Enlightened Conversation.
Category: politics
Who enslaves who and how.
Some simple facts about who champions who. Revisionist history is rife and people seldom seem to check the facts..
Here is a web site that has the facts.
Enjoy!
http://theblacksphere.net/2013/07/civil-wrongs-lyndon-b-johnson/
After doing a little research on prisons, I have come to the conclusion that there are huge financial gains for “thinking outside the box” on this issue.
The average cost to house a prisoner is $20k per year, give or take. These include statistics in states where there is over crowding and states where there is not.
What if we took all prisoners with non-violent offenses, although I would start with the 75 thousand non-violent drug offense inmates and made farmers out of them? This could be their choice but, time off for good behavior while learning how to farm and become productive would be a win! Monitoring of them could be easier and less expensive with technology i.e. drones or proximity devices etc.
The simple facts are that this cost “the tax payers” tons of money each year, both at a state and federal level.
If we were able to get the 75 thousand currently sitting in prison on non-violent drug offenses off the prison role and working on a farm being productive, that alone is $1.5Billion a year of tax money that could be used for something else.
Now how many are in prison for other non-violent offenses?
Factor into this the folks that are on welfare that can work and don’t, as well as the street folks who might want to take part in this, (comes with a place to live, heat and food.)
Lets get them to grow staples that the country needs and then they all of the sudden are a “profit center” if you will.
Between making a business out of housing criminals, entitlement spending and spending on aliens that are here illegally; tax payers bear one hell of a burden. We really need some “out of the box thinkers” to address these problems.
We really need some of these thinkers for the illegal alien issues here in this country. I really hate to use that terminology for them. If I lived there, I would do my best to come here as well. While I would do my best to come through the front door, that is certainly a lot easier said than done. Some of the basic arguments that I read are false however. There are plenty of “white people” that will do those jobs. There are plenty of “Americans” that will do those jobs. To say that white people and or Americans are too lazy to do them is a blatant falsehood and offensive to me. If you need work, you will do what you have to. If the government is paying you not to work, well that is really the cruckst of it, isn’t it? Who would dig ditches if the government will pay you stay home and watch The View or some other absolute mind-rotting nonsense?
Propaganda comes in all shapes and sizes. It comes from those that you “trust” on the nightly news, to shows from Disney with fuzzy little creatures. Third world countries are not the only ones brainwashing their citizens. While we can still get multiple views on certain topics, some countries have state run everything so the only “view” that they get is whatever the “government in power” wants them to have.
Currently we have the first amendment (free speech.) That however is under attack by the political correct police. This needs to be stopped. If what you say offends others let them not listen to you. They have the right to not listen just like you have the right to make a complete and utter ass of yourself. If I can control what you say under the guise of political correctness, than I can have free reign on a myriad of subjects and you cant say anything bad about. Friends, that is not right and “UN-American!”
The real trick is finding the multiple views as for some reason the media is in love “or in bed” with the progressives in this country. I personally read news from all over the world as there is always something going on that other countries find newsworthy. The BBC which is liberal is for the most part “right” of most of our media.
It would be refreshing to have objective journalist again. It would seem that the only time that they are tough on the government is when the GOP in charge. I am not saying that the GOP is right, what I am saying is that we need objective standards in the media. If the president drew a crowd of 5000 at some event, both FOX and CNN should say 5000, not “that there were only a few thousand” or “there were absolutely THOUSANDS that showed up for the event!” Both statements are correct, and both are misleading.
There are thousands of folks out there “speaking of thousands” who have probably thought about these issues from time to time. Let’s noodle this around a little and see what we can come up with. Let’s have a little “enlightened conversation.”
-Best to you and those that you care about!
Today I want to talk about the uber poor.
Currently there exist three classes of folks; The Rich, the middle class and the poor. I would argue that there are more than this. I would argue that there are five classes, the Uber rich, Rich, middle class, poor and very poor.
Anyone with over a Billion dollars is Uber rich. When you get into this club you have enough “gold” to make the rules.
The rich are really just upper middle class as they cannot make the rules and must live by the ones created by the uber rich however; since they are in the upper middle class they know some of the folks who make the rules and can have influence.
Before you write me and tell me uber rich don’t make the rules, I know congress makes the laws / rules but I am also savvy to Avenue K and lobbyist and who hires them…
I am skipping the middle class at the moment to jump to the poor.
The poor have apartments, houses, cable TV, one or more televisions, at least one computer and have most likely figured out how to get enough government assistance or other “invisible income” to make up the difference between being poor instead of very poor. I would argue that these folks are really middle class; they for a large part just pay taxes as if they were poor or living in poverty.
Then there are the very poor, they are street folks who live under bridges and basically exist on the benevolence of others, charitable organizations or what they can find on their own.
Now we have the middle class. These are the folks that strive to be upper middle class or rich and really have too much pride to be anything else. These are the people that get up every day and go to work whether they feel good or not. These are the folks that take two jobs, take their kids to soccer, and do all of the other stuff that most do but they are driven to press on, to get ahead, to give their kids a “chance” at something better than what they have.
Some would argue that their eye might not be on giving their kids something better but on having more “do dads, or gadgets” or trying to keep up with the millionaires.
These are also the folks who have little to no control over the rules. These are the folks that try to vote for the right person, do the PTA thing, and use whatever influence they have to make a difference.
These are also the folks who are most taken advantage of, not only by the rich and uber rich, but the poor as well. These are the folks who the 9000 pages of tax code screw the most because they don’t have enough power to anything about it!
These are the folks who get the Cable, satellite radio, cell phones with data plans and other do dads to fill voids in their lives that life quite frankly is not fulfilling. These are the folks who have the “universal fees” taken out of their ass-pocket, not knowing that they are one of the government’s ways of redistributing wealth!
I was in a park not long ago. While there, a guy, “street person” walked by me. He smelled bad and was a good distance from me. That is not however what got my attention. He was talking on a cell phone. He was in fact calling 911 because one of his fellow street people had taken his trash bag full of stuff or so he alleged. I am certain that the local police were really happy that this gentleman was able to call 911 with his “emergency.”
This is the uber poor or poorest of the poor. Not only is he relegated to living on the street, carrying his stuff in a trash bag but, he has no support system. Even though this is Texas it still gets cold in the winter. Instead of getting these people phones, would they not be better served with some other assistance? Let’s start with clean dry clothes and a warm place to sleep and some warm food. Let’s get them some medical care, including mental health. Let’s teach them what constitutes and emergency. While I am certain that was an emergency to him, that call could very well take away from a real life and death situation. There are other numbers for non emergency stuff and that should be the number he used. Truth be told if he had called sanitation he most probably would have learned that they pick up and discard full trash bags left alone.
Some folks are there on the street because that is where they want to be, I get that. Some are there because of mental illness. Some are there because they have no training to get a job or are wrapped up in some sort of substance abuse problem and waiting to hit “true bottom.” Some are undoubtedly there because of “shit happens.“
These folks don’t need a cell phone or internet, they need help! There is no money to be made in helping these folks however; giving them something tangible like a cell phone and allowing them to vote without a picture ID makes perfect sense to the government, and creates “more useful idiots.”
The purpose of this diatribe is to offer a solution to the problem. Unlike Washington and the uber greedy, I think outside the box. So, take that cell phone money and cable TV money and all of those other “universal fees” that Carter started, Clinton pushed through and Obama expanded upon and do this.
Set aside government land outside of large cities that is “farm worthy.” Enlist faith based groups, and other groups like habitat for humanity and set these folks up farms.
I am not talking about buying $150K tractors, just land and some modest accommodations and some hand tools while they make it a working business. A mule pulling a plow worked for our forefathers, maybe that could be located until they could earn their own stuff. Using the habitat for humanity model, they must put in sweat equity… I would say they must stay clean, pass drug test etc but that is just common sense, isn’t it?
Farming is not rocket science but, it is becoming a lost art. Kids today who grow up on the farm are leaving it at alarming rates. Involve the Aggies in teaching these folks the principles of farming. As the population continues to grow, does it not make sense that we could use some more farmers?
Offer this to the street people that don’t want to be on the street.
Offer this to the poor and downtrodden trapped in desperate situations; in neighborhoods that are virtual war zones with drug and gang activity. Offer them a way out, a hand up.
Find leaders among these people to self police themselves. Assist these folks to regain some sense of self worth.
First, get them medical help including mental and drug rehab. Part of that is learning how to farm. They can learn to farm, run a business and sell their product on the markets. Subsequently they can make profits and purchase tractors and what have you. If they could just feed themselves, that would be a huge win! It would be a “shot!”
I would also offer these types of programs to the 75 thousand currently in prison for non-violent drug offenses. Put ankle monitors on them and give them a chance to re-deem themselves. Prison is no place to “rehabilitate oneself.” Prison is a good place to learn how to be a smarter criminal. What if we had them help the others to become something more than a lost soul.
If we could get 75 thousand out of prison which the American people are currently paying to house,feed and manage, as well as help the poor to re-gain their lives and self worth, would this not be “giving them a shot” Mr. President? Would this not be “spreading the wealth,” in a way that makes sense?
Wealth is not just money Mr. President, it is knowledge. If I give poor people money and phones and other stuff I am enabling the poor to stay poor and in effect, I am crippling them. I am giving them a handout, instead of a hand up! All they learn is how to take.. Kennedy said, “ask what you can do” (paraphrased) Should we not teach them to fish?
If I take currently non-productive people and give them a sense of purpose; is that not giving them a shot?
Instead of kicking this can down the road people, we need to take ownership of it and make it our problem; instead of our grandchildren’s’. We need more givers than takers and it starts now.
There are smarter people out there than I, and possibly with enough “think tank” collective from the American people, maybe something good can happen. We have enough bad things on the news each and every day, it is time for something good, don’t you think?
Here is the challenge to you the readers. I am not trying to get anything out of this. This is my way of giving back. Writing a letter to the white house would end up in file 13…the bin. One voice in the wind is one voice. I need millions of voices. The only way that this has a chance is to re-blog, re-post, re-tweet and make it as viral as possible. If enough read it, someone with some “influence” will get this to the right person or people. Maybe some Hollywood type that is tired of his or her tax dollars going to keep non-violent drug offenders locked up might think outside the box as well.
Let’s give this administration a positive way that they can “fundamentally transform this country in a good way” by teaching those that need help, how to help themselves.
Yes there are details that need sorting out and I would offer that private citizens do it. Maybe, just maybe some benevolent Capitalist might have some good ideas or contacts, or a way to help. If the government gets involved too heavily with the details, we will have another 9000 pages of tax code, 60 thousand earmarks, amendments creating turtle tunnels in the tundra, and nothing will ever happen to help these people. This process needs to be streamlined and someplace like Detroit might make a good pilot as that place “like Chicago” is a war-zone.
These kids need an out and learning how to take from the government is not it. Learning how to not get shot walking to school, or how to look innocent in a lineup is not what they need to be learning.
This would also work at the state level. How about it Mr. Perry, can you make this work and show the Country /World how Texans take care of things?
Some prisons have farms already, are some of those inmates candidates to teach others?
-Best to you and those that you care about, now get reposting… Thanks!
Those words were spoken by our not so illustrious AG, not so long ago. I don’t know where this man got his degree but, I firmly suspect it came out of a package with a little blue man with a dog by his side as the logo.
The problems in our society are not a mystery as to how they happened and the “fix” is really not that esoteric either. The simple facts are that there is no easy fix.
To repair the problem one first has to identify where the problems started and reverse the trend. Any pilot knows that when you get into trouble or off course or what have you the first thing is not some knee jerk response but, slow small course corrections.
It still boggles my mind that we are where we are at and the AG makes such a lame statement on national TV. The answer he says is to “give minorities a pass. Don’t correct them as harshly as you would someone who is not a minority.”
There are two basic problems. The breakdown of the family unit, (no dad around) and the schools have been neutered by those that feel that grading with red pens or reprimanding children or heaven forbid, spanking a child is just simply not done! You might damage their self esteem! The parents have gone as crazy by giving into their children’s empty threats of “give me my way or I will hurt myself, I will cut my self and then you will be sorry!” “Oh ok honey, here is your iPhone back and I have upped your data plan, please don’t hurt yourself.” Kids have taken “I will hold my breath” one step further to cutting or worse. If they do this parents, they need more help than you can give them with your parenting skills, seek help!
Consistent boundary setting is a lost concept today. “Explain to the “child” I really wish you wouldn’t do that because there will be consequences to your actions if you do but, that is your decision. I am keeping the phone for X weeks as I told you, because you did not do what you were supposed to….”
When you set their expectation that “if they do or don’t do” as the case may be the consequence will be X,Y,or Z than you must follow through each and every time.
The legal system is real good about setting boundaries for all of us in that if we speed, and get caught, we will get a ticket which cost us money, time and yes it could be embarrassing.
When I was in school if we did something that was even slightly egregious, it usually meant a visit to the dean, coach or principal which usually ended up with a few swats and depending upon the offence, may be followed up with after school detention.
If you check the charts of people in prison in this country today you will see that there is a direct correlation between that rise in prison population and this drive to neuter the teachers from disciplining your child! There are 2.2 million people in prison in the US, 75K from non-violent drug offenses. If you could do the math you would quickly see that we have made an industry out of housing inmates!
Let’s take that one step further, of the people that are currently on the government dole, how many of them could have benefited from a little “course correction” in school? There is such a thing as character, and I think that between missing dad’s or sperm donors; and the lack of programs for young people and quite frankly the “Stuff” that these teachers are forced to teach, you have the elements for the perfect storm of mediocrity and or “failure as a people.”
For instance, if we could re-direct some of that money currently going out to welfare or to house prisoners and put it towards the space program, we no doubt would have people living on MARS by now. Instead we have to waste our precious resources housing prisoners and paying people not to work.
How about educating those “Americans” that would like to learn, before worrying about educating illegal aliens? This is not a diatribe against Hispanics or others who come here to have a better life; it is however a statement that those that are here “legally” should have fist shot and not the other way around as we are currently doing in Texas and Mr. Christie is proposing doing!
The goal of school is to turn out taxpayers. School by definition is part of the process and tax payers invest in you, your children and so forth in hopes that you will be a productive citizen. While I doubt few get up in the morning and say, “today I want to be a better criminal,” there are probably some who do, and that is a real loss, not only for them but for all of society.
Give the schools the power to discipline all children equally. That means make the course correction in a way that will get through to that child. If the consequence is embarrassing and painful enough, the odds of the kid doing something to earn it again are much lower than if you simply throw them onto the street! You were right about one thing MR AG… We need to show these kids that “we do love them and care for them, and one way you do that is by not sparing the rod!”
The numbers don’t lie and I am aghast that no one has put it together and done something about it. So get out those red pens teachers! Not everyone wins a trophy and some need to see a big red “F” to get their attention. No child needs to be on the street or swept aside in some “program” that is indeed a pathway to prison. Make some course corrections before it gets that far. How about spending some of that money allocated for “prisons” on programs aimed at working with those families with “no dad at home.”
It is not rocket science MR Holder but, if we would take some steps now, just maybe we could get to teaching “rocket science” instead of “how to look innocent in a lineup.” What kids see at home today they will no doubt re-peat in their lives thus adding to the already growing prison populations, broken families and homes and “Detroits,” all over America! Stop the madness!
Happy 2014!
I have not written in a while. I have received multiple e-mails asking me about it.. So, here is my most recent rant… Hope you enjoy it or at least it gives you something to talk about with others.
With the upcoming elections in 2014 the spin is in full swing in the media. Create a schism or perceived schism between anyone and everyone is the end goal. They must have Americans divided on all issues so they, the democrats can make the conservative groups look like the bad guy in some form or fashion. Instead of looking for things that we have in common and building a relationship on those things they seek to divide everyone. That in and of itself is a travesty of everything that America stands for. To promote hate and discontent among Americans is well, Un-American!
Hollywood is complicit as well. When you are a “celebrity” you have a responsibility to watch what you say. To guard what you say as truth and not to put forth an agenda for political parties. Too many times we see celebrities “actors” acting as if they know something. They don’t and if you listen to them you will see that they are speaking to people who don’t read, don’t care but recognize them and if they say what to do, they do it.
This week CNN released two articles; one pitting blacks against whites and one pitting rich against poor. The articles were pure opinion and crap! Simply not true but, some people will read them and agree with this “writer.”
Somewhere women’s rights issues will rise back up and it wont be about killing 5 month old babies but somehow giving women some perceived right to not be inconvenienced with a child! What did Obama say, “I would not want my child to be “punished” with having a baby that she did not want.” He talks about pregnancy as if it is a disease like measles. Teach your daughters about safe sex Mr. President. Teach them that there are consequences to your actions. Sometimes those result in an unexpected pregnancy and sometimes, in some sort of STD or worse. When you say things like this your “character or lack thereof, is showing.”
We as a nation have drifted away from the simple fact that our actions have consequences. We are in fact held accountable for them, and should be. We as a people especially mothers protect their young from any and all harm. It is instinctual. Is there a safer place for a child than in its mother’s womb? What kind of people have we become that we would allow some “person” to suck the brains out of our 5 month old child crushing its skull and then rip it out of the womb because we are too busy to be bothered with a child? Those actions bespeak of a monster; both the person who would allow it and the “person” who would profit by doing it.
The ends do not justify the means. To further divide this country, manipulating everyone in the process is nothing less than evil. They cannot run on morals as they have none. They cannot run on character because theirs is corrupt beyond hope. So, they paint the republicans “or the other guy” as the bad guys.
A large majority will not pay any attention to the facts. They will in fact take the bait that celebrities, news outlets and others are spewing out to divide the country on any lines that they can. We have a complicit news media that I cannot figure out for the life of me why? Why are they in bed with this administration? What happened to journalistic integrity? What happened to reporting things objectively, as they are? Today you really have no idea if the news is actual news or some fantasy that is made up to sell subscriptions, or air time, or simply to pander to the current regime in order to get one on one interviews in the oval office, or possibly first question in the morning press meetings.
The political system today is a complete farce. We have law makers who make laws for us that don’t pertain to them. We have law makers that use your money to make money for them selves by manipulating public companies and practicing insider trading. They do this so they can live in opulence, while you and I barely scrape by. We have an administration that is crippling 50% of the country by not teaching them to fish. (Metaphor) We have an administration that wants to corrupt the voting process, so people of ill-repute can vote multiple times. They cannot win in a fair contest so they manipulate the votes, use the IRS to screw conservative groups, and who knows what other evil lurks. What other Chicago politics are under the surface?
We have people who call you a racist if you don’t agree with, and step in line with the thinking of the current administration. If “Stupid” is a race Mr. President; than I am proud to be a racist! We are being held hostage by those that scream political correctness at every opportunity! Screw that! We need to call it what it is and not sugar coat it so someone who has done some real stupid things doesn’t get their feelings hurt!
Every day we read in the news of corruptions within our government, corruptions that got Nixon impeached, today are child’s play. Where are the checks and balances?
Every issue turns into a political football. The game that they play is true brinksmanship, at its best. The result of their posturing and actions could very well put Americans at risk not only in this country but abroad.
We really have some dangerous, serious issues today and we should be focusing on dealing with them instead of winning yet another election. There are laws that need to be changed and they should start with restricting the power of the government. They have obviously forgotten that they work for us.
Recently I attended a high school graduation. The person leading the pledge missed a couple of words here and there and the person leading the Texas pledge either froze up or simply did not know it.
The worste part of this is that the audience did not know it either (for the most part.)
So here are both, with an explanation of what the words mean.
“I pledge allegiance” (I promise to be true)
“to the flag” (to the symbol of our country)
“of the United States of America” (each state that has joined to make our country)
“and to the Republic” (a republic is a country where the people choose others to make laws for them — the government is “of, by and for” the people)
“for which it stands,” (the flag means the country)
“one nation” (a single country)
“under God,” (the people believe in a supreme being)
“indivisible,” (the country cannot be split into parts)
“with Liberty and Justice” (with freedom and fairness)
“for all.” (for each person in the country…you and me!)
The pledge says you are promising to be true to the United States of America!
“Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.”
-Best to you and those that you care about.
I have often suspected that those who run for office probably have some underlying mental aberration that needs addressing. In Anthony Weiner’s case there is no longer any doubt of his “issues,” which he really needs to deal with.
The sad truth is that people have a short memory. Coupled with their lackadaisical attitude towards voting for the best person (i.e. character) there is a good chance that Weiner will get elected simply because he is a household name. He actually has a “brand,” so to speak (in marketing parlance). You would think that the Democratic Party would discourage him from being in the public eye but no, they seem to thrive on the attention, good bad or ugly. Since the verdict is still out on what the definition of “is is” I am guessing that the main stream media will endorse his run for mayor, and paint him as simply misunderstood and really had no idea that the camera was on and pointed at his, well,… wiener.
We condone a lack of moral character, we condone being caught in lies and deceit and we condone allowing our people being killed, doing nothing to help them and we condone the president “killing” American citizens with drones. I often wonder if it is a matter of condone, or really just don’t care?
History will be the judge of all who are in power right now. Unless they censure the truth and write their own version for the next generation to read and believe, I don’t think it will look favorably upon them or us; as we put them there.
I am unaware of what the “crotch shot” actually showed of Mr. Weiner’s, but if it showed his cojones, my guess is that they are brass.
It will be interesting in a “human interest” kind of way to see if the people actually vote for this person.
-Best to you and those that you care about!
Below you will find an “idea” circulating around the internet through e-mail and alike.
Whether Warren Buffet had anything to do with it is really irrelevant. The true issues are that power is a seductive force. Once these folks make it to Washington they loose their soul. Getting elected to congress is almost like winning the lottery! They write laws that do not apply to them i.e. “insider trading.” While you and I would go to jail (paging Martha Stewart) they not only can buy and sell stocks on what they know, they can create the environment with your money and invest before the company is granted some huge infusion of cash (bailout). That is akin to betting on the results of a “fixed contest.”
Washington is dysfunctional and growing the monster larger is not the answer.
If this makes sense to you, just point your friends to this and see what they think. Re-Blog it! A conversation regarding such things is always welcome and in fact, a healthy debate with educated people is actually exciting! So read on and tell me what you think.
-Best
Winds of Change….
Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward
this email to a minimum of twenty people on their
address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
| In three days, most people in The United States of America will have this message. | |
| This is one idea that really should be passed around… | |
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| A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office. | |
| 2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. | |
| All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose. | |
| 3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. | |
| 4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 2%. | |
| 5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. | |
| This one seems like common sense doesn’t it? | |
| 6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. | |
| 7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 12/31/13. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. | |
| Two four year Terms | |
| Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. |
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| If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Don’t you think it’s time? |
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| We can do better than 20 with Twitter, Facebook, and of course the power of the BLOG! |
| THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS! I would also add Washington. | |
| If you agree with the above, pass it on. Lets make it (dare I say it) Viral! |
There are many people who have “danced on the silver screen” in my lifetime. There are many that I would watch the movie simply because they were in it. This held true for the “silver screen” and of course the purchase of same via “laser disc, (yes I go back that far) video tape, DVD and of course Blue Ray.
It was not until I found the Hollywood elite; espousing their opinions on political issues did I take notice of the perfection to which their craft was honed. One guy, who I really like; on his twitter profile says that he is a: professional pretender. Yet he elucidates his opinion as if it were fact; which many take as such, as he plays a news anchor on the tube. One would not let Alec Baldwin fly the jet as he plays a pilot, neither should you take their opinion as the gospel.
There are others that I admired as well until they open their mouths, unscripted, and now I find them an ignorant, bigoted, waste of skin! To be so talented at your craft to fool the country is akin to being a politician! While I congratulate you on your skill, thanks for the look behind the curtain.
I will no longer enjoy the programs with you in them, as I don’t like the “real” person who you are or, that you have become.
We all have talents and of course opinions. If you happen to be a thespian and you choose to proffer some factoid on being such, good for you. To speak with authority on that which you clearly know nothing about, is bad form, and misleading to those that listen to you.
While we clearly give you that power, remember dear friend, it can be stripped away as easily when you remove the cloak, and give us a peek at the monster behind the mask.
I also take issue with those in Washington, holding in high esteem as role models those who sully the name of entertainer, by their vulgar behaviors, their lewd clothing and or dance, and their rather offensive words in their “music.”
What legacy are we as a people leaving behind?
Thanks for reading my blogs, and as always, –Best to you and those that you care about!
Since this “political football known as sequester” we need someone who wants to tame the new frontier, to “boldly go….” Ok enough..
Calling Bill Gates, or any of you other billionaires out there with nothing to spend your money on…. I have a proposition for you! Read on to hear my plan…
One year ago, in April, we just about lost a $960.000.000 telescope to a defunct Russian spy satellite. Quick thinking on the part of several people managed to save our telescope however; the risk remains and it is not getting better, but worse.
With each and every launch, other “stuff” is left in space to orbit, and slowly fall back to earth. Depending upon the altitude and velocity, it could take weeks, years, decades or centuries for the orbit to decay enough for the earth’s gravity to pull it back down.
The good news is that things fall back to earth often and usually burn up during the re-entry process , falling harmlessly into the ocean or some other body of water, the Canadian Wilderness or the Australian outback. This is just about a verbatim statement from “those who know.” I for one am glad that these things only fall where people aren’t; pretty clever of them to arrange that.
Truth be told, (you know how I like truth) this claim is made because 70% of the earth is covered with water of one kind or another. If you have ever gambled you know that it is all about the odds, which are derived from percentages of one thing or another.
By last estimates there are 23,000 pieces of space junk and about 1500 satellites give or take the dozens that neither country will admit to. That means that there are about 24,500 objects up there with no planned way of removing them safely. I think that we actually have an “end of life” policy created for ours, if the thing is still functional.
The hazards are increasing exponentially with each and every launch and of course should two satellites collide as they did in 2009 at hyper speeds, lots of space junk gets released into orbit. The collision between Iriduim 33 and Kosmos 255 was not the only collision in space. In fact there have been 8 known high speed collisions and several minor collisions. Someone gets paid to keep up with each and every little thing up there. How well do you think they do their job?
As of yet, there are no Universal treaties as to who does what in space; so the problem continues to get worse. The lawmakers are too concerned about anything but what they should be, so don’t look for help from any government.
Along come the visionaries…
Well maybe not these folks…
We need some visionaries to come up with a way to reclaim the space junk. Instead of figuring out ways to make a weapon more precise or more lethal, how about working on this problem before it is totally out of hand?
I actually have an idea that might work. Scientist have proposed building a type of tractor (not like the one on Green Acres) but a “Space Tractor” to snag or deflect an asteroid causing its trajectory to change enough to save the earth.
What if…we tested that theory on some space junk? What if…. we slowed the orbit of some space junk down enough so its orbit would decay at a more rapid rate, and maybe, just maybe with some practice, we could manage where and when it would fall, not using the current Vegas method of science, but real science. Instead of trying to deflect an asteroid first, start out with something small and closer to home like, a defunct satellite. One could actually make a business out of it, and charge Millions! Why does it take a science fiction writer to come up with this stuff? Maybe if the space station has enough mass they could figure out a way to test the theory with it. It is already up there, with a crew and everything!
No, Ok well how about this?
If any of you happen to know Michio Kaku; or the guy that demoted Pluto, or some other notable “scientist,” forward this to them. If you know Bill, give him my best and show this too him but, sell it as the newest form of software development. Someone would have to write the stuff to control this thing, right?. I would love to hear why it would not work or why it is not a good idea. Personally, I think if the nation(s) could focus on something else, other than politics, it would be a good thing. If any of you scientist need any more “out of the box thinking”…call me….phone is write here…waiting….
-Best to you and those that you care about.
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