Preferences

One of the nice things about being fifty (mumble) something is that you have the luxury of actually knowing what you like and what you don't like. I'm not going universal with this post and won't be laying out which galaxy or nebula grabs my vote.

1. RECREATION - I like to have my back scratched. Absent a scratcher such as a butter knife or a long handled spoon, a door jam will do (yes, I can be a bit like an old bear rubbing up against his favorite tree.

2. SMELLS - I like to smell sage and pine. The mountains offer these fragrant reminders that it's not all automobile fumes and the odor of McD (cooked horse) wafting over the mall parking lots that exists in the world. I also love the smell of the ocean because it connects with me so viscerally. The smell of a new car comes next on the hit parade.

3. FOOD - While I am not opposed to fine dining, simple food is often the best. Eating outside in good weather is better than eating inside, and on the hierarchy, Mexican style cooking is high on my list.

4. HORSES - I don't own a horse, but I've had a few in my life and I like them. I like riding them in places not designated for horses, which is to say, far from the human stain. There is a companionability that horses demonstrate that I find appealing.

5. VACATIONS - I appreciate them more now than ever before, particularly where the company is fun.

6. MONEY - I've been richer and poorer and richer is better.

The Canary in the Mine

The US Border Patrol reports that fewer illegal aliens are crossing the US Southern Border to look for work in the USA. A greater percentage of criminals are crossing for the purpose of narcotics trafficking, but the Department of Homeland Security doesn't want to go into that because it makes them look bad.

Why is this?

In 2012, Americans will pay $4 trillion in taxes. That is $152 billion MORE than they will spend on housing, food and clothing combined. That’s right, Uncle Sam is now a bigger expense in our lives than the costs of food, housing and clothing combined. So when Obama talks about tax rates being low compared to what they used to be, laugh in his lying face. Sure, rates are lower, but rates don’t tell the whole story. Rates don’t cover tariffs, fees, excise, use and sale taxes, they don’t account for disappearing and fading deductions, they ignore the alternative minimum tax, and they don’t account for a million other hidden taxes and the cost of regulations. (h/t commenterama)

When the economy is bad enough that illegal aliens no longer want to swim the Rio Grande, you should consider whether or not you want this to be continued by the same administration for another four years. 

Timeless Tunes

There is a reason why classics are classic. This song by Tammy Wynette, first released in 1975, has proved to be timeless because it speaks to the human condition:

Sometimes its hard to be a woman
Giving all your love to just one man
You'll have bad times
And he'll have good times
Doing things that you don't understand
But if you love him you'll forgive him
Even though he's hard to understand
And if you love him
Oh be proud of him
'Cause after all he's just a man
Stand by your man
Give him two arms to cling to
And something warm to come to
When nights are cold and lonely
Stand by your man
And tell the world you love him
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your man
Stand by your man
And show the world you love him
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your man

Time for Change?

Sometimes the race card gets a little old and tedious. There are a lot of people in the US who make a princely income by race-baiting and by living through incendiary speech and through vitriolic hatred. Most of these people are not white, but are members of so-called minority pressure groups. These are the same people who were hugely disappointed when a mixed-race man became President of the United States because it made a lot of their bluster look foolish. 

The reality in America is that poor people don't pay much. The poorest 50% of Americans pay no income tax at all. 

There needs to be a fair form of taxation that doesn't punish job creators and doesn't blunt success with unfair taxes. Sadly, one look at Hong Kong's flat tax would suggest that the Godless Communists have come up with a more equitable way to assess taxation responsibility.

It's not about race. It's about rational responsible apportionment of the duty of people to pay SOMETHING  to contribute to the nation. However, it seems to always default to race - to the argument that being non-white should entitle you to a free ride on the backs of others. This lead to the welfare state that we find ourselves saddled with where politicians buy votes from one group with money from another. AND have a vested interest in keeping poor people poor.

Amazing Card Trick

So you think that you're fast with playing cards?

Am I "a victim"?

According to data compiled by the US Internal Revenue Service, only 85 million people actually paid Federal tax last year. That’s only 27% of the population. Yes, you read that correctly. Only 1 in 4 Americans paid federal tax. That means 3 in 4 Americans are getting a free ride on the Federal government. By comparison, 49% of Americans, 147 million people, live in a household where someone received benefits from the government. This means a tremendous class of people is being created who will keep voting for more government (and that means the Democratic Party).

Being one of those 85 million people who paid and paid large, I feel as if I might be a bit of a chump.

Malignancy

He loves puppies and little children...

Everyone is familiar with the "selfish narcissist"--this is the type of narcissism we all know and don't love. With these people, selfishness and a preoccupation with one's own needs and desires are pursued at the expense of everyone else's and it's what is classically associated with the concept of narcissism. 

In society today a disguised type of narcissism is manifest that masks itself in selfless, compassionate concern for others, yet is really all about fueling the need to feel superior and to exert control and power over others.

This second type of narcissism is more subtle, but equally (if not more so in human history) destructive and dysfunctional as the first. It derives from an aggressive idealism/utopianism which is pursued despite the misery it causes in other people's lives; and despite the dead bodies it leaves behind. This malignant narcissism is always justified because it is "for your own good"; or, "for the common good"; or, "to make the world and people better." 

Along with the selfish narcissist (whose overt preoccupation is "ME, ME, ME!" and using others for their own aggrandizement and reward), the selfless narcissist ("LOOK AT HOW WONDERFUL I AM FOR MAKING YOU BETTER!") does not see other people as distinct individuals with needs and desires of their own, but only as fodder for the expression of some IDEAL; or as pawns to achieve the utopian fantasies of their own ideology. And because they think they are the "superior" ones who know what is best for all, if they happen to benefit financially, socially and culturally--all the better! They deserve it for their extraordinary compassion and good works. 

People with this malignantly narcissistic defect completely reject the needs of the individual and enslave him or her to the service of their ideal. Eventually, the enslavement--whether religious or secular--snuffs out human ambition, confidence, energy, self-esteem, and life. These mindlessly malignant "do-gooders" do far more harm than good and their ideologies can lead to genocidal practices and unbelievable atrocities on a grand scale, all in the name of an IDEAL or GOD.

At least the selfish narcissist is limited in the chaos and havoc he/she wreaks. But, the "really destructive maniacs of this world" are the ones who do it for your own good.