Thursday, February 23, 2006

Look into the future

What do you see?

Are the average levels of intelligence increasing? Are the standards of civilized people rising or declining? Are the numbers of civilized people increasing? Are the time tested standards of morality and ethics holding firm? Or careening down the hill like a 1959 Edsil with the brake lines cut, an imbicle at the wheel yelling "damn what a rush" as the S-turns to destruction at the bottom of the cliff come closer and closer.

Western Civilization has endured and improved over millinia, but can we confidently look at it and say that it will endure another 4000 years?

In our pursuit to equality we tried to pull or force countries onto the pedestal with us, while some of them were not up to the heights and got nosebleeds, and others only wanted to throw rocks and see if they could knock us off.

Now we see Chinese and Indians graduating more scientists and engineers than we ever did.
Are we so arrogant as to think that genius is only a product of a white skin?

Where will we be when the almighty dollar is no longer the dominant currency in the world?
When others standard of living in their own country increases will they still want to come here and produce, or will they see better oportunitites else where?
When your house stops increasing in value because there are more on the market than demand can soak up, and you can no longer borrow against it to finance lifestyle purchases, what then?
Will you demand that your employeer increase your wages simply because you need more?
Will you stand with your bowl in hand asking "Please sir, may I have more"?

We have finally reduced our rate of saving to a minus percentage of our national income.
I ask you, did this nation become great because it was the biggest debtor in the world, or because it was the greatest producer in the world? Where was the last purchase at Wal-mart manufactured? Hummmm?

There are those who advocate preparedness. Is it such a bad idea to have a little money sat aside? Might some of it need to be in gold or silver or other trade goods, even hand tools?
Should you grow a portion of what you eat, and preserve some of it for when the cool winds of winter blow? Or when a Tornado or Hurricane strikes? Can we outrun the bird flu, or is that just hype. Are all around the world we living only with people who like and respect us and our beliefs?

Do you have money to sustain you for at least 6 months. If you couldn't afford to go to the store do you have clothes to cover you and a source of warmth, and ability to cook something to fill that increasingly hollow spot in your midsection?

Do you have something that will continue to bring in the necessities of life if you are laid up in the bed from illness, or injury, or simply becoming too old to do what it takes to bring in additional funds.

There is more to life than the next soap on tv, or the next sixpack on the weekends or the olympics. They may distract us. They may entertain us (nothing wrong with appropriate entertainment).

Do you ever just sit and consider the future? ?

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Sanity or Insanity

At first glance the thought of having a foreign entity have control of SIX of our major east coast seaports produces the gut-felt reaction of "What the hell are those idiots in Washington Thinking?".

By now anyone who watches any news on tv or listens to the radio realizes that the British corporation which owns the business which has the port controlling concession has made a deal to sell that business to a United Arab Emirate government entity. Let me make that clear.
1. a privately owned British business is selling their business to a UAE Government business.
2. The UAE is a moslem State from which 2 of the 9/11 hijackers came.
3. The UAE is not a private business, it is a political business.

On the other hand, The UAE has been the friend of the U.S. in our so called war on terror.
1. They allowed our forces to base out of there.
2. They have condemmed the islamic terrorists. (note that I do not capatalize the word islam, they do not deserve it)

For a better discussion of this matter, may I recommend you read this;
http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html
I know that it may be a long read for some of you, but the practice will be good for you.

I don't have a clue as to whether this is a security issue for the U.S..

My Gut feeling is that it is something akin to milking a porcipine. Best done verrrry carefully, and with great trepidation, and reluctance.

My Intellectual feeling is that a soverign nation has to have as much of its infurstructure as possible owned by citizens of that nation. Not from a security standpoint. Rather from a SURIVAL STANDPOINT. An ECONOMIC STANDPOINT.

We have for many years been sending our jobs and factories to foreign lands. This may make sense in some minds. Yes, wages are cheaper there. Yes, foreign countries eager for economic stimulus to their countries will give incentives to companies to invest there and employ their unemployed. In many cases we built them housing an schools so as to have at least a semi-literate employee base. Our own government has a department which uses TAXPAYER MONEY to encourage business to move overseas or to foreign countries.

I just wonder if all of our jobs are sent overseas, where the wages to support our lifestyle will come from. Henry Ford, it's said, was asked why he paid his workers so well. He replyed that he wanted his employees to be able to buy his cars. He knew that in order for his product to sell well, as many people as possible had to have the means to buy what initally was a luxurey item. But which has become a neccesity. Why, it's not uncommon for our poor welfare recipiants in this country to have at least one and more commonly two cars in their driveway. And Generally at least one Television.

We cannot long survive producing only paper and producing mind-numbing reality shows on tv. The home building sector is sustaining this economy. When people come to the harsh reality that their biggest investment is in fact no investment, but a liability, when it no longer automatically goes up to keep pace with inflation or more, but in fact looses value, what do you think will happen?

I encourage you all to give this some thought and to express yourself to your congress critter and Senator. You can find how to contact them at this website,

http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm

E-mail them, write them, call them on the telephone, send smoke signals for God's sake. Let's hold them accountable for things which they took an oath to defend.

Pass this off or pass it on.

I would be glad to see your comments and discussion.

Let's hope the Kudzu is not too deep to escape for a short time at least.