Issue 232 Priced out? April 28, 2014

I'm am not talking about people in this case, but goods.  How does government restrict our choices?  By taxing something into oblivion.

What is priced out:  Currently tobacco products and Guns are the two main things that people are being priced out of buying.  Cigarettes, my father’s vice, cost $10 a pack or more depending on the brand.  However, without taxes they may be as low as a single dollar.  Guns cost thousands of dollars because the government taxes them in order deter us from owning things they don't want us to own.  It is why certain drugs cost more when bought behind the counter at a pharmacy rather than over the counter on the shelves.  Gambling is taxed and survives only due to how much money it rakes in.  This is how the government works.  Food, clothing, and more are taxed at varying levels to deter and steer people to buy certain things.

Works for some and not others:  The psychology is that people think based on how much money they own.  They limit themselves to within reason so that they can buy the things they need the most based on priorities.  It only does not work when people’s priorities and wants outweigh the fiscal hurdles they must overcome.  It comes family and the means to support them first and all else second.  Vices and wants play second fiddle unless those priorities align with the primary priority.  A gun is bought for defense and food in many parts of America, with any secondary benefit being bragging rights and fun.  Vices like gambling and smoking are for relaxation and fun for all need an escape. Thus while our choices become limited, people still overcome the obstacles that government puts before them.   

Conclusion:  I do not agree with this unequal taxation of goods, let alone selectively making people victims.  Sure we overcome, and sure we can adapt, but adaption is not what should be done.  In fact, resisting adaption to the government’s whims is more important.  The reason is because obeying government is the last thing that should be done.  We have our needs that need to be accomplished first and foremost.  The government does not know what is needed by the individual and that is why we should not obey.  Basic laws against murder, theft and assault are needed, but the picking and choosing of what is best for us is not.  Thus, I call for all of you to call for the equal taxation of goods and services within the country.  This will allow all goods and services to compete and thus enable us to make the choices on what we want to buy based on our own financial wants and needs, not the government’s desires. 

Issue 321 Banning Words!? April 24, 2014

Sounds nuts right?  Banning words?  The height of ridiculousness.  But that is what some of these people in Hollywood are attempting with their idealistic friends.  Let's go over why this is just plain dumb.

Will not work:  For one you have to have everyone agree to ban the word in the first place.  And you know what, that is never going to happen.  Curse words, racial slurs and more despite being frowned upon are still said by both polite society and those who seek to harm.  They continue to use these words to express their feelings, and even alter the words meaning based on the situation.  For instance "f--k yea" is different from 

"f--k you" (notice I didn't actually right the word because even I find it stupid to say).  Words are malleable and thus subject to change and meaning.  Context is also highly important as well.  The only time a word is no longer spoken is because a different word has replaced it.  

Insults:  What the Hollywood people want to ban is the word "bossy" because apparently they feel it is insulting to women.  Fact is, you better be prepared to be called worse.  People will not stop using the word bossy for it is a descriptor of an individual who is, well for lack of a better word, "bossy".  Try banning the word stupid, idiot, and so on.  It will not work.  If we could ban all the insulting words then it probably would have been done by now (with no words left for us to speak for that matter).  Insulting words do not and will not disappear, they simply change.  These sensibilities on wanting to ban such words are naive.  Words cannot be banned as much as the word poor, homeless, handicapped and so forth will fade in and out as insults and descriptors.  People saying ban this or that because of some emotional connection or displeasure with a word will not solve anyone's problem.

How to really handle insulting words: Talk to the hand. I don't care.  Give them the cold shoulder.  Or just ignore it.  Words can hurt, that we can all agree with, but some are worth getting pissed off at more than others.  The reason you should react this way is because you diffuse its power over you.  Sure people will still talk behind your back and poke fun at you.  But you know what, unless it is constructive criticism, then you should just ignore it.

Conclusion:  Forget banning words.  It is a waste of your time as those words will only be abandoned in time or their meanings changed as time goes on.  This is how the language works, it alters and changes with time.  Focus more on your future and family than this waste of time. 

Issue 320 Bad Racial Profiling April 23, 2014

As promised, I will discuss the dangers of racial profiling.  It can and has been abused.

Racism:  The most typical form of abuse is harassment.  The police officer may be a legit racist or just looking to get be rid of some boredom.  So harassing the individual with the excuse of following the law is tempting for such individuals as they feel they can be protected by the law themselves.  

Mishandled:  If the data is misinterpreted (a failing of all forms of statistical data) or old (in which it no longer applies) it ends up hurting a community rather than helping them.  Basically, it could cause police to stop and frisk individuals who have nothing to do with criminality more often which hurts the trust between the police and the community at large.  As such, all the data must be kept up to date at all times.

Targeting:  Some leaders in a police organization may use the racial profiling and other techniques to harass a particular group or an individual.  Very similar to how the racist cop targets individuals under the guise of the law, but in this case a particular individual or group is targeted at the expense of the others caught in this crossfire.  So an officer who does not like the Muslims in his community (who are predominately black) may be targeted at the expense of the rest of the black community in the area.  An individual of a particular race would also be targeted in the same fashion.  It is very sad when officers of the law sink this low, especially as they will usually have to be complicit in the act.

(Note: I simply chose the most convenient and easily recognized example)

Government tyranny:  The final most basic is when government targets a specific group for political attack.  This can be immigrants, people of a specific ethnic community or just a general group.  The profiling will be used in a disinformation campaign to paint the group of individuals as criminals, violent and worse so as to isolate them from the larger populace.  This allows the government to essentially do what they please with these individuals without fear of the populace speaking out.  The best examples of this are in America when the government removed Native Americans from their land, and in Nazi Germany when the Nazi's launched a disinformation campaign against the Jews to make them into the "enemy within".

Conclusion:  This is a basic list and description on how racial profiling can be abused.  Obviously the government and individuals must be watched so as to protect the people from government and bad officers going out of control and carrying out such horrendous acts.  So this issue will serve as a template on what to look for when individuals in power seek to harm others of a different race, color or creed.

Issue 319 Reactive Racial Profiling April 22, 2014

Reactive racial profiling is much less controversial than its active counterpart.  In fact you yourself have probably heard it numerous times on the news and not even realized it.  So let's discuss what you probably did not know was racial profiling in the reactive.

Reactive racial profiling:  This form of profiling comes after a particular indecent has occurred.  That incident is a crime of some variety.  How this form of profiling is applied is very simple, when the officer describes the physical features of the suspect in the indecent in question.  So when an officer says the suspect is white, black, hispanic or other, it is reactive racial profiling.  Very simply, it allows the officers who are perusing the individual to narrow down the number of possible suspects.

Application: Just as described, it is applied to narrow down the suspects when they are searching for any and all perpetrators to a criminal act.  Let's face it, the cops already have enough problems searching for criminals in a human haystack.   The last thing they need is to complicate matters by treating every single individual as a suspect. That is the sole function of this form of racial profiling and there is really nothing else left to say on the matter.

Conclusion:  This form of racial profiling is essential to police work.  It keeps people like you and me of all races, colors and creeds from being arbitrarily targeted by cops. Narrowing down the search not only makes it easier to find the criminals at large, but also gets the criminals off the street faster.  Thus, without a doubt, I support this form of racial profiling.

Issue 318 Active Racial Profiling April 21, 2014

There are two sets of racial profiling.  One active and one passive.  In this case as you may have surmised, I will talk about active racial profiling.  So let's get started.

Defined:  Active racial profiling is the type that has caused controversy.  Here police and other statisticians take crime data and overlay it with community data in combination with that community’s racial and ethnic makeup.  The goal is to get an idea of where in the community a crime is going to occur and by which group of people of a given racial or ethnic background.  In short, who in the community with a given skin color is likely to commit a crime and where.  Other data is thus factored in to try and achieve success in predicting where the crimes might occur.

Usage:  This data is then given to police so that they will send out more patrol cars to a given area where the crime is most likely to occur.  As such, the chances for illegal activity diminish.  

Another application is when it comes to such programs as stop and frisk.  Police will target the given ethnic group in a given area where those individuals are more likely to have drugs or illegal weapons on their person.  Standard police tactics of questioning are applied so as to reduce the need to search an innocent bystander.

Continued use:  Active racial profiling is controversial because you are singling out a particular race and ethnicity in a given community.  Thus it has been maligned as overtly racist and brings up bad memories when the police where harassing people of a given race rather than protect them.  As such, numerous laws have been passed to ensure that such data is not exclusively reliant on racial profiling, but used in combination with other prediction data on criminal acts to thwart crime.

Future:  The United States is becoming more and more a police like State which fears terrorism and strife more than anything.  From this fear (despite the negative feelings on the issue) racial profiling in the active is here to stay.  Unfortunately, the primary reason for this is due to the rise of radical religions and cults that seek to do us all harm.  As such racial profiling helps to root out the smaller dangerous elements in the communities at large in an effort to protect the community as a whole.  However, this form of profiling will be still combined with other forms of data to get the most accurate picture of a terrorist or worst.  

Conclusion:  I do not doubt that active racial profiling is here to stay. While politicians denounce it as evil because it is politically expedient, it will simply be given a new name or be included in other data gathering techniques to compensate.  The result is a predictive software to aid us in stopping crime and other forms of criminality.  As a libertarian though I am fearful of its misuse and misinterpretation.  It may lead to a more insecure society and more racial strife if applied wrong.  I like the idea of it being combined with other data so as to offset any overtly racial connotations, but I still fear it as a whole. I want smaller government, but this may allow the government to embrace tyranny. As such, so long as this is not used for nefarious purposes (which I will go over in a separate issue) then this technique will prove useful and thus I will support it until a better ( and maybe more reliable) alternative appears.   

Issue 317 Iron Clad Rules?! April 18, 2014

Are the rules rock solid?   Not really.  Some rules are designed to be flexible and that is a very good thing.  Let's review why having flexibility under the law can benefit society.

Rules meant to be broken:  With things like copyright laws, patents and similar protections, the law really gets in the way of progress.  This is why so many people look to break these particular types of rules in order to usurp and promote new inventions and technology.  It is also why they are under constant review for reform. Others have sought out ways to alter patent/copy right law to make it more flexible.  One such way is to make the blueprints to an invention as a tradable stock option.  So when a car company like GM wants to use patented Mitsubishi tires, they simply buy shares equal to the amount of tires they want to produce for their vehicles.  No I am not talking about stock in Mitsubishi either, but actually making the patent into stock itself to be bought in shares as a way of selling it with the owner being able to reap the benefits.  On top of this, if it becomes a publicly traded stock, it allows for more accurate supply and demand price changes and eliminates the need for cumbersome contracts.

Another idea that is already on the books (last I checked) is for the inventor to either sell the blueprints for his/her designs on the cheap or sell the whole product from a licensed factory.  Both options work to benefit all with respect to technological progress and advancement of society.

Punishments:  Before all the types of crimes like "hate crimes," murder 2", "murder 3" "breaking and entering" and such there were basic laws with (usually) flexible punishments.  What I mean by this is that we can simple have laws against "theft", "assault", "murder", but the judge can base the punishment on the severity of the crime instead of predetermined punishments.  This allows the judge in the case of an accidental murder to sentence the guilty to one year, while in a purposeful murder sentence the guilty to death.  So one crime, different punishments based on evidence presented.  Some States in the United States have flexibility just like this, while others do not such as the case of 18 and 17 year old couples being convicted of statutory rape (sex with an under aged minor) ruining innocents lives.  So it all comes down to how well the law is written.

(Note:  the one exception I make is for child molesters and rapists. They should live in jail for the rest of their lives).

The United States Constitution:  Yes even the United States Constitution has flexibility.  Certain Amendments like the 13th 14th and 15th can be enforced by congress with appropriate legislation so long as it does not violate any other part of the Constitution.  Also, the Constitution allows for the document that governs our government’s power to be amended so as to have the flexibility to change (of course this is hard to do on purpose so as to make sure the change is truly worth it).  Thus the law that governs all laws can be changed and has certain flexibility built in.

Conclusion:  So flexibility in law can enrich people, advance progress and prevent people from becoming victims.  It allows laws to evolve and adjust to the changing face of society and crime.  I only provided some tidbits on how and where laws are flexible, but I think you are getting the idea on why flexibility is good.

Issue 316 simple life April 17,2014

What is a simple life?  How do we achieve such things?  From my personal experience I will tell you how far I have come to achieving that and how much I have left to go.

Cutting things out: The basic foundation of achieving the simple life is to cut out all the things that you don't need in your everyday life.  This means stuff.  Not just any stuff, but all the stuff that you do not need.  This means stuff that builds up in your home that has no value.  It means being rid of objects that my become a burden to you.  Such things could include collectors’ items, magazines, to do lists etc.  The list goes on for a while.  I myself have narrowed down my hobbies to three things (a collector’s game, martial arts and reading).  By narrowing down these things I have reduced the clutter in my own life and have given value to the things I continue to do.  Martial arts gives me both physical and some mental exercises.  Book reading exercises my brain and imagination, and finally the collectors game is just to break up the monotony of everyday life and acts as another social activity I can do with my friends.  Sure your hobbies can be different from mine and that you can in fact have more than what I have now.  But make sure they have meaning to them, as if they do not then they may just be a waste of your time.

Simpler path:  In this case you want to achieve the goals in life with the path of least resistance, but not at the cost of the journey.  What I mean by this is that while heading toward your goal it is ok to take shortcuts.  However, if those shortcuts break the law or create guilt, then they are just more burdens on the path of life.

Treating others:  This is very simple.  In fact, every religion has advocated it almost universally.  Treat others as you want to be treated.  A simple concept that is hard to follow.  Basically this rule allows you to kill any enemies with kindness, and not burn any relationships with those around you in a negative way.  I cannot say I have always followed this advice, but with the experiences I have had I can say it is worth the effort to try.

Knowing when to let go:  It is unfortunate that sometimes living a simpler life means letting go of people in your life.  The member of your family that gets you into trouble with the law.  That friend that will not seek help for drug addiction while still hanging around your family.  There are times people have to hit rock bottom to wake up to their delusions and thus seek help.  Even then, they will struggle to crawl out of the whole they dug themselves.  So letting that individual go and then recognizing when that individual is finally ready to try saving themselves becomes very important.  Love is also another area that this falls under. If the person is being held back by you, then it may be time to put some distance between you and that individual.  It is sad and heart breaking, which is true. However, if the person you loved can achieve happiness then it is worth it in the end (at least from my perspective).

Conclusion:  Living simply is unique to each individual.  The reason is because we each have our own burdens to bear.  By recognizing those burdens and either letting them go, or changing ones situation we can a achieve a more harmonious life.