High Energy prices may be the only way to save our childrens future.

 Five dollar gasoline has been a firebrand for everyone right now, with the right pointing to how inept Biden is and how his policies are causing high gas prices, they are not. 

The left is freaking out too because the poor "cannot afford to live" some truth to this, although their own inability to try and better their own life and make sound financial decisions is the real culprit, but that is another blog. 

Overall the United States is the worlds highest Carbon Emitter with a close tie to china. This is incredibly alarming considering the US has 330 million people while China has 1.4 Billion, a substantial population difference. For those at this point who are wondering, yes it's real, if you've ever opened a chemistry book it is undeniably listed as a cause for the planet warming. The concensus with scientists is nearly unmatched, which as Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson says "Almost never happens as Scientists argue over everything."

The United States also wastes 50 percent of the worlds food, production and distribution of food contributes to to Co2 emissions with the less obvious being the production of food itself. Moreover the US unmatched in the world beef consumption also contributes to warming via cow farts and belches, yea my children would laugh right now too, why are you? The US food portions are also grossly larger than anyplace else in thew world where. we also lead in the consumption of garbage food which has at times been proven to have the nutritional value of cardboard. 

Moving on here is the key, Democrats, like good capitalists they are, keep trying to push ways to keep our economy afloat and keep their current presidency and slim margin in the Congress, I get that. However point in fact it requires even more carbon and nature degradation to "Save us" all to keep the corporations happy. 

This is absurd, if we simply regulated and taxed energy, especially oil we would lose the dramatic ups and downs of the oil market, which gives us greater stability and incentivize people to go "Green" this means less consumption and less expulsion of greenhouse gases and a healthier planet. Now you can argue about what those green solutions are, that's fine, however point in fact over consumption in every aspect of American life is the major culprit here. If we were to simply slow our consumption that means less factory  output, less driving, more dependency on mass transit, less building mega homes, less food consumption ect. 

Without it, we go extinct as a species within the next couple of hundred years. This is an emergency and it's time we acted like it. 

A Blue Collar Guide to Understanding Economics in todays world.

 Economics is fairly simple, at least on the long term, however politicians, who are not always looking out for the countries better good make it difficult. When you operate in a political environment focuses on Business profits over the people, we end up where we are now. So this will be an easy to understand guide for those of you confused on how basic economics effect your life. 

Tax cuts. 

This is the stalwart of the Republican party, cut taxes fuel spending, maximize profits, which is what it does. When taxes are cut spending ensues, usually in the form of corporate buy outs and take overs, money which would go to the Government to pay for their projects, instead goes into their pockets. The myth being they are going to reinvest, which sometimes they do, not always in America. 

During the Raygun tax cuts, the government suffered such a deficit that taxes were raised in 12 different area's to pay for the declining coffers, this is where Social Security and Medicare taxes came from. 

https://www.ssa.gov/history/InternetMyths2.html

Tax cuts rarely benefit the common man as they are given to those at the top tier, they do fuel spending overall however and I will explain at the end why too much spending is a bad thing. 

Interest Rates; 

The Federal Reserve controls interest rates, which is the amount you pay federally on money borrowed. Low interest rates sound amazing, I mean who doesn't want to pay less in interest rates? The less money in interest rates you pay the more money you have in your own pocket. At the common persons level a half a interest point is negligible in our lives, where as people dealing with hundreds of millions or billions it makes a HUGE difference. Eventually the cuts keep going and more spending again occurs as lenders have more money to spend. To slow spending the Federal Reserve then raises interest rates which makes industry slow. This sounds bad but it actually can be a good thing as it slows the rate to which homes for instance are purchased. Too low of a interest rate and spending goes wild which fuels inflation, high home prices are a direct result of our previous record low interest rates as people can borrow with more money and buy a higher priced home, thus raising hte prices. Not difficult in the least bit to understand really. 

Employment; The result of both as I noted means industry has extra money to spend on it's pet projects or investing, this means growth. Growth requires jobs to fill lowering the overall unemployment, this sounds great but it means you will inevitably be short of workers, which is where we are now. As industry runs short on workers they must raise their prices to compensate, thus more inflation. Moroever too many people employed means you have less of a workforce to fill down the road, less people going to college and less educated growth in the future. 

While current thinking has stated that worker shortages mean higher pay, that is proven to be somewhat bunk as employers have not raised wages accordingly to fill those jobs. Instead they close or limit hours, which again means higher prices. 

Tariffs; These are used when trading internationally, if a country is protecting all people, it uses higher tariffs to push away investment which will hurt their own industry in that area, if they are short on goods in an area, they will use tariffs at a lower price to encourage import. Currently America has some of the most lax tariffs in the industrialized world which has created a lord of the flies effect, or only the strong survive. This means less stability. 

Trade; Directly proportional to the above, especially Tariffs, this means we again work at a international level to trade our goods. Good relations mean more trade which is a good thing overall. More Trade means more industry in a country and more employment which lowers the number of Immigrants either leaving a country or in our case, coming to a country. Idealy wages are raised to keep employment, however with America's lord of the flies and flip of the switch supply chain economics, indsustry is unstable with our trade meaning at a moments notice that can change with little regard or incentive for long term stability. We experienced this recently with Trump trade wars, where competition and bidding wars started, this destabilized the supply chain creating bottle necks and supply problems which inevitably means higher prices=inflation. 

The President and Congress; Overall the POTUS normally has little direct control over all of this as we do not live in an Autocracy. He does however oversee it all and makes calls for adjustments, suggestions if you will. He proposes a budget  or idea's which is pushed to Congress who then write laws around it. If congress wants the POTUS to approve their idea's, then they captulate and make amends in at least some area's. In short hte POTUS is an executor, or a figurehead who signs laws and trade agreements into power. Ideally the POTUS is neutral in this regard, looking into the future and making sure the good of all is met. Clearly this does not always happen and some POTUS, such as I mentioned Trump and Reagan, put immense pressures on Congress to get what they want. 

In the end if all are working properly, you have a slow growth equal to the birthrate but not more than the retiring rate. When they are out of sink you end up with too much spending, too much growth and inflation. The worst case is hyper inflation where currency can become worthless, we are NO where near that as of yet, but we are at a point of near record inflation all of which could have been easily avoided save certain people in Government not working for the people, but rather working to maximize profits quickly for themselves. 

Did you know that Roe V Wade was actually about a womens right to privacy?

 The MSM and I hate to use that anacronym, is dominated by catholics and their reporting often reflects as such. The reporting often focuses on things which are stewards of the catholic faith such as immigration, refugees and the poor, all of which the Bible is clear on, you will not restrict and you will help. 

However the Vatican, which picks and chooses when to follow the Bible has decided to dig in on Abortion, in order to do so they have pushed the constant narrative that Roe V Wade was about a woman looking for a convenient way to dispose of a unwanted child. 

The reporting overall has left out that Roe was specifically about a woman's right to privacy per the US Constitution, while that right is not explicitly listed, it is implied. 

Moreover the reporting over and over again has ignored the medical reasons women may have to seek an abortion, the court flat out ignored the roughly 40 million women this year who will get one for a fake religious dogma that does not exist in the bible beyond more made up fantasies. 

This will have far greater implications with more of a big brother oversite that no freedom loving person should want in any capacity. 

I want to be clear, I do not like Abortion but I have always maintained it's none of my goddamn business what you do as I don't want the government looking into every aspect of your life. This is a stance I have on sexual transfmations as well, I sure as hell don't understand them, but being a private person, I respect your right to do what you choose with YOUR body. 

Make no mistake if we take that route, a fetus is an extension of a womens body until she gives birth. Every aspect of her life, from mental health, to toxic exposure is transferred to that fetus. Her decision on smoking and diet directly effect the health of that baby, factors often beyond her control dictate if it's viable or not. Unfortunately at times it is not. 

In the end we need to make sure women have privacy and the ability to make a safe decision regarding their own well being and their potential childs. We also need to make sure all people have the resources to raise healthy, productive happy children. Forcing women to have a child does nothing in this regard, in fact it can create a bitter resentful mother/child relationship. Moreover hardships create problems at home, since a certain political party insists on 'pulling yourself up help be damned' approach this is exasperated. 

Let's move forward, not backwards. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/roe-v-wade-was-overturned-heres-how-your-phone-could-be-used-to-spy-on-you/

https://healtheducationresources.unesco.org/library/documents/roe-v-wade-and-right-privacy

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-14/section-1/privacy-after-roe-informational-privacy-privacy-of-the-home-or-personal-autonomy

The Hypocrisy of the Truckers protest is mind blowing.

 Over the past few years conservatives have made it clear that if you want to come into a country, you follow the laws of that country, if you do not, you are therefore Illegal. They clapped in delight as "Illegals " were deported and stomped their feet in rabid support as children were torn from the arms of family members"  they made sure you knew "If you come here, you do it legally!" 

They made trolling an art when black people were shot by police "Follow the Law' and later under Trump had the "We are the Party of Law and Order' with one of their favorite statements "Play stupid games win stupid prizes" 

Well, by November 7th we knew the last part was BS as a Stubborn failed game show host refused to accept votes, by Jan 6th 2021 the Law and Order crowd was trying to overthrow legitimate elections. 

Since then the turmoil has raged with the same crowd digging their heals in against Vaccines and Mandates which per the History of the US are nothing new, claiming 'They are unconstitutional" Oh please, that's like touting the Bible, which the same group has never read, nor has any interest in actually following either. 

So here we are, without me wasting anymore time with the Law and Order Crowd, the same crowd who would tell you at a whim they are not racist, but brown people need to follow the law down south all the while they scream and yell at vaccination to help the public good. To make it even more absurd, they ache Illegally entered another country to shut it down and protest their requirements. 

As a world traveler, this is truly baffling, I do actually believe in following the law, except in a time of desperation when someone starving or running from war should indeed be largely exempt from rules with an expedited system set in place to help get them into compliance. Principals I was raised with you know, helping all for the good of everyone. 

But hey, this means we get into the tangled web of Immigration and I really don't want to get there, but I do want to point out how fucking absurd it is for one side to be so law and order all the while completely ignoring it at. every turn. 

Last the same crowd has been belly aching about inflation, the price of goods and empty store shelves, how much more will goods cost as trade is stifled? How much more will the cost of products go up as availability goes down? Hell for that matter, with a serious shortage of truckers who will take the truckers place if some of them contract covid and die? 

Let's use Conservatives own numbers here, lets say 10k truckers participate in the protest, with the 1 percent number of deaths from covid, that means that 100 of these truckers will die. Not counting missed work do to being sick and of course long covid which will undoubtably stop some from working for potential weeks, or even months. 

From a Humanity stand point the entire debacle is humiliating and self defeating with a huge stain on America as a group simply decides the law no longer applies to them. From a political standpoint it's hard not to call these people what they really are, Anarchists, people intent on destroying the rule of law for their own self gain and inability to understand civilization. 

10 books that should be on every bookshelf

I have always been very well read, but sometimes what you read is everything. 

In high school I averaged 5 books a week, the problem was, most of them were fantasy books, which of course keep you engaged and get your imagination working, but don't really help much in History or Science. 

 One thing I have always been fortunate about in life is the quest to read and learn and not be afraid of being challenged. 

I would read my first physics book in my 20s, which dealt primarily with Nuclear Physics and I absolutely loved it, but the Math was beyond me and I abstained from then, nevertheless I now realize how incredibly important physics is in our life and it should be taught to all. 

About 8 years ago I changed my mind and realized I needed to know more, I was on the losing end of online arguments, something I have wasted much of my life doing, but in the process I have learned a ton, mainly how much I don't know. 

I also have had a curiosity about the world around me, finding out that Pakistan had a Female Prime Minister not once, but twice made me realize that most of what I knew from the American Educational System was severely lacking. So with that lets get started. 

"Science Matters; Achieving Science in the 21st Century; Seems straight forward enough but is probably something all people need to read. While there is nothing ground breaking in it, you will get a reminder how much you simply forgot over the years of schooling while you learned "Reading, writing, reading writing its all I do" My oldest daughter in grade school :P or maybe never really knew. Nevertheless it covers a wide variety of scientific topics and is good for probably everyone. 

The American President from Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton; Great book and I am honestly still chewing on it, so why recommend it? Easy, I am now on Truman and this book gives you a short biography of all those Presidents and some before, in it you will learn some aspects of why and how different laws came into being. It's beyond outstanding. 

Benjamin Franklin; An American Life' This is a favorite of some of the Entrepreneurs in America, you will learn the journey of a piss pot poor young man to America's first self made millionaire, a must for everyone. 

Reconciliation; Islam Democracy and the West; This book written by Pakistans first and only Female Prime Minister will debunk the misconceptions you might have about Islam in the first half, and the second half lay down an absolute brutal take on Islam, Colonialism while simultaneously leading you down a path of Nation Building. To boot this book was written while she knew people wanted her dead, it starts out with an IED attempt on her life. Hard to pass this one up, especially for women wanting to go big in life. 

The Might of Nations; This book has a wonderful breakdown of Colonialism as well as how we got to the UN and why its s important, published over 50 years ago it's a must for every household. 

Guns Germs and Steel; the fat of Human societies.  I was recommended this book many times over the years and I ignored it, reading it however is a game changer as it truly helps you to understand our history and impact on each other as the name somewhat suggests. 

Rocket Men; The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts who made mans first journey to the moon.  This book was amazing and will strike the sense of adventure in every young adult. 

Undaunted Courage; The Pioneering Mission to Explore America's Frontier. About the Lewis and Clark expedition, this book truly again nails the spirit of adventure with the combination of early science. 

1776 by David Muccullah; Several books with the title are out but non can match the wit or accuracy of acclaimed historian Muccullah. I read this the same year I read Hamilton, Jefferson and Washington's biography, to say he captured the high points and spirit of the revolution is a understatement. Another book which should be required reading in every High School classroom. 

Pirates Coast; Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines and the Secret Mission of 1805. Barbary wars you say, I've heard it all! Probably not, as one of those who grew up singing the nonsense patriotic indoctrination songs "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli" I really learned nothing from the song other than, well Patriotism. This book digs into the contributing factors of the war up to the end. Zacks is a wonderful engaging historian, you won't be disappointed! 

My letter to the Justice Department

 It has not escaped mine nor anyones notice that Fox News not only peddles misinformation, but helped give the messages for Jan insurrectionists. To make matters worse we are now on the brink of war and Tucker Carlson Purportedly parrots Kremlin Talking points with nothing done. Moreover their blatant misinformation on the virus and masks are killing and maiming people.

Now I was always told you could not scream fire in a crowded theatre, that there was a limit to our first amendment freedom. Common sense would dictate that treason or going against the public well being would be that limit. That was verified through Charles Manson getting life imprisonment for encouraging his followers to murder some people. They were brainwashed we were told. I remember seeing the bloated bodies on tv of the Jonetown Massacre, nobody hesitated calling that what it really was, but the refrigerated Reefers in front of hospitals all across the US largely filled with victims of similar rhetoric of people being told to breath deep, to inhale, it's not real. Would that not be intentionally telling people to commit suicide? If they were openly asking people to play Russian roulette, would you not act? That is what this is. Last your charges against the insurrectionists in the capital riot are laughable, I live in Montana and have lived and worked among people of that mindset my entire life. I see the Trump flags, the bumper stickers saying they have a bullet for Biden and they mean it. Every time you let off one of "Theirs' with house arrest, they are emboldened and emboldened some more. While I am sure you think these are just dumb hicks, that is true, but they are armed, dangerous and motivated to the point I can no longer argue with them at work as it's not safe. We all know it, we all know they are no longer right in their minds and are ready to go off at a moment's notice. These are not normal times you need to act strong, swift and with the full force of the law.

Putting Mega Billionaires Extreme Wealth Into Numbers You Can Understand

 Warren Buffet with a purported net worth of 111 billion dollars just eclipsed the worth of Mark Zuckaberg with a net worth of 104 Billion.  

Sounds like a lot right? Let's put it into perspective. 

Their combined wealth is worth 214 Billionaires  or if we take Trumps claimed wealth of 3 billion then it would their combined wealth would be equal to 71 Trumps. 

Still sounds like a lot? Now get ready to have your mind blown. 

One billionaire is equal to 1000 Million Millionaires. 

The average US Household has a net worth of 106 Thousand Dollars, so would take 9 HOUSE HOLDS to equal the wealth of one millionaire. 

Still think your vote matters? 

 

The Pandemic is real and worse than the Spanish flu, here's how we know.

First off, I want to be clear, I am not a doctor, I am not a medical professional, I am just a guy who is factual and likes to do research. I don't feel it benefits anyone to have more people to claim they are someone they are not spreading misinformation on the internet. I pride myself in being accurate, honest and open in my blogs. I can assure you this however, this will be reviewed by medical professionals who are close friends and not afraid to tell me when I am wrong. 

There has been debate on if this pandemic is real and if it is how severe it is, one thing most agree on is it's not as bad as the Spanish Flu and the 50 million people who died form it worldwide. The problem is people often skate past the estimated 675k which died in the US alone.  https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html

First off I want to clear the air on the Spanish flu, it was only listed as such as a Spanish Newspaper broke the story on it, the label was used to slander the Spanish who were neutral in the war and it stuck. The exact location of the flu is unknown although America is one of the places it possibly originated in was Fort Riley Kansas. Possibly American soldiers being shipped to Europe carried it with them and spread it.  https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic

Now with all that said and the immense numbers shouldered by the Spanish Flu how could I possibly think this one is worse? Easy, here are my reasons. 

1. Clean water, at the time clean water was not something fully understood and not available to everyone, in fact basic sanitation was still in its infancy. 

2. No Antibiotics; Antibiotics had not yet been "invented" and secondary infections were a leading cause of death at the time, that means if you caught Pneumonia from it, there was no treatment other than to wait it out. 1928 was the year that Flemming would come to understand Antibiotics, ten years after the Spanish Flu! 

3.  Assisted living;  People struggling from air clearly did not have the ability to so much as have oxygen and the famed "Iron Lung" would not even come into being yet. 

4. Longterm Effects: While anytime your lungs sustain damage you can have lasting effects, recipients generally did not suffer from the multitude of side effects such as blood clots, organs damage, strokes and even hallucinations. 

5. Vaccination, something which again was still largely in it's infancy, vaccination against the flu was not something available as yet, not to be available until 1945. Other forms of inoculation were used dating back to our own Revolutionary war when George Washington would force Inoculation on our own Revolutionary Troops against Small Pox.  One thing which people seem to be confused on is being vaccinated does not necessarily stop you from getting a virus, but it does prevent you from having the severe side effects or long term effects that can be associated with Viruses such as Polio, Measles and Mumps. In the case of Covid19 the vaccines developed had an excellent result up to 96 percent prevention initially, but that dwindled as the virus mutated down to 35 percent with Omnicon variant. 

6. Masks; Now this part is interesting as history tells us people masked up for the most part to do their part. In an ideal situation I would be able to say "our masks today are superior to then and readily available" that of course did not happen as masks quickly sold out and people were forced to make their own for the better part of a year. Since that part has ended, so has restrictions and masking is almost not a thing at all. I will therefore abstain in this respect. 

I realize this is not perfect, but they are my thoughts on the issue for a while now. We are living in unprecedented times with nearly 900k people to date dead already, that is confirmed just in the United States. The Refrigerated Reefers outside major hospitals should be a grim reminder how serious this is as should ford having converted a manufacturing plant to make respirators, yet sadly America is still arguing. 

Folks you can believe what you want, but it's to your best interest to take this pandemic at face value, it would do you even better to realize it is nearly as dangerous when put into perspective as other Pandemics the world has seen. The fact we have modern medicine and healthy sanitation to mitigate it should also be brought into your consideration. 

I hope this helps, please, for the love of all that is pure and good, take this seriously. 

How I ended up Backpacking/Eurailing Europe

 I was working at a bar, making great money in tips, had a great trailer next to a river (I am from Montana, trailers used to be a luxury :P) and actually liked my job. 

I was doing some Amateur kickboxing and training easily as much as I was drinking, both were nearly daily.  

One day I was talking to a friend I had met who was an exchange student from Denmark, he was also a kickboxer, who  mentioned he could probably get me some fights across the puddle. 

A light went off, I hung up the phone, went to the bookstore bought two books on how to back pack Europe on my way to work and gave a months notice to my employer. 

People of course thought I was nuts but thought it a grand Idea for a young guy to do. One lady who frequented the Casino was a financial advisor who would give me a 50 dollar bill as a going away saying "Make sure you save that for a special investment down the road, you will know when it is time" I would end up saving that 50 for 8 more years, tucked neatly away in my wallet until I purchased my first house, that Fifty would be party of the downpayment! She was right, it grew and I would buy another house renting out my first, but that's another story. 

My GF at the time was sort of on board but pretty sure I should just camp out with her instead asking "Why Europe?" 

 "Because it sounds good and I can get fights" 

"oh ok" she would reply with the usual female eye roll super excited female voice, this guy's a moron going through her mind I am sure. I did not shack up with her, which on one hand is a unfortunate as she was truly an Amazing person, but had I would I have continued my trip? I'm not so sure. 

I really had no Idea what I was getting into as at the time was the end of the Cold War and years of American propaganda flooded my mind. I still believed that Europeans lived way behind us and it would not have surprised me if they still pee'd in a can and dumped it out the window. I was sure they could barely eat and lacked creature comforts of America. Did straw beds filled with bed bugs await? Would the lanterns be burning whale blubber at the local Inns? I voiced my concern to my friend in Denmark who assured me "Everything is the same just different, just pack like you are going on a normal trip, dummy"

I set a date and was ready to go, sure that I should go and get blitzed at Octoberfest in Germany, however I would mention to a friend my plans who decided he would go as well, but needed an extra month to take time off work so he could go with me, why not I thought? His Idea was also to see Europe in December to make it special so we could also see how "Other countries celebrated Christmas' now that sounded grand but ultimately would make the trip a real pain in the ass, more on that later. 

So I scrapped the plan of getting passed out under tables in Germany and settled for getting bloody noses in Denmark and  seeing the rest of Europe by Train. 

I would give up my luxurious trailer by the perfect River, load up everything I owned (Should have sold it to be honest) and head to crash at my Pa's place for the next month until I left. 

That time would be spent procuring the Eurail Pass, finishing up the books I was reading and getting whatever I deemed necessary packed 

https://www.eurail.com/en?gclid=CjwKCAiA_omPBhBBEiwAcg7smWjqgCwdWpzdTQnSWgDw2wZpd3ldiCyz8EWYu_sHc7X7F-AUY1rR0RoCGX4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

During that time I tried hard not to get sidetracked, there was a real cool Ar15 I could buy, but that was my train ticket, better not, the Ar would be there when I got back. 

A house came up for sale by a friend for the low low price of 10k, I had the cash and was super close to buying it as it was an incredible deal, but of course did not. (Crazy how cheap you could buy homes for in SW Montana 28 years ago!" Again, had I bought that house I would have made the trip. Mind you it would have paid for itself several times over, but damn it, trips are where it's at! 

Finally I needed to find a safe way to spend money, which at the time and according to my books were travelers checks. I was also sure I could see Europe on five dollars a day, one of the books I read was titled that and I was naive enough to believe it.  Wow would that prove to not only be erroneous, but a complete fabrication. 

First my trip to Denmark where huge fights awaited, glory, women and great beer! two months there then my friend would meet me, we would hit the train and off we would go. 

I would spend my last two days not sleeping, I hung out with friends, my favorite cousin (I know she's reading this now) and finally a early morning flight to Europe. 

Next up, the Journey begins