The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave

Atop the Stoa, words have meanings. There is nothing ambiguous as long as you understand the context in which the word is being used. Sounds simple, so lets keep this in mind as I ramble on tonight.

I used the phrase from the National Anthem as I feel that it embodies the core spirit of our nation. Those Europeans that came to the shores of North America did not come seeking adventure. They came here seeking freedom from old establishments in Europe. The early colonists frequently experimented with new social theories and societal organizations. All of the experiments eventually failed, but the habit of expression and experimentation became solidly woven into the American character.

Eventually the major colonies broke away from England on the grounds that London was over-centralizing their freedoms. They did not feel that a king in London could understand the needs of a people clear across the Atlantic, let alone the interior of the continent. It was intrinsically understood that the best solutions come from proximities closest to the problem.

200 years later and the Federal government fallen into the ways of centralization, control, and power brokerage. It is no wonder that the Tea Party has only grown stronger. Freedom is deeply woven into our fabric. On a basic level, the overwhelming majority of the American people resent being told, by the Feds in Washington D.C., what they can eat, what they can drink, who they can talk to, what doctor they an see, what car they must drive, how much they must pay a dry waller, and on and on and on.

Americans must have the freedom to spend their money and their lives however which way they wish. This is what has made this nation the greatest and most prosperous nation that humanity has ever known. Free to experiment with new technologies, and free to risk their fortunes in an attempt get rich. Ultimately, they are free to fail, or to succeed. You must be brave to risk everything on a new business venture. You must be brave to take your family into a hostile interior, far from the US military or even US civilization.

The nanny state is anathema to the American spirit. We must be allowed to stand or fall based on our talent and our sweat equity. We resent the government taking half of what we earn AND then telling us what we can build on our land or drive on our roads.

We don't need to be "managed" by the brains in D.C., the czars who just want to "nudge" us to where they believe we need to be. I will eat what I want, when I want, where I want, while driving what I want and living where I want. I don't need the manipulators in government feeling the need to re-engineer my beliefs and economic appetites.

Leave us alone.

Ignore the Tea Party and the common American patriot at your own political risk.

I depart the Stoa this night.

Live well.

--Zavost

Birth and Upbringing

Atop the Stoa tonight, I am again thinking that people may be missing the point about Obama's birth certificate. It is not so much was he born here as was he raised here.

The letter of the Constitution makes perfect sense. It only discusses in passing how many years they need to live here prior to running for President, however, I think there should be some consideration as to how many of their formative years were spent here adopting the culture of the United States, which I believe was the intent of the Framers.

I personally feel that he was born outside of the United States. There is simply too much evidence against him. The timelines of his mother's movements at the time of his birth, her enrollment in school, the eyewitness reports within his African family that claim they were present at his birth in Kenya, the incorrectly sequenced serial numbers in the official records, etc.

However, I'm speaking of the formative years that he spent overseas, being raised in a Muslim country by a Muslim step-father, in a Muslim school, with Muslim friends. He even stated that he was a citizen of Indonesia on a school document so that he could qualify as a foreign student to get better admission tuition. He even gave up the Obama name for many years.

When he finally came to Hawaii to live, after again being abandoned by his mother, he sought out family members who felt quite natural to him, despite their "radical" label by American cultural standards. He felt right at home with people who were Communists, anti-estabishement, black radicals. He was born into the Transnational Progressive movement. It is who he is. Pure and simple.

His grades in his Hawaii High School, we've heard, were awful since he was a slacker and pot head. Yet somehow he lands a spot in a mainland university, and Harvard? Friends, and photos, of the time show that he was still a slacking pothead who partied and drank more than he studied (if ever). What kind of grades did he get? We don't know, he will not unseal his records. Any papers as head of the Harvard Law Review? None that anyone can find.

He takes advantage of white guilt, affirmative action, and connections within the progressive movement in America to slide under all the barriers to advancement that most Americans have to get over, usually through Merit.

Most Americans I know, moralistic Americans, would never take advantage of the inherent weaknesses in our free society. Yet he did. Not one twinge of guilt. Open corruption is common overseas. It is the way of doing business, the way you live your life. Those who play that game the best, get ahead. The United States has a simplistic and unrealistic view of how the larger world operates. Obama grew up in that larger world. He is not subject to the moralities and guilts inherent within the American culture.

It makes sense to me that he would end up in Chicago. One of the few places that is so openly corrupt as the places Obama grew up in. It was an environment that he thrived in. Most residents of Chicago have to "learn the ropes" as they grow up in that system. Network connections and all that. Chicago was like breathing in the air of his homeland.

You can piece the rest of it together. I don't so much care where he was born, as where he was raised. The years where he grew up were his formative years. The future adult is formed and fixed before they are 12. Some say by the time you are 6 years old.

Please think about this and keep in mind as you watch the news.

There is a reason why so many Americans do not believe that he is a Christian. There is a reason why so many Americans do not think he was born here. The common people sense it in his actions and his demeanor. Those who have immigrated here, away from such scum, point in sick recognition at him has being part of the problem that they fled. Like a coyote in a herd of cows, we know he is not like us.

He uses the color of his skin to take advantage of white guilt and black anger. Does he care about the blacks in the U.S.? His actions would say loudly, "NO". Has he done anything to, "bring America together, heal this nation, and lower the ocean levels"? NO.

He has, however, brought the ills of Europe, Africa, and Asia straight into the nerve center of the United States, and we are rejecting him like the foreign contaminant that we perceive him to be.

Think on that as well. Don't pull the race card here, it simply does not apply and is a tired old vehicle for those who simply will not face the truth.

Live well, my friends.

--Zavost

The Horrid, Horror filled Horror Documentary

Atop the Stoa tonight, I watch a documentary (yes, my Stoa has a satellite dish) and shake my head at the sensationalism, baiting, and pandering oozing out of my flatscreen.

First off, the writing for this documentary had to have been written by an 8th grader trying to write at a 6th grade level, while actually achieving a 4th grade level of sophistication. Repetitive variations of the words horror, nightmare, and crisis, were rampant. The interviewer and narrator, Paula Zahn, was grinning throughout the episode; her eyes bright and mirthful. How is this possible? Were you giggling during the 9/11 attack?

I felt like Rocky in the 8th round of a match, just taking hit after hit from my screen, bludgeoned with the evils of nuclear power, the idiocy of the governments in the world that build them. The tens of millions of people at risk to similar contamination because of where our plants are situated. On and on it went.

I have worked with radiation for 20 years and understand nuclear power far better than most of the activists out there screaming for its abandonment. Nuclear power is the safest, cleanest way of generating electricity that humanity currently possesses. Unless a reactor breeches or storage facilities are breeched, the plants are quite safe. I will not go into all the details in this post, however any who requests more detail can simply ask me and I will provide it.

All fossil fuels leave a greenhouse footprint and hydroelectric dams and plants disrupt native aquatic life. Very bad. Even green technology kills of the native wildlife. There are hundreds of square miles of solar panels that choke native plants and grasses of needed sunlight. The panels disrupt the animals that live in the desert and only operate when the sun is out. Wind turbines kill more birds than hunters around the world by a large factor, plus they drive humans insane with their subsonic sounds. They also only work when there is wind. Oh, and they can be an eye sore, just ask the Kennedy Family.

Nuclear power is the only way to generate power without affecting the native wildlife, as long as proper care is taken with their construction and maintenance.

If you think that you can ban all power generation that harms the environment, in any way, then you will be sitting cold and damp in the grass, unable to light a match to warm or light your way. It is just that simple.

Please, oh please, Paula, stop smiling while you discuss radiation burns and Iodine poisoning. It just does not seem appropriate.

With irritation subsiding, I will depart the Stoa for home. Scientific detachment and medical professionalism is the only way to discuss a situation as serious (not horrible, horrifying or nightmarish).

Live well.

--Zavost

Good can grow from questionable soil

On the Stoa I see and hear the good and the bad. From here I can see the trend lines of history spinning out around us and can see the good and the bad of human history rolled out for casual or detailed inspection.

I am a generally optimistic person because I know there will always be the good with the bad. There can be no shadows without the light, just as there can be no light without shadow.

I deplore the destruction, devastation, and dislocation that come with war and its aftermath, but unfortunately that is how the world evolves. As Rush Limbaugh states so correctly, "The world is governed through the aggressive use of force." Very true. The weak possess what they have only because the strong choose to allow them to possess it. Period. Think on that for a while. Very much an undeniable truth. Change, growth, and evolution are unpredictable by nature. We also like to think of them as "unforeseen consequences". In fact, I like to think of unforeseen consequences as a Law, not a rule. No matter how much you plan for "after the war", you can not predict how all the dynamics will play out. You can only control so many variables, either historic or cultural. Winning the peace is often times harder then winning the war. This is again another facet of the Law. It is difficult to win the peace because the victor is now trying to impose its control over the conquered civilian, religious and cultural body politic.

Stoics believe that stress and strife arise from trying to force something against its nature. Like the squealing of breaks when trying to slow a car down. "An object in motion tends to stay in motion..." The wheel wants to keep rotating out of inertia, the breaks create friction to slow the car down against its nature. Tearing down a religious shrine to put up a Walmart parking lot may irritate the local religious population. Opening up a "Pork Palace BBQ" joint next to a mosque may cause the Muslims to show some slight irritation, in the form of stacked skulls in front of the BBQ. Likewise, building a Muslim Cultural Center next to a pig farmer and then demanding him to move his pigs would irritate the farmer. Building a mosque near to Ground Zero would elicit the same response from common sense Americans as well.

Controlling the ball once it is out of your hand is nigh impossible. Just like trying to predict the actions of a culturally diverse nation once you have pulled down its dictator. You know how you want it to develop and you can only nudge it so much before your plans fall to pieces and the people develop their own fate.

This is why I say that good things can grow from questionable soil. Some broad examples. The Ancient world was pulled down by Germanic and Asiatic migrations and mass re-settlements in the 5th century a.d. Engineering principles that had been in use for a millennia took another millennia to re-discover. Religious and cultural principles slumbered while European butchered European, and European butchered Muslim. Those seeds slumbered during the long centuries of warfare. From all that warfare and cultural upheaval came the Age of Enlightenment, the Social Contract, the Natural Contract, among others. These were developments that could not have taken place unless the old order had been wiped clean and rebuilt. Asian, Muslim, and African cultures have benefited unimaginably from the modern European culture. The standard of wealth and prosperity has been unmatched, culminating with the combination of many of those seeds to create the United States of America and the U.S. Constitution. Despite the undermining that is going on, it is still the greatest document next to the Bible to be created.

The Jewish Holocaust under German Fascism was horrid, but it created the only true Democracy in the Middle East. Those Jews that resettled their ancient homeland held no illusions that this was a world intimately hostile to the Jewish Race. The world will EXTERMINATE you if you allow them. This is why I will always support Israel. They are a splinter of believers in an ocean of Muslims that will not rest until every last one of them has been pushed into the sea, hunted down, and killed. A mulla has even stated that he likes Israel because it lumps many Jews all together for more efficient extermination.

I wonder what will grow out that conflicted soil? Should I come back in 50 years or 5 months? Israel is under assault now, and my government is aiding the enemy. For god's sake.

There are many more examples to discuss, however, you may think of your own personal examples. Turmoil with your parents creates a harder individual, hopefully. Wisdom comes only through learning from the many mistakes made along the road of life. This is why wisdom is always associated with grey hair.

As things are coming down around your ears in life, just keep an eye on the brighter road ahead. Pull what you can re-use from the rubble and carry on. Re-build your life better and smarter. Learn, grow, and share your wisdom. Make something good grow from the questionable soil you leave behind.

Live well.

--Zavost

Fallible China

From atop the Stoa I can clearly see that the Chinese, quick to pick up on Western advances is now showing us that they are following us off our cliffs as well.

China has the world's largest hard currency reserves (dollars and Euros) and brags about its budding space program, 300bn high speed rail system, and booming middle class. China finds itself in a lose/lose position because of the irresponsibility of Europe and the United States.

Over the last decade, China used its vast reserves of wealth, gained through huge trade imbalances, to fund a variety of internal and external capital projects. It was also put to use purchasing the sovereign debt of Europe and the United States. Very stable, very rich collections of nation-states; their debt will be good, right? I'll bet that even the more devious among us would claim that China was using their purchases as a way of gaining very real power over the countries that are indebted to them. China has indeed been flexing its muscles of late, telling Obama and Geitner what they would like to see in terms of US policy.

I wonder if anyone in China realized that the spending and building binge that the Southern Europeans went on, funded by EU sovereign debt (from China) would eventually default on that debt. I wonder if they saw the cascading effect that such an event would have on the rest of the world?

Then Obama gets into office on the heels of a financial collapse and promises to reign in our national debt by spending more borrowed money from China (and other countries). China has been flashing the yellow light for years that they may purchase less debt from the EU and the US. In fact, they did suspend debt purchases for some time and have only recently begun buying more (when QE 2 kicked off).

Now, stories are coming out that the EU is falling apart faster then anticipated. Portugal, after denying the need for bailouts is now begging for a bailout. Spain looks increasingly weak and may join Portugal in foreclosure. Great Britain cut 25% from its spending across the board in an attempt to stave of future disaster that they see coming all too clearly. The US debt ceiling is being challenged, spending proposals in Congress are actually being debated even while our credit worthiness is being downgraded from Positive to Negative. This is due to the planned, multi year trillion dollar debts that the Obama administration has outlined for the next 10 years.

China's answer to this is to state that they will continue to prop up those nations with continued purchasing of their debt. The logic of this is that once they have stabilized their economies that they will be able to begin paying back that debt, either in cash or kind (property or mineral rights).

The results of Stimulus and Porkulus (among others) simply pushed the day of reckoning down the road. States did little to nothing to balance their budgets, instead most of that money went into the Unions and government jobs, plus banks and crony capital friends around then world.

So, the answer now is for China to inject even more money into the gap to keep them afloat. What are the odds that steps will be taken to fix the problems when all this cash drops into the laps of the very same politicians who spend and wasted it in the first place?

China, this is called throwing good money after bad. There must be a better way for you to spend your money.

With wrinkled brow, full of worry for my nation, I depart the Stoa once more today.

Live well.

--Zavost

Gay is not a choice

Atop the Stoa this Easter morning I wish to discuss to the class the "choices" of either being a Homosexual or a Heterosexual. It seems pretty cut and dry to me, however, lets put emotion aside and get behind the issues and think about them rationally.

For someone to be gay is no more a choice then I had to be straight. Sounds pretty simple. No matter how many perks the gay community gets from our society, if I wished to partake of those perks I would be living a lie. Society and religion force unfortunate individuals into agreeing that they are somehow aberrant. Being gay is no more aberrant then being straight. A world full of gays will not mean planetary extinction. I gay man can still father children and a gay woman can still bear them. So why the fuss?

The first people in line to have a conniption would be the religious folks. Somehow being gay is a sin in God's eyes. Guess what, we are a manifestation of His will. Parse that however which way you want it. Do you know better than Him what His intentions for an individual are to be? Arrogance. Do you imply that He somehow expressed Himself incorrectly? Blasphemy. Who are we to question the barriers and trials that God places before us to overcome and grow?

I don't much care for Aristotle but he did get logic down pretty tight. A = A. It can only be thus. Period. If you are a man that is more attracted to other men, then you are gay. You can not change this no matter how many church services you go to. Even if a Psychiatrist claims that they have "cured" you. Even if you have been brainwashed into believing that you are now straight, guess what? You are still gay, you just feel all warm and fuzzy about being accepted by what your culture demands is the "proper" way to live.

The second people in line will be your "activists" that somehow feel that it is morally acceptable to cure one evil by committing another. That would be Affirmative Action, perks, or special treatment of any kind with the intent of righting some wrong. You deny another their liberty and rights if you give it to someone else without merit, regardless of their sexual orientation.

It is our culture and religion that remain opposed to this lifestyle. If the Left is so inclusive, then why do they exclude and deny the rights of an individual because they are straight. A does not equal B. Christianity does a disservice if they exclude or otherwise denigrate an individual because they are gay. Jesus accepted everyone and to teach otherwise would be a sin of omission.

Can't we all just get along? Can't we just hit the "reset" button and get on with our lives? Are there not other things that demand our attention these days?

I return to my domicile to enjoy a wonderful Easter breakfast.

Live well,

--Zavost

Religion

It is Easter atop the Stoa this weekend and I could not let it pass without comment. Easter is important to all Christians, Catholics and Protestants alike. The Jewish faith itself has just celebrated Passover.

I feel that religion developed over time to take advantage of the human need to believe in something larger and greater than themselves. The earliest religions were animistic and elemental to explain the natural processes of nature. A religious class (in almost all societies regardless of global location) formed that had the "keys" to heaven. As societies became larger and more complex, religion was able to exert or influence the warrior classes within them. It was the glue that held larger and larger groups of individual together and prevented chaos. It provided a structure. Over time, reason, logic and science replaced the psychological comfort that religion granted an individual. This is why religious belief as a whole in the world (with the exception of Islam) is waining. Deep down, though, many do believe in a higher power. If anything, our science, reason and logic tells us that we know virtually nothing about how the cosmos functions.

All religions have peace as their central tenants, again, with the exception of Islam. The Jewish faith was the first to create a stable and cohesive monotheistic religion (we can talk about the Zorasters in another post, class). For well over a thousand years, perhaps two, the Jews had a thriving religion that survived the worst that the Persians, Assyrians, and Egyptians could throw at them. In the Roman Era of Augustus, there were those Jews that began to follow a new prophet by the name of Jesus.

Jesus felt that the Jews had lost their way, strayed from the path that God intended for them. He was sent to guide the chosen of Israel back to the path. Human greed and the lust for power and influence among the Jewish high priests won out over the Son of God. Against the wishes of the Romans, the Jews put Jesus to death in an attempt to silence his heresy. I do believe that Jesus was the son of God. I do believe that he arose on the third day in fulfillment of the scriptures. I do believe that he opened the gates of Hell and culled the realm of Purgatory.

I also believe in evolution, not creationism. I believe that abortion is wrong though I do believe in birth control. I believe that the Jewish faith took a wrong turn 2,011 years ago. I do believe that Catholic faith has got it more right than the other religions. The Protestants started out trying to purify the Catholic faith of the corruption that is inherent within a long established institution. I do not look at Islam as a proper monotheistic religion since they do not separate the church from the State, as the Jews and Christians do. Islam is a man's club that never reformed. Oh, they also worship a rock and the crescent moon. Animistic and primitive.

What I am getting at is that none of the established religions have it "right", though I feel that the Catholics are closer than others. I have my issues with both the Jews and the Catholics (I will not even get into the Multitude of Protestant "faiths").

The Jews still work under the Old Testament and the Tora. The Jewish faith is peaceful enough and there is much to admire with their longevity and cohesion. I feel, though, that this cohesion has been achieved by maintaining as much as possible a closed culture. Jews are not supposed to marry non-Jews and in some of the more Orthodox branches, you can be ostracized for doing so. They have a variety of old-fashioned belief systems that do not make a whole lot of sense to an outsider such as myself.

The Catholics can be inflexible, harsh, and intolerant. I cringe whenever I hear of a Catholic private school that has expelled a female student for becoming pregnant or terminating a teacher whose sordid past has become revealed. On a positive note, Catholics embrace all the races of the world and bring them into the fold with no violent coercion. They have a strict belief of a separation of the spiritual from the material. Much to be admired.

I scratch my head when Catholics expel or exclude for any reason.

Jesus accepted everyone. Period. He even accepted a prostitute as an apostle (yes, I do believe that). His was a message of absolute love and acceptance. He was the way. He was the example. He would not expel a child for becoming pregnant. He would rejoice in the new life created, though he would use it a teaching example on the hardships that this girl and her baby will have to endure without a husband or the opportunities afforded her though higher education and training.

Jesus would not expel the teacher with a sordid past, He would encourage her for improving her life, and by extension, using her wisdom to help her young charges not to make the same mistakes that she has made.

No one ever looked upon the face of Jesus and walked away the same person. He could see your very essence, your soul. He could see beyond the web of lies that we spin around ourselves and tell you the truth that you needed to hear to be the person God wished you to be. He was unique and He represents the best image for humanity, regardless of race, color, culture, or religion. There was no "chosen people" any longer. No exclusive club. Jesus reminded us that we are all God's children and He loves us. I'm sure He cries all the time when he sees how we treat the special gift called life. In all the vast Universe there is no one like YOU. Yet we kill, wound, steal and abuse our fellow Man.

Look upon Easter as a reminder that one man can make a difference in the world. One man saved us all. One man showed us the way. That man waits patiently for us to make the choice to follow the path that He as set before us.

With a humble nod to the miracle that is Easter, I depart the Stoa to spend time with my family.

Live well,

--Zavost

Patriotic Millionaires

It is a good thing that I do not have a beard, lest I pull it out. Clean shaven presents its own problems, mostly around skin rash, as I scratch and rub my chin in amusement.

Atop the Stoa tonight, I wish to discuss personal income. I saw a video this morning of a man who called himself a "patriotic millionaire". He called himself this because he proudly wrote checks to the IRS to help pay down the deficit and to pay for programs that require borrowing to fund.

So, class, does this make him patriotic? Is he patriotic because he is free with his money? Is altruism patriotic?

Patriotism is not linked to income or personal wealth, I don't believe. The Founders were mostly rich and had much to lose from a war with England. Many lost everything, including their own lives and the lives of their families. If I give my money away to the poor am I patriotic? No, that is called charity. If I give my money to the guy across the street so that he can help the poor, is that patriotic? No, that is still called charity. If I give my money to the fellow who lives in a mansion while owning hundreds of others, owns hundreds of cars, spends money like a wastrel while making a fuss that he his always running out of money, does that make me patriotic? No, I think the word we are looking for here is, "idiot".

This man is free to do with his money as he sees fit. If he wants to give half of everything he owns to the government on an annual basis (taxes), and then give him half of the remainder (after taxes), then he is free to do so. I do not have the right to tell him otherwise.

I have to wonder, though, why there was an article written about his financial choices. I've heard Mr. Biden say that it is our patriotic duty as citizens to pay taxes. I happen to disagree with this on so many levels. So I have to ponder if this is not some attempt to soften up the public into paying the crushing taxes that are coming our way due to our crushing debt. If a millionaire is willing to part with his money then John Q. Public could not possibly get cross with the concept? Right?

Wrong.

My money is the result of my labor. It is the result of having a skill or talent that someone is willing to pay me to perform in their service. Patriotism is an emotion. Civic duty is my responsibility under a Republic. Taxes are an obligation. Taxes are a necessity in an advanced society. Income taxes were not instituted permanently until Mr. Wilson used WWI as an excuse, despite the fact that the Civil War was paid off without a permanent income tax. Taxes were simply collected differently and were sufficient for the duties of the Federal government as outlined in the Constitution.

Obviously, the government has intruded into everything and has taken on way more then the majority of our Founders ever hoped (or feared) that the Feds would get into.

Money fuels the big government beast and that money comes from taxes. Taxes of all sorts. There is no debate to the argument that the government mishandles our money. There is no question that it is less efficient for the government to be involved in anything "social" then for private entities to develop and provide those same services.

So, if millionaires and billionaires wish to sign over their wealth to enable the government to continue its reckless behavior then they are free to do so. However, you are NOT free to offer up my money in the bargain. It is not yours to offer and it is NOT the government's to take.

Let us think about scale, now. During the budget "brawl" that settled the FY11 budget (5 months before the end of the FY). The 40 billion dollar "cut" was over-shadowed by approximately 60 billion dollars of NEW debt!

How many "Patriotic Millionaires" are required to fund the debt that was accumulated during that single budget discussion? The math is starkly simple to work out. I seriously doubt that there are enough of them to even scratch the grime let alone pay off that debt. No, they will have to come to the middle class since that is where the majority of the money really resides within this country.

Perhaps they are trying to soften us up for the confiscatory taxes that are around the corner. Class warfare has been used to inflame the masses against the rich, now they are trying to have the rich show us the way towards "true patriotism". Again...you do not have the right or the power under the Constitution.

Be vigilant, citizen. The federals are coming for your money, overtly and covertly. Vigilance.

I depart the Stoa in preparation for traveling all day tomorrow. This is a wonderful country and I love to see it. The Stoa will be in Virginia tomorrow.

Live well, citizen.

--Zavost

Forget it, Mitt

I chuckle from atop the Stoa this morning. Mitt Romney is forming a Presidential Exploration Committee to see if he can make a successful run at the White House. He is going to campaign on lower taxes, less spending, stronger foreign policy, and the demise of ObamaCare.

Care to evaluate your past record as Governor of Massachusetts? The run-away taxes, the increasing spending, and RomneyCare? You, sir, are damaged goods. Even if you had an epiphany and renounced your past RINO activities, you can not be trusted with the presidency. You would be a Bush III and that would be disastrous, i.e. a Stealth Socialist.

I'm looking at Bachman, Palin, Allen West (please, lose Mr. Trump, you are better than that), Mike Pence, and a few other lesser known individuals.

Mitt, the best you can do is advise and to help raise funds for those that better reflect the needs and hopes of our nation. Suborn your ambitions for the needs of the nation.

Live well.

--Zavost

Centralized Planning

From the top of the Stoa tonight, I am musing about the FED and the centralized economic planning of the People's Republic of China. The FED, as everyone knows is the "a-political" body that is responsible for printing our money, determining monetary supply and policy, while ensuring that inflation does not get out of control. Private business invests what it wants and borrows what it wants. Certain behaviors are controlled or regulated by the interest rates that are set by the FED. In the PRC, central planning committees adjust and determine everything that the FED controls PLUS many, many other items, levers, and policies that the FED is not able to adjust.

After saying that, the Chinese are afraid that inflation is getting away from them. They knew last fall that they needed to reign in spending, loaning, and international loaning. However, internal politics, aims, and power building is hampering their planners. They know inflation is getting away from them but they seem to be standing there, waiting for the train to hit them while hoping that they can jump out of the way just in the nick of time.

Our FED tells us day after day that inflation is under control, that the monetary supply that they have been so reckless with is not a problem. They tell us that buying most of our national debt via quantitative easing is a valid tool that they know how to wield.

In my educated vocabulary the best phrase that I can come up with is, "what a load of crap".

The Chinese central bank has nearly omnipotent power to regulate and control. They write the rules and enforce the rules. They control monetary supply and policy. They control the amount of money that is lent internally, the amount of money that is loaned outside of the country, and they even control the actual value of their money (limited floating and all that).

Yet still, inflation is getting out of hand in China. Food prices are climbing faster over there then they are over here. They risk riots and still petty politics keep them from fighting the inflation that they know is hurting them.

The FED supposedly has all that under control without all of the "control" that the PRC has over its own economy.

Riiiiight. Be careful what you believe on TV or in the papers. Do your own research and data evaluation and then ask yourself what you believe in.

Musings completed, I will once again head back to my domicile to play with my Ipad2.

Live well.

--Zavost

Words, just words.

Atop the Stoa this day I again hear Obama talking to hear himself talk. He knows what he is supposed to say, then he steps off the podium and ignores himself. Words, Mr. President, just words.

Cutting a Trillion dollars from next years budget? How? Well, he is not going to pay for the surge in Iraq any longer, despite the fact that the surge ended BEFORE he became president. Thats one. Then he is going to reduce "wasteful" spending in the Defense budget. Thats two. Then he is going to tweak the tax code so that rich folks will stop taking advantage of us poor folk. Thats three. I'll just stop there even though the rest of his words ran along this similar thought process.

One rule in business is that simply NOT SPENDING money you had planned for in the budget is NOT a reduction in spending. You did not actually SAVE money, you simply did not spend any. There is a difference. There are also not enough rich people in the US to save a Trillion dollars. Actually, soaking the rich does not SAVE you money, it simply brings in more tax receipts, or "revenue" as you weenie tots keep calling it. That does not reduce spending at all, it simply drives off your taxpayers.

The budget battle recently ended up "SAVING" only 300 million dollars. That is it out of about 40 billion in "cuts". Not filling positions or purchasing equipment does not actually save money, as the CBO demonstrated. The 300 million in REAL cuts comes from money that had been handed out for spending and then pulled back into the general budget. In fact, during the time it took to debate these "cuts", the Treasure borrowed more money than the cuts! Hello, anyone older than 12 out there in government land?

Mr. Boehner, you will have to work harder at this whole spending thing.

Mr. Obama...STOP SPENDING!

One other phrase that I heard that irritates me, "The GOP will balance the budget on the backs of the elderly..." Their usual mantra. In reality, we are codling the elderly, in their golden years, at the expense of the entire taxpaying lives of their children and grand children. Do you think that is fair, Mr. Reid? Hmmmmmm. I'll bet if the elderly really understood what was at stake they may sacrifice a bit more for their grandchildren. Maybe I'm being simple with that last statement, but I can hope.

Live well.

--Zavost

Where is our Churchill?

From the Stoa tonight I reminisce about the lucky turns of fate that the United States has been blessed with. It seems like no matter how bad things were getting or how bad things could get, we always seemed to produce the right person to see us through the darkness and back into the light.

Looking out from the Stoa I see a populace that has never, by and large, been forced to grow up. Too many feel that the Federal Government (FG) is our provider and savior for any ill that may befall us. Women in Detroit crowding lines for some money from "Obama's stash" while others are waiting for Obama to pay their mortgages and utilities... Life was harder 60 years ago, but you were allowed to grow into your potential. Today, children look for government vouchers to get into Chartered schools because the public schools are so awful. In the past, the rich would offer grants or scholarships (they are still around today, but twisted out of reason). When one graduates from college today they are practically demanding job placement services, guaranteed. Before, you had to beat the pavement in the hopes that an employer would find a use for your skills or talent, with the intention of producing a good or providing a service at a profit.

America has rotted from the inside out and have grown too used to the soft, provided-for life. It has now gone on long enough that our leaders have begun to emerge from this soft-soil. In the time of the American Revolution, the Founding Fathers emerged as the greatest group of Philosopher-Kings ever. During the War of 1812 we had Andrew Jackson and First Lady Monroe. In the Civil War we had Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman. On the Legal side, there were men of equal stature that protected the Constitution and ensured that neither the Legislature nor the Executive could trample the liberties of the American people.

Even as Progressivism began to freeze people in adolescence (I say this because one grows from one's mistakes, dealing with the consequences of your actions grows character and wisdom--Progressivism seeks to make life a painless slide into the grave) we had Presidents Harding and Coolidge to right the Ship of State. FDR was even blocked by the Judicial and some members of the Legislative branch when he tried to stack the Supreme Court. After the long dark procession of pseudo-Republicans (modern RINOs) that include Nixon and Ford, we had our Ronaldus Magnus to show us the way back to our core beliefs.

Since him, however, we have fallen back into the clutches of "taking the easy way out" of everything. George HW Bush was no Regan and Clinton accelerated the policies of Carter that lead to the mortgage meltdown. George W Bush added more to the debt than Clinton with his Prescription bribe to the elderly. Throwing money at problems is not always the answer.

Today we spin to the abyss as a major power. Our economy is ruined. Our military is fighting in wars in ways it was not designed to fight. Our people demand the fruits of a major economy without the work that goes into sustaining that economy.

Where is our Reagan today. Where is our Churchill. Where is our George Washington? The recent budget battle over a budget that should have been passed LAST YEAR indicates to me that Speaker Boehner is NOT the leader I had hoped him to be. Not as bad as Senator Brown in Massachusetts, but not the Tea Party darling the media made him out to be. He did get some promises from Senator Reid, but I put no substance to what Mr. Reid promises. Speaker Boehner said he would settle for nothing less than 100 billion in spending cuts (itself a joke since 100 billion out of a 1.5 TRILLION deficit a pin prick on the hide of a dragon), he ended up grateful for the 38 billion that Reid and the ever absent Obama allowed him to have. An opportunity wasted, Mr. Boehner. You had all the cards, the mandate of the voters, the energy of the Tea Party, and you threw it away. No sir, you are not Reagan or Churchill. As Patton would have said, "Your name is Willie". The history geeks will get the reference.

Where is the leader that step into the breach, a breach that is filled and flowing with the rats bearing the Progressive plague? Where are those leaders willing to fight back at the rude and childish Left? Donald Trump can never be President. I do not ever want him to be President. He is, however, showing the rest of the Republicans how you do it. When they challenge you, fight back. When they say you want to starve grandma and kill pregnant women, don't cave, challenge them to PROVE it. Where is the leader that does not care if they are liked or will get re-elected for another term? The truth must be allowed to seen and heard. Americans need to feel pride again in their hearts.

There are plenty of loud, obnoxious, libelers and charlatans on the Left that are aided by the MSM who do not know the meaning of the word "Truth". Can someone on the Right bring some common sense back to the people and spell it out to them that we will be no better than Mexico in 20 years if something is not done now.

It has been a long day on the Stoa and I must collect myself for a busy Monday. Time to hang up the stick and the robe for another night.

Live well.

Zavost

Government Shutdown...Bring it!

It is cold and rainy upon the Stoa this morning, yet I am here, as always, providing my services for free. I'll settle into my warm bench, gather my robes, and place my stick upon my lap and tell you of a time when no one really thought about the Federal Government.

As little as a hundred years ago, not many people's lives were really affected by the Federal Government. They regulated trade between the States and oversees, they collected Import/Export taxes, ensured that the mail was delivered, the borders defended, and that patents and copyrights were maintained. It was not involved in Education, the Environment (though Teddy had begun to change that with National Parks), and it certainly did not try to regulate the calories you ate or the amount of CO2 you exhaled.

They worked for the good of the country, thus the name "civil servant". Their pay was low, but their contributions worthy. Now they are unionized parasites draining the life's blood from our country.

The Federal Register will run more than 100,000 pages long, annually, if ObamaCare and all the other regulations begin to expand into written rules and laws. All of that comes from Congress, the Federal Bureaucratic machine, and Presidential executive orders. Does this sound like an efficiently run government? Nope. Hell, the government's rules on the preparation of cabbage runs thousands and thousands of words. How long was the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution? Those set up a nation.

Today the States have become little more than administrative districts of the Central Government, though some governors are rebelling against the yoke. It may be too little too late. Since FDR the High Courts have been packed with Progressives who gun down legislative repeals that would return power back to the States. The 10th Amendment may be dead for all I know.

During the shut down non-essential personnel will be sent home. If they are non-essential then why am I paying their salaries today? Get rid of them. I wish the Congress would go on a furlough as well. With them gone they could not pass any more stupid laws. With them gone they may leave a penny or two for me to spend once in a while.

I'm sure we will continue to spend 8x more than what we take in on a monthly basis, shut down or no shut down. The ruinous spending path is fixed and despite some valiant efforts on the part of some Tea Party Republicans, I feel that it is too late. The heavy ball has begun to roll and it will have to find its new bottom.

The government that governs least governs best. We are a Republic. How about we make a show of governing like one.

Live well,

--Zavost

The Koran Excuse

This morning, atop the Stoa, my class is assembling despite my irritated countenance. It is uncommon for me to wear that mask, normally I am quite placid beneath, despite my undercurrents.

Today I wish to discuss with my class the difference between a thing and what that thing represents. At this point in time, too many are flowing with the conventional wisdom, in one form or another and we are forgetting to see things as they really are, without all the cultural sensitivities.

Among many of the sites that I regularly read, most take the view that what the preacher did in Florida was wrong, and that he intentionally attempted to inflame the Muslim choler. Others feel that what he did was ok, since we have the freedom to burn everything in the country, including our Flag and the Holy Bible; so why not the Koran?

I feel that in many ways we are missing the bigger picture by overlooking the most basic of facts. The Koran is a book. An assembly of pages that are bound in a spine. The quality will vary depending on the manufacturer. I'm sure that it burns just as well as an edition of the NYT. It is a book. I doubt that every copy was physically written by the hand of Mohammed (while god whispered in his ear that he could marry a handful of women and rape young boys and girls and that this is not just fine, but a requirement). I might actually save that book as a historical artifact, but I digress.

What the Islamic world is angry about is the message that this book burning sends. It is a repudiation of the "religion" and everything it stands for. The pastor in Florida is telling the rest of us that Islam is no better than a cult and needs to be treated that way.

I happen to be one individual who agrees with Pastor Jones. It is not the book that he is burning, it is the message. A repudiation of this "peaceful" religion. This religion that calls one another brother and sister while raping children, farm animals, young men, and the textbook definition of "Peace" and "Harmony". Bile rises in my throat whenever I hear a Muslim, any Muslim, preach to me of love and brotherhood. The bald hypocrisy.

An artist anywhere in the world can soak a crucifix in urine after smearing it with elephant dung and the most he will get is some angry protesters that will boycott his work and demand that the taxpayer not be forced to pay for his "art". He will not be harmed, no matter how much fecal matter he smears on the Virgin Mary. I can not speak for the unhinged that exist in every society (unless the Islamic world is filled with the mentally unhinged...)

Muslims routinely burn the Bible. They routinely burn and behead Christians and everyone else who looks at them funny. I could care less that a Muslim burns the Bible. The messages are in my heart and my soul. I do not lose the message if the book is burned. Their rampages in the Middle East over what this pastor has done simply reinforces the message that they beam to the West every moment of every day: theirs is a barbaric, animist religion that worships a rock and the crescent moon. Like other primitive societies, they are allowed to marry more than one woman, and engage in primitive animalistic passions if a woman is not being escorted by a man and/or covered up from head to tippy-toe. If one draws a cartoon of Mohammed, his is to be killed. If they can not get to that man, then any Westerner will do. Any number of dead Westerners will do. If you disparage the pseudo-religion in any way, you die. No intellectual discourse is permitted. If they can't find that person, any number of others will die in their place.

Again, it is not the book burning that harms to Muslim honor, it is the repudiation of the message. It is an ugly, primitive, and savage message that degrades and chains the human soul. It is a corrupt and evil belief system that is incapable of reform without the violent death of millions.

I feel that Pastor Jones has done a service to many, by forcing you to think about what it is that he is trying to demonstrate to you. Pay attention and determine for yourself what you believe in. Let the facts speak for themselves. If a Mullah burns the Holy Bible on TV will there be riots in Dearborn, Michigan? The beheading Muslim aid workers trying to fee the starving Christian population? No, there will not.

Let the images that are coming out of the Middle East serve as a definitive record of just how peaceful Islam really is.

In my heart, I have repudiated the Muslim message since I was old enough to understand it. To me, that is the same as mentally burning the book along with all of its Mullahs. Is this peaceful "religion" going to come silence me, now? Silence my thoughts and my computer?

I shall now take my walking stick and depart the Stoa this morning. The sun is coming up spectacularly and I wish to enjoy the bounty of God's nature. Revel in His Word made manifest.

Live well,

--Zavost