Big Lie #1

A while back I made some predictions.

1. The first recession in 26 years will last between 8 and 11 months and cause widespread dislocations specifically in housing.

10. A major financial figure will expose one, maybe two flat out lies that the media had been reporting in financial matters that leads to a rout of the dollar on international markets. Only the complicity of the EU in the lie prevents the dollar from ouster as the currency of trade.

One thing that I have been aware of it that inflation is being manipulated. There are important reasons for this: first, most government entitlement increases are based on inflation. Keep it low and government spending is less. Second, businesses are often faced with demands from unions and employees to increase wages when inflation increases their costs, keeping inflation low reduces business costs. You might wonder how or why I think inflation is being manipulated. Let me offer both an illustration AND an analysis from my betters:



Subtract this inflation rate from our growth rate and you would have been in negative growth territory in the first quarter. We will see what happens today.

Individual Sovereignty

Please post this under the same title today if possible.

The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties, or the moral coercion of public opinion. That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinions of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or persuading him, or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with any evil, in case he do otherwise. To justify that, the conduct from which it is desired to deter him must be calculated to produce evil to some one else. The only part of the conduct of any one, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.

from On Liberty, John Stuart Mill

The entire work can be found here.

300

One would think that after 299 posts, I would have said something that provoked more than a casual glance. With the exception of a discussion that was carried over to to this blog, nothing I have written has garnered much comment - and from the number of people that subscribe to the feed, it hasn't garnered much interest either.

BUT! I didn't start this blog to build a readership. I built it because after reading a lot, I have to have a writing outlet. I have a directory on my computer that is titled: Essays. It is over a gig and nothing there is much bigger than 100k. I like to write. But, frankly, I will probably never get paid to.

I am still not worried or interested in building a readership but I am going to change up how and what I post. In the past I have seldom linked to other sites, that will not change, generally. I am going to begin quoting - in some cases extensively - from the works of others and then comment on the items. In some cases it will be other bloggers, but more likely it will be written works.

I am going to start off this change by looking at On Liberty by John Stuart Mill. Enjoy.

From Chapter 1:

The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinion of others, to do so would be wise, or even right...The only part of the conduct of anyone, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.

I found this while looking for the last four words of this paragraph. I had seen them before and from a political and philosophical point of view, was just blown away. As a foundation stone for the United States, those 4 words capture the entirety of WHY America exists.

The individual is sovereign.

Think of this. Our government gets it's power because we give it to it. My life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is inherently MINE, not because of some grant or law or bequest. I am a monarch in and of myself. As you are. We co-exist based on a choice to recognize that inherent completeness in each other.

Society however, is not the result of monarchs reaching a consensus on what is acceptable to them...it is peer pressure on hyper-steroids. Mill had something to say about that also:

In political speculations 'the tyranny of the majority' is now generally included among the evils against which society requires to be on its guard. Society.... practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression,... penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough; there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civil penalties, its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them.

Society is not, nor should not be, the arbiter of what is acceptable behavior on an individual level. IF the individual is sovereign, then society needs to limit it's apparent willingness to interfere or be reigned in by those monarchs that recognize the folly or oppression.

(I almost hate that last comment. Oppression is a dangerous word that is too often misused by those that fail, or wantonly choose, to defy some community standard. If that sounds like I am in favor of society imposing some standards, or a community doing so, blame my inability to be clear. Society, a community, should have a means to stop the idiot that decides to walk down the street naked. While Mill would suggest that the action does no harm, I would wager that Mills sense of responsibility and respect would treat such a person with scorn and ridicule. That is not oppression, nor is it "tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling". It is an acknowledgment that while I am sovereign, I must respect the fact, FACT, that so is the next individual. Respect is not just acceptance, or allowance. It is an understanding that with sovereignty, comes responsibility, to oneself, and to others. Mill does not expound on this because it was inherent in the demeanor of the average 19th century adult. It is something we have obviously lost in the general society, I think, because we have abdicated our responsibility to personally judge the behavior of those around us. Society is unable to 'police' people, and our reliance on it to do it for us has led to a coarsening of general society that Mills would just not accept.

I must respect the right of the sovereign to behave as s/he sees fit. However, I can, and should, call a kettle black when I see one. If a person prefers to smoke cigarettes, I am certainly not suggesting that I have any right to deny them their vice - however, I can and should point out, in the normal course of our interactions, that such behavior is stupid, dangerous to them and self-defeating. And, in my sphere - my home, my office - such stupid behavior will not be tolerated as it limits my enjoyment.

The idea that I should join with many others and BAN such behavior fails to acknowledge the sovereignty of the individual and it encourages the tyranny of the 'majority'.

So, for the first time, I think I have a philosophical foundation for Tracyism's first rule:

Always act in your own best interest.

We'll see.

MY positions

I am a Conservative. There are many misconceptions about that term and I thought I would offer something concrete. Do you agree? Or disagree?

At the state level:

1. Abortion:

* freely available until week 20;
* Week 20-24, with doctor opinion on the non-viability of the baby
* after week 24, limited - baby is non-viable or already deceased, no other reason.

2. Gay marriage:

* all state licenses are issued for civil unions of any 2 non-related adults;
* Marriage is a religious institution - marriage can be performed or denied by any religious institution. Marriage by itself - no license - is not recognized by the state

3. Taxes:

* Property taxes are limited to .20/100 and assessments are based on most recent sales price
* State income tax is limited to 5% on income that exceeds the state median
* Sales tax:
o State is limited to 8% on all goods and services except: food, energy and medicine
o Local is limited to 1% with same exemptions as state
o taxes are not used in support of or defense of local/state businesses

4. Limited Government:

* Departments or agencies that support a subsection of the population of the state are banned. Exceptions: education.
* Advertising by government agencies is a waste of taxpayer money - banned
* No agency of the government has a right of eminent domain for non-government use. Green space is not government use.
* No government position may have retirement benefits, except
o judges (in office more than 10 years);
o police officers
o fire department officers
o teachers.
* No agency, nor legislature of the state may limit or infringe upon the freedom of a resident or citizen:
o on or in their private property;

5. Citizenship:

* A citizen of Wisconsin is any legal resident of the United States that has resided in Wisconsin for at least 90 consecutive days
* A child born in Wisconsin of a non-citizen or non-resident is not a citizen or resident of Wisconsin
* Non-citizens, except for petitions for asylum or admitance, have no standing before a government agency

6. Personal responsibility:

* No citizen or resident of Wisconsin may call upon the resources of any other citizen or the State for their general welfare, to include:
o housing;
o food
* No citizen or resident of Wisconsin may, by expression of a character or physical trait call upon the resources of any other citizen or the state without their expressed consent;
* No citizen or resident of Wisconsin may, by expression of a character or physical trait limit the rights or freedoms of another citizen or resident without their expressed consent;

I recently had several long discussions on some of the above with others on the American Conservative Party website. If you would like more information, or have an interest, stop by the site by clicking on the logo ----> over there...

Notice

Victoria has a diabetic ulcer on the bottom of her heel. It is VERY bad. A diary is up here. We see the surgeon this afternoon to see if the foot can be saved.