The Declaration of Independence is a radical and a liberating document

It is a crying shame that today’s students simply don’t know their history and apparently have little interest in amending such a lack of knowledge.  The reason that this is such a shame is because those that do not pay attention to history as well as to our founding documents aren’t going to understand that with citizenship there comes responsibility, and part of that responsibility of those so governed, is to hold to account our representatives and governance so that they are behaving in a manner that is consistent with our unalienable rights – in addition to the salient fact that in America, how we are governed must be in conformance with the consent of those so governed.  In other words, when our government and its representatives are lording it over the people to such an extent that those being governed, are essentially denied their unalienable rights, so done without their consent or approval or from ignorance, than as per that Declaration of Independence “… it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…” which is what happened to effect our independence from Great Britain to begin with and is applicable as much today as it was back then, because this is supposed to be a nation of, for, and by the people, above all.

 The thing about governments and those that are in authority, in addition to the hidden unelected power behind many a government and its representatives, is that to a very large extent Constitutions so ratified, and the founding documents of a given country, are often written with the best of intentions and for the betterment of the people, but as time goes on, and also in consideration that power corrupts many a representative and thereby its governance, we find that the people are basically inexorably ceding their rights, or finding such rights under assault or erosion, in which, the government thereby becomes ever more powerful, which weakens the sovereignty of the people, and making the people to be seen as subjects that should obey, as compared to being people that have their say.

 No doubt, most of us are quite busy taking care of necessary things, and further to the point, believe that on some level that the government has our best interests in mind, but in actuality, when we take a serious look at what is going on, it would appear that our freedom, liberty, and happiness, are being constricted by that government, often done by their signature move, which is that the people need to sacrifice some of their rights, for the safety of the homeland and the security of their community; but by doing so, the people have failed to recognize that they are the last line of defense to despotism, and if they will not make a stand, where a stand is required, then those unalienable rights, will no long be in effect, and will have been replaced by a governance that determines what rights the people are permitted to have, and the people will have therefore lost that which their initial revolution was all about and replaced such with chains

The appropriate criteria for corporate tax abatements

While it is true, that communities often desire to bring in major corporations so as to provide employment for those that are its residents, what we do find at the present time, is that the tax abatements so structured, seem to be far too often poorly negotiated on behalf of the community, and therefore the savings that these corporations get from not having to pay, for example, their appropriate amount in regards to property taxes, or from the reduction of their sales tax, or their contribution to infrastructure improvements specifically accomplished on behalf of these corporations, are unfair to the taxpayers that have to thereby carry more of the tax burden upon their shoulders, and in return, see minimal or no true benefit to the community.

 This so signifies that no tax abatement should be agreed upon, unless that community is getting something tangible in return, which would typically consist of unionized jobs, or a collective bargaining agreement which would essentially accomplish the same goal.  So too, depending upon the corporate footprint that is being considered, there could also be conditions that would mandate a certain percentage of local residents having to be employed, as well as affordable housing being constructed or other infrastructure of merit created in the community as part of the deal.  The bottom line is that communities that provide tax abatements without any guarantee that they will receive something of significance in return, have got it wrong, and considering that corporations typically have enough in their favor to begin with, demonstrates therefore community inability to hold the line to thereby get something of significance that would truly benefit that community.

 As it stands, corporations are quite adept at creating a dynamic in which one community is competing against another community, in order to win that approval to locate that corporation within that particular community, which is why, the government should step in to help to level the playing field so that communities do not end up throwing in the kitchen sink without in return, getting a solid benefit from the corporation that is moving in.

 Indeed, the fact of the matter is that whenever any major corporation is considering moving to a given community, presupposes that this is a location that the corporation favors and therefore desires to be at, which would signify that the community should be able to wrangle a fair deal, and to the degree that the government can impose itself so that the conditions of those laboring for that corporation, provides them with a fair wage, the better it will be for that community.

 After all, to believe, somehow, that some of the biggest corporations that have ever existed, actually need a tax abatement is to fundamentally misunderstand how the business world actually operates, for in a lot of ways, big business has an incredible amount of power and influence, and thereby is use to having its way; whereas, a conscientious community with good representation and a government that is of the people, needs to therefore stand strong for the betterment of that community and its people.

Incarceration costs as compared to systemic homelessness

We read at visualcapitalist.com that we spend “…just under $23,000 per prisoner in Arkansas to $307,468 in Massachusetts.”  The fact that so much is spent to incarcerate those who have been convicted of crimes, as compared to our failure to proactively take care of our homelessness issue, is troubling.  While it could be said that incarceration has its place when it comes to criminals, it just doesn’t seem right that those who have committed no crime, except to suffer from lack and/or mental issues, are without safe shelter.  While we might decry that some parts of some cities are inundated with homeless people, it doesn‘t have to be that way if only this nation would make it a priority to enact programs to address this issue specifically and keep at it until successfully resolved.

 It is disappointing, that there seems to be plenty of space to lock up prisoners and that this nation will spend whatever amount of money to keep them locked up in a facility in which prisoners are entitled to food, shelter, and medical needs; whereas those that are homeless have seemingly less robust programs to deal with their issues, that should and ought to be dealt with comprehensively, in this the richest nation in the world.

 No doubt, homelessness in its own way, appears to be intractable, but that doesn’t mean that this government couldn’t do more to help to resolve this issue as compared to doing just enough that takes care of part of the problem but doesn’t take care of the whole problem. Indeed, to spend less on homelessness as compared to what we spend to incarcerate criminals doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense, because those that are most in need but aren’t criminals, should be properly served first, and at a minimum shouldn’t be ignored in the sense, that there is an unrealistic hope that homelessness will just disappear over time, which just isn’t going to happen without forthright action from government and charitable agencies.

 As in anything, it probably behooves this government to try to ascertain as to what creates homelessness to begin with, and to the degree that this can be ameliorated with programs and attention, it should be done.  In any event, those who are homeless should be able to readily avail themselves of governmental help, and in consideration that a lot of the homelessness is part and parcel within our biggest cities, it would be best to address that need from that perspective.  So too, homelessness in America reflects that our institutions and our priorities seem to be out of sync, because if we do not see our fellow citizens as being worthy of our attention and care, then we have forgotten that we are our brother’s keeper.

 When it comes to homelessness, there is no point in not making a solemn commitment that this nation will do everything that it can do to take care of the problem, because the intent behind governmental programs of merit should always be to attend to what needs to be attended to, so as to get the job done, and not to relent from those efforts until it is done.

Labor, capital, and freedom

In this modern era, so many of us live under the condition of employment, in which we represent the employee, thus working for the employer.  For some employees they have been able to secure some degree of power by being extremely skilled at their job through their knowledge and experience, which is not only valuable to their employer but also not easily replaceable.  Then others have power, because they are part of a union or similar, of which, any time employees join together collectively, they become stronger and thus represent a countervailing force against their employer.  That said, the vast majority of employees don’t have any real power, which means that they are under the thumb of their employer, which might be okay if the vast majority of employers really cared about doing right by their employees, as contrasted to lording over them, and putting profit above employees.

 Each of us has responsibilities not only to ourselves but also to the family that we are a part of, which typically requires that we have access to some amount of capital, either saved from our previous labors or possibly in our hands from monetary gifts or inheritances.  This signifies that in order for us to take care of our responsibilities we need to have steady income or access to a suitable amount of savings to take care of paying those bills, and when we aren’t able to take care of our responsibilities, our life changes from secure to insecure, which is a place that we do not desire to go, or ever to be a part of.

 The above signifies that who employs us, and the conditions of that employment, including our pay, our benefits, and our security definitely matters to us, and because we find that employers have an incredible amount of say as to whether or not we will even stay employed, as well as the compensation that we receive, means therefore that millions of Americans are in proximate danger of finding themselves at some point, lacking what they need, because they have been laid off, or fired from their employment, without any guarantee that they will be able to find another job promptly that will bring them back to equilibrium.

 Perhaps it is right, per the capitalistic way, that employers should have essentially all of the power, and that whatever that employer dictates to us, in regards to pay, the conditions, as well as the security of the employment, should be theirs alone to decide.   This though doesn’t seem fair, it also doesn’t seem right, because those that are absolutely dependent upon their paycheck and the security of their employment, so that they can take care of those needful things, should be provided with not necessarily a guarantee of a job, forever, but should at least be reasonably secure in their employment, as long as they are doing their good part as an employee.

 It would seem therefore that we need a government that does more to protect those that are employed in private enterprise, not so much to provide them with unemployment insurance, or food stamps, or other welfare type things, but rather to help those employees to have a voice, which is in a lot of ways, best done either through being part of a union, or in absence of such, a government that provides to employees more robust rights, so that they can’t just be replaced by a whim or exploited or removed, without having their fair say, first.

America claims to be the greatest nation, but the test scores of its student body do not reflect this

It’s easy to proclaim this or that about how great a given person is, or how great a given country is, but rather, the proof is in the eating of the pudding. When we look at America, especially in consideration of how much money has been allocated to our various school facilities, it has to be admitted that our test scores do not reflect that we are the preeminent educationally accomplished country in the world, with very talented students who have learned well. Indeed, America is no better than middling and clearly does not lead the world in the educational proficiency of its students.

 We read at proxlearn.com that “In 2022, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) assessed education systems in over eighty OECD countries and non-OECD countries.” was administered, and the result was that “…the United States ranks in ninth place globally.”  This would fairly indicate that even though America believes it has the best of the best within its shores, it clearly does not, which thereby does not bode well for the future of this nation as being or maintaining its dominance over all other nations.

 Further to the point, we are told that “…The gap between scores in the ninetieth and tenth percentiles is nearly 300 points,” which signifies that on the one hand America does have some incredibly talented and bright students, but also reflects on the other hand that America has a core of students that simply aren’t educated very well, and are far from proficient in core educational studies such as mathematics, science, and literacy.  This would seem to indicate that not only do we have a clear educational bifurcation in America, which thus fairly reflects that not all of our schools are equal one to another; but also, in all probability, this nation apparently does not care to do anything constructive to ameliorate this, which is especially disappointing in regards to the fact that those students that are most vulnerable because of having been born in an area in which there is little opportunity that surrounds them, somehow do not have appropriate access to an educational facility that will provide them with the necessary accouterments to become something of educational merit.

 So too, it has to be admitted that the more “dead weight” that this nation’s peoples has to carry, because a significant portion of its population is functionally illiterate, the less productivity will thereby be accomplished, along with the salient fact that those productive members of society are thereby burdened with carrying those who are unable to carry their own weight, forever.

 Indeed, one of the fundamental priorities of any good governance is to see that each and every citizen of this nation has a good education, which thereby provides those citizens with the fair opportunity to be of value to this nation, along with providing them with the tools that will bring them personal success. This would then permit America to demonstrate to the world, at large, that America really is the greatest nation, proven by the fact that they are not only highly educated but that they use their skills for the benefit of the society that they are an active member of.

Why does America have so many people living in poverty?

We read at census.gov that in 2023, the official poverty rate in America was 11.1 percent, which “…represents 36.8 million people in poverty in 2023.”  One would think that most people, and especially those in poverty, would be outraged that this the premier world power permits such. Look, it has to be said that America is considered to be the leader of the merits of capitalism, so representing the best economic system possible, of which, that capitalistic system believes wholeheartedly in the merit and value of trickle-down economics, thus being beneficial for the country as a whole.  Yet, trickle-down economics seems to be a scam because lowering taxes provides even more benefits to the superrich and mega corporations, at the expense of the impoverished, who continue to suffer from a lack of all sorts, including the lack of opportunity.

 Indeed, the more power that this nation places into corporate monopolistic hands or in the hands of certain corporate powers that basically collude with one another when it comes to the pricing and availability of products so being marketed and sold – adds insult to injury by the fact that these same corporate powers in conjunction with the government that works hand in glove with them, has effectively eviscerated labor unions, as well as not lifting a finger to increase the minimum wage to something even close to resembling a living wage, which means that those that are the most vulnerable, are going to continue to live in poverty, in this the richest nation in the world.

 The question that needs to be raised is whether or not corporations and the government that regulates and taxes those corporations have an implicit obligation to see that the power in the hands of monopolistic corporations and those corporations that collude with one another is or is not in conformance with the public good.  That is to say, to believe somehow that the only duty corporations have is to make as much profit as they can, for the benefit of upper management as well as those that are its stockholders, doesn’t seem to recognize the inconvenient truth that corporations are artificial constructs of the state, which thereby means that they also have an inherent obligation to benefit the state, or else they should be regulated more vigorously in a way and manner that the general public gets their fair share of the pie, as their due for such economic power being in the hands of those that prefer not to answer to the people, because their objective seems to be to exploit those same people, thereby contributing directly or indirectly to a higher poverty rate in America, then there needs to be.

 Perhaps, though, nothing needs to be changed in America, for the poor will always be with us.  Nevertheless, it has to be recognized that if America does indeed represent the best of the best concerning freedom, liberty, and opportunity, why is there such a persistent problem in regards to poverty and need in this nation?  The answer seems to be pretty straightforward, which is that this nation isn’t really about being of, for, and by the people at all, but rather represents that its primary purpose is greed above all, which it embraces unreservedly and thereby lets the devil take the hindmost.

Not all confessions come from the same place

For a whole lot of people, it’s difficult to confess to a bad act or to admit fault for something that was really hurtful, because it reflects poorly on them.  Nevertheless, people do confess, but what we find when we look under the hood is that not every confession is actually equal, for some confessions have their self-serving purpose that makes the person so confessing appear to be a person of repentance and reformation, when in actuality, it has more to do with the fact that once burned, twice shy.

 Indeed, people make mistakes that they not only do regret, but because they have been caught or will be caught in their mistake, they own up to it, which seems to reflect that they are sincere and repentant people.  While that may well be true for some people in some circumstances, what we find is that those people that have committed a grave error and have taken account that what they did was ultimately of no benefit to them, and made them to feel guilty, or put them at risk at something they did not desire to face, is that they have thus made up their mind not to repeat such an action, because that action had negative consequences that significantly outweighed whatever benefit or joy that they may have anticipated receiving.  That is to say, those confessing to those faults, are doing so, because they have no intention on repeating what they did, so while their confession is true, and their regret is also true, the true reason why they are confessing though is that they aren’t ever going to do it again, and by confessing, it makes them to appear to be of better character than they really are.

 On the other hand, there are those confessions that are truly remorseful, not only because the action was wrong, but also because the person confessing feels that they have let down not only others but also themselves, and feels shame and embarrassment for having done so.  These types of confessions are difficult because they expose us to the fair judgment of others, while also making us appear to be people of a bad and troubling character, which makes us feel less than those we respect and care about.  Nevertheless, the very first step in any sort of healing or recompense is to honestly admit to the error, and the next step is to make amends to it, which can be better aided whenever the other calls us to account on our behavior, so as to keep us in conformance to that which we promised to reform ourselves upon.

 In sum, those so confessing to us, do not always come from the same place, and while we can appreciate anyone that honestly admits to their bad act, and thereby makes a solemn promise to not commit such in the future, as well as to also to make good on what they did wrong, that isn’t necessarily the full story, because some confessions have a hidden agenda, that has not been owned up to, and thereby those confessions aren’t made of the same or right stuff.

Our government should be truthful to us

There are a lot of people who believe that the government should be the sole arbiter of what is considered to be disinformation, malinformation, and misinformation.  While, this does make sense on a certain level, it has to be recognized that when that government is not transparent to us, and has its own agenda which is often hidden, along with being motivated to see that its desires and thereby its narrative is considered to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, even when it quite clearly is not, then this represents a real problem for the people, for they are being propagandize to, and when the people essentially have not the full right to free expression, or free thinking, but are obligated are encouraged to toe the governmental line, then the people are not only not free, but they have become part and parcel of the lies that the government sells as the truth.

 While we would like to think that our government has our best interests in mind, we only need to look at the current makeup of our government to recognize that this cannot conceivably be true, because those that are at the highest echelons of elected officials, as well as the power behind those officials, are made up of individuals that represent not only the upper echelons of financial power, but typically have connections with very powerful institutions and personages, as well, that combined make for a government that doesn’t seem to fairly represent the people, from top to bottom.

 So then, whenever any government has its own agenda that is not consistent with fairness, equality under the law, or structured for the benefit of the people, then that government isn’t true to its good purpose for it is a basic requirement that the people have the right to express themselves as free thinking people, in addition to the responsible need to have independent people and institutions that will hold the government accountable to the people, so that at the end of the day, the determination of what is or is not true, is held not in the hands of the government, but rather is in the hands of free thinking people to fairly decide for themselves.

 While we may well be disappointed anytime that we see certain people fall hook, line, and sinker for that which we know is false or a deception, our responsibility to those who are too credulous for their own good is to point them in the right direction, and the choice of whether they subsequently decide to walk in that direction is their own.  We live in societies in which we are going to be susceptible to being lied to, cheated, and deceived, of which this is especially effective when it comes from authority figures or representatives, such as the government, that we want to believe has our best interests in mind and that would never lie to us.  Yet, governments do lie to us, they do cheat us, and they do deceive us – thereby signifying it is our responsibility as a people to keep those that are in positions of power, accountable to us as a people, which is best done in an atmosphere in which we are permitted to search for the truth, and to testify to that truth, for the overall betterment of the people.

We need more employee-owned companies

For the uninitiated and unsophisticated, employee-owned companies almost sound like they are possibly socialist and therefore, in their own way, un-American, but this isn’t true at all.  We find that for a whole lot of employed people, they are nothing much more than an employee, who in many States, are an “at-will” employee which basically means that no matter their length of time at a given company or their need for steady and livable income, that they can thus be terminated by their employer at any time, for any reason that the employer finds suitable.   This type of employment condition is obviously not ideal for the employee, and is arguably the biggest complaint of why capitalism, as currently structured, needs to be modified so that all employees have more of a voice, such as we find in union shops.

 When it comes to employee-owned companies, because everybody that is employed there has a voice, and the right to some percentage of ownership in the company, that the cohesion and teamwork so displayed are often going to reflect a more motivated workforce, because they know that what they really do and therefore their productivity, does matter, and because it matters to their continual employment, profit sharing, and value of the stock that they own, it incentivizes employees to push themselves harder to maintain that success.  In other words, whenever equity is provided to employees, they feel that their personal value is higher, and because of that, they are motivated to do their best, which is not always the case, in those companies, in which, the employee is paid by the hour, and seems to be, in many a case, of marginal value or replaceable to the ownership.

 To believe, somehow, that the best companies are those in which the lion’s share of the ownership is held in the hands of upper management, along with those that have significant shares or options to those shares, reflects a belief that there should be a division between those that are well-positioned and well-compensated, as opposed to the general worker bee workforce.  A management attitude such as that is reflected in why we see so many jobs that could be and ought to be in America, being outsourced overseas, because whenever the objective for upper management is to do all in their power to increase profit, even at the direct expense of American workers, they are going to be well tempted to do that very thing.  It isn’t so much that outsourcing is always wrong, but rather it is the fact that when upper management has specific incentives that push profit as the be-all and end-all of everything that the corporation does, then regular employees are often going to be stuck with the short end of the stick.

 Indeed, when we look at companies of all sorts, it would be healthier for those companies if each employee of the company were vested in it, so that they would thereby not only really care about the success of the company, but would also directly benefit from the success of the company, as well, which is why employee-owned companies are in reality, most in harmony with what America represents, at its finest. 

The “money flipping” easy money nonsense

It could be argued that in this era of cryptocurrency and the prevalence of social media, it has never been easier to convince credulous others that somehow there are those gifted people who are so astute and tuned in that they can take the real money that you have obtained and, over a very short period of time, double it, or even more.  Indeed, those who work the money-flipping angle are quite adept at selling the illusion that they have the skill set to make that easy money for you, if only you would trust them to do that.  The thing, though, is that the most important question is never really asked or answered, which really comes down to the fact that if this person or the social media website which represents them was so skilled at making that easy money, why would they need to have your money to do such -- for those that can truly double money in 60 days or six months, should be able to simply self-finance themselves to millions upon millions, because consistent 100% returns can take a molehill and turn it into a mountain in short order.

 The problem that Americans especially have is that it is considered to be the mecca of financial assets, and therefore, those who desire to run scams or hustles, fixate upon Americans as their ideal target, because the smoothest path to make money, licit or illicitly, is going to be where the money is at.  So too, many people suffer the problem of comparing themselves to others, or believing wholeheartedly in certain social media personages that seem to have everything, and since they don’t really have much of anything, they can’t stand the fact that they lack monetary assets and since their life appears to be a real disappointment, they are therefore susceptible to the siren song of easy money, that will thus resolve what seems to be most troubling to them.

 Additionally, it doesn’t help that our government supports and enables things like lotteries, which sell the story that anybody at any time could all of a sudden have millions upon millions, if only they would participate and buy a lottery ticket that only costs them a few bucks.  The problem with the lottery or any other type of general gamble is that, quite frankly, not only are the odds strongly against the participant, but the very money that could be used or saved for a better purpose is being spent on what is an unrealistic dream that should be prudently avoided.

 We are instructed at an early age not to fall victim for that which sounds too good to be true, but when people have psychologically convinced themselves that they have to have something, which they have yet to fairly earn, and believe in that somebody who appears to be successful and has a convincing story – then far too many people that ought to know better, will put that money into that charlatan’s hands, and the end result is really known from the beginning, which is that money is now gone, with perhaps a lesson learned, or perhaps not, for those that insist upon shortcuts in life, are very vulnerable to getting fooled again and again.

“The People, not the Government, possess the absolute sovereignty.”

The above quotation might even seem radical to those of the present age, as if this came from some Marxist or by the hand of a revolutionary from some 3rd world nation. In fact, this sentiment was expressed by James Madison in 1800, who, as one of our Founding Fathers, would become the future two-term President of the United States.  Madison goes on to say: “The Legislature, no less than the Executive, is under limitations of power…Hence, in the United States the great and essential rights of the people are secured against legislative as well as against executive ambition.”

 Yet, when we look around at our governance, how few believe that the people possess absolute sovereignty.  Indeed, even if certain people somehow believe it, our very eyes tell us that in actuality the people do not possess absolute sovereignty, whatsoever, but seem to be, in many cases, subservient to our legislative, executive and judicial branches, as if our government, answers not to the people, in whole, but has separated itself from the people, to therefore go about its business in a superior way and manner that serves those that are the true power brokers of America, which appears to be the superrich, the well-placed, and in addition, corporate power.

 Indeed, it could be argued that the people of America are less free today, then they were one hundred years ago, and there does not appear to be anything on the horizon to retard or to stop this disturbing trend, for never have the people of this nation been more surveilled and more monitored then we have today, in which, it would be one thing if those of the criminal class were the ones being closely monitored, but rather we have virtually every citizen who isn’t ensconced in some sort of cave, that the government in conjunction with invasive hi-technology corporations, has in their control just about every piece of actionable information about us, and if so lacking, can retrieve such through a deliberate and comprehensive search of our person through the reams upon reams of information stored about us.

 The salient reason why governments are formed to begin with is not just for the protection of the people, but for the betterment of those people, because hands joined together, with a common purpose, can accomplish much more good than those that are not bound together under a united purpose.  Yet, what we are dealing with, more and more, is a governance that is about feathering its own nest and ignoring the population that it is supposed to serve.  Those in government are supposed to be servants to the people, but instead, the people find themselves to be far too often unnerved, surveilled, and disappointed that things overall aren’t getting better, but are getting worse, with the exception of those who are our elites, who get ever more powerful and richer, at our collective expense.

 It needs to be remembered that the people of this nation courageously fought for their independence, and did so through a great deal of risk, while exhibiting bravery to accomplish this worthy objective.  So too, the point of this fight was for the right of the people to control their destiny, through their sovereignty best represented, by representative government, of which, this has become bastardized over the decades, so that what we have in actuality is not a government of, for, and by the people, but rather a government that runs roughshod over the people, structured to control and to monitor us, so that we become nothing much more than pliant subjects to a ruling elite.

If Walmart and Amazon don’t completely unionize, it’s curtains for those who aspire to be part of the middle class

According to Wikipedia.org, the two largest employers of non-union labor within private enterprise are Walmart, with 2,100,000 employees, and Amazon, with 1,525,000 employees.  While it is true that there has been some notable progress in getting a union into Walmart as well as Amazon, the fact of the matter is that the percentage of unionized employees at either of these companies is so low that it’s as if there really aren’t any union members at all.

 We live in a day and age in America in which the union power that exists, is primarily still here because those unions were created decades ago, back when not only corporate power was less strong, but also when this government of, for, and by the people helped to level the playing field through the expressed belief that all Americans deserved fair pay, reasonable working hours, and safe working conditions. Incredibly, that viewpoint, was held by the government back then, but does not apparently hold true today, because corporate power and the belief that corporations alone should dictate to employees was is or is not tolerated in regards to pay, working hours, and overall safety has effectively become normalized at our workplaces in many a case, thereby leaving employees in the unenviable position of acceptance of the prevailing job criteria, or removal, so of.

 Additionally, when it comes to the pathway of union organizing, it’s going to be easier to get employees organized into an effective union when the work that they are doing, involves some notable job skill that cannot be easily replicated by bringing someone else in off of the street, which is why those that are in trades that are considered to be “skilled” are going to be in a superior position to bargain and to achieve union status, then those that are considered to be in “unskilled” labor positions, in which, the employer feels confident that when they get rid of those that are agitating for unions, that not only will that not hurt the productivity of the overall workforce, but could actually make things better, because of the fear of those employees of becoming unemployed.

 All of the above signifies that in the scheme of things the only conceivable way that Walmart and Amazon will become fully unionized is if this government makes it their point to see that it happens, by passing legislation which stipulates that employers of the size and power of these corporations are thereby mandated to accept unionization -- or else unionization will not occur, because as it stands, Walmart and Amazon simply have too much intimidation power, surveillance, and control that thus does not make them vulnerable to full unionization.  That said, to believe somehow that the unionization of employees for these companies would spell their doom, reads the tea leaves, totally wrong, because in effect, at present, when we take into consideration food stamps, earned income credit, and various other welfare programs, we as a people are already paying for the underpayment of these employees; whereas, the way it should be is private enterprise should provide for those that they employee, a living wage, instead.

An apology without meaningful action is just empty words

People make mistakes all of the time, in which it is understood that we can’t do much individually about those mistakes made by others against us; we can, though, do something constructive about those mistakes and misdeeds that we have done to the other.  To wit, the easiest thing for most people to do when they have wronged the other is to simply apologize to them, but because words are just words, and do not in of themselves represent action, it has to be admitted that to merely be sorry about this or that, and then sulk away, thereby giving the appearance of feeling remorse, is the type of apology which doesn’t do much of anything to make good on what needs to be made good on.

 While there are those misdeeds that are so terrible that there actually isn’t a corresponding action that can make up for what has occurred, we still need to do our level best to correct what we can, by changing our behavior for the better and thereby endeavoring to do what we can do to help to make things better.  Fortunately, most of the time, though, the type of error that we have made, which necessitates an apology, typically permits us to do something of use for those we have offended, to thus demonstrate our sincerity by making amends for what we have done wrong.

 Indeed, it has to be admitted that just about everyone has known a so-called friend who messes up again and again, often in the same way, of which they eventually apologize to us but subsequently do little or nothing to correct their behavior.  That pretty much signifies that their apology means nothing, because when nothing is ever corrected, or even reasonably attempted to be corrected, there isn’t even much point in making that verbal apology in the first place, because nothing of substance comes forth from it.

 To do wrong, is part of the human experience, and those then that acknowledge their wrong and then take steps to make amends are the very same that recognize that we need to take responsibility for what we say and do, or else, we are just people that mouth excuses, without ever taking the time to examine our own self, so as to figure out where we have gone wrong, and what we can subsequently do to reduce such to thereby become a better person for it.

 In sum, there are plenty of lessons to be learned in our lives, of which, those that learn those lessons best are the ones that make good on their past mistakes and thereby create the framework not to stumble in the future and are true to it; whereas those that are insincere, are reduced to making weak excuses for their misdeeds, of which, probably some of those excuses have legitimacy to them, yet that just isn’t going to be good enough, because at the end of day, words without constructive actions behind them, have little merit and never will.

Those that are free: think, and those that are unfree: obey

Each of us is gifted with a mind, and the choice that we are blessed with is to utilize our mind as thus representing our inherent right to think independent thoughts and thereby to do things which may not be in conformance with what society either expects of us, or what we believe we have been taught to do.  That is to say, it is imperative to recognize that we are freewill individuals and those that fail to recognize this truth are the very same that will find themselves often going with the flow, which by the way is what we see with dead branches and debris in a river, or whether we will at least consider going against the flow, which is what we see in a river of those that are in a rowboat and that are willing to use their oars against that flow.

 To ignore or to not develop our mind so as to think our own thoughts is to our discredit, because it needs to be recognized that a lot of the progress so accomplished by humankind has not come forth from those that simply toe the line and comply with the beliefs and orthodoxies of the day, but rather progress is often developed by those that question those orthodoxies and thus examine what is believed so as to ascertain the full truth of the matter, and further to the cause, to take to the next logical level that which has previously stood the test of time.  Indeed, the unquestioning soul is the same that does not help bring progress to any civilization, though they may well do their part that contributes to that civilization by their labor; but in order for that civilization to make a quantum leap into that which will be of more benefit, there needs to be those that will not only think the thoughts that others have not considered, but successfully develop such, often with the aid and help of additional free thinkers.

 Those that are animals and nothing more than an animal can typically be trained to obey because they are not thinkers, but rather are obedient to those who are in authority.  We, as human beings, are made of different stuff, which permits us to think and because we have the power to think, it signifies that we are thereby held to account for what we do or don’t do with that which we have been gifted with, for not all those who think, actually think thoughts that are beneficial to society and thereby just to think doesn’t mean that good things will result, which is why we have laws within societies to keep therefore those that think the wrong thoughts and thereby do bad things are consequently held to account.

 To think is to recognize that we have a responsibility to where those thoughts take us, which signifies that we must answer for all that we think and do; whereas, those who don’t think will simply be asked the salient question: why, when they were gifted with thinking power, did they refuse to develop it and subsequently to use for the betterment of their self as well as the society that they were a part of?

Should journalism just be the mouthpiece of the establishment?

We live in a day and age in which all of the mainstream press that we see online, in print, or via the medium of television and the like is all owned by corporate entities whose only apparent desire is profit.  This thus signifies that journalism of today is not going to be primarily about holding the establishment to account and thereby exposing what they do not wish to have expose, or challenging conventional wisdom, but in many respects, journalism has devolved into simply spinning narratives that are in accordance with establishment desires and decrees, as if this somehow represents all the news that is fit to be disseminated, when it really isn’t.

 This country is supposed to be by, for, and of the people, which thereby signifies that those that are journalists highest and most noble duty is to do right by those people, and whenever there is a conflict between what the establishment wishes to see professed, as contrasted to the truth of the matter, then those journalists need to be on the side of truth, even when such truth is inconvenient, and thus hold the establishment’s feet to the fire.

 Instead, far too many of those that claim the mantle of journalism, aren’t really journalists, at all, though they may well proudly wear the title, but what we really have, are nothing more than well-paid lackeys to the establishment who write and speak only those words that have been preapproved with the hope that the narrative so spun will be good enough to fool Americans.  Fortunately, we find that as it has been wisely stated while “you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” 

 Indeed, in this era of social media, and independent non-legacy media, there are a multitude of voices that represent the renewed and reinvigorated journalism, serving the people’s purpose of challenging the establishment and their stories, thereby holding those entities in powerful positions to account for what is really happening, providing to the people the necessary counterpoint to that which is being propagandize to the people as representing the truth, when at best, it is a partial truth, and in many a case with the establishment, no truth at all.

 In sum, those that are our journalistic outlets that, for all practical purposes, are nothing much more than a mouthpiece of the establishment deserve not a minute of our time or our care, because they provide nothing much of merit or interest for us, for they are trying to condition us to believe in that which provides little benefit or good purpose.  The establishment wants us to believe in their lies when the truth cries out that we are being sold a very bad bag of goods, and those then that are responsible for the telling and retelling of deceptions and misdirection of all sorts have no worthy place in society, because they are not contributing to our search for truth and accountability, but are instead doing the very opposite in the hopes that by doing so, they can mold us into citizens that don’t question authority but rather just are obedient to such

Silencing of the voice for the supposed protection of the people

Those that have power, such as governmental or corporate or personal power, have a strong tendency not always to desire to embrace the freedom of speech or freedom of expression, for the salient reason that they aren’t interested in dissent or inconvenient facts, so their strategy to silence or to control the voice of the other, is to put their arms up in the air, whenever they hear what is perceived by them as being unorthodox and harmful, decrying that this voice must be silenced for the safety and protection of the people.

 Each of us is blessed with a thinking mind, of which the most important part of having a thinking mind is to use it to think, and in that thinking, it thus provides us with the opportunity to learn and to search for the truth in all things.  To believe, somehow, that there is certain type of talk that is so dangerous that it needs to be silenced is to not understand that the whole purpose of thinking is to provide us with the individual power, to discern whether what we are seeing and hearing makes sense, so that we can react in the most sensible way, because the bottom line is no matter how much censorship that there is, not every contingency can be dealt with ahead of time or in real time, so that those that are not prepared for those voices and opinions which may misdirect them from what is good and right, thereby haven’t developed their mind in a way and manner that provides that person with the knowledge to react correctly to such.

 While there is something to be said about our parents or mentors wishing to protect us from those who don’t have our best interests in mind, at least with them, we know that their intention is for our betterment and protection.  When it comes to our government or that which employs us, their agenda is something that can easily conflict with not only what is right and good, but also conflict with what we know to be correct, because power in the wrong or indiscriminate hands, has its own agenda, which often trumps what is right, so that it therefore follows, whenever any power source that has influence upon us, insists that certain thoughts or ideas will not be permitted to be spoken or disseminated, it is important to look under the hood, to understand why they have taken that position, especially when it appears to be wrong.

 Indeed, government and other institutions of influence and authority have a desire to censor what they do not wish to hear, because what is being said or distributed by certain others is not in accordance with their desires. Therefore, they make it their point to impress upon the people the need to censor others who have what appear to be unorthodox or inappropriate thoughts, so that it becomes easier for those in authority to control the narrative in a way and manner that is beneficial for them, at the expense of the people’s freedom, done under the false flag, that censorship is necessary for their continual safety.

The deliberate misdirection when it comes to the reality of antisemitism

This government would have you to believe that in 2025, the biggest hate threat that this nation is currently experiencing is antisemitism.  To believe this to be true, is to believe in a lie, and to ignore not only the reality of the situation, but also to discount or to dismiss American history, which is only too clear that there certainly was a time and a place when antisemitism was pretty much the norm of the United States but not only is this not true today, the reality is that there has never been a better time to be a Jew than presently, which is why it seems so strange that this government should be calling “wolf” when there truly is nothing to see.

.The reason why this government declaims antisemitism again and again can be no other than misdirection, because while we might wish that all are equally treated under the law, this is not the case today, and in fact, has never been the case.  This signifies that for those who are truly seeking justice for those discriminated against, they need only to open their eyes to recognize that this government, in many aspects and actions, is anti-black, anti-brown, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrants who are non-white or non-Christian/non-Jewish.  Yet, all the pressure that this government exerts when it comes to free speech, free assembly, and the higher education study body and administration, revolves around none of those parties that are truly being discriminated against, but rather sells the story that Jews are somehow under attack, when in actuality, to be Jewish, is to be the most protected type of person ever in America, making them to be the favored protected class of people.

 There is indeed a religious aspect to the special protection that jews get in America, which comes primarily from evangelical Christians as well as orthodox Jews, which is disappointing because in their reading of the Bible and thus their understanding, so of, they can’t seem to comprehend that to believe that some are created more equal than others, is the very opposite of what Jesus preached and taught, as well as it being at odds with the Old Testament, which thereby signifies that none are so blind as those that willingly will not see.

 As stated above, there is plenty of discrimination in America, and to the degree that American governance desires to do something constructive about such, so much the better, but when that concentration is essentially protecting and thereby enhancing those that need neither protection nor enhancement, it demonstrates that this government has surely lost its Constitutional vision and purpose.

 The reality is that to be outside of the favored white race, or outside the favored religious class of people, places you in a position of being essentially treated no better than a second-class citizen, and in a lot of cases significantly worse, because to be unfavored, makes a person vulnerable to all sorts of liberties being taken away from them, never to return, which is discriminatory and anathema to what this country is supposed to represent at its heart. 

If you can’t get along with your family members, that doesn’t bode well

Not everybody gets along well with their family members, and few, if any, get along with their family members all of the time.  However, that said, it is of vital importance to do one’s best to get along with family members because a whole lot of life’s lessons are represented through the microcosm of how we interrelate and deal with our family members, which is ultimately expressed writ large, in our relationships outside our family dynamic.  In other words, disappointments, conflicts, betrayal, and the like are part and parcel of the real world, and if we aren’t able to handle such within our family dynamic, this doesn’t bode well that we will be able to handle such with aplomb in the world outside our family.

 It has to be acknowledged that some people have very troubling and toxic family relationships which is no real fault of their own, and of which, they then must do what they need to do to correct or to step away from that which is creating such trouble for them, for there isn’t any good reason why a good person should go down with the ship, when the best route is to abandon it, because some situations are unresolvable when the other party simply isn’t going to do their necessary part to correct what needs to be corrected on their end.

 Nevertheless, it needs to be recognized that those who are unable to forgive their own family members or themselves are the same who are susceptible to not having good relationships with other people, because every relationship is going to have some degree of tension, failure, and disagreement. Those who are mature and wise recognize that we don’t need to and ought not to seek those who are mere cookie-cutter cutouts of our own selves, because that would seem to be redundant.  Rather, we need to comprehend better that everyone is entitled to their own viewpoint and opinion, and that which we owe the other when we disagree is to respect where they are coming from, without having to agree with it.

 As much as some of us believe that the world and, therefore, society revolves around ourselves, the truth of the matter is that it does not, and because it does not, we need to come to the table with others, recognizing that we are all inherently equal and therefore entitled to the same gifts as everyone else.  So too, in recognition that we don’t always get it right, we need to therefore provide space to others because they are not going to always get it right, either.  After all, spending an inordinate amount of our time belittling the other, criticizing the other, and so forth, has no good purpose behind it, because the same could be done to us, and the ultimate result is not beneficial.  Indeed, the best start to a productive and healthy social life in our interactions with others begins at home, where it could be said, we learn from those interactions what does or does not work, and from there we can carry our best characteristics to the outside world, which will bode well for us and the society that we are a member of.

It’s better to make mistakes when you are young

As fallible human beings, each of us is going to make mistakes, for that is part and parcel of human nature.  That doesn’t mean that we should desire to make mistakes; it merely indicates that because we aren’t perfect and because we are susceptible to all sorts of character faults, as well as ignorance, that mistakes are pretty much going to be inevitable.  Therefore, this signifies that we shouldn’t feel shame when we make a mistake, because everybody, regardless of how much respect we have for that person, mentor, or parent, also makes mistakes or has made mistakes.

 The advantage of being young is that young people are typically more willing to try and to experiment with various things and activities that many older people would not dare to attempt.  Additionally, older people are quite capable of carrying a grudge for years, or even decades, against an individual; whereas, younger people, though they might say the ugliest thing possible to their friend, are only too willing to forgive and forget the very next day.

 The above basically indicates that younger people are simply more flexible and also more forgiving, primarily because their ego is not yet fully developed, and also because they recognize that they are still in the learning stage.  This means that when we are young, it is acknowledged by those who are older than us that mistakes pretty much come with the territory, and even those types of mistakes, as in various crimes, are typically treated differently for juveniles than they would be for adults, because this country recognizes that it is a mistake to give up on the youth, too soon, especially for youthful indiscretions that can be subsequently turned around and thereby overcome successfully.

 Additionally, the best mistakes are those that serve as object lessons, in which, because we have made the mistake in our youth, and have learned from it, this thus indicates that we aren’t going to make the same mistake when we are older.  This signifies that those that do wrong when they are young, but never are punished for it, or caught, may rue the day that they didn’t have to serve justice when they were young, for the same types of wrongs so done when they are older, could conceivably get them into a lot of trouble and thus having to pay a much higher price for their mistake.

 Finally, although we seemingly live in an age of “helicopter parents,” it has to be recognized that young people need space to go about their business, and to thus experiment, or put something of personal value at risk, to thereby know the consequences of these actions -- for though mistakes do invariably occur, it is also has to be acknowledged that when there is nothing ventured there thereby is nothing gained, which means that a complaint child in all things isn’t necessarily the best thing, because children need to be taught to think for themselves, and for a certainty, recognize that what they do has consequences, of which not all of those consequences are desired or good, and to thereby learn from this missteps to thus become a better person as an adult.

It’s only a matter of time before the government will pay you to euthanize you

Presently, there are twelve States, including the most populous State, which is California, that permit what they like to call “physician-assisted dying,” which is, in essence, despite the semantics, euthanasia.  In truth, it shouldn’t even be called euthanasia because that seems like a rather sanitized term for the deliberate and premeditated taking of another person’s life, either assisted or not, but rather it should be seen for what it really is: state-sanctioned physicians being legally permitted to kill the patient, humanely, supposedly done via the patient’s uncoerced choice.

 When it comes to the estimate of how much America currently spends on end-of-life care, it is estimated by debt.org that 10% of the $4.3 trillion spent on healthcare for 2021, which is $430 billion, was allocated to end-of-life healthcare. In consideration, that America is a nation that runs massive federal deficits and seems to be overly concern about reducing benefits to the general public, such as medical expenses, then it is no real leap of faith to believe that sooner as compared to later that this government is going to come up with financial incentives to get end-of-life patients to end their life sooner, so that the government can thereby save itself money and basically remove from their sight, those that have little or no utility to the government.

 For all those that don’t believe that government would ever pay an end-of-life patient, money, that could thereby be subsequently allocated by the legal recipient(s) of such to whatever suited their purpose, they don’t seem to knowingly comprehend that the die has already been cast, by virtue of the fact that a significant amount of States are already in the business of killing patients through physician-assisted dying, in which, quite obviously, structured in the right way, potentially a whole lot of end-of-life patients would sign up to be euthanized if the money was right and thereby provided a benefit to their love ones as basically therefore representing their final will and testament to them.

 Indeed, in this country which is so fixated upon money and seemingly nothing but the money, it makes logical sense that in this era of which never has there been so many old people, in rather poor health, with demographics that shows that we have fewer and fewer workers to carry the load of the expense of those older people, that it makes reasonable sense to concentrate on that segment of the population, so as to propagandize to them, their duty to simply call it a day, and thereby die for a price that seems sensible to them.

 So too, it has got to be recognized that the day that this nation first permitted on an individual State level that it was absolutely fine for physicians to kill end-of-life patients, is the same day that this government determined that it wants to take it to the next level, and simply make it a numbers game, because it certainly isn’t about ethics, morality, or the inherent dignity of human life.