tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90378082349169722862024-02-20T07:04:53.428-08:00Mind SalivationNon-euclidean PoliticsRickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-76852881455829839062023-04-22T09:52:00.003-07:002023-04-22T09:52:45.795-07:00Adam Ragusea's Thoughts on Chick-fil-A<p>I'm not sure this is strictly politics related, but I enjoyed this podcast on boycotting companies and think you might as well.</p>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">In the 2008 election, Barack Obama won with
365 electoral college votes to McCain’s 173. But in 2010, both the house and
senate flipped, switching from democrat controlled to republican controlled.
Was this because in two short years the desires of the American people changed?
Perhaps, or perhaps it was due to the major redistricting that took place in
2010 after the census. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">When we look at the state of our politics
today we can see a divide. This divide is not by accident, it grows every 10
years. The reason, Gerrymandering. Every 10 years we have a census. We count
the number of people we have in our country, legal or illegal. <a style="mso-comment-date: 20210914T0520; mso-comment-reference: _1;">No
discrimination no risk for deportation</a><a class="msocomanchor" href="#_msocom_1" id="_anchor_1" name="_msoanchor_1">[1]</a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span>.
Then in most states, the districts are drawn by the state legislature, while
the governor has a veto. It is a tradition, it is necessary, but there is a
problem. The state legislature carves up these new districts not to further
diversify the votes and take true samples of society, but to retain power. It
started in 1812, governor of Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry, signed a bill that
allowed the redistricting of Massachusetts to benefit the then
Democratic-Republican Party. This process attacks democracy as states are
allowed to redistrict to politically benefit one party over another. With no
competitive districts, can democracy truly thrive? Is it not in the clashing
and conflict of principles that we can become further enlightened?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">When we go through this redistricting process;
it is a major political battle, and it always ends with districts becoming more
and more partisan. There is, however, a way to counter this. Take Iowa, they
have a simple yet effective way to redistrict. After census data is reviewed,
there are four simple rules Iowa state representatives will follow when creating
new districts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">One</b>, population equality, without this rule one representative
could be responsible for many more people than another, as is the case with the
senate, I’ll save that for another time. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Two</b>,
contiguity, districts should look like each other, no weird shapes, no odd
angles, just simple square boxes, or as close as we can get. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Three</b>, Unity of counties and cities.
Representatives should represent the people in the county or city they are a
part of. That is the true purpose and reason for having a representative,
someone who lives within the community who can and will talk to the government
on the people's behalf. And <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">fourth</b>,
districts should remain as compact as possible. There is no reason to have
abnormally large districts, simple compact squares, that is what we need. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">This process seems to work well for Iowa,
could we not implement it at a national scale? We already tried this, and it
worked! In the 1960s, the population was growing significantly. Cities were
getting larger and larger. Many people who lived in rural areas were moving to
the city. The result was cities that housed more people than the rural areas
had fewer representatives in congress, both at the state, and federal levels!
There were multiple court cases brought to the supreme court [Baker c Carr
(1962) Wesberry v Sanders (1964a), Reynolds v Sims (1964b)].</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">The supreme court decided that
malapportionment - drawing districts that differed in population size was
unconstitutional. This was held to violate the principle of “one person, one
vote,” which is derived from both Articles I of the Constitution and the Equal
Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Before malapportionment was outlawed,
districts could vary in population by a factor of ten; now districts need to be
redrawn every ten years following the Census to ensure they have an equal
population. This denied the state governments a powerful tool by which they
could fix political outcomes. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">We have a problem though, in 2004 there was a
supreme court case <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004)</i>;
it was a challenge to the redistricting of Pennsylvania. In this case, the
court decided to not overturn a redistricting that occurred in Pennsylvania.
Although there were diverging opinions in the 5-4 ruling that day. The decision
was made more so the court will stay out of politics than the legality or
illegality of the redistricting. This decision is key to the reason for the
state of our politics. Although it may not have been the intention of our
supreme justices, they have effectively made challenging a districting plan on
the premise of gerrymandering practically impossible. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">If partisan gerrymandering is again permitted,
this creates a loophole that once again gives state governments <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">some </i>of this power. It also seriously
undermines the egalitarian intentions of the “one person, one vote”
jurisprudence of the 1960s. The courts have already decided that they wish to
stay out of political decisions, and that is ok. What we need to do then is
bring this issue up, to our representatives, to our neighbors, or friends. The
more people are aware of this problem that divides our nation, then the more
likely we are to be able to do something about it. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">There is no bigger proof than in the election
year of 2012, following the 2010 Census. There was a shift in the partisan
advantage. The Republican Party won a majority of the 33 seats though it won
fewer votes than the democrats. This was not an accident, but rather a
systematic bias that we will see be repeated throughout the next decade. The
House of Representatives has a total of 435 seats, 234 of those seats (54%)
were won by republican representatives, even though the Democratic Party won a
slim majority (50.6%) of the popular vote. This could only have been possible
through political gerrymandering. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">If you are a democrat or republican, it
shouldn’t matter. Political gerrymandering is dividing our nation more so than
we already divide it. The more our nation becomes divided we weaken ourselves.
Yes, different ideas are good, it allows us to challenge and debate. However,
when our representatives only represent a specific demographic there is little
chance of compromise. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">I beseech you, understand that compromise is
key, different ideas help create better ideas. Skewing the election only helps
those in power stay in power. New ideas are needed to stir the pot and create
even better solutions. Talk to your representatives, talk to your neighbors,
talk to your friends. Bring back the idea that we should take an active role in
our politics. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">This is the start. After this, we take on the
senate, with their amassed consolidation of power, the excess of money they
deal with, and the lack of morals our political elite have. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">References:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/27/gerrymandering-republicans-electoral-maps-political-heist"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/27/gerrymandering-republicans-electoral-maps-political-heist</span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091107114029/http:/www.centrists.org/pages/2004/07/7_buck_trust.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://web.archive.org/web/20091107114029/http://www.centrists.org/pages/2004/07/7_buck_trust.html</span></a></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN">Gerrymandering in America: the
House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, and the future of popular
sovereignty / Anthony J. McGann, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow; Charles
Anthony Smith, University of California-Irvine; Michael Latner, California
Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo; Alex Keena, University of
California-Irvine.</span></p><br />Awillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07076143181144557606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-34938080450917164422021-11-10T22:43:00.003-08:002021-11-10T22:43:27.141-08:00Why Single Party Rule is Bad For Democracy (Factually)This isn't the first time we have shared the Factually podcast here (the first time was regarding homelessness). <div><br /></div><div>Well, this episode is also great and is very similar to the outline to the book we were going to write. I hope you enjoy. More content to come shortly. <iframe frameborder="0" height="185" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-popups allow-forms" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.radiopublic.com/e?if=factually-with-adam-conover-G3BxdY&ge=s1!9be9675ddeffff3f3f0f90ccb8303feb14f7a595" width="100%"></iframe></div>RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-28629539045118597042021-03-28T13:25:00.000-07:002021-03-28T13:25:04.278-07:00Bring Democracy to America<p> <span style="color: #050505; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“As the Founding Fathers were emerging from Constitution Hall in Philadelphia, a woman from the crowd called out:</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5832bd11-7fff-c346-a9fc-0b26f098d4c4"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 6pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #050505; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 6pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #050505; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Dr. Benjamin Franklin turned to her and replied: </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 6pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #050505; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A Republic, if you can keep it.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 6pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #050505; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, ed. Max Farrand, vol. 3, appendix A, p. 85)</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My question to this is, Do we even want a republic?</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some people might be offended by this comment. The founding fathers were inspired by God to make this country, and who am I to question divine providence? Such a tale is a bit of revisionist history told by modern christians. The founding founders were deists, and did not even believe in the judeo-christian God. The founding fathers were not perfect by any means. Afterall, many of them were slave owners, literally owning people while seeking freedom for themselves. The government they created was not perfect by any means either.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But this republic has failed its citizens too many times over. In just 2016, the will of the people was subverted by the electoral college. A system created to give the white slave holders of the south more political power. That seems like a bold statement, but consider this. The census counts everyone, voter or non voter, and in the case of black people or “other persons” as the constitution puts would be counted as 3/5ths of a person. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><a href="https://faculty.weber.edu/kmackay/statistics_on_slavery.htm">Source</a></u></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Look at this chart </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 241px; overflow: hidden; width: 543px;"><img height="241" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/txZf9F9JNEsNN2lQT_sVweyveqYC2Fr-28LASm2QNAM6MSm3kzjhvFSxjj7zmZqvkA53qp6FU50D9m8kiTV19C8XbVMTbFQcQguAfJd2-Fln9MuwMVwxL5Ou622gWYEPUDmHMevF" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="543" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 385px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="385" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QBiX1RUPbAfemukEXQ1I2ZeIZIFm5cUxfXD8rgn6cszS4n5e8gm4DxlLm1MxBEI6yfsIAllV4VqUNCtmgjUohd9rBxq8CTRSldIKyMKumosx5gQK1FBUfHX5G9CDdRVX5gq1-OFT" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" title="Chart" width="624" /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Think about it, a whole ⅓ of the south was slaves. And all of those slaves counted in the census gave power to the white men that were actually allowed to vote. The electoral college was a tool of oppression. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is a relic of the past, in a time where the framers of the constitution doubted the judgement of the people, and when information traveled slowly. Perhaps, there would be a good reason for a delegate to go rogue, as things could change between the vote and the convection. The electoral college wasn’t entirely the product of racism, there was some reason behind it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the electoral college has outlived its usefulness. It's time the will of the people is adhered to.The electoral college isn’t the one part of our republic that ought to be changed. The senate has two senators per state. For what, so the states are equality represented. What are states though except arbitrary lines drawn in the sand. Why does it matter that states are equally represented? It should be the people that are equally represented. All people. And even people from outlying areas. Puerto Ricans should have a voice in the government. The lack of democracy is so egregious, that people in the very nation’s capital have no voice in the federal government and no voice in who becomes the president. And do they pay federal tax in Washington DC? You bet they do.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have become the literal thing we fought, a government that taxes its citizens without their consent or representation. A government that doesn’t listen to the will of the people. It's time to change our country into a true representative democracy. A system of government that listens to the people, and not some archaic system. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m calling for an abolishment of the electoral college and the abolishment of the US senate.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No senate? But the legislative branch has always had two parts.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, I think it should still. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And here is a new part of the legislative branch, I call it, “The House of Randoms”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And it is what it professes to be. Instead of being elected, The house of randoms randomly selects its members. Each member serves a single year, and each year the entire house is redrawn. The results are truly random, meaning it's possible to serve any number of years consecutively or nonconsecutively, but it is unlikely. However, this is a topic for another day.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In summary, America needs change, America cannot rest on its laurels. The former tools of oppression need to be removed from the American system if we are to be a true democracy. If we truly want to be the land of the free and not just a land where some people are free. Where some people are listened to and others are not. Let's improve this great country.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-42913031336924398452021-01-27T21:43:00.001-08:002021-01-27T21:43:33.905-08:00Immigration In America<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recently watched a </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZEomO2OsAc" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">video </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Mr. Beat about </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYvKcAh1zdo" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PragerU</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I enjoyed Mr. Beat’s analysis of the assertions made by PragerU. Fact checking is critical. But I think there is something even more fundamental to the PragerU video I want to object to. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-70843c60-7fff-5f94-f7ae-0d3bc3d7cbea"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The host of the PragerU video says it is not possible or desirable to let in everyone. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a sense, she is right. But she asserts the method of enforcement for this is the US government. I have a big issue with this. Let's take a step back and think about what the video is asserting, that the government should regulate immigration. That the US government should decide the amount of people who should be let into the country, they should determine the skills and qualifications they have. The video asserts that unskilled workers should not be let into the country.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let's go on a short tangent now.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine instead of living in a free market like we do now, we lived in a centrally planned command economy. That the government projected the amount of bread that would be needed in the next year and directed factories to produce adequate bread for the population.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a system that has been tried before. It might remind you of the USSR, where millions of people died because of food shortages. It seems time and time again, forecasting needs is difficult. The government is not in a good position to estimate the needs of consumers. And it seems central planned economies often fail.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Consider North Korea and South Korea. There are countless metrics I could reference here. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Look at </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/06/world/asia/korea-history.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this graph </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of GDP per capita in south Korea vs North. Also, </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17774210" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">North Koreans are shorter than South Koreans</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now this isn’t definitive, but I think this difference in height is probably at least in part explained by differences in diet, that an unhealthy diet will lead to stunted growth.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In short, centrally planned economies have failed time and time again and lead to suboptimal outcomes.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now instead of looking at projections for food, why should the government project labor needs? After all, that is what regulating immigration is doing. Farms, for example, need laborers. Ideally, cheap, unskilled labor and they need a lot of it. With less regulation, farmers could hire the workers they want. With increased regulation though, the government needs to project how many unskilled workers to be let in.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Really though, I don’t know what the right number of immigrants to be let in is, and I don’t think anyone really knows. Except, as people act in rational self-interest in a free market we ultimately get to the right answer. It is the free market itself that should regulate immigration. When there are jobs to be had, workers will come to get them. And if there are ever no jobs to be had, then people will not come, as it is no longer to their advantage to come.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Any system where the government is projecting what the market will want is a system that is inherently flawed. The market will demand what it wants, the government does not need to interfere, and in fact, when it does, suboptimal outcomes result.</span></p><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-7129857543540250502020-09-11T23:24:00.002-07:002021-11-10T22:39:01.878-08:00Is Success Luck or Hard Work?<p><br /></p><p>Here is a great video on the roles that luck and hard work play into success. I think it makes a great point that leaders also tend to be lucky. I think this idea gives some credence to the idea that system of government with not just elected officers, but also randomly selected, would give a larger breadth of experience in government.</p><p><br /></p>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3LopI4YeC4I" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-21473737579741119062020-06-29T20:37:00.002-07:002020-09-04T22:37:52.199-07:00Why I Don't Support Donald Trump<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
A friend of mine and an avid Trump supporter recently asked me to
share my thoughts on Donald Trump and why I probably will not be
voting for him in this upcoming election. To share a little context,
I was a lifelong member of the GOP. But after the election of Donald
Trump, I have left the party. Describing why I am not a fan of Donald
Trump is a bit of a daunting task and one that I likely will only
manage to do a cursory job of.</p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Moral
Character</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Donald
Trump is an individual that lacks moral character. Donald Trump in
the Billy Bush tapes that have been brought up again and again talks
about sexually assaulting women. While I don’t believe in
extramarital affairs, Donald Trump isn’t merely unfaithful, he
seems to have committed illegal acts. In short, Trump is at best a
liar, and at worst, a rapist. Neither of them are traits I look for
in a president. He simply is not a good moral character. I think he
is a poor role model for children across the U.S. and over the world.
His moral flaws seem irredeemable.</p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Mentally
Unfit</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Donald
Trump has an enormous ego. It has led him to say many hilarious and
stupid things over his time in the White House. Statements like,
“Puerto Rico is an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean
water.”</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Sure
other president’s have said stupid things before, George Bush once
spoke about how he knows how hard it is to put food on your family.
But for Donald, this isn’t a mere gaffe. He at his core thinks he
is an intelligent person, often the smartest person in the room.
Asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” who he talks with consistently
about foreign policy, Trump responded, “I’m speaking with myself,
number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of
things."</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#1155cc"><u><a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/trump-foreign-policy-adviser-220853">Source</a></u></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">This
is one of the most troubling answers I could possibly imagine to this
question. The idea that anyone could know enough to deal with
foreign policy alone is laughable. There are just too many countries
to have anything but a cursory knowledge of most of them at best. The
idea that Donald Trump knows enough about the world that he doesn’t
even need to talk to anyone else is just not reality. Donald Trump
isn’t as smart as he thinks he is.</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Donald
Trump has also claimed he is excellent at business, and excellent at
taxes. An interview with Donald Trump's accountants shows otherwise,
“Mitnick said that Trump had “virtually zero” role in preparing
his own taxes.” Donald Trump hired the same CPAs his dad worked
with. Donald Trump is no genius when it comes to his taxes. And I’m
not sure he is a genius at business. Then again, it's not a
requirement to be great at business to be a good president.</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#1155cc"><u><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/benjamin-wallace-wells/the-new-york-tale-of-donald-trumps-accountant">Source</a></u></font></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#1155cc"><br /></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Trump
is racist</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">There
are lots of statements about who Trump employs or doesn’t employ at
his businesses. There may be merit to these claims, I haven’t
researched it much myself. But here is an example out of Donald
Trump's own mouth:</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">“When
Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. ... They're
sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those
problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime.
They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#1155cc"><u><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/06/16/full-text-donald-trump-announces-a-presidential-bid/">Source</a></u></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">The
idea that most Mexican immigrants are bad people, and that good
people are so rare Donald can only assume a few are good people is so
abhorrent, I can’t believe it. Growing up in San Diego, this is
simply not my experience at all. The Mexican immigrants I have met
are some of the kindest and hardest working. Many times in my life,
poor, Mexican families have welcomed me into their homes, shared food
with me, and have been some of the kindest people I know.</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Someone
asserted to me Donald isn’t provably racist. He is xenophobic for
sure, but he only discriminates against poorer countries. At the same
time, I don’t think you can make that distinction. While Trump may
give an alternative explanation, if you just look at the color of the
skin of the people targeted by his policies, you will notice a trend.</p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">So
far, I have only spoken on Trump's flaws as a person. Let's get into
how his policy is wrong.</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">In
addition to being racist towards Mexican immigrants, he wants to
build a wall. Spoiler, there really is a wall already. Growing up in
San Diego, I have been to it. I have crossed the border on foot. La
linea they call it. The Line, it's a bit of a play on words as it is
not just a border line, but a literal line to get back into the
country. It took hours.
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">But
back on topic, Trump says, <font color="#222222">“They’re taking
our jobs. They’re taking our manufacturing jobs. They’re taking
our money. They’re killing us.”</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#1155cc"><u><a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/07/donald-trump-in-phoenix-mexicans-are-taking-our-jobs-and-killing-us.html">Source</a></u></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">This
statement doesn’t really have any basis in reality. The work that
Mexican immigrants do is often work that no one else will do. You
cannot hire Americans to work as day laborers picking fruit. The work
is too hard and the pay is too little. Many processes in farming
require a human hand. Peaches have to be picked by hand. Denying
workers to come to the United States means increased labor prices and
increased costs of foods. Really, everyone loses when we stop migrant
labor. The migrants don’t get jobs, and everyone pays higher prices
for food.</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">Let's
move on to a related topic, Trade.</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">Donald
Trump does not understand economics. He actively fights against free
trade. He asserts he is bringing jobs back to the United States. In
truth, there were some jobs that left the U.S. when NAFTA was signed.
I have a friend in Michigan who told me about this father's business
drying up after NAFTA. It is a pain felt strongly by some. But it
wasn’t just jobs in the U.S. that were affected. NAFTA destroyed
the corn industry in Mexico, they just can’t compete with cheap
U.S. corn (</font><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/07/541671747/nafta-s-broken-promises-these-farmers-say-they-got-the-raw-end-of-trade-deal"><font color="#1155cc"><u>source</u></font></a><font color="#222222">).
But what does this shuffling of jobs mean? It means that the
countries most suited to a particular task will perform that task and
we all are better off for it. Mexico gets cheap corn, we get cheaper
cars or other goods requiring labor. The system runs more efficiently
and we all get some benefit, it isn’t a zero sum game. Trump
doesn’t seem to see this though. He sees trade with China as a
win-lose relationship. He just doesn’t come to the table with the
right mental model.</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">Redemption?</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">Oftentimes,
I think the sentiments some of my religious friends use regarding
Trump is that he has done bad things in the past, but he is doing one
critical matter. He is appointing conservative justices to the
Supreme Court to fight Roe vs Wade, and that is why they are
supporting him.</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">There
are a lot of aspects to unpack from this. I do have to mention the
pick of Brett Kavanaugh is still perplexing to me.</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">Kavanaugh,
understandably, lied about some aspects of his past. When asked
about a Devil’s Triangle, a sex act, Kavanugh claimed it was a
drinking game. (</font><a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/9/27/17911728/brett-kavanaugh-boof-definition-supreme-court"><font color="#1155cc"><u>Source</u></font></a><font color="#222222">)</font></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">
That
is a somewhat minor detail about the hearing and his past, but still,
it bothers me he lied under oath. And it does paint him in a
different light. Claims by his accusers in this light seems to make
some sense.</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">Let's
get back though, Trump appoints conservative justices. For me, this
isn’t a plus either. I think this topic deserves a post of its own.
In short, as a deeply religious person, I believe abortion is a
decision a woman must make with God, not the government. While
abortion is terrible, in some cases (like rape or incest) it might be
the least terrible option for a woman to make. That decision should
be hers to make. She should not have to explain, recount, or relive
the experience that brought her to that place. By no means am I
pro-abortion, I think abortion is not the correct choice in many
instances. I am pro-education though, pro the teaching of correct
principles, not pro-force and coercion. </font>
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">Trump
Recently</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">Lastly,
let's talk about what Trump did recently, just days ago from writing
this.</font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#222222">In
the Rose garden, Trump made the following statement, “</font><font color="#262626"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">I
will fight to protect you. I am your President of law and order and
an ally of all peaceful protesters.” (</span></font><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/politics/read-trumps-rose-garden-remarks/index.html"><font color="#1155cc"><u><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">Source</span></u></font></a><font color="#262626"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">)</span></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#262626"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">Minutes
later, Trump ordered federal troops to break up a peaceful protest.
So he could take a photo-op with a bible at a local church. Trump did
exactly what he said he won’t do. Not months later, not days, not
even hours. Literally minutes after his speech he went back on what
he said.</span></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#262626"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">Conclusion</span></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#262626"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">Perhaps
in a boardroom amongst his contractors and business associates
Trump's rhetoric was effective. Perhaps in a different setting Trump
is a genius and is competent.</span></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#262626"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">But
on the global stage, Trump comes across as a would-be dictator, an
idiot, a hypocrite, and a buffoon. After all this writing I still
have not scratched the surface on why Donald Trump is unfit for
office. He is a disgrace to our great nation, and a disgrace to the
Grand Old Party.</span></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#262626"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">I
haven’t even touched his crony ways of running the country.
Providing states aid through his son-in-law Jared Kushner, the
governors that are close and well connected get aid, and those that
aren’t suffer. That he did not divest in his companies before
taking office, that he makes money by hosting events at his own
hotels and resorts. There are certainly countless other items I am
missing from this very incomplete piece, but this has to end at some
point.</span></font></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><font color="#262626"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">Donald
Trump certainly is no Hitler. But that is also an insanely low bar to
meet. I would more rack him up with the likes of Warren G. Harding,
the U.S. president that literally lost the White House china in a
game of cards.</span></font></p><br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-30575577114564529542020-02-17T21:18:00.001-08:002020-02-17T21:18:17.397-08:00Why I might seriously vote for a man who wears a boot on his head. <br />
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
If you aren't familiar, Vermin Supreme is politically... well,
something. A bit of a character. Kind of like the “the rent is too
damn high” guy or “Lord Buckethead.”
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Vermin
has run in before. For the past 30 years, he claims. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d_FvgQ1csE"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>In
the past he has advocated for mandatory tooth brushing laws as well
as for free ponies for every American which also double as a form of
ID. </u></span></a>These positions and policies are just jokes. Like
Stephen Colbert’s persona in the Colbert report.
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
This
election, things are different for Vermin. This year, for the first
time, Vermin is actually taking the campaign seriously. <a href="https://youtu.be/cc--6mtJOoc?t=521"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>Listen
to him at one of the libertarian debates. </u></span></a>
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
I'm
in shock. This year he is also the only candidate with any name
recognition at all. So I really might vote for him in this upcoming
primary. Now, does this mean I will vote for him in the general
election? I don't know about that yet. Let's take it one step at a
time.
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
I
am a little sad to be missing out on some of the other interesting
primaries. The democrats certainly have some interesting things going
on. And as a blog that loves to talk about UBI, Andrew Yang is pretty
interesting (although, as I live in California, which is a state that
votes pretty late in the primary process, I often don’t actually
get to vote for the candidates that interest me. It seems Andrew Yang
recently dropped out before I would have had a chance to support him.
This same thing happened to me in 2016, when Donald Trump was the
presumptive nominee before I even got to vote.)
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
On
the republican side, Bill Weld is pretty interesting too. He is
<a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/482454-bill-weld-secures-one-iowa-delegate-in-longshot-primary-challenge-to-trump"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>taking
one delegate so far</u></span></a> from the sitting president, which
honestly is quite a feat. I am very happy for him. I voted for him in
2016 and would happily do so again.
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Also,
be on the lookout, as the blog has an exciting update post coming out
shortly to talk a little about where the authors of the blog have
been and the state of the blog.</div>
<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-27308322610615896772019-10-11T14:38:00.001-07:002019-10-11T14:38:49.041-07:00Jay Shafer's Stunning $5,000 Tiny House<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kokfI0vn9ZM" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
In an earlier <a href="https://mindsalivation.blogspot.com/2018/07/ubi-solution-to-homelessness.html">blog post</a>, we discussed how UBI could be the solution to homeless. I think this video helps support the idea we proposed earlier. Housing should be much much cheap, and there should be many more affordable options to people. I think tiny homes is a great possible solution to many of the US's homelessness issues.RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-49521817311286914952019-10-08T13:07:00.001-07:002019-10-08T13:07:55.524-07:00Ukraine Whistleblower, Transcript, Complaint & Impeachment -- Real Law R...This is a very informative video. I sometimes wonder how the US got to this state. As a former lifelong member of the GoP, I don't know what the party is thinking. Hoping for real change in 2020.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BD3my03ioio" width="480"></iframe>RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-52061365724589039182019-08-15T22:02:00.001-07:002019-08-15T22:02:31.084-07:00The War On The Poor In America: How Homelessness Became A Crime<br />
Let’s
talk about what may be the ultimate form of poverty: Homelessness.<br />
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Homelessness
isn’t a new phenomenon -- and the homeless have never been treated
with tremendous kindness by the system in which we live. In fact,
there tends to be an overwhelming assumption among the “haves”
that the homeless “have-nots” have somehow earned their
homelessness by making poor choices in life.</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
In
reality, there are so many factors that can lead to homelessness that
they’re impossible to count. Some of them include:</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<ul>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Running away from an abusive family situation.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Being kicked out (as a minor) by a family for being gay, lesbian,
trans or otherwise not cis-gendered.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
A medical crisis that threw the finances of the household
underwater.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Mental disorders (including drug or alcohol addiction) that make
working impossible.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Delays in processing claims for Social Security Disability and
Supplemental Security Income benefits.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
A lack of social services (or lack of funding) designed to assist
people in the midst of economic crises.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Let’s
add to the picture the fact that anyone working a full-time
minimum-wage job (if they can find an employer willing to grant them
full-time hours with the resulting benefits) <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/26/minimum-wage-workers-cannot-afford-2-bedroom-rental-anywhere-in-the-us.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>still
can’t afford</u></span></a> a modest two-bedroom rental anywhere in
the United States. You can quickly start to understand that
homelessness is not a personal failing. It’s a failing of the
system that’s supposed to help personal struggles.</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
So,
why then, are American cities responding to the homeless as if they
are waging a war? The war, one might think, would be against poverty
and the system that keeps people stuck in a cycle of homelessness.
Instead, it’s the homeless that are seen as the problem and
outright attacked.</div>
<h2 class="western">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_e36s7cvpaejq"></a>How Are American
Cities Declaring War On The Homeless?</h2>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
City
governments are going out of their way to make areas inhospitable to
the homeless -- seemingly with the idea that if they can make the
homeless disappear then the problem is somehow solved. (There’s a
revolting sort of logic to this. After all, if the affluent and
working-class people don’t have to be troubled by the sight of some
homeless people on the streets, then the problem <i>seems </i>to be
solved and city leaders can relax.)</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Let’s
talk about how cities go out of their way to make homelessness a
bigger burden than you may have thought possible:</div>
<ul>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Anti-begging laws, which require homeless people to buy a permit in
order to stand on a street corner asking for donations.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Fining motorists for stopping to give homeless people donations.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Designing urban architecture that makes it impossible for homeless
people to sit down or rest in public spaces, including the use of
spikes on window ledges.</div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Ordinances that make sleeping in public -- even inside a car -- a
punishable offense.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Some
cities have even taken the step of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/us/akron-homeless-tent-city.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>disbanding
homeless camps</u></span></a> wherever they can locate them -- even
on private land when the homeless are there by invitation. They also
shut down “illegal” shelters and donation points that aren’t
officially sanctioned. This forces the homeless to find shelter
anywhere they can -- often in secret camps in the woods where they
are more exposed to the elements (and more danger).</div>
<h2 class="western">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_rqrdu2tejui2"></a>What Can Be Done To
Redirect The Efforts Against Homelessness?</h2>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
Homelessness
isn’t a problem that can be made to go away simply by making the
homeless invisible. Some things <i>can </i>be done (experiments with
a universal basic income come to mind as does building mini-homes
that can be maintained on a minimum-wage job) to help erase the
problem of modern homelessness.
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
First,
however, city governments need to acknowledge that the homeless are
people -- and deserving of the resources that can help them escape
their situation.</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
This was a guest piece by Maggie Black.</div>
<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-14030372590078625652019-07-23T21:33:00.001-07:002019-07-23T21:33:36.149-07:00Factually! with Adam Conover: HomelessnessI listened to a great episode of a podcast on homelessness. Some of the figures about the cost of homelessness remind me of our post on UBI as a <a href="https://mindsalivation.blogspot.com/2018/07/ubi-solution-to-homelessness.html">Solution to homelessness</a>. Anyways, enjoy!<br />
<br />
<iframe scrolling="no" src="https://art19.com/shows/factually-with-adam-conover/episodes/7fa8345c-2553-4e1b-953e-4fe20ef73ed9/embed" style="border: 0 none; height: 200px; width: 100%;"></iframe>RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-15202044089797034572019-06-29T21:23:00.001-07:002019-08-02T20:40:48.599-07:00Thoughts first debates of 2019<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I had a few quick thoughts to share over the two nights of debate. For
the first night, I think all the contestants pretty much won. With
two small exceptions. Overall, I don’t think the big hitters per
say, like Elizabeth Warren, successfully lifted themselves further
from the crowd, but her performance was fine.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I think the only one who didn’t
perform fantastic was Beto O'rourke. First he was asked “yes or
no, do you support a 70% tax rate on the highest income earners. He
failed on two occasions to answer this question. This is a big minus
points in my book. You have to answer the question. sure, there is
some benefit in not taking policy position too quickly, but this is a
policy blog. This is what we are all about. Additionally, Beto seems
to come across as young and inexperienced with his exchange with
Mayor De Blasio.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The was one candidate that seems to
rise a little higher than the rest, and that is Julian Castro. Castro
was no body prior to entering this debate, at least, I hadn’t even
heard of him, and I run a politics blog! His strongest point in my
opinion was his closing statement. I thought he even had some of the
vocal qualities of Barack Obama, at the very least, he seemed to
evoke the image of Obama in my mind.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I think the next night was a little
more difficult to follow. The candidates were a little more unruly
and have less thoughts on this. I was, however, very glad to see
Andrew Yang on the debate stage. I thought some of his performance
was a little lackluster. Like having the moderator repeat the
question on universal basic income was a little bit of a flop. This
was pretty much the perfect tee up for Yang, and while his response
wasn’t a bad, he didn’t blow it out of the park. Personally, I
think one way to address the issue of funding the freedom dividend,
is to talk about all the programs we can cut and where we can save
money. For example, as I mentioned in <a href="https://mindsalivation.blogspot.com/2018/07/ubi-solution-to-homelessness.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><i><u>UBI
the Solution to Homelessness </u></i></span></a> a single homeless
person can cost $31,000 or more a year. Clearly, $12,000 is much less
than that. So why might less more help more? Well one because the
free market can create solutions and two, prevention is worth much
more than cure. With money in their pockets, homeless people can
afford a small micro home. They can buy basic nutrition, and avoid
costly hospital visits. I think discussing a VAT was a mistake.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Overall, I enjoyed listening to both
nights of debates and I am excited for what comes next.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-87301791749359420222019-01-05T15:23:00.001-08:002019-01-05T15:32:51.022-08:00The State of Farming in America<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">This is a guest post from Theophanes Avery. See their blog here for more on homesteading and raising chickens! </span><a href="http://www.talesfromthebirdello.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;">www.talesfromthebirdello.com</a><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It’s a bleak time to be a farmer in America, the industry is at its lowest since the 1980’s and it seems as if things are only getting worse. With the average age of farmers being a whopping fifty-nine years of age, and the industry adopting increasingly destructive policies, farmers are leaving the business at a record rate. Most of the Old Timers leave without having any younger generations take up their work, often not because of lack of interest but because younger generations literally can’t afford to. New farms are increasingly impossible to start and the very food we depended on since our country first began is now being outsourced like every other commodity. Times are so tough that after four years of plummeting milk prices dairy farmers are seeing a disturbing increase in suicide rates. But it wasn’t always this way and it doesn’t have to continue being so. Most of the problems these farmers face are at the feet of political policy that has left them behind in the interests of big business.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 0.5rem;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In order to understand this we have to first have to have a basic knowledge of how industrial farming has changed the agricultural landscape. Before industrial farming most farms were very small, feeding only a family or two, and they were exceptionally abundant. Innovation was often the key to success and monoculture and monopolies were unthinkable concepts.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 0.5rem;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">But then industrial farming came along. With the advent of antibiotics, electric incubators, artificial lighting, and pre-made feed, it became far easier to keep large amount of animals in one much smaller space. Crops, which used to be exceptionally varied on each homestead, soon became singular crops, pumping out a vast amount of only one product. In the beginning these all seemed like good things as farmer’s prospered with the higher production rates.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">However today the entire system is more or less rigged so that the farmers themselves are doing most the work with the least amount of pay. In fact in 2017 only 50% of farms made any profit at all. The other half worked for free or worked themselves into debt. There are several complicated reasons for this. The first is that industrial farming has created a monster – now farmers are forced to produce as much as possible in as little as a time as they can manage. This may be beneficial to other factory made commodities but fresh food is perishable and the people who buy it only buy a certain amount. Producing higher yields can actually cost a farmer money in the long run as no one’s going to buy the excess which still took time and resources to produce.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 0.5rem;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This issue is compounded when the market is flooded because then the prices for things like milk get cheaper and farmers get paid even less. There used to be measures in place to make sure this didn’t happen, that food itself always maintained a steady price, but these laws protecting producers either expired or were completely rewritten or abandoned in recent years. Not surprisingly this has caused a lot of produce to start being imported from other countries for cheaper. Recent tariff wars created an antagonistic market for those attempting to do likewise and sell their products overseas.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 0.5rem;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Near-Monopolies are also a big problem. There are only four main slaughterhouses in the US that will buy and redistribute meat from farmers to sell to groceries and fast food markets. These four slaughterhouses all have their own territories meaning that if you are a farming in a particular location you basically only have one choice. This has badly tilted the entire industry against innovation. Farmers are forced to use the chicks or animals the slaughterhouses provide and grow them out on as little feed as possible. If the slaughterhouses take a disliking to one farmer or another they’re not beyond selling sub-par chicks or fudging the data from the weigh-ins so the farmers get paid less. Other accusations are rife and farmers are frequently afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation from their one and only buyer. Again, rules providing protection from these practices were rolled back in 2017 in the GIPSA — short for the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration. They were subject to the demand lobbyists sent by the meat packing industries themselves whose only interest was to make sure their operations were easier and they couldn’t be sued as easy. This was mirrored in plant based farming where big agribusiness strong armed most to use only Monsanto seeds. Farmers who refused started to get sued by Monsanto itself whenever GMO plants were found on their farms – usually blown in by the wind from surrounding farms.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Life on small homesteads also is becoming more difficult with the passing of more regulatory laws. In the past homesteaders could buy antibiotics, wormers, anti-coccidia agents, and other medications from their local feed stores to administer to their flocks and herds as they saw fit. This was a valuable resource because most vets have no idea how to treat farm animals. Lobbyists had laws passed to make many of these necessary medications illegal over the counter without a veterinary prescription. They sold this to the people by saying it was to prevent big agriculture from feeding antibiotics to their animals to make them grow bigger faster. The reality was this law does exactly the opposite, it leaves antibiotics in the hands of only the biggest of farming operations, the ones who can pay to have vets brought in to write the scripts. This has had devastating effects. Coccidia, which is a problem throughout most farm animals and can kill very quickly, is now afforded no control unless you are fortunate enough to have a vet which are very hard to find, especially the more rural your area is. The same goes for diseases and injuries that may require antibiotics and the hardest hit of all these particular groups have been bee keepers. Hives have traditionally always been tended and medicated by keepers because there’s less than a handful of vets in the country that would have any idea what they’re looking at when it comes to treating insects! Now they have been cut off from their one form of health maintenance.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 0.5rem;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">And a cherry on top of the cake is often pet owners making laws that have bad consequences to farmers. One of the hottest state issues over the past few years have been dog laws that require all dogs to be housed indoors at night or during any particular weather. This is a very bad policy for Livestock Guardian Dogs who live their entire lives with a flock or herd of animals, protecting them at night from predators, and probably never going inside a human household. These dogs are made for bad weather and would much prefer to stay outside with their sheep and cow friends than be lavished upon indoors and they’re not the only dogs who’d rather have a job than a life of luxury. These laws could potentially also effect hunting and working dogs kept and bred outdoors. It’s a sad case of allowing people who have no idea make up policies about what constitutes as humane treatment. It may come from a good place but ultimately it’s hurting the innocent.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; content: ""; display: block; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 0.5rem;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We are standing at a turning point. If we do not start listening to farmers and their needs we risk having all of them go out of business and getting almost 100% of our food supply from other countries. This makes no sense what-so-ever to be dependent on other countries when our own has millions of acres of arable land and yes, even willing people to tend it who really can’t because of economic reasons. We can change things to make sure this doesn’t happen but we better start acting quick because farming in America is dying fast.</span>RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-69674045227766668982018-11-11T14:57:00.002-08:002018-11-11T14:57:19.145-08:00Tariffs and the Prisoner's Dilemma<br />
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Tariffs
are almost always a bad idea. Specifically, the tariffs Trump seeks
with China and visa versa will be bad for the vast majority of
people. The Chinese imposed tariffs will be bad for american farmers
as well as Chinese consumers.<!-- Ironically, the nursery I worked on would sometimes sale fruit trees to china, by the tens of thousands. If this is true, then quite interesting.
-->
The American farmers will sell less internationally and the Chinese<!-- Capitalize all instances of Chinese
--><!-- updated, thanks
-->
consumers have to pay more for their goods. Likewise, tariffs on
Chinese raw materials places a burden on American manufacturing and
hurts Chinese materials production. </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There
are a few pluses to tariffs.<!-- The more I think about it, it's true. However, isn't one benefit that the government has more revenue?
--><!-- Possibly, but its offset by the decrease in economic activity. For example, when the farmer sells his good to China, probably make income which is taxed. If the tariff stops the activity from occurring, then there might be net less revenue for the government
-->
A very small group of people are actually helped by tariffs. For
example, coal miners or other natural resources sourced here in
America will experience increased prices due to less supply. But this
is a small group, and the widespread effects of price increases are
much larger in impact. Additionally, tariffs can be used to protect
some industries. This is commonly used as part of a national defense
argument. For example, if the US was totally dependent on foreign
food, the suppliers of food could have a lot of influence over the
US. But this example is really quite far from reality as the US is a
big exporter of food.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">There
is a possible exception to my tariffs-equal-bad argument that
involves the idea of a </span>Nash<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> equilibrium. Simply, if China declares
tariffs on the US, how should the US react? Well, it all depends on
the weights of the different values …</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">You
may be familiar with the prisoner's dilemma, a situation where two
prisoners are faced with the option of either ratting out the other,
or not. There are 4 outcomes in this situation. The two prisoners
both don’t rat each other out, and they both get one year of jail
time. On the opposite side of the spectrum, both rat each other out
and get 2 years jail time. If one rats and other other doesn’t, the
cooperative prisoner gets out free and other other gets 3 years. See
the table below.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in; margin-left: 0.83in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in; margin-left: 0.83in;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-b0c18ed5-7fff-2b53-1850-9c0d28fcb61b"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="443" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/XjRgCsMSxsx-zGE_to6wpsGqakouQkQN9fKyL_y6-h3bm8v8Yry9gRR6NxvgJilwxl7EL1RGYk7eCFHVZiZdU57FD9daTuRy41VbIX3hgtkAOmMti0nigmGSfsj9knO_jIPQyRlk" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
bottom right square in this situation is the </span>Nash<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> equilibrium, it is
the point where the game will go to give time. Why? Well look at the
numbers. Both prisoners getting one year sentences is the best
outcome for them overall, as 2 combined years is the shortest
sentence.</span><!-- Good visual and analogy
--><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> But for an individual
player, getting zero years is better. So players will gravitate away
from the top left square to the top right or bottom left. Well,
anytime one player rats and other other doesn’t, the non-ratter
will regret their decision as two years as a ratter is better than 3.
Which then places the game in the bottom right box. At this point,
neither player is incentivized to make a different decision since
they cannot control the others actions. This point where there is no
incentive to change decisions is called the </span>Nash<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> equilibrium.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in; margin-left: 0.83in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Now,
what does this all have to do with tariffs? Clearly, no tariffs<!-- tariffs
--><!-- thanks, you can also use the suggesting feature, it makes it easier more some edits
-->
is the ideal outcome on the top left. Its best for other parties
overall. However, perhaps one party issuing tariffs is like one of
the prisoners deciding to rat. Once one country makes a tariff, the
other country is incentivized to respond with a tariff of its own,
leading to a downward spiral. Both countries are worse off in this
case. If trade is similar to the prisoners dilemma, maybe retaliatory
tariffs are just part of the game.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in; margin-left: 0.83in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">We
can look at strategies for playing the prisoner's dilemma and apply
them to tariffs. The best strategy is called tit of tat, and its
rules are quite simple. The player cooperates unless the other player
didn’t cooperate in the last round, in which case the player will
not cooperate. Here is an </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOvAbjfJ0x0"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>entire
video</u></span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;">
discussing why this tactic is best.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So
in short, if the tariff situation is like the prisoner's dilemma<!-- Maybe title this The Prisoner's Dilemma. If you can give a couple sentences about how technology is much cheaper or something else... Walmart or Amazon goods being from China, etc. Convince the audience that there is something to be lost... Your strategy is great just add more rhetorict
-->,
a tariff in response to a tariff may be a fair strategy. However,
there was a big assumption in this argument that tariffs are similar
in weights to the prisoner's dilemma. It is possible that, in
reality, the US is better off cooperating with China regardless as to
what they do.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0.03in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
next time you go to Walmart and see everything from China is slightly
more expensive, you can think to yourself, is this all part of a big
strategy? Or is this all just a game of chicken that ended in a
collision? Just something to think about as you check out.</span></div>
<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-85060856504674272442018-09-19T21:33:00.002-07:002018-09-19T21:33:43.960-07:00Post-truth<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CljsZ7lgbtw"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>Rudy Giuliani</u></span></a> so eloquently put it, “Truth isn’t truth.” What a good way to summarize the world we live in today. There has always been divisions in politics, but somehow the differences seem more pronounced today than in the past. We live in a post-truth era where truth and facts have somehow become subjective.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For example, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/21/17764990/michael-cohen-plea-deal-trump-sdny-jail-cooperation"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>Michael Cohen plead guilty</u></span></a> and in court stated that he made illicit payments to Stephanie Clifford and Karen McDougal under the direction of Donald Trump. Cohen stated he did this with the intention to influence the 2016 election. And now Donald Trump is attempting to <b>distance himself from his own personal lawyer</b>! I sometimes can’t believe the world we live in. Sure, this doesn’t prove anything. This case needs to go to a court to determine guilt or innocence. But to any rational person, this is an issue.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now, there are some logistical considerations for this unprecedented situation. For instance, the very practical consideration that a sitting president cannot be indicted due to the time it would take away from the presidency seems like a reasonable one. Just watch an episode of the West Wing and you can see that presidents don’t have much time. But what does this mean for justice? We all know justice isn’t the same for the rich and the poor, but it seems this case is so blatant. As the head of the executive branch, perhaps President Trump is above the law in more ways than one.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I find Michael Cohen’s confession shocking. I don’t exactly understand how this case could be made without his confession. Let me clarify, I don’t know how the prosecution could prove Cohen’s intent. It seems like a difficult thing to do.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let me add one more thing. I am not anti-Trump; I am simply pro-truth. I think I relate to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjsXAH76P-Y"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>Penn Jillette’s sentiments</u></span></a> about pre-presidential Donald Trump: “[Donald Trump] plays a kind of Scrooge McDuck role in our society that is kind of fun... Having a guy that's flamboyant and really really rich is a nice thing for us all to ruminate on. I think he's playing kind of a good role.” Donald is human, like the rest of us. And sure, the wealth he was born into changes how he sees the world. But we shouldn’t hate him. The world is full of different people, and that is part of what makes it great, diversity, whether it be of background, thought, or otherwise. While I disagree with Trump on many issues, an open exchange of ideas is how truth is discovered. So let’s be open, to ideas, and, most importantly, the truth.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-13230245054988268342018-07-11T21:06:00.001-07:002018-07-11T21:06:59.362-07:00UBI the solution to homelessness<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There is currently a huge problem
regarding homelessness, and it is a difficult one to solve. Being
homeless is not free. Well, perhaps the homeless person doesn’t pay
for housing, but the city they live in still has a lot of costs.
First, the city has to pay to law enforcement; it takes the time of
officers to police and relocate homeless camps. Second is healthcare
costs. In the US, when someone comes into a hospital, the hospital
cannot refuse service, even if the patient has no means to pay. These
costs, and others, can amount to $31,000 (or much more) a year PER
homeless person. (<a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/5/30/5764096/its-three-times-cheaper-to-give-housing-to-the-homeless-than-to-keep"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>Source1</u></span></a>
, <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/mar/12/shaun-donovan/hud-secretary-says-homeless-person-costs-taxpayers/"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>Source2</u></span></a>)
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Some people think that individual
cities should be responsible for their homeless populations. However,
cities may not have the right incentives to solve this issue. Take
San Francisco for example. If San Francisco created more housing and
services for homeless people, more homeless people would move to San
Francisco, in essence, helping solve the homeless issue for OTHER
cities, but not necessarily for itself. This is because homelessness
is a transient issue, people can move.<!-- Very good point
-->
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So providing local homeless services
might not solve the homelessness issue, as it may just grow the local
homeless population. Instead, the solution to homelessness might not
involve government, or at least not directly. In Los Angeles, a man
named Elvis Summers created small homes for homeless people (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6h7fL22WCE"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>Source</u></span></a>).
The homes cost him about $1,200 to create, and included a sturdy
front door, windows, and a solar panel and usb charger. This simple
solution provides a place where people can lock up their belongings
and allows them to go and do other things. Mr. Summers did this out
of the goodness of his heart. That is the reason people do services
for homeless people now, because they are nice people. However, if we
changed this, everything might be different… If entrepreneurs had a
profit incentive to help the homeless and make products tailored for
homeless people, they would.<!-- Is this suggesting that capitalism if done properly coupled with UBI can solve this?
--><!-- Exactly, yes
--></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This is were UBI comes in. It does just
that. UBI gives everyone some purchasing power, which means
entrepreneurs and companies will now have a monetary incentive to
create products that will help homeless people. This could lead to a
major change in homelessness. A simple home like one Mr. Summers
created probably could be built at scale for a fraction of the cost.
These simple homes could be rented to homeless people for perhaps 20
or so dollars a month (which at $600 to build would result in a
return of capital in 30 months, which is really short in the real
estate world). In other words, both an excellent investment and a
life-changing product.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In short, UBI might solve a problem
that is otherwise difficult to solve. Individual cities cannot solve
homelessness on their own, and cities essentially have an incentive
not to solve the problem and pass it on to others. UBI solves this
issue, and solves it in the most efficient way, by putting the free
market to use. It enables for profit entities to do what they do
best, provide services at low cost. So this is just another reason
why UBI is the future.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-79614698820134142302018-05-14T18:30:00.000-07:002018-08-08T00:25:05.075-07:00The Republic<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Some people will argue the Founding
Fathers created the United States as a republic and not as a
democracy. This argument is often used as a defense for the electoral
college. I think using this argument is flawed, as it doesn’t look
at the whole picture. It lacks the necessary historical context. When
the United States was founded, it wasn’t the average person that
wanted freedom from the British (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHLHT-nbqHQ"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>source</u></span></a>).
In fact, ⅓ of the colonists were still wanted to remain part of
Britain (loyalists). Independence was sought by the elite who wanted
to pay less taxes.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This group of elites didn’t want a
country run by the common person--far from it. They wanted a country
run by them! So they did just that. <!-- Ryan, this paper has a great core topic
-->They
restricted voting to adult, white, land-owning men. Democracy was a
dirty word to the wealthy elite, not to mention not in their
financial interests. So, they created something else, a republic.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At
its birth, the United States was not a democratic nation—far from
it. The very word "democracy" had pejorative overtones,
summoning up images of disorder, government by the unfit, even mob
rule. In practice, moreover, relatively few of the nation's
inhabitants were able to participate in elections: among the excluded
were most African Americans, Native Americans, women, men who had not
attained their majority, and white males who did not own land.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">John
Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence and later president,
wrote in 1776 that no good could come from enfranchising more
Americans:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Depend
upon it, Sir, it is dangerous to open so fruitful a source of
controversy and altercation as would be opened by attempting to alter
the qualifications of voters; there will be no end to it. New claims
will arise; women will demand the vote; lads from 12 to 21 will think
their rights not enough attended to; and every man who has not a
farthing, will demand an equal voice with any other, in all acts of
state. It tends to confound and destroy all distinctions, and
prostrate all ranks to one common level.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/spring07/elections.cfm"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>Source</u></span></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In the years since, we have moved away
from the original restrictions to voting. Adult citizens can now
vote. But we still are a republic, not a true representative
democracy. Still today, the wealthy and big corporations decide
elections with effectively unlimited campaign contributions. So while
all citizens can vote, the elite still determine the outcome of
elections. Perhaps, abolishing the vestiges of this system is the
logical next step in our countries progression.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But on the other hand, things aren’t
that simple. There are good aspects to being a republic. Being a
republic is conducive to having a constitution, a bill of rights, and
the rule of law. In a true democracy all laws a determined by the
majority, who can use this power to oppose a minority. A Republic can
stop this, at least in theory.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But in some ways, I question the
validity of this argument. Imagine a fictitious person named Jeff,
and a Majority of people in Jeff’s country want Jeff dead. If these
persecutors want him dead, chances are someone will kill him. And
perhaps a sympathetic law enforcement officer will look the other
way. Or if the issue goes to court, a jury of 12 will likely not be
able to convict him if the majority of people on jury wanted Jeff
dead. See, even though a Republic “provides” legal protection
against a majority, maybe it doesn't really.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Perhaps this last example was a little
contrived, but really, it's not too different from some events that
actually happened (<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-people-who-kill-black-men-are-8-times-more-likely-to-walk-free_us_59930782e4b09071f69cc461"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>example</u></span></a>).
Perhaps the bigger issue with a Republic isn’t that it doesn’t
work, it’s when it does work. Take the 2016 election. Donald Trump
won the election but didn’t win the popular vote. In this case, the
will of a minority is imposed on the majority. Now I’m not saying
this because I hate Donald Trump, I also think Hillary Clinton was an
objectively bad candidate, but that is a story for another post. What
I am saying is perhaps we should look to our roots again and
determine what is good and should be kept and what isn’t so good
and should be changed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-91948972064804097092018-05-10T18:30:00.000-07:002018-05-10T18:30:10.256-07:00Physician Assisted Suicide <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
My local public radio has a segment
called “With a Perspective,” where a local will share a story and
what it means to them. I think I have a something slightly similar to
this, which is a break from the normal policy driven posts we
normally do.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
My dog Riley was put to sleep recently.
He was a member of the family. But that got me thinking, why do we
put down dogs, but putting down people is unthinkable. Dogs are close
and considered family in many households</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I was listening to NPR today about a
horse trainer. Apparently, when a horse old is too old, it will be
shot by its owner. The man explained that a horse or a cow that dies
of natural causes faces a long and painful process. That animal will
continue to try to lift itself up with its legs. When that fails,
they will try to lift their body up using their head, essentially
beating their head to the ground until they die. It's not pretty, and
it's not very uhumaine to let that happen.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So why are people any different? How is
it different if a person is in pain or suffering? If a person is
debilitated and unable to do anything but feel pain, why must they
continue to live? Why do humans have to bear untreatable torment
until their bodies literally give up. Could physician assisted
suicide be the answer?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We already do it for the most near and
dear things to our hearts, our pets. Why can't an adult with a
terminal illness end their own life? Some people might say it's
playing God to kill another. But it isn't killing someone. It's just
allowing them to go on on their own terms.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
To be clear, not just any person should
be eligible for PAS. But those who face a terminal illness. As
mentioned I will cover in a future post, many people who commit
suicide fail and most who fail don’t try again.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I don’t claim to have all the
answers, because I certainly don’t have them. But I think the
purpose of this blog is to more to ask the right questions, to get
people thinking.</div>
<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-56975592336504306512018-04-13T22:30:00.001-07:002018-04-13T22:30:00.202-07:00Iraq 2.0<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today President Trump declared military
action against Syria. My first time hearing the speech, I thought
President Trump did an alright job, and that the speech writing was
pretty good. After thinking about things, I felt there were a few
issues with the speech. This isn't the biggest deal, but it sounds
like President Trump is always yelling, which isn’t ideal for a
speech about such a grave matter. A little vocal variation and less
yelling could have done some good, but that is a issue for a
different blog. After all, this is a politics blog, not a public
speaking blog. <!-- Can you make this one sentence? I do think it's good to keep
--><!-- One thing that makes Trumps speech poor is that he seems to be yelling; he could do a lot better if he'd use more varied intonation.
--><!-- I changed some of the wordage, but I kind of like the aside aspect to it. Specifically saying I'm slightly off topic
--><!-- you're right good point, makes us more conversational
-->I
thought the line “To Iran and to Russia, I ask: What kind of a
nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men,
women and children? The nations of the world can be judged by the
friends they keep”<!-- This logic doesn't seem to work; I do not like alliances so much. We can help in small ways, however, what Trump is proposing is over the top
--><!-- Did you mean to highlight a different place?
--><!-- yeah I guess the 2nd highlight
-->
is a hard statement to argue with. It really does seem Russia and
Iran are backing the wrong side. Even excluding the chemical weapon
attacks, the Al-Assad regime has oppressed the Syrian people for
generations. But as I thought more about it, perhaps this is not the
best statement for the United States to make, especially as the
speech continues, and Trump mentions, “...our friends, including
<b>Saudi Arabia</b>, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and
others…” [Emphasis added].<!-- The US has done too much in trying to be the world's police force. Maybe if you could paraphrase or condense what Trump is saying, it did seem like I had to read through a bit much
--><!-- ok I cleaned it up a little
--><!-- Yeah I get it now, you're saying that we shouldn't call nations our friends. If they don't live up to a certain standard
--><!-- Well, I'm really just saying this is hypocritical, not sure what we should do
--><!-- Saudi Arabia with how they treat women and back the terrorist groups. I do see the hypocrisy and the merchants of death (contractors) would benefit the most
-->
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/world/middleeast/trump-syria-airstrikes-full-transcript.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>
(Transcript available here)</u></span></a> Of all the atrocities
Saudi Arabia does to its own people, is this who we want to identify
as our friends? Today in Saudi Arabia, women need a male guardian to
do almost anything, such as renting an apartment or filing a legal
claim. Saudi Arabia backs rebel groups of countries it doesn’t
like, playing a large role in the civil war in Yemen and is partially
to blame for the humanitarian crisis there <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/saudi-arabia"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>(Source)</u></span></a>.
The United States doesn’t have the best track record when it comes
to friends either.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let’s go beyond the speech here and
look at the ideas Trump is proposing. Trump is announcing attacks on
Syria because of a chemical weapon attack.<!-- I see how this is the Iraq 2.0
-->
However, no UN inspectors have actually been to Syria to confirm the
attack. Russia has continually denied the attack. So, there have been
reports of the attack, but there is not solid evidence without UN
inspectors. Does this ring a bell? Well it should. In 2003, President
George W. Bush declared war on Iraq because they had weapons of mass
destruction. Well, years later the American public learned that they
didn’t! If President Bush could have waited just a little longer,
UN inspectors could have gone to Iraq and confirmed that there were
no weapons of mass destruction. It would have saved countless lives,
dollars, and time. Likewise, I ask today, why don’t we follow the
process set by the international Community? Why do we insist on
unilateral action? Perhaps this time will be different, but then
again as the President might say, “maybe not.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-79971242418378233132018-04-07T10:25:00.001-07:002018-04-07T10:28:59.777-07:00Killing Democracy: First Past the Post<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We all know America is a democracy
(well actually a constitutional republic but most Americans just call
it a democracy). Also, we all know how a democracy works (well, the
majority know the simple fundamentals of it anyway), but most
Americans do not realize how crude our democracy actually is.<!-- I just added commas and got rid of a run on sentence by separating it with an also.
--></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If you ask Americans off the street
what is wrong with our democracy, you may get many different
responses to that question. If you ask long enough, one of the
responses may be about the first past the post voting system. If you
have no clue what that is let me explain.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The first past the post (FPTP) is a
voting system in which each person has one vote. Who ever has the
most votes wins the election. Seems fair at the basic level but it is
not. So what's the matter with this type of voting system?
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Allowing voters to only vote once gives
many people the feeling that their vote will not count if it is for
anything other than the republican or democrats because a vote for a
3rd party is a vote wasted. With less representation, there becomes
more apathetic citizenry that do not take the time to vote for they
feel their voice is not heard. Switching out FPTP with a option that
allows for more than one vote may increase desire from voters to put
faith in their preferred candidate/party thus creating a more active
voting base.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The alternative vote would allow a
voter to vote more than once in a numerical order. If you identify
more with socialists, libertarians or whatever you would know that
your vote is not wasted on those parties. Once all the votes are
accounted for, the candidate with the least amount of votes is
eliminated and that candidate’s votes are distributed to the voters
second choice. This process repeats until there is one candidate.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For example, if you really do not like
Hillary but you really, really do not like Trump, and you prefer
Hillary to win over Trump. Instead of voting for what you consider
lesser of the two evils, which in this example would be Hillary, you
vote for you most favored candidate with confidence knowing it's not
going to waste a vote to help Trump get elected. This would work vise
versa as well, if you preferred a more conservative candidate but
didn't want Hillary to win you would vote for Trump as a second (or
third, or fourth, etc.) choice to ensure you vote is not wasted.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The only thing the alternative vote
does is add more options and more possible representation to the
citizens. In the end, without any change to our voting system we will
continue to be dominated by a two party monopoly (which is only one
party more than North Korea and China).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I leave with this quote by John<!-- I added a couple more commas, however, overall it looks good.
-->
Adams.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“There is nothing which I dread so
much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each
arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to
each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the
greatest political evil under our Constitution.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If you want more information about the
alternative vote click the link below.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y3jE3B8HsE"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y3jE3B8HsE</u></span></a>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br /></div>
Ryan T-Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15782652025233509014noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-27660519528762716032018-03-15T22:54:00.002-07:002018-03-15T22:54:25.648-07:00My talk with Gary Johnson ( but not really)<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This post is a little less formal</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I just recently started using
Instagram. And about a week ago, I got a surprising follow.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-732aab94-2d5e-69e2-0232-4eaa0d851f48"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="54" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/U9aJCZAZR_MmwUWCq6gkClTVJUOITJ88gGLB97kD0Y9ZJBKROwg7yS7knYLiuj-brvykmeAcDfrtlAqLO69LX_WWKX62O2TlTShpTLPwKOYwXabBJ8dlQfWJkuoYcc3rbi8btmqd" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="451" /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now I voted for Gary Johnson, so this
was an exciting moment for me. I thought maybe I will DM him and say
thanks. But then, the next day, I noticed he DMed me</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-732aab94-2d5e-7cf6-fdf0-9d55465255b3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="153" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ZYjsW7MUGq-mNt-yKHJ5DdGg2ewKzZRa7hcKeuQO-lSNKQnxo7YkOhbVzEi55UZUVK-AyiRaptnEiZ_DcS3fYqs99rwQq64Hohua8ZVwzihwnECSGs71l5FUsfjsxdmEwVbAYfw6" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="452" /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I thought the message was a little
strange. Not exactly what was expected. Honestly, I even felt a
little uncomfortable, but I don’t exactly know why.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-732aab94-2d5e-8f0e-4e7a-307474b3f9a2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="132" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4YzQVHDXyNcatfi37KfQDxcBHuBamyrTnD-TDeg2EDy9DyMpuPMtH0Vaup3OV7flryuERdR2xRoOW3DDWlTehlF10qja7eV7VeSn0ByZ7U3eApWEqKL1bnizorVrIFof6fJg5g5a" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="478" /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So I responded. “Gary’s” response
seemed even stranger to me. I thought he would be excited to hear I
officially made the switch in my voter registration. Now here things
take an interesting turn.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-732aab94-2d5e-b56d-6444-1797b80407db"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="242" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xqTP2_mdWKqoE_9WKEXyT9B-LnoKZiLot-cwuhK93mku5-rwDJlb3dL97TSE8kN3fDMSollW_AyfFjGDMHTbqWdVNddlD4Jj_vp21AixAj4owCzJxV-k_iYlO9pls6B2NiKbuFfb" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="461" /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I did a little googling and found
nothing on the subject. So I thought I would test if this was a real
person or a bot, as I was suspicious, so I asked a question
(additionally, all the past responses seems inappropriate, like bot
might guess what people will say and responds to it).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-732aab94-2d5e-d1c5-1768-811c86f4dbcf"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="145" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/SjdjeWWijfga4PFz2j0iqySqkXJc4E2IuEe0rWGQ_a3imppHaGtqHM3KII4yiwcDKm3NvtRhWX8bLXTBSYb5DW-gr7c67foBN5X8TAw0OzpuLuy2XdTbHDMJ8X1e7CA0x7pDkMkK" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="450" /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So when he says yes to my question, I
know it’s a real person, but I’m pretty sure this is a scam, so I
decided to ask a technical question about non-profits (after all, I
used to work for one) to see if he knows what he is talking about.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-732aab94-2d5e-f482-fb06-9b95c633205a"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="84" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/oB2ax0XYFJUA1LxgOB13jUAyNFFQLepwMTp4HsCY_iCMvTHSMi-ag7q6DKTQ7es-_zvZe3-tQRLDDVcTwOph7gboy3ZO5F0giH46hIItMuOsXrGbF3QtXBa_VhOAzqGd4TOwgogs" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="451" /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He read this and did not respond. Which
pretty much ensures that I wasn’t talking to the real Gary Johnson
after all. Additionally, I followed that hashtag and found two posts,
here is one of them.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-732aab94-2d5f-2901-8ff6-b027357e4eff"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="914" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/MK7HvxrL6qP6gWtF4awv2yJjhK7TX9NE_Y4J4-8tUnYQbM9XKXreC_YmeepY4tfrLmuYv9zMRTklIfAjtbThgIdaYXglpD7qdIudZXVXF2U5Md7WcJqEQJ5BJvAGXmMPBs1rmn6M" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="475" /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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So I DMed the real Gary Johnson. Maybe
he will respond and then I can truly say, I spoke to Gary Johnson.
Uncut DM below for reference.</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-732aab94-2d5f-49c0-53b6-edecae4365c2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="914" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/iXO1e4hj3qndMnWTFjpvIl0dV2_vYi6MK2_JcvsAe2iQuKhqqpLAo2ypSLky-ZDQnaRlLCbhiCneGJIFdW377FVUOeN0WQOjOmC_KH-NXYj5RFF1ty4hY2P9AxRGOuxwaba7dM_Q" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="475" /></span></span></div>
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<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-64652005725030500892018-02-20T19:34:00.000-08:002018-02-20T19:34:09.414-08:00The Matrix<br />
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We live in a broken political system.
Sure, there is room to discuss to what degree the system is broken,
but it is still broken nonetheless. One of the contributing factors
to this is that many people don’t know this simple truth. Many
people don’t think about politics on a day to day basis. They don’t
think about how the government operates and what they do, and some
even go to great lengths to protect the broken aspects of our
political system. In many ways, it is like the movie the Matrix.<!-- Elon Musk, Simulation; lol, kinda interesting just reminded me of that
--><!-- https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=elon+musk+simulation&&view=detail&mid=0A5AA6D059296084E6620A5AA6D059296084E662&&FORM=VRDGAR
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Many people live in essentially total ignorance of the political
system we are a part of, just batteries to machine overlords. Some
people even go a step further to defend their position as batteries.
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The Electoral College <!-- I always that it was interesting that the Presidential election gets 90% of the attention, which is a major problem. We hardly focus on our Senators or even our Representatives
-->is
a good example of broken relic still present in our political system.
The Electoral College of course could be the subject of many blog
posts, nethertheless it serves as a good example. Does it make sense
that an individual's vote in Wyoming is worth 3.6 (<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-petrocelli/its-time-to-end-the-electoral-college_b_12891764.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u>source</u></span></a>)
<!-- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-petrocelli/its-time-to-end-the-electoral-college_b_12891764.html
--><!-- I agree with you, but I believe the core of the matter is more boring. Sure the head is important. But the belly or heart (body) provides the feelings. We need to improve the people's representation in numbers and methods to further our society and civilization. That encourage intellect and refined interactions (stopping of crime and hate).
--><!-- Creating a new party/hijacking one would be the means of doing this. My political science professor said that it entails working with weirdos or strange people who like campaigning, etc. Meetings (ew gross!)
-->times
more than the vote of someone in California? No. All votes should be
counted equal, this is a fundamental principle of democracy. Now
there are potentially many criticisms to what I just said. Some
assert the electoral college was an important addition by the
founding fathers as a protection against the (unrestrained) will of
the people. Not to ad hominem here, but the founding fathers also
allowed slavery to exist, which clearly conflicts with the ideals of
democracy. I think the argument that the founding fathers wanted this
nation to be a republic governed by white landowners is a poor excuse
to keep such an archaic voting system in place.<!-- Kind of a strawman
--><!-- I do believe we could address the electoral college, but maybe further on in our posts. However, if you'd like we could do it this week
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Some people seem to enjoy fighting on
the wrong side of the field, and I can understand that. After all,
this blog fights against a lot of current establishment. Some people
took it upon themselves to argue along side of the ISP in the battle
of net neutrality<!-- The idea is a good compromise where no-one gets their feet stepped on. I'm not sure which battles are good to fight. I do believe that there are times not to engage
-->.
And, sure, the argument that the free market should rein can be a
good one, but not when it would give ISP monopolistic power over what
truly is a utility, which for me, is nearly on par with electricity.
(After all, if I had no internet, what would I even do with my
electricity?) The influence that large corporations have in politics
is truly frightening at times. Surely we will talk about Citizens
United, but not in this post.</div>
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A<!-- I really like this blog post Andrew. It opens the ideas that many sections of our society have issues to deal with in a non-biased way (well, as objective as any person can be in presenting the ideas and beliefs of oneself).
I think maybe you meant the "milankovitch cycles" instead of the "malkovich cycles"? I'm not sure since I never heard of it before but the former is what I get corrected to from googling the later.
--><!-- yes, milankovitch, you are right
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final point to look at is global warming.<!-- This is where I am more conservative. I hope that my beliefs/ opinions are respected. Religion seems to contradict our perception of the world/society. While incomplete, I do think that religion proves there is much to be understood. Could there be global climate change? Certainly. Am I convinced that the evidence provided has no alternative motives? I'm not so sure
--><!-- https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=amazon+echo+for+elderly&&view=detail&mid=403F31E5E17BC8A711ED403F31E5E17BC8A711ED&&FORM=VRDGAR
--><!-- Sure, everything has additional motives. I'm not sure what the link between Religion and global warning is though, what exactly did you mean by that?
--><!-- Also, the video was pretty funny haha
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The climate is changing, that is a fact. There may be some legitimate
discussion about how much of this change is manmade, and how much is
nature (Google Milankovitch Cycles), but ultimately, there are two
sides of the debate. Science on one side, warning humanity of the
path it is on, and big oil on the other, which makes money today buy
killing tomorrow. Sure, big oil tycoons may destroy the Earth, but
that will be the problem from another generation to deal with. What
confuses me most is the ordinary people that side with big oil. I
mean, sure, it may be tempting to be a shill if I were to be paid,
but some people seem to be willing to do it for free. It simply
amazes me.</div>
<br />RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037808234916972286.post-64999873055769282762018-02-11T14:18:00.001-08:002018-02-11T14:24:43.319-08:00Introduction postWelcome to Mind Salivation, a non-euclidean politics blog.<br />
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Our goal is to be an open ground for different ideas. A place where different ideologies can meet. I have recently been studying World War I, and learned about the fear in Germany and the rest of the west of the bolshevik movement. Military leaders feared bolshevikism like a disease that would infect and destroy, more deadly than conventional weapons. This is a way of thinking I have trouble identifying with. Why suppress ideology? I believe it is in open engagement between ideas that truth comes forth. So that is what this blog is, three writers, with differing ideologies, sharing our views. We are open to others with differing views to contribute to the blog as well. Because it is when we engage with each other that we become better.<br />
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So what does non-euclidean even mean? Well to be clear, we are referring to Euclid, the father of geometry. Some people view politics in a very two-dimensional way, the left and the right. But politics is so much more complex than that. Two dimensions isn’t enough, and an euclidean plane is just that, a two-dimensional plane. In fact, we plan of hosting a whole multiverse of political opinions. Maybe even some political string theory! Thats is kind of a joke. But really, we do want to explore multiple ideas.<br />
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Now why the name Mind Salivation? This blog isn’t about food or hunger; our minds need nourishment as well, something to munch on aside from massive amounts of entertainment. Mind Salivation aims to provide something we can think about to improve our lives. In the words of Vermin Supreme: “For too long this country has been suffering a great moral and oral decay in spirit and incisors.” But really, the idea is that this blog will help stimulate minds in the search of political truth.<br />
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We plan on covering a variety of issues. Universal basic income, the corruption of the two party system, the problem with the prison system, the influence of the military-industrial complex, the banking system’s effect in our economy, modern day propaganda, the founding of the United States, state political parties, the government “hook” and the nature of democracy itself.<br />
Now, stay tuned as new content comes underway and may your mind ever hunger for knowledge!<br />
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RickyHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849342579904241835noreply@blogger.com2