances of our warriors in distant lands. Homeland Security constantly reminds us that our willingness to suffer numerous indignities insure our safety as we travel domestically and abroad. There are numerous other instances of the government flooding us with happy talk to ease our fears and concerns. It is the “Placebo Effect.”

“Placebo” derives from Latin and means “I shall please.” The most common usage of the term is in the medical field….particularly research medicine. It is a simulated or powerless treatment that is intended to deceive the recipient. The “Placebo Effect” occurs when the condition of the recipient appears to improve despite the ineffectiveness of the fake treatment. With many government reports we become the recipients of a placebo treatment. The results they claim and the effectiveness they boast about are artificial ….unreal ….fake ….misleading. Their aim is to feed us the bogus information and hope that we feel better after ingesting it. They believe that they can get away with this strategy because we have proven over and over that we will swallow anything.

Examine the history of our conflict in Viet Nam. It should have caused alarm bells to ring as we moved forward. Weekly ‘kill reports” and bogus enemy body counts were the standard fare of Defense Department reports emanating from the Southeast Asian conflict. For the most part the press took the numbers from General Westmoreland and others at face value until the later stages of the war when suspicions were aroused. In instance after instance our governments have fed us false information to keep our concerns at bay. Sometimes, though, they would revise the figures at a later date, but the new information would be reported in the bowels of the paper and rarely on the audio/video news services. The first news item would be prominently brought forth and heralded while the starker less desirable “adjustment” would go relatively unnoticed.

For years our political leaders have assumed that they could provide us   with placebos when we noticed that the nation was ill. For many years most of us swallowed the powerless pills and assumed that life would be grander. Yet when we encountered the cold hard realities, we discovered that the remedies proposed by the politicians were fake and worthless. Every attempt by them to correct our dire situation exacerbated the problems, and they continued to mislead and deflect us. They have played us for fools, and we have generally complied. I’m not certain if the bulk of government misinformation occurs because they are incapable of collecting, tabulating and reconciling the data correctly, or if they seek to intentionally deceive us. Either reason is unacceptable. Both scenarios prove that our government superstructure, at all levels, is too large and uncontrollable.

There are times when governments force feed us negative placebos….especially school districts and local governments. They scream like banshees about the devastating consequences of our failing to pass a levy or approve a tax increase. We know they exaggerate and embellish, but we take the faux medicine and pretend as if their new financial windfall will solve the problem forever….until the next time. Until, that is, the public employee unions demand better contracts and sweeter benefit packages. The cycle for more of your tax dollars begins anew as the government rams the powerless placebo down your over-taxed throat. It has become the primary specialty of all levels of government….the placebo….the fake…the false argument….the distorted information. This monstrous government tactic has developed to the point that any statement from any level of government should initiate an immediate and massive gag reflex from the electorate. Still….too many of us gulp….and swallow it whole.

It should be clear that placebos and the “placebo effect” can be more dangerous that the diseases that triggered their implementation. Our false sense of resolution only leads to a further ravaging by the disease because the remedy was faulty. If government presents a realistic and truthful assessment, we can attack the root cause and correct the matter. Governments’ insistences, however, on distortion and dissembling cause the real problems to carry on without being properly diagnosed and treated. Government incompetency and government lying lead to greater problems, more difficult remedies and a huge reservoir of distrust. By capitalizing on our unwillingness to reject the placebos, government power and control continue to grow exponentially. In addition, once they have observed that we willingly or compliantly accept the placebo in lieu of the cure, they will continue providing the falsehoods, the artificial and the unreal justifications for their unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional actions. And…we swallow them. It is past time for patriots to join the expectoration brigade. Congressman Joe Wilson dared to utter “You lie” to the President. We should be brazen enough to proclaim “You lie” to any representative of government who bears placebos for us to consume.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com