Socialism, Which Rights You will Lose?

200+ years of gains and benefits; autonomous lifestyles and the freedoms and liberties that allow you to decide everything that matters to you and your life.

You won't like having the government dictate what, when, where and how you work, live and play; and what you are allowed to think, do, see or say; even, what you can eat and how much of it you can buy or have, and what clothes you can wear, what colors, and when.

Who you are seen with, where you can go and be; and what you can discuss; what you can buy, what you can own or use, and how long you can use it after you pay the special use taxes.

Voting rights are taken for granted by most of the modern world and held sacred.  One person, one vote that counts for the candidate or issue you choose.  In Democracies and many representative republics your choices are secret and fairly certain to be counted accurately.  There are usually many candidates from various parties and philosophies and initiatives of many conflicting views.

In most Socialist countries, if you are fortunate enough to be among those allowed to vote, alternatives to the party in power and ideas different than the ruling party dogma are very infrequent.  Often, the only possible vote is for or against the leader in power.  Few voters survive long after voting No.  Rarely is there a viable alternative candidate to vote for, and influential supporters of them often don't make it to a ballot box, or their ballot is disqualified because they are found mentally incompetent, or charged and convicted of serious crimes making them ineligible to vote from the asylum or prison.

In most Socialist countries, you can buy a TV, but you can't watch it without an annual permit.  Then you can only watch government authorized programs.

In some countries you can buy music and a player, but you can't play it at a gathering of your friends in public or privately, without an entertainment permit and annual fee.  You can't play or listen to restricted or censored music or performers.

In some Socialist and Communist countries you can get on the waiting list for a tightly controlled and monitored government cell phone, or a restricted and monitored computer or tablet with limited Internet access.  If your not an active ruling party member, your wait might be painfully long, like decades.

In some socialist countries you can't buy or have anything not on the authorized list.  And if you can get it, it's usually only available in the socialist party colors, often black and some unnameable color.

If you save up something useful, and the government stores run out, you can't sell yours to those that can't get any.  If the government finds out you horded it, they will confiscate it for distribution to loyal party dignitaries, not your ailing parents or sick friends.

Get used to shortages, outages and ancient versions of consumer products and medications.

Ownership rights to anything you create, perpetual rights to anything you buy, ownership of any resources you discover are non-existent.  If you concealed that you have them, they will be taken and you will be punished as a threat to your comrade's and the socialist party, and possibly mentally ill, or needing another indoctrination session or two.

Those who have gained special rights because of historical mistreatment, or deserving addition help overcoming defects and deficiencies; you will lose them.  If you work tirelessly for the party in power you may get a few back.  If you gained privileges because you are different, forget them.

Everything belongs to the party in charge, or will; if they discover you have it, it will be seized.

Think long and hard before trading freedom and opportunity for free stuff you could buy if you had your own stuff or your own money back.

Cut Spending, Freeze Hiring!

Freeze replacement hiring, freeze hiring to unfilled slots authorized in the previous two administrations.

Do it immediately, and keep doing it until the burn rate is less than incoming revenue!

Shrink the number of Civilian Employees, Executive Appointments, and contract employees by 5%  per year until every Agency, Department, Bureau, Commission, Institute, and Office has cut at least 10% of the employees of record as of today.  Eliminate all the vacant billets.

A few years ago I went through the annual budget and the actual expenditures two years after the end of the fiscal year (minus very secret projects, and some other well hidden stuff) and I easily found 1200 programs and organizations that were not required by legislation or regulation.

Some hadn't done anything useful since the late 1920's, and some sprouted recently from a feeling that "the Government" should do something about an actual or imagined vulgarity of real life that needed a just correction on behalf of the embarrassed parties, even though no known citizen had sought any such adjudication.

Some need to be collapsed back into their parent organization.  BLM back into Dept. of Interior.

Some need permanent closure or just don't fund them.  For instance; PBS, PBR, Institute for the Humanities,

Some need serious mission and staffing re-evaluation (i.e. Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Education, Dept. of Commerce, except; ICC moved to IRS, and Import/Export Bank to Federal Reserve System).

Some never should have been the "Governments" business.  No insurances, not the un-Affordable Care Act, not Social Security, Disability, Medicare, Medicaid, Flood Insurance, crop insurance; any other insurance product that requires conservation of funds locked up where no idiots in Congress can take the reserve funds for any reason and obligate the general budget to cover the benefits plus lost interest on what was set-aside funds.

Some were made even less effective, slower and more expensive by "Government" meddling.

Basically; smaller, less expensive, less intrusive Federal Government.

Stop the idea that government needs to fix every consequence of poor choices made by individuals.

National Days of Recognition

We need more days recognizing good judgment, choosing wisely and emphasizing life management principles and skills.

Here's my suggested list of National "......" Days, in no particular order.

1. Thoughtfulness Day

2. Permanent Savings Day

3. Rational Thinking Day

4. Considerate Driving Day

5. Take Care of Your Own Children Day

6. Mind Your Own Business Day

7. Ignore Your Elected Officials Day

8. Sit Down, Shut Up and Listen Carefully Day

9. Don't Protest Without a Suggested Solution Day

10. Personal Finances Day

10 b.  Speech Isn't Violence Day
       
19 c.  Cease Being Offended Day

I intended to stop at 10 suggestions, but I feel more are coming.

11. Humane Behavior Skills Day

12.  Ignore Gossip Day

13.  Ignore Celebrity Opinion Day

14.  Ignore Fake News Media Day

15.  Make More Than You Spend Day

16.  Worry Less Day

17.  Be Fearless Day

18.  Talk With Your Family Day

19.  Sensible Eating Day

20.  Go for a Walk and take Your Dog Day

21.  Speak Carefully Day

22.  Under Eat Day

23.  Work Hard Day

24.  Dream Big Day

25.  Think Logically Day

26.  Choose Wisely Day

27.  Manage Your Own Life Day

Important Infrastructure Projects

Here is my suggested list infrastructure projects that will prevent tens of thousands of needless deaths, and hundreds of billions in public and private property damages, and prepare for the impacts from non-human caused climate changes.

1. Replace all on-grade railroad crossings with over/under passes, so that no trains or vehicles ever have to stop for each other again.

2. Improve large scale fresh water collection, treatment and low evaporation long-term storage. 

As the sun continues to grow hotter toward eventual super nova, the liquid surface water zone will move passed the Earth.  All surface water will vaporize into the atmosphere leaving no lakes, rivers, or oceans anywhere, only deep under ground aquifers or huge carefully constructed structures preventing evaporation will contain any water, including salt or contaminated water.

3. Vastly increase electrical generation capacity and decentralization, especially increase non-hydrocarbon fuel generation, by nuclear and chemical fuel cells. 

As Sun activity continues to increase, much more robust air conditioning and much larger and more robust super refrigeration for food storage and long-term preservation will be essential for any continued human habitation on Earth. 

4. Actually put all electrical power generation, storage and distribution in underground conduits, tunnels and caverns.

5. Actually perform long overdue repair and replacement of roads, bridges, airports and harbors.

6. Actually provide high speed Internet access to all US citizens and legal aliens.  

Fake Election Interference and Fake Hackings

Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) you can appear to be any persona you have created, or any actual person, located anyplace in the world with an Internet accessible device.

You can use any software functions that will work on the Internet, and make it look like a real person  caused it to occur.

A moderately trained Network Specialist, or a novice Network Engineer can easily make a hacking or failed attempts look like they are being made from any place in the world, let's say Russia, even if initiated from within the same network from which it was sent (Virginia, New York, DC); or any device, anywhere, and remain virtually impossible to track beyond the VPN server chosen, like let's say Brazil, Czechia or Russia.

Let's imagine that a political party and a candidate's organization wanted, demonize their opponent.

If they had a couple competent non-citizen Information Technologists working for them that could escape the country with software files and data evidence to their former homeland without a likely deportation process back to the USA; in case something went terrible wrong.  Send the evidence and a less visible participants home at the first sign of trouble.  The IT guys would clean up servers, device, files and software not already safely in a third world homeland where they have other documents and contacts ready to hide them.

Leaving behind the fake trail of Russian looking attempts to interfere in a political campaign.  Leaving fake stories of candidate misbehavior and fake correspondence suggesting collusion with Russians to interfere or attempt to hack files of their own party or campaign, or easily plant dis-information intended to disrupt voting on social media platforms barely disguising the fake origin appearing to be Russia

Then with all the easy evidence gone, you would need only remove and replace with clean drives and memories on the actual devices of origin; and destroy a couple old hard drive and memories.

With the people, and money safely hidden in let's say Pakistan, and all possible hardware and most software destroyed; there would no way to implicate the opposition campaign and candidate of anything but being victim's of a terrible conspiracy to collude with Russians to steal the election from a popular, but losing candidate.

It would be as easy to do, as it was to imagine.

Censorship, Why the Cries for it?

I hear, view, or read things everyday that offend, aggravate, or disgust me; but I will not ever call for censorship.  

I would prefer no censorship for anything written, spoken, or created to be viewed by any individual citizen of the United States.  No matter how vulgar, disgusting, hideous, violent, immoral or inciting of hatred it maybe, it's just images and words; however, not all of it should be easily available to young children.

It's not actions, it's just free speech.  

The 1st Amendment, like each of the first ten Amendments is very important to me; and has been eroded dangerously close to destruction in the last 100 years.

Supreme Court Justice, Louis D. Brandeis once wrote; "The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding."

People who should know better are clamoring for censorship of people whose comments they don't like, not just the words and images, but with intent to silence them.

The government, the state, or legal agencies thereof, should not act to censor free speech in any form by any citizen with full rights intact.  

Of course, all legal rights to recover restitution for damages from slander and liable should be actively pursued in the courts.

The facts are that people tell awful lies about people they don't agree with or like.  I suspect more than 50% of those who testify in court under oath also lie, some for no good reason.  It's called perjury. 

All other organization (media, unions, businesses, NGO's, Foundations, etc.) and all other people within the jurisdiction of the USA; should not be allowed to act in any way to censor the truth of any free speech, no matter what is said or implied, except for conspiring to act to overthrow any of our freedoms.

Internet, social media, and emails are media publications and should not be allow to censor any truthful opinions or expressions of free speech, no matter what their silly personal opinions are.

Freedom of Expression for all citizens and legal residents under the jurisdiction of the USA! 

It's our 1st Amendment Right!

More Socialism, Ignorant!

Our country has more social programs than it can afford now. We have more socialist tendencies than our culture should tolerate.

None are working well, most do have enough revenue to pay their benefits without general tax revenue transfers.  Most will be in massive deficits in a few years, some have had 100's of billions of dollars of debt over several years.

We have granted tax exempt status to way too many organizations, Churches, Unions, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) and Foundations, many of whom do little or no social good, but for laundering the monies of the rich, to exempt themselves from income and profit taxes they should be paying.  Not to mention phony expenses that do nothing to accomplish the avowed purposes of their charters.

IRS needs to have cracked down on them long ago. 

Now the ignorant, but well-meaning are clamoring for more Social Programs that cannot possibly be afforded from any source, National, State or local.

Stop! look at the history of Socialist Countries and large scale socialist programs.  They all eventually run out of other peoples money, benefit outlays always exceed projected revenues.

They are poorly managed, constantly allowing new benefits without new revenue.  And ignoring the warnings from knowledgeable Actuary's about insufficient future revenue volumes and sources.

You want benefits?

Learn to do things people might need or want.
Get a job or two. Go to work.
Learn to manage your life and your money sensibly.
Spend less than you make.
Carefully invest most of what you save.
Save some for unpredictable expenses.
Save some for known future expenses.
Spend your whole life learning new things.

The 2nd Amendment

"shall not be infringed."

What follows is my plain English understanding informed by Federalists Papers, Supreme Court opinions for and against, and intellectual writings separate from court opinion, and my own opinion formed by the aforementioned and 7 decades of thoughtful deliberations.

My analysis is drawn from the understanding of the meaning of words, ideas and history, at the time Madison wrote it and events since.

First, let's examine the phrases set apart by commas, which I assume is what the framers intended.

"A well regulated militia," to me means a militia kept in check.  I think the biggest concern at the time of the adoption of the Bill of Rights as Amendments was having armed citizens able to resist tyranny from any opposing force, even Local, State or National police and military organizations gone rouge attempting to violate the most basic human rights enumerated in the Constitution.

Secondly, "being necessary to the security of a free state," means regulated by an opposing force of citizens to secure the conditions that allow the existence of a free state.  Without an armed force powerful conspirators could become tyrannical and run roughshod, violating every preciously secured right over isolated locales or the entire country.

Next, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms," is the right of a free people to secure, protect, and assure a free state by keeping and bearing arms as necessary; not a militia, but in opposition to unlawful gangs or lawful militia gone bad.

Finally, "shall not be infringed." means precisely what it says.  Nothing is authorized that modifies this right of a citizen; not significantly, or not slightly, shall not at all be infringed upon.

A Supreme Court decision established that convicted felons and crazy people should not have this right that the 2nd Amendment plainly and definitively states, "shall not be infringed."  I do not disagree that convicted violent felons might be stripped of this right, but crazy could easily be determined by the state to be anyone that opposes the party in power at the moment.

There are lots of mental and emotionally challenged persons that function without danger to the state or other citizens; to strip this right from them without empirical evidence of potential harm to themselves or others, would be infringement which "shall not" be allowed.  Tyrants, bigots, zealots could easily select a chosen behavior or affiliation and demonize it often and loudly, saying the poor souls who have chosen badly are crazy and therefore should all be stripped of their 2nd Amendment Rights; imprison them and seize their lands, personal property (guns and ammunition), livestock, and accumulated wealth, without the due process rights assured in the Constitution.

A few examples of groups of affiliates that could easily be demonized are, National Rifle Association members, Meat-eaters, non-Christians, elected politicians, teachers, or American Socialists Party, Green Party, or Radial Extremists Democratic party members, or any identifiable group could be characterized and easily determined to be "Crazy".

Incidentally, I would submit there are several mentally ill persons in Congress in any year, House and Senate; and most assuredly many in the party that nominated them, by any reasonable definition of the term "crazy".

The millions of people who admit to owning guns, and the millions who do not, but use them for hunting, competitive sport shooting, home protection, collecting, or just because they have the right to; have about 400 million working and non-working personal property firearms that have never killed or injured anyone.  This estimate does not include the military, National Agency Assault Teams (DOJ, TSA, IRS, NSA, etc.), or State police/militias.

Here is some interesting data and estimates from official sources, not news media or other anti-firearms advocates.

US Deaths by firearms:

Justified Police homicides 2017 - 429
Justified citizen homicides 2017 - 353
source: FBI

Suicides by firearms
2016 - 22,938 CDC
2017 - 23,855; 50.57 percent of all suicides (47,173)

Accidental or unintentional deaths by firearms
2013 - 505
2014 - 461
2015 - 489
2016 - 495

Undetermined reason, by firearm
2013 - 275
2014 - 275
2015 - 282
2016 - 300

Executions
2010 - 1, Ronnie Lee Gardener, In Utah at his request.

Homicides by Firearm, as a crime, or during the commission of another crime.
2016 - 14,415 CDC

Sources
CDC - Center for Disease Control, Deaths, Final Data 2016, tables 6 & 7
FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation

In no case did a firearm load itself, aim itself, or fire itself.  All events absolutely required deliberate human action prior to the resulting death.  No unloaded weapon discharged a single solitary cartridge.

USA's Biggest Problem

Ignorance!

It's startling to see how ignorant our nation's people, old and young, have become in just 60 years.

History, culture, finance, economics, health, general knowledge, simple science, renewable v  sustainable energy,  climate change, common sense, forethought, politics, courtesy and human dignity, understanding, open-mindedness, wisdom, analytical evaluation, thoroughness, thoughtfulness, intellectual inquiry have all suffered badly or declined to the point of absurdity.

Here are a few summaries of many recent examples:

First, in the recent national mid-term elections, voters elected an alarming number of avowed socialists.  Apparently, not realizing that their programs and policies will raise the prices of everything that touches their daily needs and wants, i.e. food, housing, transport, clothing, medicine and care, all services, entertainment, travel, and everything else.  Plus, halt innovation, constrict supply and resupply, and curtail the variety and volume of goods and services available.

Increases of unnecessary national regulations, and repressive taxation made necessary by aggressive interference and massive over spending of a larger more dictatorial National Government should be permanently avoided.

Our Federal Government repeatedly spends way more than its likely revenue.

This must cease immediately, it's idiotic.  Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of programs and policies, do not require any National Government involvement, nor have any of them been successful by any measure.

I challenge anyone to name one thing, not specifically enumerated in our Constitution, and produce evidence that it has been accomplished better, faster or cheaper by the US Government.  None are efficient, most are not even effective, all are fiscally irresponsible, many are completely irrational.

Next, climate change.  Its true Earth is a planet of dramatic climate changes.  A few hundred million years ago, Earth was an ice ball.  Since its inception our sun has grown hotter and hotter on its way to eventual super nova in a few billion years.  In 10 to 12 million years Earth will pass out of the liquid water zone, no liquid water on the surface of the planet.  Before that occurs, humans will have moved on in large numbers.  Increasing volcanic activity will make it more and more inhospitable long before then. In a few million years solar and volcanic activity will demonstrate that humans are powerless to effect either in any noticeable way.

The senseless gnashing of teeth and the wasting of billions of dollars will yield no noticeable effects upon the rate of climate change.  In the mean time we should focus on trying not to disrupt normal atmospheric physics and chemistry.  Before you limit carbon by sequester, remember this planets life forms are nearly all carbon based, just saying.

Humans and all their activities just aren't that significant.

Next, Renewable and sustainable energy.  I guess most people are confused, at least partially, by the time frame.  Relative to astrophysical processes, human life span and written human history are infinitesimally small bits of time.  Even data from a few scientifically discernible events and historical conditions are minimal and sketchy when older than a few million years.

My point is, over astronomical periods of time all energy ever used or currently known of by humans, is renewable.  New natural gas, oil and coal are currently being recreated under swamps, in the tundra, under the the seas, in river deltas, and everywhere huge deposits of organic materials are decaying under pressure.  Huge quantities of methane (natural gas) escape to our atmosphere day and night world wide from the land, seas, lakes, tundra, and volcanic eruptions without any human activity.

These familiar organic energy sources should be ready very soon, less than a couple hundred thousand years.

If capture and collection technologies continue improving at historical rates, abundant reasonably priced energies, including discoveries of new sources and types, will be readily available for tens of thousands of Earth years.

Incidentally, sustainability can also be assured by the chemical manufacture of any fuels we may need, and in vast quantities unimaginable by today's standards.  Including chemical, radiation, and magnetic energies currently in use; known, but not in use; and not yet discovered.  We can also make water, which will become more and more scarce, very expensive, and much sooner than energy.

Two hundred years ago we had not figured out how to use electricity.

One hundred years ago no one could imagine using radioactivity safely.

Fifty years ago no one had heard of black holes, neutrinos, or quasar waves.

A few years ago several new light and energy spectra were detected apparently being emitted by our sun.  Today, we still know very little of their potential usefulness.

Next, protests, demonstrations and community activism.  Some simple suggestions are in order:

Once you attract the attention of the appropriate media; have an articulate spokesperson ready to describe the problem you believe needs correction.  And, make sure the terms you are using have definitions, if not, provide one.  Social Justice, I still can't find a rational definition anywhere.  There are lots of circular logic sociology babble, but none are intellectually usable.

Then, present a solution you're willing to discuss in public civilly with opponents, if any exist.

Then, be an active participant in bringing about useful changes.

State the problem, suggest a solution, work to make it happen.

I think the problem might be called Social Injustice, however that might be defined.  The solution might be called Social Justice, carefully and logically defined.  As long as the solution isn't kill police officers, or demonize them just because of their uniforms and jobs, or make them stop questioning and arresting suspected criminals; or take all the money from anyone who has saved some, and give it to anyone who says they don't have any.

Otherwise, all the work of attracting attention has been wasted; except for those who just wanted to be seen on TV and in Social Media acting like they want to help, just to get some shallow notoriety.

Finally, personal finances, home economics, common sense, and forethought.  Incidentally, we used to teach these subjects in schools.

When did it become acceptable to spend money (cash) you don't have, or you're uncertain you ever will have by a specific future time (credit cards)?  Apparently, there is misinformation widely believed that nothing will happen to you if you don't pay what you owe.  Wrong, pain and misery will always accompany your poor choice to spend money you can't or won't pay back when due.  The misery from a single episode can last a few decades up to a lifetime.

Budgeting, accounting, frugal/not wasteful spending are all essential and critical.  Choose wisely, be conservative, spend less than you make.  It's called savings.  Why?, things happen, unexpected things go wrong.  Work toward emergency savings equal to six months of living expenses, some of which can be used for the unexpected, like vehicle repairs, short term illness, lay-offs or lost jobs.

Save separately for predictable yearly expenses.  Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries come every year, be ready for their costs.  Vehicle licenses, insurance and maintenance; home and appliance maintenance, health care, pet care; and filters plug up and things wear out.  Think ahead, many future expenses are certain, maybe not entirely predictable, but sure to occur.  "Be prepared" incidentally, it's the Boy Scout motto.

Forethought, you don't have to think ahead trying to anticipate events good or bad, but you should.  The difference between choosing poorly and choosing wisely, is a lot of pain and misery; maybe for the rest of your life.

Choose wisely!