The State of the Union Address - A Different Perspective
29/January/2010 12:06 Filed in: Web News
| Oikos
Thoughts
A
multiple-choice question concerning Wednesday
January 27, 2010.
Which of the following events should have added to your understanding of the world and the interpretation of those happenings that may significantly impact your future?
Speculation before the State of the Union Address centered in the quandary of whether President Obama would stay on the liberal or progressive course of his first year as President or would he shift his emphasis towards the political center like Bill Clinton did in his first term. The most verbal conservative pundits were both right and correct, in Obama’s world, “The era of big government is not over and is alive and well!” at least from his Administration’s perspective.
Before we continue, am I the only one in the world that finds his speech giving technique extremely annoying? First of all he lifts his head like he is peering over and looking down on all the people, or perhaps it is more like an old man trying to read something through the bottom of his bifocals. Then he continually shifts from one teleprompter screen to another, never ever stopping to make eye contact with the primary camera. All the TV anchors really don’t find it all that hard, with some it seems that is the only thing they do well. Maybe we could buy another device with some Federal stimulus money and it could be mounted on the camera, or even on the back wall of the speaking venue, and then he could make his speech like a normal celebrity.
In an interview somewhat on the appearance of recent setbacks his Administration has suffered, the President responded somewhat in the following paraphrase: I would rather be viewed as a one term messianic President, rather than being a two term mediocre one.
This response seems totally out of touch with the reality, which is probably, if he does a really mediocre job in his first term, chances are still pretty good that he will be reelected. If he does even a reasonable job, he can’t be defeated. The only way he will not be elected to a second term is if he continues on the current course and his policies turn out to be a complete disaster. Viewing the Obama presidency as an “act of God” as a catalyst for traditional renewal now seems to be the bent of the rising constitutionally pragmatic historic center of the American citizenry. The pundits that view this as somehow an adrenalin boost to the Republican Party are just so – twentieth century.
Notice the term “constitutionally pragmatic” and for other than repeating the word “populist” in next week’s “Week in Review” that will be the end of this now popular label; except in pejorative, in any of my writings. Populist is really just the evolutionary precursor to the progressive agenda that highjacked the term liberal, from a meaning of change, to a meaning of selective big government political solutions for all that ails human societies. In short I find this populist pomposity basically being used as an ethnic term for those people who are not part of the elitist evolutionary profundity.
After his State of the Union Address, what we reported first in last Monday’s Week in Review, now seems to be more than plausible: The question as the Obama presidency moves forward, is not, does he have the intelligence to change to a direction the American people can believe in, rather does he have the skill set to change. Check that post to see the full context of this remark. The answer as of this writing seems to be that he does not possess those true skills for real change that the majority of Americans can believe in.
The interesting similarity between the Obama Presidency and the sixty-fifth anniversary of the closing of Auschwitz is more than it seems at first blush. Both are based upon the religious concept of evolution. Not in the true sense of origin of the species evolution, but rather Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism believes that the more highly evolved elite have a duty and an evolutionary mandate to rule the world, for the advancement of the human race.
This theological construct began in Germany before Darwin, and was more fully refined in the English-speaking world through Darwin’s followers. By adding a little atheistic secularization of Calvinism’s total depravity and conditional election, it became possible for the elite to proselytize their followers to help build that shining utopian city on the hill.
In the United States, we added a bit of New England Congregationalism as it begat populism, followed by progressivism, which now even has evolved to become somewhat a foundational truth of libertarianism. Therefore we no longer have a constitutional republic in the United States, but a generalized concept that we have evolved into a true democracy. So now we should understand the reasoning why nothing positive ever gets done. We shall never again agree on anything unless we again move from a society of not just religious law, but also grace. By grace alone we learn that others are not quite as perfect as we are.
Social Darwinism not only gave us Adolph Hitler, who exterminated five million Jews and another five million non-Aryans in Europe, but also Joseph Stalin, Mao Tes-tung, Che Guevara and others of similar religious Social Darwinist theology. These revolutionary leaders grossly exterminated, in rough numbers, about one hundred million people during the twentieth century.
This brings us to our learning experience with my frozen pizza. I got my car out of the repair shop about 4pm, and realized I had left nothing out for dinner, and to fix something in a hurry I needed to stop by the grocery store. On the way to the supermarket, I also realized that it would probably have to be some type of prepared food if I was going to be able to watch the State of the Union. In the store they had two pizza brands on sale, Red Baron and Tombstone, both brands 3 for $10. I chose the Tombstone because the sale tag said the potential savings were much greater. So for three bucks and change I had Wednesday dinner and Thursday’s lunch.
Listening to all the positive and negative spin in response to Obama’s message, I got to thinking, sometime in the not too distant future we might need some real money to buy our life’s necessities. It was just natural, when the bloviating was interspersed with continual advertising pitches to buy gold, to protect your identity, back up your computer, and get your credit report, my simple mind thought about how much gold would it take to buy the pizza. I finally had to get out of bed and do the calculations before I could go to sleep.
The answer was just about 85 milligrams. In context that is the fraction 85/31,000 where there are 31 grams in a troy ounce. Trying to put that in some perspective you can buy a one-ounce Krugerrand for or a Canadian Maple Leaf about $1100. With a density of gold over 19 times more than water that 85 milligrams converts to about a grain of sand.
Now I go into the mega-mart to buy my frozen pizza, open my poke of gold dust and with a pair of tweezers drop one grain on the produce scale and say, here is your moola. The checker laughs, calls security and brushes my $3 grain down onto the floor never to be seen again.
Now I am not saying that gold is not a wise investment, especially in contrast to cash in the bank, and as a hedge against inflation, but the big run for gold security has somewhat leveled off, and the current gold price has pretty much closed off any elasticity in the market. But in my opinion if you want to find wealth in gold you would be better off getting it from the land. Any color you get after panning for the gelt in a gold mineralized location will probably buy your pizza. That is if you could convert it into some acceptable form of money.
Anyone who knows about naturally found free milling gold, assumes it is generally alloyed with silver and other metals. Fifty percent silver is not all that uncommon, and shows why you can appear to get such good deals on all that natural nugget jewelry, provided they truly are natural nuggets.
Now a balance that can accurately and reproducibly weigh 85-milligrams is expensive, like $1000, needs to be calibrated, and kept in an area free from pressure changes, drafts, vibrations, and other factors. A really good balance that will get accurate measurements of mass at levels less than milligrams will cost maybe twice that first balance.
Furthermore just by looking at your $3 grain you probably can’t tell it from a $6 grain by looking at it without an expensive microscope, and you surely don’t want to pay six bucks for a five-dollar pizza you can get for three bucks on sale.
Now you can refine your gold in aqua regia and produce pure powdered gold. It is more valuable than gold coins and bars, has a lot of industrial uses, and with the right balance you can weigh it out to the right amount you need to buy your pizza. Furthermore you can store it at home in your spice cabinet, for it looks just like ground cinnamon, it just weighs a whole lot more than the spice. Also it looks a lot like powdered copper, so you can keep the potential cooks and crooks searching for your moola stash right in your kitchen cabinets.
So you see the correct answer to the question was D: All the above. And just like all the events of that Wednesday evening January 27, 2010, your time might have been better spent in getting together with friends and playing Trivial Pursuit.
Which of the following events should have added to your understanding of the world and the interpretation of those happenings that may significantly impact your future?
- Barack Obama gave his first State of the Union address to Congress as President of the United States of America.
- In Europe there was a commemorative service remembering the sixty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
- I bought a frozen pizza on my way home after getting my car repaired, ate it during the President’s address, and then thought about how impossible it would be to pay for it with real money.
- All of the above.
Speculation before the State of the Union Address centered in the quandary of whether President Obama would stay on the liberal or progressive course of his first year as President or would he shift his emphasis towards the political center like Bill Clinton did in his first term. The most verbal conservative pundits were both right and correct, in Obama’s world, “The era of big government is not over and is alive and well!” at least from his Administration’s perspective.
Before we continue, am I the only one in the world that finds his speech giving technique extremely annoying? First of all he lifts his head like he is peering over and looking down on all the people, or perhaps it is more like an old man trying to read something through the bottom of his bifocals. Then he continually shifts from one teleprompter screen to another, never ever stopping to make eye contact with the primary camera. All the TV anchors really don’t find it all that hard, with some it seems that is the only thing they do well. Maybe we could buy another device with some Federal stimulus money and it could be mounted on the camera, or even on the back wall of the speaking venue, and then he could make his speech like a normal celebrity.
In an interview somewhat on the appearance of recent setbacks his Administration has suffered, the President responded somewhat in the following paraphrase: I would rather be viewed as a one term messianic President, rather than being a two term mediocre one.
This response seems totally out of touch with the reality, which is probably, if he does a really mediocre job in his first term, chances are still pretty good that he will be reelected. If he does even a reasonable job, he can’t be defeated. The only way he will not be elected to a second term is if he continues on the current course and his policies turn out to be a complete disaster. Viewing the Obama presidency as an “act of God” as a catalyst for traditional renewal now seems to be the bent of the rising constitutionally pragmatic historic center of the American citizenry. The pundits that view this as somehow an adrenalin boost to the Republican Party are just so – twentieth century.
Notice the term “constitutionally pragmatic” and for other than repeating the word “populist” in next week’s “Week in Review” that will be the end of this now popular label; except in pejorative, in any of my writings. Populist is really just the evolutionary precursor to the progressive agenda that highjacked the term liberal, from a meaning of change, to a meaning of selective big government political solutions for all that ails human societies. In short I find this populist pomposity basically being used as an ethnic term for those people who are not part of the elitist evolutionary profundity.
After his State of the Union Address, what we reported first in last Monday’s Week in Review, now seems to be more than plausible: The question as the Obama presidency moves forward, is not, does he have the intelligence to change to a direction the American people can believe in, rather does he have the skill set to change. Check that post to see the full context of this remark. The answer as of this writing seems to be that he does not possess those true skills for real change that the majority of Americans can believe in.
The interesting similarity between the Obama Presidency and the sixty-fifth anniversary of the closing of Auschwitz is more than it seems at first blush. Both are based upon the religious concept of evolution. Not in the true sense of origin of the species evolution, but rather Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism believes that the more highly evolved elite have a duty and an evolutionary mandate to rule the world, for the advancement of the human race.
This theological construct began in Germany before Darwin, and was more fully refined in the English-speaking world through Darwin’s followers. By adding a little atheistic secularization of Calvinism’s total depravity and conditional election, it became possible for the elite to proselytize their followers to help build that shining utopian city on the hill.
In the United States, we added a bit of New England Congregationalism as it begat populism, followed by progressivism, which now even has evolved to become somewhat a foundational truth of libertarianism. Therefore we no longer have a constitutional republic in the United States, but a generalized concept that we have evolved into a true democracy. So now we should understand the reasoning why nothing positive ever gets done. We shall never again agree on anything unless we again move from a society of not just religious law, but also grace. By grace alone we learn that others are not quite as perfect as we are.
Social Darwinism not only gave us Adolph Hitler, who exterminated five million Jews and another five million non-Aryans in Europe, but also Joseph Stalin, Mao Tes-tung, Che Guevara and others of similar religious Social Darwinist theology. These revolutionary leaders grossly exterminated, in rough numbers, about one hundred million people during the twentieth century.
This brings us to our learning experience with my frozen pizza. I got my car out of the repair shop about 4pm, and realized I had left nothing out for dinner, and to fix something in a hurry I needed to stop by the grocery store. On the way to the supermarket, I also realized that it would probably have to be some type of prepared food if I was going to be able to watch the State of the Union. In the store they had two pizza brands on sale, Red Baron and Tombstone, both brands 3 for $10. I chose the Tombstone because the sale tag said the potential savings were much greater. So for three bucks and change I had Wednesday dinner and Thursday’s lunch.
Listening to all the positive and negative spin in response to Obama’s message, I got to thinking, sometime in the not too distant future we might need some real money to buy our life’s necessities. It was just natural, when the bloviating was interspersed with continual advertising pitches to buy gold, to protect your identity, back up your computer, and get your credit report, my simple mind thought about how much gold would it take to buy the pizza. I finally had to get out of bed and do the calculations before I could go to sleep.
The answer was just about 85 milligrams. In context that is the fraction 85/31,000 where there are 31 grams in a troy ounce. Trying to put that in some perspective you can buy a one-ounce Krugerrand for or a Canadian Maple Leaf about $1100. With a density of gold over 19 times more than water that 85 milligrams converts to about a grain of sand.
Now I go into the mega-mart to buy my frozen pizza, open my poke of gold dust and with a pair of tweezers drop one grain on the produce scale and say, here is your moola. The checker laughs, calls security and brushes my $3 grain down onto the floor never to be seen again.
Now I am not saying that gold is not a wise investment, especially in contrast to cash in the bank, and as a hedge against inflation, but the big run for gold security has somewhat leveled off, and the current gold price has pretty much closed off any elasticity in the market. But in my opinion if you want to find wealth in gold you would be better off getting it from the land. Any color you get after panning for the gelt in a gold mineralized location will probably buy your pizza. That is if you could convert it into some acceptable form of money.
Anyone who knows about naturally found free milling gold, assumes it is generally alloyed with silver and other metals. Fifty percent silver is not all that uncommon, and shows why you can appear to get such good deals on all that natural nugget jewelry, provided they truly are natural nuggets.
Now a balance that can accurately and reproducibly weigh 85-milligrams is expensive, like $1000, needs to be calibrated, and kept in an area free from pressure changes, drafts, vibrations, and other factors. A really good balance that will get accurate measurements of mass at levels less than milligrams will cost maybe twice that first balance.
Furthermore just by looking at your $3 grain you probably can’t tell it from a $6 grain by looking at it without an expensive microscope, and you surely don’t want to pay six bucks for a five-dollar pizza you can get for three bucks on sale.
Now you can refine your gold in aqua regia and produce pure powdered gold. It is more valuable than gold coins and bars, has a lot of industrial uses, and with the right balance you can weigh it out to the right amount you need to buy your pizza. Furthermore you can store it at home in your spice cabinet, for it looks just like ground cinnamon, it just weighs a whole lot more than the spice. Also it looks a lot like powdered copper, so you can keep the potential cooks and crooks searching for your moola stash right in your kitchen cabinets.
So you see the correct answer to the question was D: All the above. And just like all the events of that Wednesday evening January 27, 2010, your time might have been better spent in getting together with friends and playing Trivial Pursuit.