Sunday, January 15, 2012

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I think I should let my readers know something. Things are about to get worse, they are going to get a lot worse. On Friday, the 13th by the way lol, nine European countries had their credit ratings downgraded. That may not mean much to you; but, let me put it in personal terms. Imagine that your credit rating went from 750 to 650, you would have to pay higher interest rates for anything you bought on credit, same thing here.

As Europe's currencies crash and burn, it takes ours with them. Remember where I wrote about how we had approved massive "loans" of dollars in exchange for European currencies. Remember how the Federal Reserve lent Billions and Billions to European central banks. The currencies are all knotted together.

So what happens when the currencies are no longer valued? Well, a number of years ago the Mexican peso collapsed and they came out with a new peso valued at like 100 to 1 of the prior peso. In other words, they deflated the value of their old currency and paid off their debt with their new currency. Basically it is like paying off your debt at 10% of your promise. It is a form of hyperinflation that only effects foreign debt. This might sound like a good idea; but, it is meaningless when all of the currencies are interwoven.

We are going to be poorer, that is the bottom line. The United States has been globalized. So what solution will be offered, the same one that was given to Europe, we will be taxed more and given less. In Europe they call it austerity. While I agree with much of what Ron Paul believes, I disagree with austerity as proposed. There is a foolishness in this country that confuses capitalism with democracy. They are not the same.

Democracy is where the majority make laws. Aristotle believed there were only six types of government. Government run by one person for either the benefit of others or the ruler. Then you have government run by the few for the benefit of others or themselves and finally government by the majority for the benefit of the majority or all. Aristotle believed all eventually came to benefit their own group. He believed that democracy was best because it benefited the most, it at least benefited the majority.

We don't live in a democracy, the government is being run for the benefit of a few, not for the benefit of the majority. Once we get past the type of government we have you have to consider the type of economy you have. You can have a king and still have capitalism or communism or many different isms. I would like to think that we had capitalism; but, we do not. We have a highly regulated economy. Your business is regulated in many ways including the fact that you don't have the right to do business with whoever you want. Put up a sign on your restaurant that says no blacks or gays or whatever, you will get in trouble.

The truth is that the United States has ceased being capitalistic and democratic. Once you understand that, you can begin to understand what will happen after the currencies collapse. Austerity. Austerity is where the majority get less and the laws only favor a few. We call that an oligarchy, the use of government to benefit the few ruling elite.

We don't have much to look forward to in the way of politicians. We have a series of wealthy people who openly state that they are dictatorial and don't care about people who are not rich. Then we have Ron Paul who would make the poor pay for the mistakes of the wealthy. None of the candidates actually cares about how we distribute wealth equitably. They are more concerned about "capitalism" then they are with Democracy. When a nations economic system does not benefit the majority, then you have no democracy, you have an oligarchy.

The solution, there must be a solution. There is, it is a cashless society. There was an article last week about a German woman who hasn't used cash in 16 years. You won't have cash, just debt, in the end that is all cash is, a promise to give materials or labor in exchange for the materials or labor of another. That is currency, that is the dollar, that is money.

Please read the linked article and watch the video, it is what IBM intends to benefit from in the next five years. Peace and love.

Beyond the Cashless Society: IBM’s Vision for the Future

I Have the Day Off, So Some Scattered Thoughts

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the movies by two of my friends. A married couple that I happen to think very highly of. I enjoy going out on occasion and we had a find evening. We saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie and had a nice dinner. Now here is a shocker, I have never been on a double date in my life except when I was married, not when I was just dating. When I dated it was always just the two of us.

On a side note, see scattered, my dog doesn't like it when someone gives me a neck rub. Sometimes my daughter or one of my friends will put their hands on me in affection and my dog flips out. My dog is very jealous of me. He is in fact and idiot; but, I am stuck with him and I love him I guess. LOL.

I know, where is this all leading, is there a point. Yes, thank you very much, there is a point and it resides at the top of my head. I am seriously considering dating again sometime this year. I assume I will still get to go out on occasion with my friends; but, someday I will bring someone with me perhaps. How they interact with my friends will be important, how they act with my dog will be important and the same goes for how I interact with their family and friends.

I was going back and forth in my head a lot about this dating thing. I was seriously considering not dating ever again and then I think maybe I should. I was beginning to think that maybe it isn't worth the effort, the responsibility of it all. I am not 18 anymore and I fear that I am growing set in my ways. I was talking to a friend and he told me that if I don't start pretty soon then I will probably never date again. I thought about that a lot and you know what, he is probably right. I am way too comfortable being single.

There is a very pretty lady that seems to have a thing for me and I have a thing for running away from her. That is the fear side coming out. It is not that I am afraid of getting burned again, it is more about the effort that I believe one should put into a relationship. I am not a casual person and will not be looking for a casual relationship.

If I do find someone and get in a relationship, it will no doubt impact this blog. Heck, I am working all week, preaching on Saturdays soon and I write somewhere on a daily basis. Just reading the news for me takes a few hours because of all the sources that I check. I think I might have to cut back on the reading and writing if I do find someone.

I do have a tendency to analyze things don't I? I remember this cartoon that my mother gave me. The cartoon had a picture of Sherlock Holmes examining a wrapped Christmas present and Watson says something like, "Just open the darn thing and be surprised like everyone else". Just go out there and date, find an attractive and nice woman and shack up. That just doesn't fit me.

Sometimes I think what I really want is to just retire and fade away off into the distance. Become a true hermit, just me and my dog. Walk away from society and enjoy some peace and quiet. I know my friends would be disappointed in me if I did so and I still have a trick or two up my sleeve, I still have something to offer to others and we should be in service to one another.

Pimpernel vacillates, I think one thing and then I think another. Maybe it is the cold or the exhaustion; but, I know it isn't. It is me trying to figure out what I want and I still don't know. That is not quite true, I know what I want; but, I cannot have it. I cannot be with the love of my life because she is dead. Someone once said that you can never go home. You cannot turn the clock back and get a redo. Nope, you continue moving forward and picking up baggage, belongings, possessions and scars.

What would it mean to love again? What would it mean to commit to knowing a person completely again? It sounds like a lot of work if you really want to be in a relationship.

On a completely different note, my parents spent a lot of money sending me to Law School knowing that I never intended to practice law. That was pretty amazing of them, maybe they thought I might practice; but, I made it clear that I didn't intend to. I was really more interested in how the law worked because I was interested in writing laws and I have written a couple. If it were not for my parents sacrificing to send me to college and law school, I would not have been able to do the things that I have in this life and I can no longer thank them and did not thank them enough while they were alive. You cannot go home again.

I know a very wonderful lady. She is a widow, she lost the love of her life. It was hard for her to date, men felt uncomfortable thinking they were competing with a dead person. I find myself in the same situation, the love of my life is dead. How do you give all of your heart when there is a part that is forever intertwined with another? Is it fair to the other person and do you have to tell them? "Just open the package".

Is it right to have a committed relationship if you cannot commit totally. My ex cheated on me, that is not a drawback to my having a relationship with another. The love of my life died, that is a restriction, there is a part of my heart that I can never give away, is that fair to another?

Life is so funny. I am so comfortable with nothing and still as a human, I miss companionship at times; but, I already know my soulmate and she is dead. Where do I go from here, to less? Better yet, do I discover that my soulmate was not and find one that is even more of a soulmate, how could I trust that decision?

These are questions that we all address on some level, we each answer them with our truth. There is a movie called "When Harry met Sally". I seem to remember that in the movie Billy Crystal asks Meg Ryan what she would do, choose between loving or being loved, he asks which she would choose and then tells her to think about her answer. Most would say that they want to be loved; but, that means never loving completely. I think that would be hard, I have loved completely and loved and lost. I still want to love again, I would make a terrible fascist, I prefer to love and help.

What would it take for you to love someone more than you have ever loved anyone more than? Whatever is the most you have ever loved, what would it take to love someone more, what could ever be enough? Peace.