Monday, July 23, 2012

Pragmatism and Alternatives

I read an article about pragmatism and dogmatism recently and it was a great article but it was also discouraging. I agree that in order to get things done through the "proper channels"one must be pragmatic. If pragmatism leads to a sacrifice in principles you are no longer in the realm of responsible pragmatism. I guess the thing I like to think I am would be neither. I strive to be diplomatic in my urgings for others to see things my way. Using diplomacy as a way to sway public opinion is one of the oldest tricks in the book (a little newer than the chain gang method quite possibly). If your argument cannot be justified or rationalized in a way someone with opposing views would understand then it is possible that both parties would have to agree to disagree. But this is not the ending. If someone were to come to me and tell me diplomatically that Gary Johnson is the guy to go for then I would remember the person's arguments even after I may or may not disagree with them. These things can be revisited within one's mind to pursue a new perspective of "truth". This particular situation has yet to occur but I am sure one day someone will feel the need to get me on their Johnson bandwagon (smirk).

Recently I have been bombarded with projects, activism and events. I find myself staying behind. This is not because I have no intention of doing these things but it is because of the consequences of these actions that could spiral out of control. I am a proponent for civil disobedience and a voluntary society. These ideals are rooted deeply in my understanding of how the social structure can work. Regardless of what the state or corporations do to each other or how one person vexes another in society, it is still voluntary. People use the term force and coercion to replace what is really happening. In reality, no person or entity can take choice away from you. Dealing with day to day obstacles in a responsible way will define your future. If you want to be a purist and live off the grid in something that I would refer to as Utopia, that is amazing. By doing this you are making all of these concerns of force and coercion illegitimate. Frankly, that is the only way to rid ourselves of the insanity that surrounds us. Until then, however, responsibility and diplomacy is the route with less nails in the road. I cannot say I am frightened of uber activism and its consequences, I wasn't when I was active duty and I will not be now. I will say that I feel my talents should not be discarded and left to rot in some cage because I wouldn't show id for a pack of cigarettes or throw away a perfectly good half full bottle of Merlot instead of putting it in my trunk to enjoy when I get home. I guess what I am really saying is pick your battles. This is not a battle or even a war, this is an epidemic. The state puts a gun to your head in order for you to stay docile and dependent. If a woman were being brutally beaten by her husband for decades would she leave immediately to never return (not usually)? This is what society is. It is beaten and brutalized by it's "owners". But if we fight back, we are dead and so what is the point of all this?

I realize that life will never be perfect while being governed, and perhaps one day human civilization will have evolved to the point that it is able to exist peacefully with voluntary interactions. But this is not possible yet. Every person who kills or uses violence as a means to an end has something within in them driving them to be this way. Some call them sociopaths. I do believe advances in science will one day be able to explain what this is within the gray matter or the frontal lobe or even our DNA that could cause such invasive behavior. This kind of animal nature of humans could either be evolved out of human nature or get worse. Darwin said that if you don't use it you lose it (I'm paraphrasing). In Evolution if there are parts of the mind or body not being used it becomes unnecessary for evolution. I guess the only we can evolve passed being owned and beaten is if more and more people agree that this is no longer the way. Aggression seems to be called a human instinct. But what about our ability to reason? I would call that a trump card.


Sunday, October 16, 2011

"Point of Clarification"

AN OPEN LETTER TO OCCUPY:

No one can see the contradictions between their beliefs and the people they vote or rally for... That is upsetting.  Freedom is popular. Wanting your government to give you entitlements and handouts and bailouts and welfare and etc.. That is not freedom. Americans are among the many in this world that do not understand we are "RUN" by the Elite. The few, and the rich.... They did not earn this money through hard work and dedication for their country. Or the common good of people across the world. They earned this with corrupting those in a position of power. This is CORPORATISM. This is not capitalism. Why hasn't the Federal Government changed anything in that last 80 years? Because they are buying into their own interests. "They" don't care about you. They don't care about me... I am serving this country, and this country doesn't care about me. I feel used and hurt and offended by my own government.

Now with that being said here are some realistic demands I have for this country to get back on track.

1. Audit the Federal Reserve-this will shed light on the corruption and mal-investment thus causing the federal reserve to be taken out. If they replace it with something else or decide to clean house and get some new minds working in there that is fine. The reason I feel that would fine is because the problem will be clear. Allowing any entity to freely create capital out of thin air is going to be shut down due to the inflation of the capital. Kind of like a 19 year old kid who maxes out all 25 credit cards he applied for last month. This will prompt discussion on backing our dollar with real money and returning value to our currency.

2. End all wars now- I mean right now. We can't afford it and we are doing more harm then good. We are building whole cities in Iraq (the ones we bombed and ruined in the first place) while cities here are falling apart. If the infrastructure isn't failing then the states budget is because of infrastructure spending and not being able to afford it due to inflation (see number 1) and unemployment rates (which lowers revenue because less people are paying state taxes and collecting unemployment insurance through their state, which also drains the state tax pool). We have something like 900 bases in 130 countries around the world. WHY? Why do we have U.S. military bases in Italy or Germany or Spain? We are building an Empire without any respect to history. Empires fail. Period. You can't get around it because you stretch your resources so much that your original borders fall apart.

Also with this argument goes the need to protect our National Security interests... If you think we have National Security you are feeding into the illusion. People can walk right into our country and no one notices for years... that's not national security. Maybe if the "National" Guard was here we could help that issue a bit but they are in Afghanistan.

3. Pay every single civil servant the same as the active duty military and if you keep getting elected you get a modest raise just as the military does throughout their years. Your job is to protect our freedoms but in order for you to protect my freedom you can't just be sucking money out of the system. You have to be a leader in your community so that people look up to you and aspire to be like you. That should be why people get voted into something. And in that case... you should probably already have a job and a retirement account.

4. End the drug war. It doesn't work and people die more from legal pharmaceutical drugs then illegal ones anyways. Yes even meth and heroin... which if you are doing you need help. If you get sent to jail you're probably just going to learn how to start selling and maybe even get ahold of more stuff. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it just magically goes away. And the amount of crime due to the cartels and even our government being involved in drug running.... it is out of control. Declaring this "War on Drugs" allowed our government to get away with more crimes. Because now alot of it is untraceable, for instance the poppy fields in Afghanistan are doing better then ever. Before we went there and started protecting their fields with our soldiers there was very little poppy coming from that region. now 90% of America's heroin is trafficked out of Afghanistan. Who do you think is getting it into the country?

I personally feel these 4 things are things every American can agree with. At least the average Americans NOT making profit from the war machine. I am shocked that none of these proposals are in the demands from the Occupy movement. It makes me think that this is not run by average Americans. "They" are using these activists as a vehicle to bring about social change but in my experience down at Occupy San Diego I can see that most of them don't have a common goal. I do wish they could come together on these issues because WE can make this happen. These are not left or right ideas. These are SOLUTIONS to our growing problems. These solutions will start a domino effect of mending our economy and our citizens broken hearts.

PEACE LOVE AND LIBERTY ALWAYS AND FOREVER




Friday, June 24, 2011

Libertarianism and Individual Freedom

I identify myself as a "Libertarian". A Libertarian is sometimes described as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. The Libertarian party is not stemmed from either of these. Especially now because "Conservatives" and "Liberals" no longer exist. The party line is blurred to the point where there is no longer a definition for either of them. And frankly, it doesn't matter. What's fascinating is that the general public seems to think a Libertarian is an extremist or a tea party nutjob. Our founders were Libertarian. Libertarianism's main principle is LIBERTY. Personal freedom is all that matters.

Now having said that freedom is for every individual. You are completely capable and within your legal limits to believe anything and everything you want. You should be able to do what you want when you want, as long as no other individual or individuals are effected by it. "NO VICTIM, NO CRIME".

"What does this really mean?" you may ask...

Say you (an individual) prefers writing notes in pencil, but John (another individual) believes writing in pen is better because it is more legible. Your argument is that if you make a mistake you can correct it which you cannot do with a pen as easily. Your professor steps in the discussion and asks each of you to present why you should use one or the other.Then your teacher makes the decision that the whole class and every class from now on must write in pen.

This is an example of someone taking away your right to choose. Although you may think it is not a big deal the government does this everyday. Where did the Professor get the authority to tell you what kind of writing utensil to use? Did the student body have a say in this? What about his future classes? You may be asking well what kind of class is this? A math class would better off using a pencil or a journalism class may be better off using a pen.... It does not matter what you think someone else should or should not do. As long as the Professor is able to read the paper or problem then it is up to you to decide what type of utensil to use.

This is somewhat of a weak analogy but the others may be too controversial to start with. I know people want to help each other and people what to do what is morally "right". But who are you to say what is right and what is wrong? If someone is hurting someone else, or robbing someone else... then yes that person should be held accountable because there are victims in these examples. But if you want to certify yourself to carry a gun on you at all times, purely for the sake of self defense or even a random hunting trip out in the woods. If you have the correct experience to do this and you're not hurting anyone in the process, it is your right to carry your gun. (This is what I meant by controversial) Now I am sure you're thinking a lot of "what ifs" right now. Which is natural, but it is important to remember that every person is held responsible for themselves. As we start to pile on these laws for gun control, eventually the FBI will be going into each and every registered gun-owners home to make sure they comply with a thousand regulations to own the damn thing. Then you have the state AND local laws on top of that... It's never ending and nearly impossible to be fully aware of.

My own opinion is that guns are dangerous and I wish they were never created and firearms and explosives never existed... but that's unrealistic I know, I am just stating my opinion. It doesn't mean that the President should hear me and a handful of other citizens and then make it so.... No guns firearms or explosives anymore in America! No that does not work... but that is what's happening. Slowly but surely the military and cops will be the only ones able to carry guns because Susie and Jill down the street found out Jake owned a gun and they were scared that their children would get shot. Even though Jake may have never needed to take the gun out of his holster and he has been certified by the state to carry a gun. It baffles me that Susie and Jill would think for one second that Officer Bill is anymore qualified than Jake to own a gun. He isn't.

That's just another example of the infringement of your rights. States should have the ability to write legislation for their citizens without the Federal Government coming in to put their spin on what they think is right. This can be applied to thousands of examples. I don't even know how the Federal Government keeps up with all these regulations???!!!! Oh that's right they don't, and they can't. It would be IMPOSSIBLE to enforce all of these things. On average the American citizen commits 3 felonies a day. Most of which they didn't even know about! And this is why repealing and taking a step backwards.... is ironically the only way this country can move forward! It's crazy!!

So if ya give a hoot about keeping your freedoms ya gotta remember that other people deserve freedom as much as you do in this country, but you have to know what Freedom means... and all the responsibilities that come with it. It's not easy admitting that you push your own opinions on others and most of us don't even realize we are doing it, until it's too late. And then there will be backlash. None of us will be able to do anything without having multiple people constantly looking over our shoulders.

One last example... super controversial!!! Are you excited? I know I am!

Ok, we are in Iraq... duh. We are trying to "help" the citizens establish control of their country and spread democracy throughout the land. When a person says, "We are helping them, we did it so they can have the same rights as us and if we pull out now everything will fall apart! What about the women and children that are abused and treated terribly? What about that!?"

I feel the sympathy. I really wish that we could help everyone and bring justice to all those that have wronged others. This is unrealistic (kinda like my stance on gun control : ). In 1910 women did something extraordinary in this country. They went from being housewives and mothers and standing behind their men to demanding the right to be heard, demanding equality! It took a while but by god we got it done... with a few snags along the way. And nothing is ever perfect, especially when it comes to bringing about social change. The point of this is that people... individuals, will eventually band together for a common cause because they can no longer take it! Like women's suffrage, Apartheid, The Civil Rights Movement, and countless other internal battles. This is how people bring about change. Who came to our rescue when we were changing our social structure? I can't think of ANY specific country that sent MILITARY into our country to bring about social change... These are internal battles, of which each country must have on their own. All we can do is be a good example. People helping people is always a good thing if the help is wanted... but the Government does not help people, it pushes people. And as long as people are forced to do something the more angry they will get. Americans should know this all too well. The Government should be there to protect our rights and civil liberties, not put yet another heavy weight on our shoulders. Constantly having to watch your back and hope you're not doing anything wrong.

What makes me super annoyed is when I am driving down the road and I pass a cop. I could LITERALLY be doing everything right (or so I thought) and still be worried I am going to get pulled over ESPECIALLY in California lol. That just sucks. It really does. And they can pull you over for pretty much anything... You could have a decal on your back window, or stop too quickly, go too slow! It is just crazy! I don't know, hopefully I made my point! Thanks for reading and please do leave so comments!!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Quoting the future of America

"A patriot is an individual that is willing to stand up to one's own government when that government is wrong."
-Congressman Ron Paul



This is the product of our generation's anger towards what has become of our country and I think it's fascinating. This is a response to someone who was arguing with a status (facebook) regarding the 10 patriots in congress that sued President Obama for unlawfully going into acts of war with Libya. This is patriot Graig Turson's response...

"Most in the older generation are too accustomed to the lifestyles they have known throughout their existence. It really isn't their fault, as in the case of my Aunt and cousin. They are just unable to view the complexities ...of the problems we face. They can no longer be addressed along the same lines we have continued down for the past 30-40 years. The future is ours, and I have great faith in our ability to steer the conversation towards the proper solutions if we remain vigilant. The brush-fires of liberty are burning and there is nothing that can retard their eventual progress. "

The next passage is regarding a comment made by Anthony Caico that was taken out of context as a "God Complex" what he said,    "We can only save those who choose to see."

 Without having to think too hard I can assume he is trying to say, 'We can only save those who choose to see (everything, not just what they have been conditioned to see their entire lives.)'

Graig Turson:

"Instead of it being a "God complex" (being a non-believer I am not even sure what that means) its more of what psychologists call the "normalcy bias." The normalcy bias is defined as a group of people's inablity to forsee consequences that have never been experienced in their lifetime. Most are unable to think outside the proverbial box even when faced with the dire conditions we presently find ourselves in. It's blind faith that everything will be ok, i.e. the currency can't collapse, martial law cannot be implented, things of this nature. As evidenced on this thread people cannot even apply the laws uniformly when the party blinders are in front of their eyes. As situations continue to get worse, and as night follows day they will, more people will be forced awake. Many will remain stuck in normalcy bias, however. It is to the youth that this nation now must turn for its answers, the older generation have spent us into oblivion in the blind belief that it is proper to use the government to loot from their fellow citizens and that it is proper to push off onto future generations the burdens of heavy taxation so they could live it up for the few meager benefits they enjoy today. It is a trend we must reverse, and with even just a shred of luck we shall succeed. We just have to keep talking and forcing facts in front of people. I salute you good sir! Party time in August is fast approaching =)"
If you would like to know more about this leave a comment. If you disagree or agree or have no idea what is happening in this, leave a  comment. I say this all the time... QUESTION and you shall know the answers, without questioning there is only ignorance and the spawn of that ignorance and so on and so forth. I will do my best to explain it like Graig would want me to. This is just one of many examples of the youth of America coming forward and having REAL opinions backed by deep intellectual thought and study. This is our future and I LOVE it! More to come... these Turson boys know whats up and I am sure they would love to teach anyone and everyone their philosophies and try to inform them as much as possible, but if you have an argument with what they say you better be damn well informed. They will debunk just about anything you ever thought was the truth and they have the sources to back it up.
I am not sure of the reference for August but I am sure they have something interesting up their sleeves regarding the general message we are so desperately trying to convey. This is the future people! Get used to it because as long as we go on doing what we have been doing for the past century in this country this movement will grow with time and eventually none of this war and bigotry will matter anymore. Either America will never BE again.. or America will be what it was meant to be. An EQUAL nation, inalienable rights, THE CONSTITUTION. We all have access to this document, check it out for free on amazon.com.
P.S. I will be quoting the Turson boys quite a bit from now on because all they have is a plethora of knowledge and I feel it is moving, eloquent, and relevant to the movement and the message I and many Americans are trying to convey.

Also IF you actually are interested in learning about economics or the Constitution or even maybe the candidates backgrounds BEFORE you vote for them, please feel free to add me on facebook, I post alot of resources on there as do many of my Facebook friends or Twitter or Youtube. Don't neglect knowledge, knowledge may be all we have anymore. I also encourage you to disagree with these things and go look up an alternative that seems like more your point of view. These differences are what makes America great and we must all have a say in what this country is about. But without sources and knowledge to back it up you have no argument and will never be taken seriously. I am working on this too. Growing my knowledge base and questioning everything. It has really made me feel a sense of purpose, and it will do the same for you.
Go Ron Paul!!!!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

"Climate Change"

I am not an expert but I do know a bit about this theory of "Global Warming". Regardless of your stance on the issue it is obvious our world is going through some changes, but scientifically "Global Warming" is the idea that things just progressively get worse as they have in the last 60 or 70 years that we have recorded. This is simply not true. Of course the world is going to go through climate change. The way Earth moves and the effects of gravity and moving continents are going to constantly change! We can't stop this... It's really not up to us. According to studies there was a catastrophic event that changed the dwellers of Earth. These dwellers are better known as "Dinosaurs"... These dinosaurs were wiped out by this "explosion", which was theoretically a large mass that hit the Earth and caused the Ice Age. The only living things that survived were micro-organisms that were frozen in time, once thawed("Global Warming") they went through the process of Evolution. There was another Ice Age after that and this had to occur again.... (sorry for the sarcasm but alot of people don't know this!) you see, the Theory of "Global Warming" has no real merit in society. Everyone should just stop using this term because it is misleading. Of course there is climate change and one day there WILL be another Ice Age and yet again this process will start over creating some other incredible species we can't even fathom. It's about the Earth and our Universe going through cycles, constantly changing and forever being an incredible mystery to explore.

What we can do, however, is lower our impact on the environment. We may not cause climate change on our own but we sure as hell aren't helping matters much by ignoring it. One of the arguments I would use to implement Environmental Awareness throughout the World is the fact that we are urbanized. Every large city must make it a social obligation to be respectful of the air we breathe (and that has nothing to do with the federal government, if a city wants to run its citizens out of the area, then pollute all ya can because they obviously don't give a crap about the future of their city). My argument so I wouldn't have to quit smoking always was, "I bet you get more pollutants in your body driving to and from work everyday with your window cracked than I get from this cigarette." That usually shuts them up, BUT we should all be conscious of eachother's air. (I, of course, encourage everyone to quit smoking as soon as possible, my argument may get people off my back but my body isn't too happy with what I am doing to it.).... ok i went on a tangent, back to my point. Clean air, fresh air is obviously better. I LOVE that some buildings in Manhatten are putting gardens and full self-sustaining farms on the roofs! That's so awesome, and it is thinking like that that will save us from our own pollution. Oil and coal have been our main sources of energy for over a century. This is not bad because we don't have enough of it. We have plenty of it here underneath our very own feet. America is rich in minerals and oil and everything we need to not rely on someone else somewhere else who none of us even know or see or vote on or anything. It's all here!! But that doesn't make it good or healthy. My point is that it doesn't matter if we are drilling here or elsewhere there are still underlying issues that won't be resolved until we completely change our entire concept of useful energy and self-sustainment. I don't want to rely on ANYONE to run my car or feed me. I should have the RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY to govern my own body and my own life. This goes for other countries with tyrant leaders and our federal government.  The saying goes you treat someone like a child their whole life they are going to act like a child their whole life. There is another saying that I really like "No Victim, No Crime" this involves us as citizens taking responsibility for ourselves and our families and doing what we can to live the original American Dream. If I am coddled my entire life by the Federal Government I will NEVER break free from it's chains. We have become reliant on these people that we are suppose to vote into office to govern every aspect of our lives. Don't allow this to happen. You don't need bailouts or rediculous housing or student loans. These things put you in debt which is this country's new form of slavery. We are slaves to debt, and we are controlled by them because they hang this black cloud of shame over us known as interest.

So basically, recycle, drive less, maybe buy a plant and be the change you want to see in the world. This topic is contraversial, so if you disagree or have a valid point that is backed by facts then please let me know, I am ALL ears. And I encourage those who read this to research these things. So that you too can inform the masses of this and spread the message of information. I have 2 goals in my life. 1.To create new energy for America for self sustainment. 2. If I get even a few to seek out the answers that we all wonder about but come up with excuses as to why we don't just look it up, then I will have changed this world for the better, one google search or youtube video at a time. The internet is the last thing we have in this world that isn't censored and we should take advantage of all of the various ideas and groups that are on here.

Google it!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Republican Debate

Well I just watched the debate and I have a good feeling about the individuals that are running this year. In my somewhat biased opinion I of course favor Ron Paul. The best quote from the debate from him was when he was responding to a question about how he would bring the troops home. After the other candidates talked about deliberating with the military leaders and coming to a consenses on when it is time to leave and where we could leave and where should go, etc Ron Paul said;
 "I wouldn't wait for my Generals, I am Commander in Chief! I tell the Generals what to do and I'd bring them home as quickly as possible and I'd get them out of Iraq as well and I wouldn't start a war in Libya, I'd quit bombing Yemen and I'd quit bombing Pakistan... I'd start taking care of people here at home because we could save hundreds of billions of dollars. Our national security is NOT enhanced by our presence over there.We have no purpose there we should learn the lessons of history. The longer we're there the worse things are (going to get) and we are in more danger as well, our presence there is not making friends. Let me tell ya..."

This is a beautifully candid response and I am impressed but at the same time disheartened that Ron Paul is the ONLY viable candidate running that has the BALLS to say these things. I also strongly believe he would follow through on all of his promises. First day in office he would start making these executive decisions and delegating the power back to the citizens and the Congress. This brings up another topic, local elections are just as, if not more, crucial than the presidential elections. If you don't vote for your representatives, council members, judges, governors, etc then you are allowing other people to make that decision for you. Which is not a terrible thing, many people don't participate in voting or even learning about political issues because alot of people have given up any hope they may have once had for this country. I will admit I have had this same problem. I have yet to vote in any local election. My voting record consists of Ron Paul in the general election in 08' and then when he didn't make it I voted for McCain in the Primary. That in itself presents a whole other array of issues.

This is, however, an expression of my ever evolving opinions and knowledge.The more I learn about all of my interests then the better my opinions will be. Educating yourself is a beautiful thing. And in this day in age we (as human beings) have no excuse to be ill-informed about anything. We can be under the wrong impression, but that's fine you just further your knowledge and eventually build a viable opinion later. I will be the first to admit I know nothing about a certain subject so I will have to inform myself before making an opinion. That's why we have Google  : ) So I guess to sum up the purpose of this specific entry, I just wanted to touch on the debate and I also wanted to encourage all the people who come across this to remember, every person is an individual. This fact is what makes us progress and evaluate newways of thinking. Take it upon yourself to use your individuality and express it. Knowledge quite litterally is power, not money, or friends, or material possesions. It's within you to be and do whatever you want. But you have to reach out and grab it, cuz it's not going to fall in your lap.

Thanks for Reading! I am not a journalist so punctuation and grammar aren't my strongest suites.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Subjects I will speak on

1. Moving to New Hampshire
2. Getting out of the Military
3. Why I have a love/hate relationship with the military
4. My attempt to become more Environmentally conscious
5. Idealistic Me
6. New Energy concepts
7. Ranting about the Government
8. Things that make me smile
9. The great conversations
10. Books I am attempting to read
11. Writing a book?
12. My relationships with others
13. Jacque Fresco
14. Religion/ Myths
15. The End of the World
16. Living in California
17. Financial woes
18. Economy
19. Gold/ investing/ house?
20. unemployment/welfare
21. Music
22. Revolutionaries
23. Quitting smoking
24. Materialism
25. Diet/ Workng out
26. Racism
27. Marijuana/Drug War
28. Policing the World
29. Exploring the Constitution
30. "Class Systems"
31. Philosophy
32. Corporations
33. Wars
34. Ron Paul
35. Concepts (general)
36. Cooking/Baking
37. Movies
38. Love
39. Hate
40. Success