" He who can not learn from history is doomed to repeat it " well we have all heard that one many times . it has become rather cliche . i would like to present a alternate view .
history does not repeat it self . Human Nature repeats itself over and over . history provides a record of what was learned or unfortunatly not learned . let us try greek phlisophy is it really old hat . the country of greece is still here . the idea of democracy is practised in some form in the industrial nations and it is the ideal people in the poor countries around the world struggle for .
speaking of industry the Romans gave us civil engineering which is alive and well today all over the world . the Romans also gave us the new testement of the Bible . if they had not crucified jesus . christianty would have never been born .
history is a living testimony to the progress the human race has made and continues to make . against its own human nature . there is always a mad man who wants to rule the world just as much as there is always a man who wants to save the world . the same charchters reappear through out history with every generation . history provides the stage and the props .
suppose mankind was to make a radical change in phliosiphy . instead of survival of the fittest . we worked toward survival for all of us . using our military to stop wars instead of starting them . we could change the course of history if we could change the course of human nature .
Monday, October 29, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
school daze
in all public schools they have " hall sweeps" . this is where after class starts the sentries and adminstrators walk the halls and any student in the hall is brought to the cafeteria . where they are given detension or suspension . this usually results in the student getting angry . and saying " go ahead suspend me i dont care " definatly a bad seed .
is that really true . what i see are students who are teenagers . who were pushed through the grades weather they passed or not . willie did not understand fractions , so they pushed him into algebra . willie did not understand earth science so they pushed him into chemestry . what is happening here is we have high school students who were not prepared for high school . and we blame them for failing .we blame the home life as being dysfunctional , but what about the kids who are naturally smart ? they have homes that are just as dysfunctional . but because they do well in school they are able to rise above that and become functional . blaming the victim is always fun and easy , but it never helps .
another problem is video games and tv . i am not talking about the rotting of the moral fiber . what i am saying is . we have a generation that was brought up on video games where you have to think fast and act fast . TV cartoons that have simple plots that move very fast . a generation who have created a new dialect with text messaging
you can not get this generation to sit and listen to a teacher lecture for 30 minuites . they do not have the time . even the book is to slow . education to this generation has to be delivered electronicaly . that is what they understand . we need class rooms with more computers and more learning software . i think we would be surprised how fast the students would learn .
the baby boomers created a whole new world . a world where every 10 years is a life time . but we expect out kids to learn the way they have for hundereds of years . a chalk board and a teacher . it is like asking a baby boomer to give up the power steering, power brakes , and A/C in his or her car. and go back to the old equipment .
if we are serious about education in this country . which i do not believe we are . it going to take a lot more money and teachers to get the job done , but then we would have the india scenerio . india has the problem of to many highly educated people not enough jobs for them all . if we really left no child behind . would we have enough jobs for them all ?
if we really left no child behind . would we have enough jobs for them all .
is that really true . what i see are students who are teenagers . who were pushed through the grades weather they passed or not . willie did not understand fractions , so they pushed him into algebra . willie did not understand earth science so they pushed him into chemestry . what is happening here is we have high school students who were not prepared for high school . and we blame them for failing .we blame the home life as being dysfunctional , but what about the kids who are naturally smart ? they have homes that are just as dysfunctional . but because they do well in school they are able to rise above that and become functional . blaming the victim is always fun and easy , but it never helps .
another problem is video games and tv . i am not talking about the rotting of the moral fiber . what i am saying is . we have a generation that was brought up on video games where you have to think fast and act fast . TV cartoons that have simple plots that move very fast . a generation who have created a new dialect with text messaging
you can not get this generation to sit and listen to a teacher lecture for 30 minuites . they do not have the time . even the book is to slow . education to this generation has to be delivered electronicaly . that is what they understand . we need class rooms with more computers and more learning software . i think we would be surprised how fast the students would learn .
the baby boomers created a whole new world . a world where every 10 years is a life time . but we expect out kids to learn the way they have for hundereds of years . a chalk board and a teacher . it is like asking a baby boomer to give up the power steering, power brakes , and A/C in his or her car. and go back to the old equipment .
if we are serious about education in this country . which i do not believe we are . it going to take a lot more money and teachers to get the job done , but then we would have the india scenerio . india has the problem of to many highly educated people not enough jobs for them all . if we really left no child behind . would we have enough jobs for them all ?
if we really left no child behind . would we have enough jobs for them all .
Friday, October 19, 2007
' AS SEEN ON TV '
everybody likes watching TV , me too. our entertainment choices have never been broader or more appealing . no matter what your interests are there is a segment for you . i would like to look a little deeper into this subject .
which is exactly what the entertainment industry does not want . who can blame them . when we watch TV we all " suspend disbelief " that's how movies work . have we suspended to much disbelief ?
network situation comedies started going down hill with " all in the family " Archie Bunker was mean and nasty . but there was no laugh track . it was supposed to be a honest look at American life . fast forward to " everybody loves Raymond " it is a show where everyone is nasty with a laugh track . is it shaping American life in a negative way ?
the television programmers would love it if everyone in America spent as much time as possible in front of the TV watching as many commercials as possible . over and over . they have come up with nifty set top box's that keep track of what we watch and auto record shows it thinks we will like . these box's can tell what we are watching when we watched it and if we skipped the commercials . these nifty set top box's are starting to direct advertising to out TVs suitable for our age , race. and economic status .
sales figures are analyzed like forensic evidence to make sure we see the advertising designed to pull all the right emotional triggers with us . so we will leave our TV s long enough to go shopping .
how much of what we see and hear on TV shapes our thinking and actions ? dining out used to be a special occasion now we eat out all the time . we used to save for what we wanted to buy . now we buy it and pay it off . is this good or bad or just the way it is ? are we rude when we should be polite because thats the way they are on TV
how about our attitudes towards each other . Christian stations and there shows are doing a brisk business . the reality shows have become big money winners and real police shows [cold case , forensic files] are staples on discovery and the NGC . are people tired of the fantasy Hollywood has created and want something real ?
I believe TV is the greatest invention of the past 200 years . maybe we are moving out of the childhood of TV . perhaps in the next 50 years the marriage of the Internet and television will be so complete we will start using TV in an adult way . for learning and development of our shared humanity . perhaps it truly help all of us to be healthy , wealthy and wise .
which is exactly what the entertainment industry does not want . who can blame them . when we watch TV we all " suspend disbelief " that's how movies work . have we suspended to much disbelief ?
network situation comedies started going down hill with " all in the family " Archie Bunker was mean and nasty . but there was no laugh track . it was supposed to be a honest look at American life . fast forward to " everybody loves Raymond " it is a show where everyone is nasty with a laugh track . is it shaping American life in a negative way ?
the television programmers would love it if everyone in America spent as much time as possible in front of the TV watching as many commercials as possible . over and over . they have come up with nifty set top box's that keep track of what we watch and auto record shows it thinks we will like . these box's can tell what we are watching when we watched it and if we skipped the commercials . these nifty set top box's are starting to direct advertising to out TVs suitable for our age , race. and economic status .
sales figures are analyzed like forensic evidence to make sure we see the advertising designed to pull all the right emotional triggers with us . so we will leave our TV s long enough to go shopping .
how much of what we see and hear on TV shapes our thinking and actions ? dining out used to be a special occasion now we eat out all the time . we used to save for what we wanted to buy . now we buy it and pay it off . is this good or bad or just the way it is ? are we rude when we should be polite because thats the way they are on TV
how about our attitudes towards each other . Christian stations and there shows are doing a brisk business . the reality shows have become big money winners and real police shows [cold case , forensic files] are staples on discovery and the NGC . are people tired of the fantasy Hollywood has created and want something real ?
I believe TV is the greatest invention of the past 200 years . maybe we are moving out of the childhood of TV . perhaps in the next 50 years the marriage of the Internet and television will be so complete we will start using TV in an adult way . for learning and development of our shared humanity . perhaps it truly help all of us to be healthy , wealthy and wise .
Monday, October 8, 2007
sliding down the slippery slope of over supply
the news is good wal-mart is cutting prices again . sam walton must be singing in heaven . , but wait there are flies in the ointment . why is wal-mart cutting prices on christmas toys so early ?was it wal-marts relentlas push to cut costs that lead to the lead in the chinese made toys ? are these the toys that wal-mart is discounting ?
richard nixon had no idea what he was unleashing on america . when he opened up china to trade for his corprate masters . the french knew . france watched its textile industy disappear to hong kong in the early sixities . by the way every president since nixon has done their best to make sure chinas door to our markets stays wide open . we lost the war in vietnam and as a bonus the chinese turnrd south vietnam into one huge factory making goods for the american market . who knows maybe that what the war was for .
walk into any of the retail chain stores . the shelves are groaning with the weight of the merchindise . that has to be sold to make room for the next shipment ordered automaticaly by the computer , brought by the just in time warehouse on wheels . so the robot like sales people can make nice over and over all day long .
how many tools , house gadgets and consumer electronics can the american house hold ? what happens when there is no more room , the credit card is maxed and there is no more equity left to borrow ? when even the advertising that is eveywhere pulling those emotional triggers can not over come the reality . that we have enough .
if one wants a clear view of how much all this stuff would cost if it would if it was made in america . look at autos and houses . there made in america . cars for the past 10 years have been so expensive people can only afford to lease [rent] them . houses are so big and expensive that the banks had to get " creative " to make the mortgages on them . when does this train run out of track .
it is ironic that it is all this psycho consumption that fuels the R&D for even more amazing gadgets that are almost unbelievable . it is like sci-fi come to life . it produces light speed advances in the technolgy that keeps us healthy , wealthy and wise . i can hardly concive of the technolgy we will all see in the next 30 years .
i challenge everyone to not buy anything but gas and food for just 30 days . to only pay the rent on our nessisties car, cell phone service , internet and satalite tv . not to stop to start any kind of anti consumption revloution . but just for 30 days step out of the rat race of consumption . step back and enjoy all that we already have . see a whole new perspective on blessed we truly are .
richard nixon had no idea what he was unleashing on america . when he opened up china to trade for his corprate masters . the french knew . france watched its textile industy disappear to hong kong in the early sixities . by the way every president since nixon has done their best to make sure chinas door to our markets stays wide open . we lost the war in vietnam and as a bonus the chinese turnrd south vietnam into one huge factory making goods for the american market . who knows maybe that what the war was for .
walk into any of the retail chain stores . the shelves are groaning with the weight of the merchindise . that has to be sold to make room for the next shipment ordered automaticaly by the computer , brought by the just in time warehouse on wheels . so the robot like sales people can make nice over and over all day long .
how many tools , house gadgets and consumer electronics can the american house hold ? what happens when there is no more room , the credit card is maxed and there is no more equity left to borrow ? when even the advertising that is eveywhere pulling those emotional triggers can not over come the reality . that we have enough .
if one wants a clear view of how much all this stuff would cost if it would if it was made in america . look at autos and houses . there made in america . cars for the past 10 years have been so expensive people can only afford to lease [rent] them . houses are so big and expensive that the banks had to get " creative " to make the mortgages on them . when does this train run out of track .
it is ironic that it is all this psycho consumption that fuels the R&D for even more amazing gadgets that are almost unbelievable . it is like sci-fi come to life . it produces light speed advances in the technolgy that keeps us healthy , wealthy and wise . i can hardly concive of the technolgy we will all see in the next 30 years .
i challenge everyone to not buy anything but gas and food for just 30 days . to only pay the rent on our nessisties car, cell phone service , internet and satalite tv . not to stop to start any kind of anti consumption revloution . but just for 30 days step out of the rat race of consumption . step back and enjoy all that we already have . see a whole new perspective on blessed we truly are .
Thursday, October 4, 2007
cleaning out the gene pool or police state
everyone likes the police . we think they do a good job keeping us safe from the criminal element . but if the police are such fine fellows why do people always want a lawyer with them when they talk to the police . people with money hire lawyers to mounter the police investigation and hire pathologists to do an autopsy after the police are done . independent labs do a brisk business with people who do not believe the police did a complete job with the forensic evidence.
TV shows like csi Miami are really soap operas of clashing personalities with a murder thrown in and some forensic science . shows like forensic files and cold case deal with " just the facts ma"m as Joe Friday used to say . the police work long and hard to catch criminals . it seems to me that DNA has been as effective at keeping the police honest and curing legal tunnel vision " guilty until proven innocent "as it has been in convicting people who should be in prison for a long time .
what about those people in prison . most states have the three strike law so people who are serving long sentences have earned them by habitual criminal activity . these people are also not reproducing . which is good . if there is a criminal gene it is not being passed on . there is a large African American population in the nations jails men and women . what will the effect be on on the African American population ?
have we made so many laws that it hard not to break the law ? we have the right to own a hand gun , but the law says it has to have a trigger lock and be locked in a gun safe . this pretty much makes it useless for the purpose it was purchased for .
if you have one drink in new york then drive you are legally drunk . same with seat belts . it would seem that the law is making more of our behavioral decisions for us . will we eventually lose our right to make any decisions ? are we moving towards a police state ? how many of us make our choices out of fear rather than hope ?
it will be interesting to watch over the next 50 years with the rapid development and deployment of electronic monitoring devices in our , homes , cars and work and public places . how will our lives will be shaped . we have lived in a machine society for a hundred years . we have become very machine like ourselves . we admire people who are stable and regular . you could set your watch by the time the leave and come home from work everyday . just like a machine we make the most efficient use of our time and energy . at the cost of human relationships and our own spiritual journey .
TV shows like csi Miami are really soap operas of clashing personalities with a murder thrown in and some forensic science . shows like forensic files and cold case deal with " just the facts ma"m as Joe Friday used to say . the police work long and hard to catch criminals . it seems to me that DNA has been as effective at keeping the police honest and curing legal tunnel vision " guilty until proven innocent "as it has been in convicting people who should be in prison for a long time .
what about those people in prison . most states have the three strike law so people who are serving long sentences have earned them by habitual criminal activity . these people are also not reproducing . which is good . if there is a criminal gene it is not being passed on . there is a large African American population in the nations jails men and women . what will the effect be on on the African American population ?
have we made so many laws that it hard not to break the law ? we have the right to own a hand gun , but the law says it has to have a trigger lock and be locked in a gun safe . this pretty much makes it useless for the purpose it was purchased for .
if you have one drink in new york then drive you are legally drunk . same with seat belts . it would seem that the law is making more of our behavioral decisions for us . will we eventually lose our right to make any decisions ? are we moving towards a police state ? how many of us make our choices out of fear rather than hope ?
it will be interesting to watch over the next 50 years with the rapid development and deployment of electronic monitoring devices in our , homes , cars and work and public places . how will our lives will be shaped . we have lived in a machine society for a hundred years . we have become very machine like ourselves . we admire people who are stable and regular . you could set your watch by the time the leave and come home from work everyday . just like a machine we make the most efficient use of our time and energy . at the cost of human relationships and our own spiritual journey .
Monday, September 24, 2007
anthony robbins where far out thou
for those who do not know, Anthony Robbins was a success guru . Anthony ran his seminar on paid programing late at night and early in the morning for a few years . the main idea was you would use your charge card to buy his course in success . it worked pretty good for ol'tony he is a wealthy man now .
this illustrates a reality we are all facing or will face . in 1974 when the government created IRA s . it spawned a host of other vehicles 401k , 403b, . to name a few and now our government wants to throw social security on the open market . where money magically grows .
what has really happened, a lot of people have been sinking their money into mutual funds for decades . and the money grew slowly but surely . than in 2001 it stopped growing . most people are just now back to where they were in their retirement portfolios . if you ask most people 50 and over if they can retire at 60 . many will shake their heads sadly and then smile and tell you how much the love their careers and do not even think of retiring .
the wall street smoothies have created a sales scheme over the past 30 years that George Orwell would have been proud of . we were told our money would be put in a market basket of stocks , where it would grow into a money tree that we could start harvesting when we reached 60.
these words describes a scene that is just as safe as being in your mothers arms , words that invoked feel good images , that were the complete opposite of how the stock market really works . the same with the housing market people have been seduced into buying homes they can not afford . on the assumption the value of it would rise and they could sell and buy a real castle instead of a starter castle .
this is where Anthony Robbins comes in . it is smoothies like him . who will tell you how great it is to work until your 72 , think how successful you will be by then , think how rich you will be by then , think how dead you will be by then .
the smoothies can turn any negative into a positive , make any situation a win-win situation , but it does not change the fact that everybody is tapped out and tired . everyone is tired of pretending that someday that their 401k will have a million bucks in it and they will be living in luxury , when that statement they get in the mail every quarter is telling them . " this is it "
this is the best you will ever live . the cruelest part of this is we are all living pretty good , but we have been made to believe it is not good enough . that is our fault , our fault alone we have not achieved the success we were promised .
the bad news is that the only way the smoothies can make all this work is to inflate the currency , which will make it possible to attract more suckers to the dream they have created for them . long live the Anthony Robbins maybe when we are all in our 80s and have one foot in the grave . he can tell us how to be a success by dying .
this illustrates a reality we are all facing or will face . in 1974 when the government created IRA s . it spawned a host of other vehicles 401k , 403b, . to name a few and now our government wants to throw social security on the open market . where money magically grows .
what has really happened, a lot of people have been sinking their money into mutual funds for decades . and the money grew slowly but surely . than in 2001 it stopped growing . most people are just now back to where they were in their retirement portfolios . if you ask most people 50 and over if they can retire at 60 . many will shake their heads sadly and then smile and tell you how much the love their careers and do not even think of retiring .
the wall street smoothies have created a sales scheme over the past 30 years that George Orwell would have been proud of . we were told our money would be put in a market basket of stocks , where it would grow into a money tree that we could start harvesting when we reached 60.
these words describes a scene that is just as safe as being in your mothers arms , words that invoked feel good images , that were the complete opposite of how the stock market really works . the same with the housing market people have been seduced into buying homes they can not afford . on the assumption the value of it would rise and they could sell and buy a real castle instead of a starter castle .
this is where Anthony Robbins comes in . it is smoothies like him . who will tell you how great it is to work until your 72 , think how successful you will be by then , think how rich you will be by then , think how dead you will be by then .
the smoothies can turn any negative into a positive , make any situation a win-win situation , but it does not change the fact that everybody is tapped out and tired . everyone is tired of pretending that someday that their 401k will have a million bucks in it and they will be living in luxury , when that statement they get in the mail every quarter is telling them . " this is it "
this is the best you will ever live . the cruelest part of this is we are all living pretty good , but we have been made to believe it is not good enough . that is our fault , our fault alone we have not achieved the success we were promised .
the bad news is that the only way the smoothies can make all this work is to inflate the currency , which will make it possible to attract more suckers to the dream they have created for them . long live the Anthony Robbins maybe when we are all in our 80s and have one foot in the grave . he can tell us how to be a success by dying .
Monday, September 3, 2007
both a curse and a blessing /1962-1972
It always makes me chuckle. When the conservatives blame the hippies for the counter culture that has ruined American family values. The hippies were nothing but a straw man . Let us look at some of the events the hippies were not part of .
1. The assassination of JFK, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy .
2. The race riots in American ghettos and forced busing
3. The war in Vietnam and draft riots .
The hippies were dope-smoking , tie-dye wearing , bead-trading Gypsies with no political power because they refused to vote. What was really going on?
1962-1972 was a blessing in the fact that the average American enjoyed a standard of living unparalleled in history. For me it was cars and music. There has never been such a diverse and creative period for cars and music . It was in this ten year period that so much great stuff happened. It also was the period of national tragedy, the country was coming apart at the seams. There was a real fear the government would collapse .
The military industrial complex was had just finished in Korea and was looking to keep the war machine going in Vietnam. Lyndon B Johnson like Geo. Bush Jr. was - committed to a war that could never be won for the same reason, so the military corporate machine could keep making record profits .
We gave away our electronics industry in the 1960s to the Japanese because the American electronic industry was and still is making so much money doing Dept. of Defense work .
Richard Nixon in 1974 abolished the draft which put a stop to the the military industrial complex creating wars and drafting young men to die for their profits and for his efforts at change he was impeached and disgraced.
Fast forward to Bill Clinton - he tried to cut defense spending, calling it the peace dividend. He wanted to spend the money to improve education and universal health . For his efforts, he was impeached and disgraced. Like rust - the military industrial complex never sleeps .
So 1962-1972 was at once a wonderful euphoric 10 years , but at the same time there were national tragedies occurring with a frightening speed and intensity . It is no surprise drugs were so popular .
Which brings us to Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton. I know Republican conservatives hate Hillary Clinton with a passion that is beyond belief and I always wonder why . Hillary is so locked into the Washington power structure that she is not going to really change much. She is certainly not going to challenge the military industrial complex. Every president since Bobby Kennedy was assasinated has been a shill for the military industrial complex. They all knew which side of the bread the butter was on .
Barak Obama is a different story. He has a destiny that is undeniable. He wants to really change our bought and paid for form of government . I fear for Mr. Obama. If he elected the next president of the United States, will he share the same fate as the Kennedy's and Martin Luther King ?
1. The assassination of JFK, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy .
2. The race riots in American ghettos and forced busing
3. The war in Vietnam and draft riots .
The hippies were dope-smoking , tie-dye wearing , bead-trading Gypsies with no political power because they refused to vote. What was really going on?
1962-1972 was a blessing in the fact that the average American enjoyed a standard of living unparalleled in history. For me it was cars and music. There has never been such a diverse and creative period for cars and music . It was in this ten year period that so much great stuff happened. It also was the period of national tragedy, the country was coming apart at the seams. There was a real fear the government would collapse .
The military industrial complex was had just finished in Korea and was looking to keep the war machine going in Vietnam. Lyndon B Johnson like Geo. Bush Jr. was - committed to a war that could never be won for the same reason, so the military corporate machine could keep making record profits .
We gave away our electronics industry in the 1960s to the Japanese because the American electronic industry was and still is making so much money doing Dept. of Defense work .
Richard Nixon in 1974 abolished the draft which put a stop to the the military industrial complex creating wars and drafting young men to die for their profits and for his efforts at change he was impeached and disgraced.
Fast forward to Bill Clinton - he tried to cut defense spending, calling it the peace dividend. He wanted to spend the money to improve education and universal health . For his efforts, he was impeached and disgraced. Like rust - the military industrial complex never sleeps .
So 1962-1972 was at once a wonderful euphoric 10 years , but at the same time there were national tragedies occurring with a frightening speed and intensity . It is no surprise drugs were so popular .
Which brings us to Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton. I know Republican conservatives hate Hillary Clinton with a passion that is beyond belief and I always wonder why . Hillary is so locked into the Washington power structure that she is not going to really change much. She is certainly not going to challenge the military industrial complex. Every president since Bobby Kennedy was assasinated has been a shill for the military industrial complex. They all knew which side of the bread the butter was on .
Barak Obama is a different story. He has a destiny that is undeniable. He wants to really change our bought and paid for form of government . I fear for Mr. Obama. If he elected the next president of the United States, will he share the same fate as the Kennedy's and Martin Luther King ?
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