HUMOR IS NO LONGER PERMITTED ON FACEBOOK

The twisted progressive tyrants at Facebook have exceeded their previous narrow-minded record, by blocking me for SEVEN days. This may not seem like a big deal, others have been blocked for longer or even banned.  However, in my case the suspension has come for a trivial piece of humor.


Apparently, the numbskull progressives at Facebook simply do not comprehend the idea of humor and sarcasm. I am no longer certain what to post or how to comment, in order to avoid the nitwits running Facebook. This is not funny nor is it a trivial matter. This is a clear indication that our society and education system are breeding a generation of brainless fools that will seek to censor and eliminate any thought or idea which they do not understand.

At this point I will cease using any memes on Facebook. My account is important to me for several reasons, and I do not wish to lose access to all the contacts I have made on social media.

JOHN BOLTON = A WARMONGERING MANIAC IN THE WHITE HOUSE

John Robert Bolton, born November 20, 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland. Attended Yale, graduated with a JD in 1974. Joined the National Guard in 1970, as a means of avoiding the draft for a war he believed to be already lost. Served a total of six years between the National Guard and Army Reserve. Worked in a variety of positions throughout Washington DC, in the private sector for a short time, but was involved with political positions for the majority of his early career. He joined all the insider clubs: the Council on Foreign Relations, the Federalist Society, the Project for a New American Century, the National Policy Forum, and several other think tanks. He held several positions during the George W. Bush administration, the most prestigious of which was as Ambassador to the United Nations. It was John Bolton that drew up the plans for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In 2018, Donald Trump selected John Bolton to be his National Security Adviser.  Basically, the man is a perfect example of the ultimate DC insider.

This man would probably not have gained much notoriety if conditions were different, there are many people in DC with backgrounds very similar to his own. However, there is one aspect to his career that has made him famous(perhaps infamous is the better term), his belief in a forceful or even military response to almost every problem in the world. He constantly advocates for the US to enter into armed conflicts with differing nations. From the Middle East, to Asia, to Russia, and even to South and Central America, no nation is safe from his conflict-centered vituperation.  Any act, policy, statement, or attitude by a foreign nation that is cause for offense in DC, is enough to earn the wrath of warmonger Bolton. The offending nation will be painted with a giant bullseye for his carefully crafted diatribes.

However, he has not gone unnoticed to the folks in the media that pay close attention to DC chatter. People from both sides of the political divide have denounced John Bolton. Websites from the most liberal to the most conservative have featured articles attacking his constant calls for expanded wars. It should be noted that this is not a new occurrence, the media was denouncing his ideas when he was still employed by the George W. Bush administration. His reputation for careless and  bloodthirsty rhetoric should have served as a warning to the Trump White House, before they brought him in as National Security Advisor.

As National Security Advisor he has certainly made his presence felt, getting into a shouting match with White House Chief of Staff  John Kelly. John Kelly, a retired US Marine Corps General, reportedly had a strong objection to Bolton's insistence on a heavy- handed military response to issues on the US-Mexican border. Going back to his days in the George W. administration, Bolton threatened the family of a Brazilian diplomat in 2002. The Brazilian diplomat Jose Bustani, was serving as the director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. His efforts to peacefully convince Iraq and Libya to allow chemical weapons inspectors into their respective nations did not please warmonger Bolton. Bolton's first response to anything is open warfare, all other strategies or policies have no value in his twisted mind.

Why is this man allowed to run freely in our nation's capital? His insane drive for constant warfare borders on the psychotic. Perhaps the nation would be better served if he was transferred directly from the White House to the nearest mental institution.

THE KAVANAUGH CONFIRMATION HEARING: A SAD DAY FOR OUR NATION

 

 

 

As I feared, this process has turned into "she said, he said", her word against his. Regardless of whom you believe or which side you support, this confirmation process has become a debacle and has made our nation's government into a mockery of what it should be.

 

 

Sexual assault is a crime and must not be tolerated. If Dr. Ford was truly assaulted, she has my deepest and utmost sympathy. On the other hand, this is something that occurred long ago, no physical evidence remains of this purported assault. Judge Kavanaugh's guilt or innocence can NOT be established; the confirmation process can only act to ruin his reputation and harm his family. The United States is a nation of laws, if someone is accused of violating the law there is a legitimate legal system that can be used to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. This situation can never be tried in a criminal court, the court would quickly dismiss this case for a lack of evidence.

 

 

Have we reached the point in our society that someone can make an unsubstantiated claim against another person, and completely ruin that person? This is terrifying new day in our nation's history. The Senators that have permitted this insanity should be quickly voted out of office, and replaced with people of greater foresight and less political ambition. 

 

 https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/28/politics/kavanaugh-blasey-ford-hearing/index.html

IS THIS THE RIGHT THING TO DO?

95 year old Jakiw Palij being taken by stretcher

 Is this the right thing to do?

I feel compelled to ask the most basic of questions after reading this story on CNN. The accused is Jakiw Palij, born in Ukraine 1923 in an area that is now part of Poland, a 95 year old man who is suspected of being a Nazi collaborator or prison guard. Nobody is absolutely certain what his role was during the Second World War. He apparently lied to US immigration officers when he arrived in the US during the 1950's. In 2001 he admitted he had worked in a German labor camp, but he claimed that he and other young men were coerced into working for the Germans.

Obviously the US immigration authorities did not believe his claims of innocence,  and thus deported him.They loaded him into a stretcher and sent him to Germany. If he was indeed a merciless Nazi camp guard that killed thousands of people, all well and good. But the records are few and poor, these events happened a long time ago and there are no witnesses. In the camp in which he is accused of having served, the records were never kept or were destroyed, and the prisoners were all killed. There are no eye witnesses. What evidence is being used against this man? Is the evidence factual, or is it based on assumptions, rumors, or innuendo? Lastly, and most importantly, what possible outcome can be derived from deporting and prosecuting a 95 year old man?

The Holocaust was a terrible part of human history, millions of people were systematically wiped out. Evidence taken at the various concentration camps can freeze the heart: photographs of starved people and thousands of bodies stacked in piles. The American soldiers that initially entered those camps became sick at the sight of the atrocities, and these were battle hardened men that has seen some of the fiercest fighting of WWII. Even the crusty General George S. Patton was left in a state of shock at the sight of what was discovered. 

German civilians being forced to tour a liberated concentration camp viewing stacks of dead bodies

Malnourished concentration camp survivors

There can be no doubt that those responsible should face the most severe of penalties. On the other hand, there is limited evidence against Jakiw Palij. He may also have been a victim of the ruthless Nazi war machine, his service may have been coerced. Any trial against him could take years, years he does not have.  Putting him in a prison cell at his age is simply ludicrous.  He is 95 years old, he could die at any moment. We may never learn the truth.

 What is the point of deporting him and attempting to prosecute someone at death's door? I'm not sure we are doing the right thing in this case.

RISING GDP- A TOOL FOR POLITICIANS AND LIARS

source: mises.org

Many of us took a course or two, perhaps more, of Economics as undergraduates.  Everything taught in those foundational courses is known as Keynesian Economics, and as students we are led to believe that it's the only proper way to understand economic phenomenon. One of the things we learned about is something called "Gross Domestic Product". This number attempts to measure how much the economy has produced over a given period of time, usually on an annual basis. The media, politicians, authors, and various television "experts", constantly discuss how vital it is for the GDP to increase in order for the nation to be prosperous and avoid disaster. On any given day, the media will have extensive coverage of Congress and it's actions in regards to the government's budget, the decisions made at the Federal Reserve, and a mention will be made about Wall Street and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This has convinced entire generations of people that government has a vital role to play in the economy, and without an ever increasing GDP the world will end. However, the truth is something altogether different. The GDP is a tool of politicians and politics, not economics.

We must understand that the economy is made up individuals and businesses making decisions that will affect their daily lives. Government has very little to do with the economy on a daily basis. Government imposes taxes, laws, and regulations that can certainly affect people's lives, but these things do not make economic choices. People make economic choices. People can decide to buy a used vehicle instead of a brand new vehicle, or they can buy a house, or they can decide to spend their money on illegal activities: drugs, gambling, etc. In a free society, people are allowed to spend their money as they see fit. And it should not be a surprise to anyone that when allowed to make choices most people will usually make good economic choices.



Most everyone is probably asking: how is all of this connected, and what does it have to do with anything? GDP fails to account for several very important factors. First, illegal activities are not taken into account. In the US, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of illegal drugs are bought and sold every year, but these activities are not measured. Second, the market for used goods is ignored. In 2016, 41 million used cars and trucks were sold in the US, at an average price of  $19,227. This comes to roughly $788 Billion worth of sales just in the used car industry, and none of it is considered part of GDP. Last, and most importantly, GDP fails to accurately account for the change in the value of money, also know as Inflation. Inflation can raise or lower prices, having a significant impact on how GDP will be measured. The Bureau of Economic Analysis is responsible for measuring GDP in the US, yet they depend on the Federal Reserve to provide information in regards to inflation. The Federal Reserve has many detractors that argue it's models and ideas are outdated, some of those detractors are found within the Federal Reserve itself.

I have mentioned this before, inflation is the giant monster hiding in the basement that nobody wants to acknowledge. To quote the great economist Ludwig Von Mises, "The great inflations of our age are not acts of God. They are man made or, to say it bluntly, government made. They are the off shoots of doctrines that ascribe to governments the magic power of creating wealth out of nothing and making people happy by raising the "national income".

Let's replace the term "national income" with something used in current society: GDP. Congress and the Federal Reserve have to simply push more money and credit into the marketplace, by either borrowing trillions of dollars as does Congress or by the various creative tricks employed by the Federal Reserve. In either case, they are creating wealth out of nothing, and it appears as if the economy is strong and growing. Politicians can then make televisions appearances and make grand proclamations at election time.

The Lying Politician

 There is an important question which nobody wants to ask. If the GDP is measuring the output of the economy, and a positive number indicates the economy is growing, why hasn't everyone gotten wealthier? If the nation is getting wealthier, as indicated by GDP, why does Congress feel the need to continue a "War on Poverty" that began during the 1960's, has cost trillions of taxpayer dollars, and has no end in sight? For the simple reason that government can not create wealth, government can only create inflation. People create wealth by making good economic choices. A government handout may help some folks pay bills just to get by, but ultimately it is up to the individual to build their own wealth by making good choices in life. Any person, regardless of their income level, has the ability to save and spend wisely, and to make other choices in life that will decide the outcome of their lives.



https://mises.org/library/gdp-tool-politics-not-economics

https://www.businessinsider.com/where-drug-money-goes-2016-3

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/05/used-vehicle-sales-look-set-to-hit-all-time-high.html

https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/review/11/07/bullard.pdf

 https://thetruthstillmatters.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-economy-is-still-sluggish.html