Saturday, October 15, 2011

Martin Luther

The History of the Church has been one of a pas de deux with the state, and a series of accommodations with a view to temporal peace and prosperity.  Most often, the formula is quite wrong.  At times the Church has the upper hand, at times the state.  If and when there is a time and place approaching a proper balance, say present day Hong Kong, it goes unnoticed.  People like to read the racy stuff,  as with daily news, for history, if it bleeds, it leads.

We seem to be in a time of change, but where the church was once abusive, now it is reversed, the state is abusive.  Here is Luther talking of the Church hierarchy, but it could be an citizen of the west today speaking of the government heirarchy.:

What good are they, except to live in lust from the sweat and labor of others and to impede the word of God? They are afraid of physical rebellion and do not care about spiritual destruction. Are they not intelligent, honest people! If they accepted God's word and sought the life of the soul, God would be with them, since he is a God of peace. Then there would be no fear of rebellion. But if they refuse to hear God's word and rather rage and rave with banning, burning, killing, and all evil, what could be better for them than to encounter a strong rebellion which exterminates them from the world? One could only laugh if it did happen, as the divine wisdom says, Proverbs 1[:25-27], "You have hated my punishment and misused my teaching; therefore I will laugh at your calamity and I will mock you when disaster strikes you."

Now recall, Luther was speaking of and to the Church at its height of temporal power, his life was in danger, from various leaders if not the Pope.

The Pope replies directly to Luther, Pope Adrian VI (1522-1523), 

We know well that for many years things deserving of abhorrence have gathered around the Holy See; sacred things have been misused, ordinances transgressed, so that in everything there has been a change for the worse. Thus it is not surprising that the malady has crept down from the head to the members, from the Popes to the hierarchy.
We shall use all diligence to reform before all things the Roman Curia, whence, perhaps, all these evils have had their origin. Thus healing will begin at the source of sickness. We deem this to be all the more our duty, as the whole world is longing for reform.

It took a few hundred years for the church to be divested of temporal power, but it seems that the catholic church is about where Jesus would want it, reduced to a hilltop in rome consisting of a few museums in a anarchic totally voluntary state.

It takes time to get into trouble, and it takes time to get out of it.

For all of Luther’s talk of murdering bishops and leveling monasteries, when it got down to specific acts of violence, he had this to say:

The mad mob does not ask how it could be better, only that it be different. And when it then becomes worse, it must change again. Thus they get bees for flies, and at last hornets for bees.

I would add those who lead the mob do not really want change, they only want to be in charge.  those to be overthrown spot the leaders, and in some measure cooperate to share power, that is give the impression of change with a change of faces, if not regime.

We are no where near the crises that Luther and the powers-that-be of his time faced.  The welfare check is keeping a lid on things.  We are seeing both inflation and deflation, both properly defined as monetary events, occurring in asset specific categories.  these means are extending the problem and will result in a faster, worse dislocation.  I say yikes!

Get self-employed, it is the best harbor in the coming storm. have something to trade.


Friday, October 14, 2011

Belgium: 18 Months, and Still No Government

The people of Belgium have escaped to anarchy.  With no government or king, they thrive.  Since powers that be will ever seek domination, what meetings occur end up taking power away from any government that may at some time form.  Sounds like a new Hong Kong.  Small, Indefensible.  Accidental.  And if the euro falls, maybe they will get a sound currency too.

The need for government is sheer nonsense.  We can certainly live without it.  It does take citizens being responsible, especially for their own self-defense.  Indeed, the first encounter with government the Jews had, when they demanded it of God (1 Sam 8), was over the issue of the Jews getting others to defend them.

Freedom is grounded in property rights, and protected by self-defense.  A big topic.  We are all happy to trade security for freedom.  Of course, the trade means you lose both.


Thursday, October 13, 2011

Beautiful


Steady As She Goes

We are probably in a depression, but to be 30% off in a multi-trillion dollar economy is still a whole lotta business to be done...  full trade data reports at http://www.census.gov/indicator/www/ustrade.html

Graph of International Trade Balances


Wednesday, October 12, 2011

One Country, Two Systems

When faced with the predicament of being a communist country and inheriting a free market colony, Deng Xiaoping came up with the “one country, two systems” formula.  Hong Kong would have its own economy and political system, by permission of the communist party of the People’s Republic of China.  Funny thing, that, Chinese Communists hosting the freest economy in the world.  It has done them much good.

So as things unravel in USA, what to do?  Everyone has a plan, but no one talks about transitions.  Those can be messy.  We cannot move from a social welfare regime, which is now falling apart, and to free markets, without the disruption bringing everything down.  Everyone would fall into the gap.

So a solution is to run one country, two systems.  We already have Amish, Orthodox Jews, Sikhs and Black Muslims seceding in place; for example the Amish are exempt from our educational, military service and paying into social security.

Start delineating areas where people can choose: the less they need of government services, the less that pay.  Where the progressive social network recedes by choice, let the freer market provide.  Leave both systems available as people naturally sort themselves out by preference and geography.

It could get problematical, but we already got problematical.  Let’s have problematical we can work with.


TSA and Power vs Right

The United States Government does not have the right to search people getting on airplanes.  they need probably cause, and a desire to travel is not probable cause.  It does not matter if and when a judge says they may do so, in that case the judge would be wrong.

The United States Government does have the power to search people, in violation of the constitution which is where the US govt gets its right to exist.  So the USGovt is caught in an internal contradiction, it denies its very warrant for existence.

A lawyer once said to me the job of lawyers is to keep government honest.  OK, when?  And how do government workers, lawyers, keep government honest.  There is an inherent internal contradiction.

Every time a citizen resists perfidy by government workers who operate under the "color of law" then the constitution is being defended.

When the TSA agent asks if I consent to a search, and I say no, I am defending the constitution against someone shredding it.  Of course, to escape retaliation I have to quickly say, you have the power to search, but not the right to search, this is good enough for them.  As long as they get to do the act they want to do, good enough.  For now.


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Why We Can No Longer Wait to Eliminate the FDA

Simple calculations demonstrate that the FDA cannot possible do the job it is charged with, and that is keeping food and drugs safe.  On the contrary, it keeps them bad, expensive, rare and slow in coming.  Here is a drug some 2500 years old used by millions of America that went from 5 cents a pill to $5.00 a pill, thanks to the FDA, and violently backed by the FDA.  Many Americans will have to accept suffering and death because of the FDA.  If we were to deregulate medicine, we would see more better cheaper faster, and unforeseen wonders, like we did when we deregulated telephones 30 years ago.  time to act is yesterday.


After Ten Years, No More Christian Churches In Afghanistan

Christian churches lived under the Taliban, but after ten years of US Occupation, there are no more Christian Churches in Afghanistan.  They are nearly wiped out in Iraq.  The Cathedral in Nagasaki as used for targeting the A-Bomb.  When Christians make war on non-Christians, Christians suffer.


Monday, October 10, 2011

Need Paid Work Bad Now?

Over the years many people have asked me for a career path that leads to self-employment.  Or, they have a scheme to get started.  For example, from way back when, a fellow queried "What if I buy a container of blank VCR tapes from Hong Kong, sell them, make a killing, and then use that money to start a business?"  Neat idea, but it won't work.  If it could be done, it would be done already.

In both instances I always advised to go straight to the work of your business.

At the same time I wrote up a case study of how I, on my way to self-employment, taught and wrote, and got a book published.  It is also good money.  And it can be started immediately (although the money may not start for another 3-6 months or so... but what are your choices...?)

Since the topic needs to be one you love, and it can be the field in which you are building your business (skydiving, importing sweaters, redesigned fruit...) you sell what you learn in classes as you build your business.

Sometimes I have no idea what I am doing when I do it.  But now I have an answer for what to do in the meantime...  teach.  I've mentioned a couple of times where you can get the book for free, and here is that website:

www.perishyourpublisher.com .


One More Electric Car Problem

If you see a car wreck with first responders just standing there doing nothing, look to see if the car is a Chevy Volt.  Tricky to work with that electric car.  Maybe that is another reason the sales are so woefully low.


Sunday, October 9, 2011

Mitt Romney Knows What God is Thinking

At America's elite military academy, even more prestigious than West Point, is the Citadel.  Mitt Romney gave a speech to our future military leaders, in which he said, inter alia,

"This century must be an American century. In an American century, America has the strongest economy and the strongest military in the world," Romney said. "God did not create this country to be a nation of followers. America is not destined to be one of several equally balanced global powers. America must lead the world, or someone else will."

So, Romney believes God created this country.  That has implications.  Romney knows what God thinks.  That has implications.  Specifically Romney "knows" God does not want USA to be a follower.  This would be strange for the all-powerful and omniscient God to be stuck in an either /or dilemma: "lead or follow."

It would also be strange for God to want USA to be a leader when his son Jesus spent so much tme emphasizing we must be followers (the rich lad who went away sad) and servants of others (the least among you).

What also has implications is our future military leaders did not eject this blaspheming Romney from the citadel.