Monthly Archives: February 2019

A Self-Reliant Dinosaur

28 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics

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I am a dinosaur, a techno-dystopian, and happy about it. I believe some technology is good, but much is detrimental to humanity. Some examples are the internet, social media and artificial intelligence. On the surface all three appear to be beneficial to us. In reality all three have spawned a plethora of “advances”. We have lost all privacy. Identity theft is rampant. Our vehicles and homes can be hacked and controlled or monitored by others. Many are losing the ability to speak and write proper grammar and to interact on a face-to-face basis.

The original purpose of the internet was for government in widely separated offices to be able to communicate with each others as V.P. Al Gore wanted. Now it has spread around the world so correct and incorrect information can influence users. People have moved away from traditional media which is regulated by law to sites which do not have any controls. The Russian interference in elections and public opinion is well-known but effective in causing users to form erroneous convictions. The shift in retail to the internet has caused a great increase in people buying defective merchandise because they can’t examine it. With rampant hacking occurring every day, why do more people put their finances on-line?

The sociological damage being caused by the social media is being intensively studied as to how minds are being altered. Social media allows people sitting in the same room or around the world to communicate with each other by putting their minute-by-minute life out for others to see. Social media has caused people to become more narcissistic by an addiction to informing others of every activity and thought.

Artificial intelligence is a game changer to humanity. It will ultimately mean most of humanity will be replaced by machines or computerized thought. Many people in some cities are being replaced by driverless taxis. A few years ago Nevada allowed driverless big rigs on the Interstate. Thousands of driverless cars are on the road. All currently require someone to sit behind the wheel, but that is only temporary.

Thousands of people have been replaced in manufacturing those vehicles. During a tour of the Corvette plant, the guide commented on how proud they are about their new computerized warehousing system which replaced 300 people. She wasn’t happy when I asked if she couldn’t be replaced by a robot also.

People are becoming addicted to their smart phones so they don’t have to learn. Grammar and spelling are being sacrificed for brevity. Toddlers are being given devices to occupy their time. Humanity isn’t going kicking and screaming into their demise, they are looking forward to it.

What Do We Do In Venezuela?

19 Tuesday Feb 2019

Posted by in CIA, Venezuela, CIA

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President Trump, his chief advisors, and many in Congress are threatening an invasion of the South American Country of Venezuela. I understand why some are concerned about the humanitarian aspects of people in a country with extremely high inflation, little food and medicine, and a starving population.

The origin of the crisis lies with Past-President Hugo Chavez. He was an extremely charismatic personality who became a leader by telling the poor he would give them the riches and economy they deserved. He nationalized foreign businesses causing the foreign business people to leave and started an exodus of the nation’s elites. Mismanagement rapidly grew when Chavez died and his Vice-President Nicolas Maduro replaced him. Maduro is a former taxi driver with no experience in government or economics. He has wrecked the economy. His election results were suspected to be fraudulent since the poor have suffered the most under him.

The question is should we do more than offer humanitarian aid. Our history of interference in Latin America goes back to the Monroe Doctrine where President Monroe banned European countries from becoming involved in Latin America and thus making them dependent on the United States. Now the Chinese are getting involved in our pond with the loans and businesses.

One of the first major intrusions into countries south of the border was our invasion of Mexico where we took our southwest states. Another was when we invaded Cuba during the Spanish-American War and made it and the Philippines colonies. We created a rebel group to cause a split in Columbia creating Panama so we could build a canal.

More recently we used the CIA to overthrow governments to put in leaders we want. We killed Chili’s President, supplied guns to the contras in Nicaragua, invaded Panama and captured the leader our CIA has trained and cultivated. We invaded the tiny island of Grenada. We trained and supported the rebels invading Cuba. The CIA has been involved in doing things in all Latin American countries.

The question still exists. Should we do more than give food and medicine to Venezuelans after we have interfered in Central and South American countries?

We have forced our will on them just so American companies can do business in their countries through overt and covert political, economic and subversive activities. Could it be the push to interfere in Venezuela is because the expropriated oil facilities and leases belonged to American oil companies? Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves and is our third largest supplier of oil. Is this to be like our involvement with other businesses in mineral resources and bananas? We know the former President of Panama, Noriega, was paid by the CIA to be involved in the drug trade by expediting the drugs.

The question is still should we get involved again or let other countries solve the problem. We are already the hated Yaquis who interfered in their countries so why not sit back and let the problem resolve itself.

What’s Next?

16 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by in Illinois Taxes, Marijuana, recreational

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Our Illinois state’s fearless leaders have long taxed alcohol and tobacco. Almost three decades ago they decided voters like to gamble so they allowed riverboat gambling so they can tax it.

They got lots of campaign money and allowed medical marijuana so it could be taxed. It is still nationally illegal and all its actual medicinal value can be had with hemp and THC stripped marijuana.

Now they want to tax high potency recreational marijuana for taxes. They use Colorado as their example. It made lots of money but cost more in ER visits, car insurance, etc. to the state and people. The tax is now so high that illegal marijuana is cheaper.

They tax almost all forms of transportation so walking is probably next – maybe two cents a step? I know many of us want to put our two cents into the discussion on taxes.

Bravery Gets My Vote

15 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in Deficits, Legislations

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I am tired of people wanting my vote by saying they will cut my taxes. I consider them to be stupid or incompetent since my county, my state, and my country are already running a deficit. Cutting taxes almost never raises revenue. Greater demand of the product and more employees may increase revenue a little. Remember Reagan raised taxes.

The Bush tax cut changed us from paying off debt to running up trillions in debt. The Trump tax cut is costing us trillions more. We just passed $22,000,000,000,000.00. Rauner’s holding off on bumping the tax back up has cost us billions.

Nothing good will come from continuing to elect financial incompetents who just want to get re-elected. It takes courage to do what is right!

A Real Plan for Illinois Finances

14 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in Finances, Illinois

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The civic committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago has released an all encompassing report on what Governor Pritzker and the legislators must do to get us out of this financial mess. “Restore Illinois” has been proposed by the business leaders of Chicagoland. Their plan is not as radical as it will be if their advice isn’t taken now. We know every year we hold off biting the bullet, the harder it will be to fix it.

We must all be involved in fixing the problem by having to pay more in taxes. We have benefited from having lower income tax rates than most other states. In addition to the low rates, we get many exemptions other states don’t allow. The exemptions come from lobbying our legislators, filling campaign chests, and the hope of currying favor of their constituents. The commission thinks this will add $6 billion in taxes.

Their tax rate proposal is to increase the flat rate by 1% to 5.95% and corporate rate by 1% to 8%. They also propose taxing retirement income and some consumer services. Most people don’t know Illinois does not tax retirement benefits. They recommend raising the exemption on the benefits from $1,000 to $15,000 on those retirees 65 and over.

I did not find my proposal which would be to withhold the tax when the pension check is issued. Mine would tax those who have left the state to avoid paying taxes where they earned their money.

In addition to raising taxes, the commission proposes the state employees pay more money into their health insurance plans and saving over a billion each year. They propose state employees should pay as much as employers in the private sector. This would include all people getting a state paycheck. It would include our elected and appointed officials.

We didn’t suddenly get into this mess. We have been electing people of both parties for decades that have been a part of creating the problems. “Chicago Tonight” on the February 12th episode had an interview with David Harris, Illinois Revenue Director, and Dan Hynes, Deputy Governor. Their projections were a $3.2 billion budget deficit, $15 billion in unpaid bills, $2 billion in additional bond interest, and $1.25 billion in late payment penalties on unpaid bills.

Governor Pritzker said he was going to solve the state’s financial crisis but his plan nibbles on a deficit that is getting bigger. It is time for union members, bankers, and voters to get off their butts and call the officials this paper periodically lists and DEMAND ACTION!

FIFTEEN AN HOUR – NOT THE SAME

11 Monday Feb 2019

Posted by in Economy, Illinois Finances, Politics

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I was born and raised about 265 miles south of Joliet and we go back to see relatives a few times a year. My grand niece is a fifth grade teacher. Her school system is getting some support from one of the few coal mines in the state. The starting pay in her school is $34,702 per year. Starting pay for Minooka grade school is $42,073.

The pay scale for state workers is the same in Chicago as in Cairo. A state senator or representative is the same anywhere in the state. The Democrats in Springfield want to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. In most of the upper part of the state $30,000 is going to get the wage earner off of any state aid but into food pantries or living at the parent’s home. Try raising a family on that much. Granted it will not get that high until 2025 and inflation will have raised the actual cost-of-living.

One proposal is for the minimum wage to be based on a geographical tier. The farther south a wage earner lives the less the minimum would be or the longer it would take to reach that $15 per hour. Both are sound and fair proposals since the living costs are less in the south end of the state. A fair living in northern Illinois is what is called living high off the hog in southern Illinois.

One complaint about a-shoe-fits-all approach is the businesses will have trouble earning a profit when the labor costs rise. The obvious solution is to raise prices a little. Most places can do that but a manufacturing business I brokered a deal on might not be able to compete. Others in the area are competitive because their labor costs are close to those in Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky.

Will a tiered system for minimum wage be enacted? Maybe this is because the poor don’t contribute to campaign chests or are politically active. Two other reasons are pay for state workers. Tiering state workers would cause union unrest. I know of no state which does that but it would make good sense for Illinois. The other reason is if the legislature tiered the other workers, wouldn’t we think it was a great idea to tier our senators and representatives salaries?

One cost savings to the state should be a reduction in state aid to those making minimum wage. Savings would be partially in rent, food and other subsidies. I doubt any additional revenue will come from taxing the higher wage because it will probably be offset by a reduced net income from businesses.

With all the pluses and minuses involved, I believe we should fully support the raises and hopefully on a geographically tiered salary schedule.

MIGRATION IS A MONSTER OF OUR OWN MAKING

11 Monday Feb 2019

Posted by in Immigration, Politics, Wall

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Americans seem to have a problem with repeating history. We have never learned from world, European, or American history that people will move away from problems or towards a better life. The Irish fled Ireland because of the Potato Famine. Various religions sailed the Atlantic for a place to peacefully practice their religions. Most probably came to make more money. The first people across the Bering Sea may have come for adventure. The Africans came without their consent. We move to other states for many of the same reasons.

Often people go back to where they left because the conditions there changed. I think most of the Syrians that left for Europe will return when the fighting is over. Some will go back to help in reconstruction. Others will wait until regular life has returned. When, and if, conditions and economies of Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and parts of Mexico improve, I think a large number of Central American migrants will want to go back to their origins.

Why do the people want to leave their ethnic home and move to Mexico, United States, and Canada? One reason is to make more money for themselves and their families. Another is the governmental corruption in their home country allowing rampant terrorism and preventing economic growth is the most stated reason when applying for entry. We may be at least partially, if not mostly, responsible for these problems.

Over the past century we have displaced democratically elected presidents and installed dictators who have terrorized and robbed their people. We helped the Panamanians to rebel against Columbia so we could build a canal and meddle in their politics until Bush I was forced to invade and capture our former spy asset Manuel Noriega.

My best friend built concrete “school houses” in Honduras, just yards from the Nicaraguan border. We supported the Nicaraguan rebels with guns from the Iran-Contra scandal.

We have supported American companies in those countries by bribery, political pressure, and rebellion. The term “Banana Republic” came from our help to keep Dole and Chiquita Bananas in business and not taken over. Peasant workers were little more than slaves causing anti-American hatred.

Violence in most of Central America would be the usual rebel and army retaliation with CIA or DEA implications. The Panamanian involvement with cocaine was so the DEA could track it. President Trump often talks about the MS-13 gangs coming across our southern border. He may not know MS-13 was born in Los Angeles and exported to Guatemala and other countries by our justice department.

Yes, the migrants want better lives for themselves and their families. Instead of trying to stop them at the border, maybe we should spend that wall money on fixing the problems our CIA and State department created. Maybe the people still there might stay and the caravans would be moving south instead.

Get High — Just Not Here

07 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in Drugs, Illinois, Politics

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Soon our Illinois Legislators are going to be asked to vote to make marijuana a legal recreational drug. Their stated reason is so much illegal drug is already being used, we might as well legalize it and tax it. I knew making medical use legal was letting the camel’s nose under the tent. Would cocaine be nest?

Many of those same people that are now looking to vote Aye have professed moral issues in the past. Voting to legalize an illegal drug just so the state can get more tax money is immoral. Our legislators have used taxes to keep us from hurting ourselves. Heavily taxing tobacco products is good and put $353 million into the treasury in 2017.

People are going to drink alcoholic beverages in spite of some people damaging their livers and their lives. The state taxed us for $171 million for getting drunk. The police have a road side test to check for consumption.

Gambling is considered a sin but we have allowed a fleet of riverboats to ease the feeling by taking a piece of the action for $270 million. Why a riverboat is less of a sin than a casino in Chicago is a mystery. The lottery netted the state $720 million that wasn’t spent as promised.

The four taxes totaled over $1.244 billion in 2017. Some of the proponents of legalizing marijuana say it will net the state over $250 million, either the taxes are going to be extremely high or Illinois has a lot more druggies than believed.

Now we are considering throwing another moral out the window for taxes. This time we should consider the possibility of netting a few million while creating tens of thousands more users isn’t a good trade. Marijuana users get used to the high and many will go on to other illegal drugs.

The marijuana plants of today are not the potency of twenty years go. It has been genetically enhanced. The edible drug was just credited with being the reason for a husband killing his wife. Many other instances have shown today’s drug is dangerous. That is not what Illinois needs with all the guns in the hands of so many cowboys.

My niece and her extended family voted no in Colorado and they cite the same results as a documentary. The taxes haven’t offset the costs by law enforcement, traffic accidents, and emergency room visits. The citizens have been paying higher insurance premiums. Illegal marijuana is still available and at a lower cost than legal.

The winners in legalized are the grow companies, the retailers, and those with overflowing campaign chests. Let’s do something right and moral for Illinois and tell your legislators to vote Nay!

XXV Amendment Section 4

06 Wednesday Feb 2019

Posted by in Politics, President Trump, U.S. Constitution

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Imagine President John F. Kennedy wasn’t killed by the bullet in the brain. He is in a vegetative state so we did not have someone who can legally carry out the powers and duties of the President. Some way was needed to keep America from having a President Woodrow Wilson situation again. Amendment XXV was proposed by Congress on July 6, 1965, only twenty months after JFK died, and was ratified on February 10, 1967.

After the amendment was enacted several Presidents have used Section 3 to turn over power to their Vice-President during an operation or procedure. It is a way of continuing the government during the hours when the President is unable to do so. The President signs a letter and copies are given to the Speaker of the House, the President Pro-Temp, and the Vice-President. When the President is able to resume his duties he writes another letter saying so.

Section 3 is simple and easily understood. Section 4 must have been written by a stadium of lawyers because it is full of legalese and hundreds of words. Why is it so important? It’s because it specifically details how to remove a President from office without their consent. I am sure the original intent was for a Wilson or surviving Kennedy scenario. However it can be used to remove a President who is mentally unfit to carry out the powers and duties of the President.

President Ronald Reagan stated to lose it before his second election as he demonstrated during the campaign. During his last year there was some discussion about whether he should step down on his own accord. I don’t remember any discussion of Section 4.

Now we have a President who demonstrates a moral unfitness and possibly a mental illness. He has lied over seven thousand times often telling conflicting lies during the same day. His narcissism is legendary. He treats women as toys for his own amusement. His boundless ego has created a fantasy world where he sees himself as emperor and able to bend everyone to his way of thinking. His lack of concentration and retention are well documented and perhaps caused by ADHD.

In his fantasy world, the realities of his intelligence community’s assessments are wrong. He thinks bullying people will always get his way and when it doesn’t, he lashes out. Lashing out when one has a nuclear trigger is scary.

Maybe Trump can be kept in line by the threat of the Cabinet or Congress unseating him with Section 4. It would be a huge step to utilize it but his thirst for absolute power may require it.

Dark Future for Humanity

06 Wednesday Feb 2019

Posted by in Environment, Uncategorized

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As I write this the temperature is minus 23 degrees. It seems an odd time to bring up global warming but this vortex is the result of warmer arctic sea water not yet iced over. The warmer air rose and split the normal vortex into two parts. Sound familiar? Remember why the polar bears are dying? Their food source for winter hibernation has lots of open water to get a breath and not the air holes in the ice cap.

A complete collapse of the polar vortex was the scenario of the movie “Day After Tomorrow.” Since the President believes what he sees on late night movie channels, maybe he will learn about global warming’s possible effects. Watching “Sicario” is where he got his stories of abuse on the Southern border.

While we are freezing with near record lows, Australians are having record highs of over 120 degrees. The oceans of the world have been warming at a greater rate than predicted. Not only does this alter the global climate it causes the oceans to expand more than what was caused by glacial melting.

If the reader doesn’t see what the rising oceans have caused then you should go to Miami during a king tide or Norfolk during a high tide. Cities around the world are planning on how to exist for another couple of hundred years. New Orleans (mostly under sea level) will become the norm.

What else will happen with the rising seas? About 30% of the world’s population depends on rice as their main source of nourishment. Rising seas will flood those paddies and most cannot be replaced. For instance, Bangladesh’s 170 million people will need to move to higher ground and its domestic and export rice will be lost. Southeast Asia’s low lands are the world’s rice bowl. When it is lost the millions of displaced will need to move somewhere else.

By 2100 much of American coastal cities, towns, and foolish coastal developments will be flooded at times. More will be flooded during hurricanes. The population movements inside the United States will be disruptive. Croplands not lost to the seas will be changed by the effects of global warming. What will happen to those evicted? Remember we could have over six hundred million Americans.

As the world’s population increases to about twelve billion and cropland decreases, yields won’t be able to keep feeding us and our domestic food animals. Meat, an inefficient use of crops, will have to be replaced by faux meats made from vegetable proteins.

These are factual projections and are already occurring. Those who don’t find themselves seeing the obvious effects and cannot see the dark future should have it put on their tombstones.