I'm still dissatisfied, but... purple

A little less than 10 months ago I began this blog; mostly fulfilling my need to express my feelings of dissatisfaction at the state of American society and the world. In the middle of the most severe recession since the Great Depression, I wrote about my frustrations regarding the economy and my ideas about the causes and effects of the downturn, as well as alternatives I could envision.

Still dissatisfied, I'm as certain now as in that first blog post I wrote last December, that concerted action is the function that can achieve the critical mass needed for change. I vowed to write, and I will continue to do so.

After this post (my 50th), I've decided to stop writing as "I'm dissatisfied". As dissatisfied as I am, I've realized (partly through writing on this blog) that the ideas that come from understanding and questioning my dissatisfaction are more important than the dissatisfaction itself. Therefore, I've begun a new blog based on an idea born out of my dissatisfaction.

Purple is an inclusive conceptual coalition: neither red or blue, liberal or conservative, right or left. It's not a party but a work coalition because we need to collaborate to solve the problems we face individually and collectively at all scales of society.

The self-evident truths and unalienable rights referenced in the U.S. Declaration of Independence (equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) are not secured by our government as envisioned. Unfortunately, "...all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." - The U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Hopefully, to guarantee the rights and promote the truth, members of the purple-coalition will live up to the promise of support that ends the Declaration: "we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Notes From a Class Worrier

The prosperity after WWII was due in great part to the socialist policies put into place by Roosevelt to stem the rise of Socialism/Communism in the U.S. They "encouraged" (mandated and regulated) a system in which the wealth of the nation was distributed more widely than previously or after. Government investment and incentives in infrastructure creation generated growth and happiness.

American people are and have always been deeply divided. While equality has been the rallying cry of the U.S. for centuries, the reality is that the cry is hypocritical. Inequality and depravation (of rights and wealth) have been much more common than the opposite.

We are almost certain to end up with demagoguery because we crawl too slowly to true equality. The lack of understanding we have towards each other and the ever growing complexity of our world pose the challenge of exceeding the expectations and trappings of our bipolar society. We are one society, one people, one race on one planet, and our lives are inextricably linked with each others'. If we can accept the fundamental truth that we are in this together, then maybe we can start working together.

There will always be people and entities bent on exploiting our differences and fears against one another and for personal gain. A united opposition to demagoguery and lies and an uncompromising dedication to the the truth might be enough to prevent a slide towards a more hateful, vindictive, and exploitive world.

A tall order indeed.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

The Bucket List

I feel I'm a bit young to be writing a bucket list. But for a multitude of reasons (which I won't go into now), I've been giving it some thought.

While there are many things that I would like to do, most are just arbitrary desires: travel, lifestyle... mostly travel. I don't feel these things would change me or my life immensely. Don't get me wrong, they'd be fun and worth my while, but I could just as easily do without them.

The truth is that the only thing I can think of that would cause me regret would be to be silent on my observations and intuitions about the world around me. Communication, convergence, competition, and cooperation seem to me to be as natural as the universe.

It's not that I know what others do not. Quite the opposite, I think. Nor do I believe to have answers or influence. The act of expressing my ideas helps me refine, examine, and judge them. I have strong opinions, but try to base them on facts, experience, and logic (which has reliably resolved many of the problems I've faced.)

I am motivated by the seemingly incurable human condition of suffering, and the seemingly infinite search for truth. This is the reason I started this blog. It's the reason I'll continue blogging. The beginning and end are certain, it's the middle that defines.

iPhone 4 Recall Is 'Inevitable,' 'Critical,' Say PR Experts

Smells like Toyota... User error... My iPhone 4 works just fine. Just like the 2 Priuses I've owned. Negative propaganda benefits competition, so let's see what smartphone can get a higher Consumer Reports rating. With an overall score of 76 points it's the highest rated smartphone reviewed by CR. Information is the only cure for misinformation.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Jon Kyl: Extend Bush Tax Cuts For Wealthy Even If They Add To Deficit

Class warfare? Naaaahhhh. I only hope Congressional Republicans continue speaking honestly about what's on their minds: Screw the poor and the needy... Dismantle the safety net for the disabled and elderly... Hell, sell the country to foreigners... Borrow a trillion or two and hand the cash over to the military industrial complex... But let's make sure the rich keep as much of the spoils of their exploitation of the country. Invest in the U.S. infrastructure, in local and state governments, in keeping people employed? Hell no. If Republicans stay on message, perhaps the upcoming election wont be as damaging to the Democrats as speculated. Of course, I'm assuming that voters are listening as well as hearing.



Anyway, I'm happy to see so many comments on this article. It must be striking an important chord.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Government Violence Against Citizens

Being Puerto Rican, and having lived there for more than a few years, has given me the opportunity to experience firsthand what colonialism feels like. As the United States celebrates it's declaration of independence from it's colonial master, I look at one of it's modern day colonies in disarray. The sad state of affairs in Puerto Rico is rarely examined by the U.S. media, mainstream or otherwise, and hence the country and it's situations are alien to most people in this country. Having grown up there, I can assure that Puerto Rico and the U.S. have many things in common.

Subject to U.S. laws and benefiting from federal financing, Puerto Rico seems on the surface to be rather similar to other states, with the exception of any significant representation in the federal government. And so, it suffers from the same sort of issues that face state governments throughout the nation: high unemployment, budget deficits, and a lack of comprehensive tools to deal with those problems.

It is with great sadness that I read about the abuse of power taking place inside the Capitol of the Commonwealth. Having closed off the Senate chambers unconstitutionally, and preventing access to citizens and press, the legislature was pressed by a public demanding their constitutional rights of access and assembly. The aggressive use of force by police in removing all non-employees from the grounds on the afternoon of June 29th resulted in pepper gas being deployed inside the Capitol, and members of the press and public being abused indiscriminately.

Overwhelming public condemnation of the events by religious, academic, and labor-union figures was immediate. But the police defend their actions and dismiss allegations of abuse while political figures applaud and support them. The lack of national media attention only adds to the insularity and disassociation of a country that has known nothing else for five hundred years. I see this as a harbinger.

Puerto Ricans are mostly working class and welfare recipients. The country is far from self-sufficient. And the suffering imposed by austerity has magnified the problems, unleashing even greater social violence than the country has regularly experienced. In the face of democratic opposition to their measures, the government resorts to oppression. Violent oppression and repression against citizens supposed to receive protection by those charged with protecting them.

This calls into question many things. Things that have been taken for granted by many. The role of government, of democracy, of police and security, of finance, and of individuals and groups are all evolving and competing against each other. We should be watchful and weary of abuse and use of force against the public and should shine a light wherever such injustice is found. I truly hope that more media catch on to the idea that the real story is about people, not just power and wealth, or else I fear that even greater atrocities and a trampling of rights will result from our current course.

Uncertainty, evolution, competition, and cooperation

Wolfgang Munchau laments in his Financial Times article (6/13) the small country mindset that in his opinion endangers the future of the European Union. Rightly he diagnoses the problem as one of insufficient focus, valuing competitiveness over growth. He also cites the lack of coordination at the macroeconomic level. While he is specifically referring to the forthcoming austerity measures being adopted by most European nations, his observations can be applied to a greater scope.

Economic wisdom hates uncertainty. Random events that can change the economic landscape are the anathema of investors. Hence, investors are always looking for the safest bet. So it is no surprise that the deficit hawks are currently pressuring governments for debt reduction. They are lobbying for what they perceive as certainty in the most volatile markets since the Great Depression.

Unfortunately, and as Munchau correctly asserts, they are being shortsighted. Long term debt reduction cannot be achieved without growth and premature measures towards that end are recessionary. In fact, the austerity measures planned will almost certainly add to the economic uncertainty.

The emphasis on competitiveness over growth cited by Munchau shows the lack of focus and the misunderstanding of macroeconomics, but it's a flawed thinking that has greater repercussions than just in Europe. He points to a lack of cooperation and coordination between EU countries in their financial decisions.

Lack of cooperation and too much emphasis on competition is also hampering global growth since all nations and alliances tend to base their decisions much more on the latter than the former. In fact, economics is mostly based on these principles, with political economists justifying the economic principles with the argument that the benefits are shared by society.

Nations that have experienced the type of austerity measures being proposed now would tell a very different story from the one being pushed by prominent financial chiefs the world over. The misery and discord that are sowed by irresponsible governments in the name of fiscal responsibility are great. And rarely can these measures be pursued without violence, bloodshed, and oppression. Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Poland, Russia, and Indonesia are just a few examples.

The problem, for any country trying to avoid such damaging austerity measures is the "lack of any viable strategic alternatives" according to Munchau. France is the only country who is so far refusing to take such actions. And here is the rub: we continue to live in a bad situation, and continue to make it worse, because we don't know what else to do.

At the G-20 the divisions were clear. And there will be no consensus as to when or how financial monetary policy will be carried out globally, basically because e eery country will act in it's own best interest rather than understanding the underlying mechanics of the global market and basing policy in conjunction with it's partners. We are all sharing the same resources, yet we refuse to cooperate to form one clear market.

But non-cooperation is good for some. The ultra-competitive will take every opportunity to exploit every flaw in the global financial system for personal gain. So while nations dither as to how to get us out of the depression, and they postpone the inevitable evolution of a better system, corporations, financiers, and oligarchs can continue to plunder the wealth of the world.

Evolution is change. And that is the true constant. Finance knows and lives by this. They will evolve however necessary to continue their exploitation with innovations of no true value, except their capacity to inflate the pockets of the wizards of finance. But companies understand evolution, for they live the reality of the underlying process: competition and cooperation.

Many things must evolve before changes can be identified, but currently we are evolving towards a world where human misery is going to increase manyfold. To evolve towards something better A viable strategic alternative must be defined.

Sent from my iPad

They Keep Stealing - Why Keep Paying?

Economic progress risks massive stagnation and possible or even probable deflation in the long term. There are no viable strategic alternatives... Until viable alternatives are formed, promoted, and adopted, the current state of global economics will continue to evolve in the direction it has been headed for decades.

The suggestions in this article are good and reasonable, but without a more robust strategy and implementation may fall short of the desired outcome. Move your money. Rethink your investments. And if applicable, use this strategy in conjunction and coordination with your neighbors, acquaintances, and friends. It will not solve the problems (which are deep and fundamental) but it may help in moving things in the right direction.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Paul Krugman Vs. Alan Greenspan On Deficits (POLL)

I'm with you. Cut the war an military-industrial complex. Spend on society which is the true wealth of the nation.
About Alan Greenspan
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Double Dip?

Well, it certainly seems like we may be on our way to our double dip recession. Jobless numbers continue to be well below what they need to be to indicate a recovery. Senators left for a break without extending benefits for the unemployed (the House passed the bill HR4213.) And deficit hawks in Congress have diminished the probability of another stimulus package being passed. Add to all of this the European financial turmoil and prospects of any recovery seem far-fetched at best.

The ever-worsening situation seems to have no end in sight. In fact, few proposals that deal with the crisis are even being discussed, probably because to do so would be an admission that fundamental system imbalances exist. But to most of us lay-people (non-economists), it seems quite obvious that things, in general, are not working.

This is still an opportunity to expand our understanding of our economic system and to address some of its fundamental problems. If I had to single out one factor that skews economic wisdom and clouds the views of most economists, it's evolution. Market gurus are oracles of sorts, they are constantly predicting trends based on historical data, and evaluating companies and markets to offer their best educated guesses as to performance and fundamentals. But for all of their trying, their models only work when it's assumed that markets don't evolve.

Evolution, the concept of constant change, is disruptive to prognostications of all sorts. Economies have to become more capable of adapting to change and so must societies. Our predispositions may never be correct since evolution is the constant. In Puerto Rico a student protest is demonstrating how social evolution may affect economic evolution.

In a strange but not altogether unexpected turn of events, austerity measures in Puerto Rico have led to one of the longest student protests in the history of its centenary university. The student leadership is represented by a group, not a single individual, and they manage to stay on point regardless of who is speaking. They are exploiting new media, social media, and local media to educate society and challenge government claims and actions. A consensus is beginning to arise that the students are charting new paths in Puerto Rico's political system and are educating the population on the power of democracy and social coalitions.

We may well be heading into a double dip recession, but we have the ability and responsibility to evolve and create. We must not stop creating and trying to evolve. It's not just hope that makes things better, it's effort, action, and time.

A Place Between

For many months I have been studying and thinking about political economy and economics in the face of this crisis we are facing and the enormous transfer of wealth that accelerates it's pace with each new crisis.

I believe that democracy and community are the only answers I can suggest to combat the ever growing force of multi-national corporate power. The global economy as it now stands is a catastrophe of gigantic proportions.

Technology is the road that takes us there. But how? Twitter? Facebook? It doesn't seem likely, but they had a huge influence in the Iranian protests. The jury is out, but so is the question. Will/can technology solve our economic paradox?

Is there a place between government and community that can change the dynamic of how economic theory is being applied? It could be like a community lobby of sorts. Neighborhood councils exist, but something is missing because it works in limited capacity. Much like the federal government.

Access is power and communities are being robbed of most of their access by those who accumulate the greatest wealth. Looked at another way, what is robbed from all of us is used to rob us again and again. It's a self perpetuating disaster.

Communities must take over their governments and begin to understand and resolve the underlying fundamental problems of our economy. Otherwise, we will continue to take our marching orders from the corporate multi-nationals and the irresponsible economists that promote so much human suffering through ideological policies that only benefit the global capital markets, the financiers, the uber-wealthy.

That's our money you're lining your pockets with. And we will take it back.

Obama's Financial Reform

After 30 years of honing the craft of reforming world economies in crises for the benefit of large multinational corporations, the United States finds itself suffering from the same results of these devastating reforms, which have been applied here while the country has been dealing with its financial crises as well as the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

There should be little surprise that democracy has failed here, free-market ideologues have made an art of using financial blackmail to coerce democratic governments to act against the interests of the people who elected them. The same techniques have been applied with great success here. Banks and private wealth have been saved while states and cities have been doomed. All with the consent and assistance of our democratically elected and populist government.

Priorities

The more I learn about history and political economy, economics in general, and technology, and try to apply this knowledge to understanding our current situation, the more obvious it becomes that what we have is problem of priorities.

Whether because of the "tyranny of small decisions" or outright self-interested manipulation (greed), we are in a unique situation. We are in a disjointed paradoxical society that is spiraling further out of our control as size and speed reduce our capacity to understand, study, plan, and direct our course.

iPad - My Review

It's been a while since my last post, and I've been meaning to write this review for some time now, but wasn't able to because I was traveling. The delay has given me even more time to play with my iPad, and I feel even better prepared.

Firstly, has anyone noticed that a lot of the "bad" iPad reviews have faded out? Perhaps the haters got tired of spitting into the wind, or they actually got to play with one and decided it wasn't awful after all. Whatever the reason, the noise seems to have subsided substantially, maybe the messages will be clearer now.

iPad Problems: Users' BIGGEST Complaints So Far (PHOTOS)

I haven't had any of those problems, except for the charging. It needs more power than most laptop USB ports can provide, and should be charged with it's power supply, which is significantly smaller than the one used by the laptops. The user manual does specify this.

Syncing 64 GB of data over USB is time consuming on most devices. It's a lot of data.

Many users have posted that typing is excellent on the device, and while I'm not the most adept typist, it works fine for me. My neighbor tried it and banged out a couple of sentences (touch-typed) in no time with no errors.

I may be a fanboy, but I believe this is the future as well as the bridge to the future.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - Arthur C. Clarke
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Powerful moments

Powerful moments at  feeling of impending loss.
Love is so important still it evades us everyday.

Can you feel the circle of life?
The fabric that unites us all.
We are everything.
Yet we lose the temporary.
The grandparents,
the parents,
the children.

Let's not lose our minds and forget our potential.

And love.

Even if it hurts.

And if it doesn't hurt.

Then is it really love.

Top Fed Official Says Megabanks Need To Shrink Or Crises Will Keep Occurring

Move your money. Shrink the big banks. End TBTF!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Deficit in Logic: Moody's Threatens to Downgrade the United States

Ratings agencies are bs. Not to be trusted at all. They are all on the take. Want to invest? Due diligence. Ratings agencies participate in market manipulation that weakens the fundamentals of the financial system and continues diverting wealth to oligarchs and plutocrats.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Train-riding...

On the train. This time, I'm writing for myself. I know what I wish to accomplish during my life, but they are so many disparate things, some easier, some harder that it seems obvious that I can't achieve them all.

Big Banks Want You Back

Move your money now if you haven't yet. It is working.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Evolution, Devolution, and Revolution

Great thoughts and ideas have unfortunately decreased in exchange value and there is so much to overcome in creating this revolution to which we are called. Cynicism and self-interest seem to mute the call for change especially through the dimension of time.


Perhaps science could become more political, more vocal. It could certainly use an improved image that demonstrates it's amazing potential and incredible achievements.

I Have a Dream...

I may be dissatisfied, but I have a dream. It goes something like this. I dream that efficiency will replace waste; that people will embrace humanist values that lead us away from individualism and towards cooperativism; that we can achieve sustainability and decrease consumerism while innovating solutions for many aspects of our lives; that work can be diminished for many with robotics and automation; that privacy threatens the openness necessary for progress; and without ambitious goals we can't achieve our potential.

No Plan B

As I listened to analysis of Ben Bernake's most recent statement I understood that he is dancing with the global finance industry. He's trying to provide encouragement to global finance in the face of the threat that they will pull out of the world economy if Bernake doesn't handle the U.S. economy in a manner that they approve of. So obviously we're not in a real recovery but still on the precipice of global financial collapse. That's why Bernake is sufficiently scared to offer what little he can to sustain the current "recovery." Unfortunately, the repeated insistence that we are already recovering diverts our attention from the reality that our economic system is so fragile. If global finance collapses, what are we going to do? Is there a plan B? Any sort of backup plan? I'm convinced that there is not and we are actually witnessing the potential demise of global finance. Since there is no plan in place for this potential, we see every "developed" country trying everything they can to keep finance afloat.

Musings on Employment

As Los Angeles cuts a few thousand jobs, I reflect upon the nature of employment. For most people, work is taken for granted as necessary condition for survival, and rightly so. Humans are born with no capacity for self sustenance. Never has a baby been born who could feed and protect itself. So at first we depend on our mother to feed and protect us, but once developed humans, like most creatures, must secure their own subsistence. This is where the need for work comes in. We no longer live in ancient times when the only endeavor that could sustain us was working the land, foraging, hunting and/or fishing. Most people nowadays have no access to land that they can freely work or forage or hunt, and while fishing can surely still provide a man with sustenance, it rarely provides such surplus as to be able to afford the land on which to live. The long and short of the story is that almost everyone is born with nothing but their labor to sell. 

Teach a Man to Fish

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." - Chinese proverb.


In our current global system we are like Oscar Wilde's cynic, we portend to know "the price of everything and the value of nothing." We think we know what things are worth, but dedicate little effort to examine whether this belief is accurate. Price is a convention, a covenant of sorts, but value is the fulfillment of a potential. As houses sit empty and people live on the streets we sense the irony in the lost value of the empty home and the cruelty that price enacts on those who would see its value fulfilled but lack the means if not the need. 

Can We Spread Hope While Others Spread Fear? Numbers and a Few More Questions from TED

"Corporation, n., An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility." - Ambrose Bierce.


"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral." - Paulo Freire


Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dissatisfied? No Way.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021004708.html



According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released today "Two-thirds of Americans are 'dissatisfied' or downright 'angry' about the way the federal government is working." Whoa, hold the press, I mean this is news. And here I thought I alone was dissatisfied, turns out there's way more dissatisfaction. I'd venture to guess that I'm not the only person to think that calling what the federal government is doing "working" probably stretches the definition of the word substantially. 

The Greatness of Humanity

The greatness of humanity is only surpassed by its selfish incapacity to realize its greatness. Held back by opinions and prejudices, society stumbles along despite great achievements. Failing to recognize potential and incapacitated by greed, accepting and promoting many great lies and ignoring great truths. All things are so very deeply connected. This connection denied, humanity and life suffer. Human progress is defending the truth, exposing the lies, conquering greed, and appreciating and promoting the greatness of the collective mind and soul of humanity. 

"Fortune" Cookie

I recently had my fortune predicted by a cookie from the Chinese restaurant near my home. Normally, I don't put a lot faith into these predictions, but this one was different. "The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next." The "fortune" is actually a quote from Henry Ward Beecher (brother to Harriet Beecher Stowe.) Maybe he was right, though in some areas it may take more than a single century for common sense to catch up to philosophy.

Raj Patel: The Value Of Nothing, Part 1 (VIDEO)

Food is of utmost importance to our development and gets far too little attention imho. And in our "free market" system externalities abound in most areas of industry and manufacture. Patel has put his finger right on the problem: price vs. value. So much value is wasted or stolen, or both. And price rarely manages to achieve it purported purpose of valuation. Much must be done to correct the misinformation and misunderstanding that permits these misdeeds, but change is nearly impossible when the interests of capital are opposed.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Bank of America Website Unresponsive

Maybe they failed. It's probably a technique so that I can't pay my bill and then they'll raise my interest rate... Oh no, site is back up, no such luck. 

It's Hard to Blog

I've been blogging for a short while, and I can see the difficulty in being consistent. At first, I said I'd try every day and be satisfied if I blogged 3-4 times a week. It's been a little over a week since my last post, but I've been a bit busy with a remodeling project at m house. It's mostly over, so hopefully I'll post a bit more often. There's lots to blog about, I'm just procrastinating. But there's Haiti, Massachusetts, State of the Union, the growing GDP and so much more. 

Corporate Money in Campaigns

Our conservative Supreme Court has approved corporations' right to free speech in regards to political campaigns. In a sense, they are approving the system that already exists and helping to move it forward to the next level. Most people already accept that our political system is controlled by those with financial interests and power and so the court rules in favor of the growth of the oligarchy and the plutocracy. I believe the writers of the Constitution envisioned government as a mediator and regulator, a guardian of the rights of we the people. Now the rights of the people may be diluted by the power granted to the wealthy corporations to control the substance of the debate through media. The Court has abandoned a core democratic principle and we can only hope that Congress has the will and the foresight to avert the impending disaster and manipulation of democracy. 

"What are you doing for others?"

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" I'm dissatisfied about so many things, but I want to change what I can. I want to do for others what needs to be done in order to see my dreams, which are not that different from Dr. King's, fulfilled. In that vein, I have begun developing a website for my community. 

Remembering Dr. King

"There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers."


"This problem of spiritual and moral lag, which constitutes modern man's chief dilemma, expresses itself in three larger problems which grow out of man's ethical infantilism. Each of these problems, while appearing to be separate and isolated, is inextricably bound to the other. I refer to racial injustice, poverty, and war."


"...mankind's survival is dependent upon man's ability to solve the problems of racial injustice, poverty, and war; the solution of these problems is in turn dependent upon man squaring his moral progress with his scientific progress, and learning the practical art of living in harmony."


The dream deferred lives on in our hearts and minds. We, all of us, are indeed married to each other, to everyone in the world. Our lives are interconnected. We must solve the problems of our times, which are the problems of our forefathers and theirs before them. We must admit we have the resources to solve injustice, poverty, and war, and we should constantly endeavor to do so with passion and love for peace and humanity.   

Ripple or Tsunami? Catching the Banking Wave

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
I took almost all of my funds out of Chase and put it in local credit unions. Left a little in the account so I still receive their rules and can access their documentation as a customer (just to keep tabs on how they keep screwing us.) Move your savings and take charge of your retirement funds. Roll them over to a credit union IRA. Leave the banks holding their useless derivatives. Change the system. Remove the lever. Break the fulcrum. Force nationalization. And screw profits while your at it. It's all just exploitation of labor. I'd rather live and work for my community than die working for a capitalist.

Encouraging Genius

I'm dissatisfied with lost human potential. Whether because of poverty, unemployment, bias or complacency, there is little doubt that there is a loss of potential in our society. Measures that might increase our production and decrease lost potential include redefining production. For too long, production has been conceived as products and goods, as a measurement of economic growth. But this definition far too often overlooks the importance of ideas, of education, and social progress that contribute to better quality of life or increased efficiency in non-economic areas. I believe we should be encouraging genius throughout our society. Education should be re-tooled to empower communities to encourage genius, and the workplace should be restructured to do so as well.

Terrorism, Privacy, Civil Rights, and the National Database

Listening to Obama detail the systemic failures of the intelligence and security communities in regards to the Christmas day bombing attempt, I was delighted by his use of the phrase "connect the dots." I recently posted under a similar title regarding essentially the same subject: too much information and no algorithm to make sense it. When I connect the dots, I see the problem of terrorism challenging the concept of privacy (which leads to consideration of civil rights.) As much as I regard my privacy, I realize that it is at best illusory. Information about me is already out of my hands (and therefore in someone else's) as is the case with most Americans.

Maybe You Can

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Perhaps some fault lies in the bureaucracy of government or the intricacy of politics but I think much of the blame lies in the half-truths and lies that are perpetuated by the omission of the truth from the public discourse.

Move Your Money: A New Year's Resolution

I'm dissatisfied with the big banks, and have been advocating moving money from the big banks to credit unions. It's not that I specifically want too-big-to-fail (TBTF) banks to fail, but it seems to be the only way to shrink them back to the designation that encompasses almost every other private enterprise in this country.