Openmindedness

I am skeptical about a great deal of things. Even those things accepted as the way things are.

Like the Ptolemaic System that seemed to explain the earth being the center of our solar system... it seemed to work... but it was wrong. I am willing to continue to learn.

There will always be a great deal to learn.

Money isn't everything... it may not even be happiness...

Two stories caught my attention this week... other than my previous blog. But both have a great deal to do with the direction in my life... away from money and toward something much more meaningful. Now, one does not pursue "happiness", "happiness" can't be a goal either... but happiness can be the result of many different activities, purposes or passions... just to name a few.

My first article points to a study conducted in New Zealand. Researchers studied the results of money vs. individualism and found people who are more autonomous... are generally much more happy than those who had money.

Money Can't Buy Happiness
















The second is about where we derive most of our pleasure from...

The Pleasure of Imagination

"... the technologies of the imagination provide stimulation of a sort that is impossible to get in the real world. A novel can span birth to death and can show you how the person behaves in situations that you could never otherwise observe. In reality you can never truly know what a person is thinking; in a story, the writer can tell you."

My bottomline is finding purpose and enjoyment in everyday, every hour, every minute... if at all possible.

A Father's Day gift to All

This video speaks for itself. Ignorance is not bliss but what is used to keep people in the boxes they are assigned to. It's time to break out of these boxes and this one just might just do it for most. Because, if your boss were to come up to you... and offer to double your pay if you simply did an activity... more than likely most would certainly jump at the chance. This is what this video might just offer for you. Watch... pay attention... and learn. And bust out of the box you've been assigned to.

I don't love guns... I keep them because they are necessary...

"Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.
Weapons are the tools of fear;
...a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint. Peace is his highest value.
If the peace has been shattered,
how can he be content? His enemies are not demons,
but human beings like himself.
He doesn't wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory.
How could he rejoice in victory
and delight in the slaughter of men? He enters a battle gravely,
with sorrow and with great compassion,
as if he were attending a funeral."
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
  

Americans are so Stupid

How stupid are they?  Very!

I dislike having to point this out but someone has got to tell the American people their fly is down. It's become so obvious that the average American can be led by the nose to anything... and fleeced over and over again with such ease that Lennie Small, the mentally challenged character from Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men", looks like a genius next to them.

Just put an "expert" in front of them, let's call them "Expert D" and half of the voting populace will be convinced of the necessity. Combine that with a second "expert", "Expert R", that asks for a sliver less, and the other half of the populace will immediately go to arguing with those who favors Expert D's advice. This may go on for several months until a compromise is "hammered out"... and then everyone is congratulated for the compromise. For those at the top it's like taking candy from a baby. Needless to say, success breeds imitation and over the years, every industry and every field of expertise has become much wealthier going to the politicians at the capital and putting on this theater... than figuring out a better way is looked down upon.

The problem is... this has gone on for 100 years... and the giant vault of money that represented the economic wealth of the American economy is practically empty. The final scraps now are being fought over fiercely. But that is a fool's game and the fools are out in numbers!. Anyone willing to step back and look at the system will realize that the system is so unusable that it's foolish to use it for anything. Like a fire hose that has so many holes in it that no matter how big the fire truck pump... and how massive the water supply... only drops come out the nozzle at the fire.

Concision

Concision (Wikipedia) is a form of censorship described by media critics such as Noam Chomsky as the practice of limiting debate and discussion of important topics on broadcast news on the basis of broadcast time allotment.
Media critics contend that this practice, especially on commercial broadcasts with advertising, encourages broadcasters to exclude people and ideas that they judge cannot conform to the time limits of a particular program. This leads to a limited number of "the usual suspects" who will say expected ideas that will not require extensive explanation such as mainstream political ones. Furthermore, introducing controversial or unexpected statements that do not conform to those conventional ideas are discouraged as time inefficient because the person will be required to explain and support them in detail.
The Milwaukee Story

Ideas being used against the mind of the innocent

The Million Oz March

I'm a big fan of Silver these days. And this just makes me smile. Seeing JP Morgan go down would certainly make a great deal of the population a tid bit happier.

Ringing the Liberty Bell!

I just happen to notice more than a few stories recently about "Domestic Terrorists" being apprehended lately. I've got two examples but these stories are not unique. I've seen others just like it from Pennsylvania, to Maine, to Texas. These two come from Atlanta, Georgia and Fairbanks, Alaska.

The news media calls them the "Sovereign Citizen Movement" and of course they don't even attempt to get the other side of the story. It's just a crazy band of anti-government types that don't think they have to live by any rules.
Five Arrested in Plot to Kill Judge and State Troopers Fairbanks Alaska

FBI: Sovereign Citizens on the Rise Atlanta Georgia

And here's a few more... Colombus Ohio


Indianapolis Indiana

Sarasota Florida and Alabama


But the story that caught my attention was the one in Fairbanks. Because I also was given a video of the gentleman's presentation to a group in Montana. And it's quite a speech!

Starving the Monkeys

Tom Baugh, a former Marine wrote a book and gave a speech. It was rather profound... and certainly worth listening to and understanding.

Afghanistan... another lost decade

The following video is a rather excruciating example of why the mission to Afghanistan is a failure in it's stated goal. It's deadly, dangerous, and very demanding for all those who participate but most want to have meaning behind what they do... and for the soldiers and the Afganies... what are they risking their lives for?

Nothing.

For those who profit from the government's actions... this is certainly a success. So why should they stop?

I think the second part really delivers the message.