The Art of Silent Action

This little parable was taken from the writings of Jaggi Vasudeva.

There was a man who cleared one hundred acres of forest and made it into farmland. His two sons helped him and they became prosperous. When the man was dying, he called his two sons and told them that the land should never be divided, but the produce should be taken equally, fifty percent, by each son.

Accordingly, they went by their father’s word. One of the brothers got married and had five children. The other one never got married. Life went on and they each took fifty percent.

One day, a thought entered the mind of the brother who had a wife and five children: "I'm getting fifty percent; my brother is also getting fifty percent. But I have a wife and five children while my brother has nobody. When he gets old, who will take care of him? He should have a little more than me because I have the wealth of my children. But he is too proud; he will not take it from me."

So in the dark of the night, he carried a bagful of grain quietly and walked into his brother’s store, dropped this bag and walked back. Whenever he could, he went on doing this.

The same thought also entered his brother's mind. He thought, "I am alone, my brother has five children to feed and I am getting fifty percent, but if I give him extra, he will not take it." So he started doing the same thing at night.

This went on for many years and both of them never noticed. One night, both of the brothers carrying sacks of grains in secrecy walked towards each other's storehouse and came face to face. Suddenly, they realized what was happening.

What a nice reminder that the whole process of life can be about giving. It can be a transaction we choose to carry with us.

Marshmallow Shooters with 5 bags of ammo

You can chart the stars by the types of Christmases we've had. Not really, but they do have their own personalities. Their own folklore. And we talk about them every Christmas, to keep their memories alive.

There's the food disaster Christmases, like the 2000 Tales from the Crypt smoked turkey which we opened to emaciated skin and bones. I tried chicken broth to rehydrate the poor thing but it was too late. My brother called around and found a turkey dinner somewhere that hadn't been picked up, and saved the day. Then there was the great 1976 Turkey Roll mishap where he burned the stuffing and it carried the charcoal flavor through the turkey roll.  I think we ordered a pizza that year.

   And the creative and artistic years, giving well-meaning things both useless and hideous.

          I loved the Singalong Messiah Christmases. And each year retelling the manger story after church, and selecting one of the boys for the great honor of putting Baby Jesus in the manger.

            Who can forget the activity themed years of scubadiving lessons and skydiving, kayak, hockey and ski equipment.

               And the sucky ones with hastily store bought item just to have something under the tree. 

                  There's the baking years when no one was on a diet and Weight Watcher holidays  when everyone was.
                
                      The Christmas after my dad passed when we had to go away, and we spent it in a log cabin in Tahoe, in the snow, with a real tree covered in handmade lace snowflake and red apple ornaments.

                           It's hard to beat the sweet Christmas eves, nibbling on cookies and leaving sooty footprints all over the hearth as we set out the gifts. And especially the ones when the older brothers discovered what was what, and each in turn became part of the Stay Up Late Club to scurry around in hushed voices and head off to bed just before we finished up.

There are a lot who accuse Christmas of becoming an obligatory and commercial holiday of forced generosity. And I agree. A lot forego adult gifts altogether and instead choose to give more spontaneous gifts during the year to create what they think is a more authentic reflection of their affection. Some families pick names to keep the costs down. Some give nothing at all, and instead spend it on lavish meals and get togethers.

I've tried it all. But for us, this year was every bit authentic and magical. For the first time our family had no visible seam from blending three families together. Don's wife and my husband and my sons together without any awkwardness.  It was truly a joy watching the faces as each opened really thoughtful gifts. That's my indellible memory of Christmas 2011.

But I'm sure what everyone else will remember are the Marshmallow shooters with ammo bags of mini marshmallows that threatened to take out the kitchen. It was pandemonium!!! Thank God we got that under control before the boys had a chance to reload!!

A Star-Studded Event

Packages with fancy new bows were torn and tossed; in cozy flannels we celebrated together; and found an icy Christmas surprise in the hot tub.  Christmas 2011, Woodland CA

Sam's first Christmas

Don and Jami

Favorite gift: Grandpa Chuck's books

Star Wars Light Sabers (to go along
with the Marshmallow Shooters)

#2 son (Doovey)

A quick double check before taking
that treat ...

#1 Son (Mook)

A heavenly star appears in the ice

#3 son (The Bean)

Counting our blessings

In Hoc Anno Domini

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression—for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

This editorial was written in 1949 by the late Vermont Royster and has been published annually since.

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas to all ~

Happy Holidays

New tradition forming!  I sit with my husband in a room lit only by tree lights and remember that our blessings outnumber the lights. 

The Veil

On the drive in to work yesterday, I was in a sour mood. News floating out from the radio wasn't good; no cheerful melodies to distract me otherwise; and it is the week before the week that is the busiest week of the year. All this general unrest seemed to be seeping through the doors of the car and right into my soul. 

Again, the media is our enemy. It takes a simple act of defiance and runs images for hours, days, weeks, and months, giving it catastrophe status and jamming it down our throats. I am officially irritated by the deluge of uprisings: better toilet paper quality for prisoners incarcerated for being a menace to society; free luxury retirements for Parisians; free college; hand over the jobs, Mister, and no one will get hurt. My head wants to explode with the universal mantra of it's not fair.

Well, who said it would be, is what I want to know? Who promised life to be anything more than hand crafted with the materials on hand, and by the sweat of our brow, built like a house day by day, a foundation first to hold up the walls that eventually holds up the roof.

I remember being young and idealistic: I do. It was gentler then than now, more hippy-philosophical in the way to imagine what you can be or how it will go. And gently, eventually, the fine tune button revealed that it isn't quite that way. As maturity and life took hold, life unveiled itself as not quite as easy as it looked.

So many young people are in the streets in outrage. And I wonder sometimes if the spark of global unrest is coming from their first real face to face with the inequities in the system: what race does to opportunities in a lot of places, and what a lack of education does in even more; and the truth that the wealthy live parallel but separate lives. What I hear in the air, on the radio and tv, all over the net, is the anguish from too much of the veil being drawn away too quickly.

Or, like Wordsworth here, maybe it is the self-admonishment for allowing ourselves to get so far afield with capitalism and greed that we are partners in charting our own ruin.

THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US
          The world is too much with us; late and soon,
          Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
          Little we see in Nature that is ours;
          We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
          The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
          The winds that will be howling at all hours,
          And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
          For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
          It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
          A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;                        
          So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
          Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
          Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
          Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
                                                          William Wordsworth,  1806.

The Great Ornament Caper of 2011

Our new puppy has been REALLY good about the tree. Maybe it wouldn't be quite as easy if the tree was real, but she hasn't touched it at all.

We have a modest but lovely tree and underneath is a treeskirt with the wooden train Mike got on his first Christmas rimming it. Sam has somehow learned that is her barrier, well at least we thought so.

On Monday morning, I was knocking around the house and Sam brought a bone over to the tree and drop it on the other side of the train right on the naughty side of the treeskirt. I got up, corrected her and gave it back.

A few minutes later, I caught her doing it again, only this time she picked up her bone really fast before I could get over there. And she gave me a look.   

One might imagine that the Motherpet would start wondering what was going on but, alas, no; instead, I got busy distracted in the kitchen doing the dishes. 

I returned to find her with a fabric ornament wedged between her paws having already chewed off the decorations and working on the leg. Worse yet, she had scoped out and gotten to the Beefeater ornament from England that was midway up the tree. I am not even going there at the thought it may have involved a bit of a jump to retrieve.

I think our man is salvagable with some bandaging and a solemn vow to say his injuries were sustained while defending the Tower.

(I guess that answers the question about whether Sam is a vegetarian.)

Strategic Defaults

Ethics of Real Estate Strategic Default

by Richard Warren on May 3, 2010

The new buzzword in real estate is Strategic Default. It’s a phrase that would make political spin doctors proud and has a much nicer sound than many other words for walking away from an obligation. It sounds so very professional. It’s like the corporations that proudly proclaim that they “chose bankruptcy in order to make the company stronger.” Somehow I don’t think that the business plans of those companies had bankruptcy listed in the strategy section.

What at one time considered unthinkable has become perfectly acceptable to many. To be sure, a business has to do what it must in order to remain profitable. But is it ethical? Do ethics matter anymore? Given a choice between going out of business and letting one or more properties lapse into foreclosure, the prudent choice is foreclosure.

There has recently been a heated discussion on this topic in the Forums here. But what about the investor who uses “strategic default” as a business strategy when there is no real need?

Two Examples

In the first case we have an investor who owns several dozen rental properties. Most of them were purchased using loans requiring 20% down payments and had fixed rates. This was not some wanna-be tycoon trying to game the system, it was a long-time, well-seasoned investor. Despite his conservative approach many of his properties are significantly underwater. He continued making payments even though there was little hope of any near-term recovery. Watching all the novice investors walking away made him wonder why he bothered.

With a revised his strategy, he has decided to let his negative equity properties lapse into foreclosure. He tried getting lenders to consider short-sales but they either balked because they were investor loans or refused to waive their right to seek a deficiency judgment. He fully understands that the lenders may still seek deficiency judgments after foreclosure but he is betting that sheer volume of cases will prevent them from doing so. In his mind he has the option of bankruptcy in his back pocket.

To him it is just a financial decision. The kicker is that he has the financial means to keep paying on the notes but he isn’t concerned about ethics simply because no one else seems to be.

Case #2

The second example is of your typical owner-occupant. It actually stems from a conversation I was involved in a few days ago. A young woman was sharing her battle with a bank in trying to get them to modify her loan. Her attitude is a prime example of how many people feel about the situation today. She and her husband purchased a home during the boom years with a low down payment but fixed-rate loan.

When their home’s value skyrocketed they decided to pull out equity to pay for a pool and fancy landscaping. So they refinanced into an adjustable rate mortgage that had an initial payment that was lower than their initial loan despite having taken a significant amount of cash out.

When the loan reset to a much higher payment it was impossible to refinance because values had dropped significantly. She started her efforts to modify the loan and reduce the principal balance, but the bank refused because she couldn’t demonstrate any hardship and the reality was that she could repay – she just couldn’t understand why she had to. Her position was that she shouldn’t have to pay because the value had dropped, never mind the fact that she had signed a document agreeing to do so. When asked why the bank should be on the hook for the drop in value she stated that they should have known somehow.

The conversation became heated at one point when she was asked if a bank should be liable for the difference when an automobile drops in value. She said no because everyone knows that cars lose value but houses never do. We now had gotten to the crux of the problem – she, like many others, had the mistaken belief that houses only increase in value.

The Faceless Enemy

We seem to have a prevailing attitude that banks are somehow a greedy beast that deserves to pay for everyone else’s mistakes. Without a doubt the banking industry was a huge part of the problem. However, they don’t exist in a vacuum. We all share in the losses suffered by the banks. Whether it’s the retiree depending on dividends or pensions, mutual funds, and individuals who own bank stocks, we all share the pain. The ripples spread throughout the economy.

So the next time you hear someone talking enthusiastically about strategic default, keep in mind that, either directly or indirectly, you are bearing a portion of that cost.

Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. – Potter Stewart – U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Since June

Our Tree

I dearly love this time season. At work we are offering to gift wrap packages for anyone in the office for their families, and our holiday party is Friday. I sit writing this with the sounds of the heater cycling in the background and wrapped up in a cozy sweatshirt and shawl. It's 40 outside.

The yard is dirty with leaves from the last season that whipped by and they are pooled at the door. It's the first thing we hear as Sammy and I head out to a walk: crunch crunch crunch. Man, I love that sound! I'm fishing through my holiday recipes and look down at my belly full of Jami's homemade pumpkin pie. Time to hang that wreath on the door.

Ready.

One of the Grandkid ornaments

Family Season: when you know the time has come to spend it with absolutely the most important people in your life. On skype, or phone, or perched on the chairs ringing the dining room table, warmth floods my heart in anticipation of the emotional battery recharge.  Christmas Eve candlelight service. A present at midnight. If any of the kids stay over, we get an extra morning hug. 


Set.

Mike & Me 1986

This crazy busy time demands attention but I love it. The storage boxes are down and old traditions pop out smiling and waiting along with me for the moment the children step over the threshold. There is no more beautiful sound in this world than the chorus of our children's voices coming from the other room as I hum carols and we put out the food.

Go!

(I've been singing them in the car since June.)

Am I using a different calculator?

The unemployment rates are down significantly, it was reported yesterday.

My world; my poll. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 of us were unemployed together in 2009. 

1,2,3,4,5,6 are still financially stressed out.  Two are working, but two have quit looking altogether, three are so grossly underemployed that their weekly earnings will not even cover a modicum of living expenses, and one is on disability (although not even that until the paperwork is approved).

I'm super grateful for making 3/4ths of my previous salary. My husband is super grateful to be earning 3/5ths of last week's salary. But there still is that nagging matter of figuring out how to make it work with mortgages and the cost of living sky high.

Math wasn't my major, but ...

SOPping Wet

I heard the other day that the newest excuse reason banks aren't lending money to consumers with even good credit is that it's Freddie Mac's or Fannie Mae's fault. I guess previously the standard operating procedure (SOP) was for banks to seal the deal (in whatever means possible) and then do the hot potato shuffle before the mistakes were discovered.

You know, like sell a car with a faulty engine or not disclose the house sits on Indian burial ground.

Well the twins are done with that nonsense. Now they are telling the banks: hey, if you messed up on the paperwork or qualification process, you carry the loan on your books.

Awwww: poor banks being told they need to clean up their own shit. Not sure yet whether this Tough Love stance involves fines and penalties for passing bum loans.

Do business ethics need to be legislated? Guess so.

Now Playing at a Theatre Near You, thousands skim from their business coffers to feed an enormous spending habit and lavish lifestyle. The accountant and business managers probably notice first, and so are frequently fired. Bad news is not very popular when what you are doing is fun.

It's their business risk, their money, their choice, they say. Totally legal. Nobody's business but their own. And all those someones who are working and harvesting the business are relying on the fact that the owner appreciates their role in his success.

The owner continues his lavish habit until it becomes a lifestyle. When things start to dry up, the owner shrugs and says It Is What It Is, the economy sucks, when there is no money for a new work truck or quarterly taxes. But he continues to draw what he needs for private school tuition and fancy client lunches and builder payments on that big expensive house. I mean, would you relish the idea of going home and telling your wife the summer trip to the Bahamas is off?

In no time, that sterling reputation that took a decade to build begins to erode. The folks in the office start to notice efficiency layoffs, and field questions about the company's finances. They work harder than ever but can't deny the small talk in small circles, and the phone ringing less. The owner rebuffs employee concerns by saying it is nobody's business but his own.

He's wrong. It's everyone's business.

The Think Tank

Sure, I meditate. The shower is my think tank.

All that chatter and white noise flows down the drain during the 12 minute session.  No distractions from music, talk shows, phone calls, or the cycling of the heater. No computer screen to watch for responses to a post.

Honesty just trickles down my back. I am close in, with the solitude. It is a reflection pool for my tears and disappointments. It is where I recharge the goodness battery. I pray and give thanks and decide what needs to be let go.

The water gets in deep, right down to the root.  It gives liberty to process and think everything out, and focus energy where it needs to go. And yes, even a place to finally forgive that mean girl in middle school who shattered my self image, and even us up. Now I never (well, hardly ever) think of her, too!

Amen to That

Lest I continue to beat a dead horse,

and sound unappreciative

of all the invisible things that

our country helps provide


let me say~



For my birth costing my parents $17.85 because of medical insurance;

And eight years of primary school that cost my parents the clothes on my back, a full pencil case, and lunch packed in my lunchbox;

And free public high school classes for 35 hours a week, 9 months a year, for four years, including free books to use and lab supplies to consume, and an enthusiastic exposure to the arts, and a chance to participate in student government, explore literature and live the sociology of high school which shaped the adult I became;

For the $1.65 an hour national wage standard so my weekend part time job at the Donut Wheel could relieve the household and I could buy clothes and save for that car I scrimped together $325.00 to pay half for;

And the private college education that was funded 70% by the state of California for such an average student who could keep up a B average but had to work on campus to partner with the opportunity;

And the chance to find and keep part time jobs to pay most of the rest of schooling costs;

For a world where being a girl never stopped the dreams of independence and opportunities to live a life in color;

And the chance to bring children into a world where there was no worry about their safety, food and shelter, or a limited culture of achievement;

And when we hit a wall that we could not overcome, there were social programs designed to lend a hand until something came along;

To all of that,
I say
thank you.

Our medicine heals the sick; our opportunities help us rise when we fall; and our promise renews the hope that all but seems lost. What good fortune there is in America still!

Things To Know

From the web. Pretty cool. 1) If you are buying something that you will use often and for a long time, never go cheap. You'll end up replacing it sooner or paying more in maintenance costs than if you had spent more on good quality in the beginning. 2) Don't spend money on a credit card that you can't afford to pay back. It's a trap. 3) Compound interest is your friend. Start early and save often. 4) If you're working with someone who can be bargained down on a price, it seldom hurts to try. 5) Try to keep enough cash to pay your bills for at least six months in reserve. 6) Dogs are fantastic animals. They deserve to be called man's best friend. But, if you are under the impression that you just need to buy a collar and a bag of dry dog food every month and you're set, you're in for a rude awakening. 7) Don't have any children or get married until you can support and love yourself first. 8) Don't trade your car in on a new one just a couple of years after buying it. Pay it off and ride it until (the wheels fall off), all while putting that car payment in the bank. 9) College is a lot more work than high school and your job will be a lot more work than college was. 10) Start looking for a new job before you quit your old job. 11) Don't take any job that only pays commission unless you're either an expert salesman or ready to spend months working without pay to gain the skills you need to become an expert salesman. 12) Ideally, choose something you love to do so much that you'd do it for free, and find a way to make it into a career. 13) When asking for a salary, always have a figure you want in mind -- and then ask for significantly more than that number. That's called negotiation room. 14) There's no shame in taking any honest job. 15) Getting fired or laid off isn't the end of the world if you don't let it be. 16) If you're not happy with the job market, the government, or the schools in your area, remember that you can always move to another city or another state. 17) Check the oil and change it regularly. 18) Lefty loosey, righty tighty. 19) Don't ever open a hot radiator cap. 20) Here are 3 keys to keeping a reasonably clean house: don't leave any dishes in the sink overnight; every time you have a full load of clothes, wash them; and take out the trash every time the can is full. 21) A typing class is always worth it. 22) Learn to use a gun properly if you own one. 23) When you move, sell, throw away, and give away as much as possible or you'll just end up moving boxes from one closet, where they have been sitting for five years, to another closet, where they'll be sitting for the next five years. 24) Don't ever loan your friends money. If they really need the money, and you can afford to help them, just give it to them. 25) Never allow yourself to be photographed naked. 26) When men have a problem and they tell you about it, they want to know how to fix it. When women have a problem and they tell you about it, they just want you to listen. 27) If you ever get arrested, don't say anything until you talk to a lawyer. 28) If you don't know the agenda of the people you're getting your news from, then you don't have the information you need to know if what they're telling you is true. 29) Government is a necessary evil. It's best to keep its tentacles out of your life and out of our society as much as possible. 30) When you're 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking of you; when you're 40, you don't give a darn what anybody thinks of you; when you're 60, you realize nobody's been thinking about you at all. 31) Trust your instincts. They're usually right. 32) If you think a doctor's wrong, get a second opinion. You know yourself best. 33) Don't ever say anything that may offend someone who is going to be serving you food. 34) If you get into a business deal with someone who goes to unusual lengths to convince you of how honest or Christian they are, watch your wallet. 35) You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. 36) If you want to do something exceptional, don't expect anyone to believe you can do it until you've done it. 37) If you don't feel like you're being treated fairly by a company, don't hesitate to ask for a manager. 38) You are not invulnerable and you are not going to live forever. 39) Nobody owes you a living. 40) You are not a victim. 41) If you just assume that every conspiracy theory is wrong without even examining it, you will be right 99% of the time. 42) It's likely that whatever challenges you have faced in your life currently could have been avoided by some better decisions upstream. 43) At a minimum, keep a basic "to do" list, a schedule, and a budget. 44) Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better. 45) If you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities and do only that which matters most. 46) Successful people tend to fail a lot more than unsuccessful people. They also tend to ask a lot more questions. 47) You beat 50% of the people by just showing up. 48) You beat another 40% by working hard. 48) There are at least six key areas of your life: health, career, romantic, social, money, and religion. Don't neglect any of them. 50) When trying to decide between two closely matched alternatives, always choose action. In the long run, it'll lead to your having a lot more experience, great stories, and a richer, fuller life. 51) Spend less on frivolous things and save more starting when you are young. 52) You don't know nearly as much at 18 as you think you do. 53) If you are cutting something, pull the blade away from your body, not towards it. 54) If you get pulled over by the police, keep your hands where the officer can see them, and keep your cool. 55) Keep in your trunk: a car jack and spare tire, jumper cables, flash light, and a first aid kit. 56) Write an advance medical directive, a will, and plan for your funeral. 57) If you're going to be drinking, have a designated driver. 58)  Organization list: pu the toughest things at the top. Do the toughest things first and work your way down. 59) It is better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. 60) It's generally a very good idea to avoid writing email, letters, blog posts, or even having conversations with people when you are angry. 61) You are more like your parents than you would like to admit. 62) If you want to know what a woman will be like as a wife,meet her mother. If you want to know how a man will treat you in the years ahead, watch how he treats his mother. 63) Relationship proverb: Begin as you mean to go on. 64) Your body language, posture, grooming, the way you dress, and the way you carry yourself are much more important than most people realize. 65) Don't put anything on Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, etc. that you would be uncomfortable with the whole world seeing. 66) Believe the stories of people who have been fired after comments made on the net. 67) It's not what you know, it's who know. Network. 68) Never assume your loyalty to a company will be reciprocated. 69) Never ignore opportunity costs. 70) In a business deal, be very sure of the terms of a partnership and the person you are partnering with because partnerships go sour more often than they hold together. 71) You can never pick more than two from this list: fast, cheap or good. 72) When it comes to money, your attitude should be: If I can't afford it, I don't deserve it. 73) There is no such thing as a free lunch. 74) When a financial deal looks too good to be true, three good questions to ask are: how much risk is there, how sure are you that the deal is legit, and how is it that such a fantastic deal hasn't already been snapped up by someone richer than you? 75) If you have trouble telling people "no" or are dealing with a persistent salesman, use this technique. When the other person repeats their request to you, simply repeat the same words of refusal. You may have to do this a number of times, but eventually they will get the message. 76) The quality of our sleep has a greater influence on our ability to enjoy our day than household income or marital status. 77) The best way to deal with temptation is to avoid it entirely. 78) If you want to know what a person really believes, observe what they do. 79) When you have a choice to make and don't make it, that is in itself a choice. 80) A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. 81) Never spend more than 10% of your time on the problem and spend at least 90% of your time on the solution. 82) Losers find excuses, winners find solutions. 83) To thine own self be true. 84) Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. 85) To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. 86) God doesn't always give us what we want, but He knows what we need. 87) If you are bored with life, if you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things - you don't have enough goals. 88) The difference between high achievers and also-rans is almost always the degree of preparation. 89) If you won't even remember it five years from now, there's no point in getting upset about it. 90) Do it now, while you can.

Full to the Brim

We fit it all in! It was great! And up on time for work!

Spending time with family is invigorating. There's a new engagement; we are down one dog down and up three; the baby is going to be a boy; there's a gig in Modesto benefiting Toys For Tots; lost jobs and found opportunities; a big move in the works to the Midwest, and another plan to travel abroad.

Holiday face time is a great tonic for what ails ya, that's what I was thinking as we logged six hundred miles on the truck with the dog in our lap (some of the time). So glad we scheduled the 'free' time!

We left the phone in the car this year and only brought food and some undivided attention. We used it on Pop B who wasn't feeling well, and sis in laws I dearly love and four brothers who talk at once and love to reminisce. We walked the beach with the dogs and surveyed a room full of sons and their uncle, and sat around later with feet hot near the fire listening to the banter of life and change and gratefulness. To be a part of this big blended family, that's what did it for me.

Leftovers aside, I am full of thanksgiving.

Deregs

Wikipedia had this really interesting diagram that succinctly explained the above ground cause and response of the housing bubble of 2006-7-8. The section right below is also from Wikipedia.

Text Explanation of the Diagram

The ripple or domino effect was summarized in plain language by President Bush in his address to the Nation on September 24, 2008.^[1]

• Housing Market: As the housing bubble burst in late 2006 and prices declined, mortgage holders counting on home price appreciation found themselves unable to pay their mortgages. Rates on adjustable-rate mortgages increased. Mortgage payment delinquency rates and foreclosures increased. With an oversupply of homes, housing construction declined. Housing value declines meant consumers had less money available for consumption. This placed downward pressure on economic growth, increasing the risk of recession.
• Financial Market: Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) derive their value from housing prices and mortgage cash flows. As these cash flows declined or became uncertain, financial institutions and investors holding MBS faced large losses. In certain cases, they had to sell these assets to pay off margin calls. Bank capital available for lending declined due to these losses. Several major banks and dozens of mortgage companies went out of business. Loans became more expensive (higher interest rates) or unavailable to those without stronger credit. Compared to the boom period, credit became considerably less available, placing downward pressure on both consumption and business investment.
• Government responses: Central banks have lowered interest rates to stimulate economies and make it more profitable for banks to loan. Tax rebates (stimulus package) were provided to U.S. taxpayers. Homeowners received assistance with re-financing their mortgages. Individual firms received bailouts and in September-October 2008 a comprehensive, global solution to "recapitalize" banks (e.g., to provide taxpayer funds in exchange for periodic dividend payments) was implemented. It is important to note that government actions took place throughout the 2007-2008 period, not just after the financial market impacts indicated. For example, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates several times during various stages of the crisis.

This is not news anymore.  But what we have to remember are all the decisions that were made in previous Administrations that made it easier to qualify people outside of the 34% optimal ratio for buying a house. It took off like wildfire. A whole new financial class of people whose dreams of home ownership were out of reach were now being wooed. And there is a basic truism about money: you have to have it, to learn how it works.

Struggling families like Robert and Martha came to the banks now, with the confidence of buying a home of their own. Their numbers were a little risky, but the mortgage lenders/banks had the ability to lend to them now, and take a chance and tell them they deserved a piece of the American Dream. The family has a poor relationship with banks up until now, but now the bank is their friend.

The bank reviews the app and realizes Robert and Martha owe way too much debt for the ratios they need to buy a place of their own. No problem. They just tweak the earnings portion when they prepare the paperwork so the numbers fall into line. Too much earnings to debt ratio? Just knock off some of that by falsifying the documents further. If the house doesn't appraise right? Just don't include that doc in the loan package.

Robo signers were processing the loan start to finish, without second checks from a bonafide loan officer, and their directive from the ivory tower on the 30th floor was to crank out those loans as fast as they can. During the years preceding the fall of 2008 the loan workers had monthly quotas to meet.

So Robert and Martha get to signing day. They bring their mother and kids along. They don't know any of this. They've never seen the paperwork before, sixty sheets or more of technical math and details that are impossible to read and understand at this juncture. The keys to the house are on the table.

Can we afford this, they ask their lender one last time? You wouldn't have qualified if you couldn't, is the reply. And anyway, it's fixed for three years so you can refinance before then for an even better rate. Think of all the equity in the house by then. You are making a sound investment. You will lose your deposit if you walk away and the seller could sue. Sign everywhere there is an X.

The buyers sign and sign and sign, and no one really looks too hard at it. They skip over the financial documents that led up to qualifying for the loan. The mortgage lender points out the interest rate, the terms of the loan, double checks that the address is correct, tells they they don't even have to pay the first month because it's paid at closing, and hands them the keys.

But altruism has its price.

Banks have been selling mortgage-backed securities for years, and used to have a solid reputation in that market. But as these liabilities grew with risky mortgages, the banks realized they needed to maintain a healthy balance to ensure their profits would continue. What to do, what to do. The ratio of Class C loans were becoming too heavy a load and to make profit on bundling, there must be a balanced ratio. The more class A securities, the higher the profit. There were laws governing how things are classified and sold.

And then someone clever realized that there was a way to cleanse risky loans and give them an A+ rating for resale. It was a hugely technical process that was 'legal' but fraudulent in purpose. Why else would a bank want to make a loan appear to be something it is not?

The Investment Industry took these loans that were robo signed and knew were faulty, plus the risky ones legally done as a result of the relaxed federal statutes, and gave them a bath, dressed them up and sold them as Class A. And then they sat back and collected their profit at the point of sale, right away, and transferred all the liability to the investors who bought the deed.

It was perfect, really. The condition of the market didn't matter as long as things were going up, and there wasn't much chance of a downturn. And anyway, banks had already made their profit up front and minimized their risk to boot.

But the market did turn. And it was the lynchpin issue holding everything up. As investors worldwide realized the bundled securites were leveraged with worthless and risky mortgages, sales dried up. It's an interesting thing about a reputation taking years to shine and moments to tarnish. Homeowners defaulted in record numbers on many properties the banks could not unload, and they were squeezed in the middle of their own game.

In 2011, Bank of America just settled the first of many lawsuits with investors for a whopping $8.5 Billion with a B, and more lawsuits are stacked up chest high waiting in the wings for their day in court. It's a very good thing they have all that stimulus money to pay the fines. And anyway, the Stimulus is just a drop in the bucket compared to their profits. No jail time, not even a slap on the wrist. Chase and Wells Fargo, and the others are not far behind.

This is what comes from uninspired politicians passing legislation they do not take the time to understand. What we should be discussing here is severe, politically imposed penalties so harsh the banking industry won't soon forget. Standards of integrity and ethics aside, what they deserve is a short leash and choke collar.

Night

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it's indifference.

The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.

And the opposite of life is not death, but indifference between life and death.

-- Elie Wiesel (born 30 September 1928) is a writer, professor at Boston University, political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor. Author of Night.

Not Long Ago

You know, right after *9*1*1*, it was a proud time to be an American and we were bound by a sense of honor and unity. Patriotism was flying high. Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning.

It is hard to imagine that a lot of countries live in a perpetual state of war, famine, genocide, and corruption. We are Americans and America is Good, and Right, and 9*1*1 was terrible because it was on the shores of the privileged.

I believed it was out of my hands, and just waited for that Karma to kick in, baby. That's a pacifist for ya. And then somewhere along the line it dawned on me there are a lot of ways to fight for your country other than shouldering a gun, and I began to feel an incremental shift.

To hear God's voice, turn down life's volume

Randy tells a story about when he was a kid and playing out front with a friend.  A man drove up in a car and somehow coaxed Randy's friend into it and then took off. Randy ran in to tell his dad and they jumped in their big old car and gave chase. They caught up with the man a few blocks down, his dad cut them off with his car, and then grabbed Randy's pal out of the car and took him home to relieved hugs, and a sound spanking.

We know how this story could have played out without the intervention. There are too many heartbreaking stories like this. But I am amazed by Randy's dad, who had only a split second to decide. What did his father teach his son, who rode shotgun with eyes scanning the road for the car? What did Randy learn about being a man and protecting the weak in the face of wrongdoing?

Everybody's got a choice: to wait and see how it turns out; to learn, protect our own interests, and act on it; to battle the powers that be with our vote and our voice; to move elsewhere; or to jump in and take action.

It is what it is.

Not long ago, we were embracing strangers on the street and prayed in neighborhood churches on 9*11*2001.  And all of these shenanigans were already going on behind the scenes.

Not long ago, the roots of our country were forged in violent protest and defiance of the illegal manipulation and taxation of its citizens and control of their money and earnings. We had to fight to be free of England's tyrrany.

If our 401K wasn't looted and our house wasn't seized, and we don't have an empty fridge, does that make it any less of our problem?

What Percentage Are We, Really?

This thought-provoking article was written by Brian Watson from Finance Weekly.


Political positions were, for a time, a matter of color: Republican were red, Democrats were blue, and nonpartisans and centrists -- when they could be found -- might claim purple. But since the Great Recession, percentages, not pigments, are becoming America's great dividers. With conservatives and liberals alike defining themselves and others as the 99%, the 1%, the 53%, the 47%, and various other percentages, it's time to ask just what these numbers mean -- and where the average American family fits in.


When it comes to dividing up our class structure, the middle is a good place to start -- namely, the 60% of households wedged between the poorest 20% and the richest 20%. These families make between $20,001 and $100,065 a year, and were the group hardest hit by the recession: In 2008, their average income fell by 3.6%, the biggest single-year drop in history. At the same time, they were also devastated by rising unemployment, mass foreclosures, soaring tuitions and frozen wages. By comparison, households below the 20% line often qualify for social welfare programs, were far less likely to own real estate, and were less affected by massive layoffs. In other words, they had less to lose, and ended up losing less.


On the other end of the spectrum, many of those above the 80% line were shielded from the harsher effects of economic downturns. And over the last 30 years, the top 20% have done quite well: Their share of all wages paid in the U.S. has gone from 50% to 60%. Everyone else has lost ground.


The 99% vs. the 1%


Members of the Occupy Wall Street movement and their allies don't think this is the best way of looking at America's households: The big dividing line in their view is the 99th percentile. In this country, they assert, there are the top 1% of households, and everyone else.


There's something to be said for Occupy Wall Street's math. As President Obama discovered when he suggested lowering the qualification line for the top tax rate to $250,000, where we place the dividing line between "the rich" and "everyone else" is highly controversial. But moving the wealth line from $100,065 to $1.1 million -- the boundary for the top 1% -- avoids the argument about who exactly is middle class fairly neatly. No matter where your political sympathies lie, it's hard to call millionaires middle class.


And the top 1% have done exceptionally well over the last 30 years: They receive 17% of all wages paid in the U.S -- more than twice the percentage they received 30 years ago. Meanwhile, the bottom 80% of households lost 9% of their income share in the same period, and now receive about 47% of all wages paid. Put simply, the richest 1% gained all the wages the rest of the country lost.


The 53% vs. the 47%


The dividing line between the 99% and the 1% is stark, but some argue there's a better one: The boundary between those who pay income taxes and those who don't. According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, 53% of households pay federal income tax; the rest either break even or get back more in refunds than they pay.


In fact, the second-to-lowest 20% of the country -- households making between $20,001 and $38,043 -- get back about 0.4% more income tax than they pay; for families who make less than $20,000, it's about 6.8%.

Some conservatives -- notably on the Tumblr blog We are the 53% -- have taken these numbers to heart, arguing that this means the bottom 47% is getting a free ride. But the 53%-47% division is a bit misleading. To begin with, almost all households pay state taxes, Medicare tax, Social Security tax, excise taxes, sales taxes, and a raft of other government fees. When this broader, and more accurate, assessment of taxation is used, the 47% doesn't look to be getting off so easy: The second poorest quintile -- the ones that got 0.4% of their income tax back -- still paid more 10% of their incomes in various federal taxes.

In fact, when everything is factored in, 86% of the country pays more than it gets back in federal taxes. As for the rest, it's not the split you might expect: More than half (8% of Americans) are senior citizens receiving Social Security.


And that last 6% -- the ones who really pay nothing to the federal government? They are unemployed, disabled, in school, or making very low incomes. But even this small group pays state and local taxes, sales taxes, and other government fees.

Where the Poor Pay More


When it comes to percentage of income, the line is even clearer: For some taxes, the bottom 20% of the Americans pay more than the top 20%. For example, a household on the bottom pays almost 54% more of its income into Social Security than a household on the top. The same goes for excise taxes -- fees attached to certain commodities like gasoline and alcohol: As a percentage of income, the poorest 20% pays more than four times as much as the richest 20%.


So where is the ultimate dividing line? The answer might have less to do with money than with the way we perceive it: In a recent poll, The Hill found that 66% of likely voters believe that the middle class is shrinking, and 55% believe that income inequality has become a big problem for the country. Surprisingly, worries about income inequality were higher among those who are doing better: 65% of respondents in the top 20% felt that income inequality was a big or somewhat big problem.


In other words, when it comes to the economy, worrying about the future may be the one thing that cuts across all class lines.

The First of Many

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A Nevada grand jury has indicted two people allegedly involved in a "massive" robo-signing scheme, the state's attorney general said Thursday.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said she believed the indictments represent the first criminal charges filed in association with robo-signing, or the falsification of foreclosure documents.

 

Robo-signing is believed to have been responsible for thousands of wrongful foreclosures nationwide in the past few years.

According to the attorney general's office, two California residents, Gary Trafford and Gerri Sheppard, face dozens of charges for allegedly supervising the falsification of thousands of foreclosure documents in Nevada between 2005 and 2008, as the housing bubble hit its peak.

Trafford and Sheppard worked during that period for mortgage servicing firm Lender Processing Services (LPS). LPS has also been subpoenaed by attorneys general in California and Illinois in connection with alleged robo-signing.

"The grand jury found probable cause that there was a robo-signing scheme which resulted in the filing of tens of thousands of fraudulent documents," Nevada Deputy Attorney General John Kelleher said in a statement. A defense lawyer in the case did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Lender Processing Services processes loans for more than 50% of all U.S. mortgages, the Illinois attorney general's office said in May.

In a statement issued Thursday, LPS, which said it has more than 8,000 employees, acknowledged that the signing procedures on some of its mortgage documents were "flawed." But it added that its documents were "properly authorized" and did not result in any wrongful foreclosures.

The spokeswoman for the Nevada attorney general declined to comment on whether there were any plans to expand the investigation or seek more indictments.

All Better

Today was an adventure through and through. It was our first dog attended obedience class, and the six dogs and their pets spent about 75 minutes learning how to live by the same rules.  It was really interesting and fun.

Sam is extremely polite except for the jumping straight up like she's on a spring thing. She loooooves children and other pets and, well, pretty much everybody and everything all the time. And she listens pretty well and isn't fussy and sleeps in her crate happily and loves her dog run. She did get after the jacket Rman just bought, chewed off the size tag and the sales tag, but it was in a bag on the floor of the bedroom and the door forgot to get closed. Bad owner. Bad owner.

We have been noticing Sam won't go to the bathroom when we are away from home. On daily walks around the block she never potties. They are fairly short walks these days so we thought maybe it was that - 20-30 minutes she can hold. Why does she think dogs behave in this way? She sniffs those who have gone before. At the dog park she sees other dogs doing their business but she has totally completely not caught on. We show her our doggy dropping bags at the ready.

So today when we headed up north to try and find snow, we figured she would finally go away from home. It had snowed mid week and so we thought just above Auburn we might encounter some, but it was dry. So we kept driving a while, thinking Sam would potty somewhere along the route. No dice. We were gone for hours, and made sure to stop a couple of times to give her ample time, but she spent it on adventures with squirrels and meeting children and sniffing really interesting things. And you know, the little runt held it until she got home. We wonder how it's going to go when we go camping.

Anyway, we left Sam on her extended potty break and went to dinner in Vacaville and afterwards stopped off for a bit of shopping before settling in for the night. And at Home Goods my purse was stolen right out from under our nose! We were standing right there, and it was sitting in the cart. To be honest, it took a while to realize it was gone, and another bit of time to retrace our steps back and forth, assuming I put it down absent mindedly. It had to be there. And then of course we checked the car (did I even bring it in with me?) and called the restaurant (maybe it's under my chair?) before it sunk in.

It really was gone, and conversations with the store manager and Vacaville PD followed, and we headed home dejectedly. I was disappointed that I wasn't more aware of what was going on around me. Disappointed that someone leaned into my world and took something that was important. And bummer for the thief because I never carry cash or check books or anything of value. I was carrying our beloved digital camera, though, and that was probably long gone.

We thought it might be tossed in a trash can somewhere and so checked a few trash cans just for good measure before giving up. The Vacaville PD and store manager were so wonderful, it nearly made me weep. They said they would check surveillance cameras at the store, and here was the police file number if it turned up. Not to worry, but call on those cards tonight. I told them I fully expected it to turn up, and that sounded good even if I was a bit skeptical.

We got home and pulled out all our info in the safe to begin making calls to the banks and credit fraud services. This was going to be a really big pain in the neck! I was checking off what to do: well, there's the new driver's license to get, and bank cards, Costco and Health Club and all of those little necessary cards like AAA and medical and the grocery store. 

What all is in my purse? I didn't know for sure. Keys, wallet, lip gloss, pens, and a writing tablet; oh, and those little touching mementos like the 1879 silver dollar from Rman after our first date, and the $2 bill for good measure and the $5 euro from our honeymoon. The flipper keyring. I kept trying to wrap my head around the fact someone out there had my credit cards, id and insurance info all together. Oh, man.

And then the phone rang. It was Tammy from Winters who had been shopping in the same shopping center and found my purse laying in the parking lot as they left Old Navy. She said it had been gone through and was all messy but it looked pretty much intact. She googled my name and found the number that way.

I couldn't believe it. Keys? Yes. Bank cards, yes, three of them, and the driver's license. Digital camera and silver dollar? No, sorry. But she lived close by, and we just got home from meeting up and offering a reward which she was too gracious to accept. (But she did accept a hug.)

Now here we are all sacked in for the night with the sound of the heater humming away. What an awesome adventure day. Thank God it's over!

Something for Nothing

In conversations recently, Socialism seemed to be the dirty throw-around word and I'm glad about that.

I have always believed that Socialism and Capitalism are separate governing models, but can co-exist within the same model. A dab of socialism is visible in all of the Western European countries and throughout the world, including here.

Wikipedia defines socialism as "a social and economic system in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. Since the blue collar workers "do all the work", socialists suggest that they should get an equal share of the wealth. A true socialist society would have no private property rights and goods produced in it would be distributed among the citizens--from each according to his ability, to each according to his need."

Obviously we have reigned in the full impact of socialism. Ours is a long-standing *successfully functioning* capitalistic model, so it's hard to measure how the effect of some socialistic elements affect it long term. But there's no doubt the allure is in its organizational power to effect change for a large number of people.

FDR's New Deal and Social Security counter-measures to the Great Depression were socialistic: government supported programs to put people back to work, and establish social security and welfare for a better quality of life. Had it actually been the short term solutions they were intended to be, I am sure Roosevelt would be even more highly regarded than he is. 

Socialism is the basis of any government-run anything for the greater good that is paid for by the people. And with us taxed and taxed and taxed some more,  we know how the government is doling out all these freebies.  It is at work behind unemployment and SSID payments, established retirement ages and guaranteed retirement income for government workers, public schools, Medicare and centralized banking. Overwhelmingly those things have hugely improved America, although not all of us benefit directly.  Come to expect them, even.

I was remembering a comment made from my hero, Thomas Jefferson, who vehemently opposed centralized banking. He warned about its inevitable manipulation and corruption and the potential of it to bring this country down.

We definitely live in a remarkable time. We have Greece as an example of what becomes of a country without sustainable revenue to support its popular and socialistic programs of guaranteed retirement age, healthcare and income. They implemented a lifestyle without enough sustainable income to pay the debt.  Sound familiar?

I wonder if the decline of personal drive and achievement in America is due to the socialism we embrace, as charged, or perhaps just due to poor Leadership. Our country has botched imports/exports to the extent our companies must leave the country to remain competitive on our own shores.  Our national import policy is a disgrace. We do not demand the competing imports the same tariffs as they charge us when our goods are exported there, which essentially gives them the home court advantage. It is indefensible that our leaders do not promote our own goods and services in a free society so reliant that income for our economic health.

Powerful socialistic unions now tell the government how to manage its own workers. We are criticized for a workforce that is less educated and less motivated than ever before. Are we really a less educated workforce or just unwilling to reconnect with our capitalistic roots of hard work and self sacrifice?

One thing is certain. By and large, we have lost faith that the government is willing to protect us from the monsters they have created in the banking / real estate / and healthcare industries. A pit bull without teeth isn't much of a watchdog.

The role of government expands and contracts with each Administration. But we put into office people who reflect the things we want, socialistic dole-outs included. How does it work when we all agree that something must be done, but nobody wants to give anything up?

Capitalism is hard. There are winners and losers. Not everybody gets a trophy at the end of the season. But in a free market there are still ground-rules.

Like we are proud that capitalism is the voluntary exchange of goods and services for the mutual benefit of both parties.  And that makes it vulnerable to fraud because profit is its measure of winning and losing.  It is for the good of our governing model to call out those who rig the outcome. (I pulled this paragraph off the Occupy Wall Street website, by the way.)

What we have is a situation where our financial institutions and Wall Street power brokers have rigged the results with real estate holdings, stock market investments, and long term savings. So I ask you ... if they steal the win, what does that make us?

What Matters Most

This is the dilemma: what to do; what to believe; how to understand; how to strategize; when to hold on and when to move on.

Fiscally speaking, I have always followed the rules and been reasonably frugal, like most of my friends. Spent a lifetime trusting the appraisals and lenders and real estate agents that I was making a sound investment. Bought 5 homes and sold 3 by owner, with fair and equitable results. You don't get rich that way, but you do sleep at night.

I have been downsized as part of an aging workforce and upsized, too. I have known what it is like to send out hundreds of resumes and receive no replies. I have lain awake at night imagining retirement without more time to save for it. And felt the gratefulness and relief of reporting for work.

There are too many that have to look at a pile of bills today and know not all of them can be paid. Who will endure those kinds of calls from creditors. Who will sit at the bank, hat in hand, never having made a late payment until now, and getting turned down for a little help with the payments just until they get back on their feet. As if the banks have forgotten what went before. As if playing by the rules didn't matter.

As I write this, there are people who are selling what they can and packing up the rest, and waiting for the knock on the door and a 3-day vacate notice. And when it comes, in silence they will leave the keys on the counter and close up their home with nowhere to go.

We have to take care of this. Of each other. Of those who caused this to happen. Because if we do not, nothing else will matter.

Sophocles was one smart dude

"Heaven ne'er helps the men who will not act." (Sophocles)

And so it is with this quote that I begin a reply to another favorite ancient (:) whose posts are impassioned and reflective. The topic de jour is the Occupy Wall Street movement sweeping the world and more specifically those who have settled near her home in Boston. The occupiers make life inconvenient with snarled traffic and loitering; she has traversed the buses and streets via wheelchair and is exploring their platform and motivations. I am very interested in her opportunity to see first-hand what is going on. And yet, and yet ...

In every movement, there are those whose motivations are not in sync with the movement itself. Kind of the 'And ANOTHER thing' mentality. When a voice has been silent too long, everything that seems unfair about our free enterprise system tumbles out and can diffuse the message they want to convey. I once participated in a sit-in at my high school for better food to be served in the cafeteria. I didn't actually eat in the cafeteria, but it was a sit in and I wanted to miss class.

I have been studying our economy in the last couple of years, and I am sorry to say not much before that. Wall street, leveraging substandard commodities, the subprime mess, the foreclosure fiasco and what is behind it comes down to ~ profit at all costs. My fundamental conclusion is about the way people become powerful and stay powerful, and that is: through any means possible.

There is no honor in the hallowed halls of business and finance. There is no American patriotism or ethical frameworks to reign them in. Justice is not blind to money and power. Our financial structure is a calculated machine designed to extract every ounce of revenue regardless of what is best for our country and its people.

You might recognize this philosophical business model from the Middle East. What a thorn in our side it has been to grapple with Oil Cartels and embargos through the 20th century. Gas was .35 a gallon when I began to drive, and the same product today costs 3.85. Why? Because oil rich countries have enslaved countries like ours. They call the shots, monopolize the market, and set the price to ensure outrageous profits. It has been argued that we have a choice to use foreign oil or not. I agree: we have a choice, even in America that snubs public transit as a poor substitute for the freedom and independence of a car. Our country is too lazy to develop alternative energy sources that would be in the best interests of the planet and the country, and that is a choice.

But when you start screwing with the economic stability and basic top 3 of the working class (food housing shelter), and you try to apply the cartel model, all bets are off.

Let's put it this way: For any American citizen to intentionally set out to skim unearned profits that will destabilize the country's financial foundations is a reprehensible act.  There were warning signs, and yet the risky behavior continued along this course, using their position and wealth to control and circumvent the legal system. There is plenty of evidence that even after the collapse had begun, the business model continued to squeeze every last profit via fraud and deceit.

So I ask you: which was a more direct hit to our financial strength and national durability ~ the Twin Towers or Bank/Wall Street's calculated attack on the American people?  That's what I think, too. This in every way was an act of 'domestic' Treason.

Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as "...[a]...citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]."

In its simplest form, Americans want/need/demand accountability for those unethical and fraudulent business practices by the ruling class. It is not a matter of envy at all: it is in horror and  astonishment that people want a sluggish and confused Political body to DO SOMETHING. We the People believe the same rules should apply to the Wall Street and Big Bank Cartels as it would be if we stole our neighbor's car, credit cards and milk cow.

It is unfathomable that those with more money and toys than they know what to do with felt the compulsion to steal from those who cannot defend themselves. The evidence proves these same looters continue to steal our homes, our livelihoods, and our future.

I agree that greed and arrogance will be judged when they stand before God.  But for now, all we really want is for the hemmorage to stop.

Just Sayin'

A Bug's Life is coming to mind this morning. It is an animated cartoon and parable about conflict and resolution against an impossibly powerful adversary.

Flik is the ant; Hopper is the head grasshopper and Bully; Princess Atta is the neurotic Queen-in-Training.

For as long as anyone remembers, the ants have gathered enough food for the grasshoppers and the Colony.  When the story opens, Flik has just been cast out for his innovative ideas, one of which backfired so badly that the entire winter food stockpiles were lost in the lake.

The ant colony is frantic to gather enough food for themselves and the grasshoppers before they return for it, and Hopper has given them a grim ultimatim that if it is not ready he will squish the Queen.

The ants realize there is not enough food left to pick even if they had the time. If they give the grasshoppers all that is left the Colony will starve.

Prior to the grasshopper's return, a few of Hopper's underlings suggest they head somewhere warm and not return to the Colony at all. Hopper drowns the dissenting grasshoppers in a pile of seeds, with this reply...

Hopper: "You let one ant stand up to us, then they all might stand up! Those puny little ants outnumber us a hundred to one and if they ever figure that out there goes our way of life! It's not about food, it's about keeping those ants in line. That's why we're going back! Does anybody else wanna stay?"

And when the grasshoppers return, there is a big showdown between Flik and Hopper.

Hopper: "Let this be a lesson to all you ants! Ideas are very dangerous things! You are mindless, soil-shoving losers, put on this Earth to serve us!"

Flik:" You're wrong, Hopper. Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers. I've seen these ants do great things, and year after year they somehow manage to pick food for themselves *and* you. So-so who is the weaker species? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's *you* who need *us*! We're a lot stronger than you say we are... And you know it, don't you?"

Soon, everyone climbs onboard.

Princess Atta: "You see Hopper, Nature has a certain order. The ants pick the food, the ants keep the food, and the grasshoppers leave!"

Just because it's always been that way doesn't mean it ought to be. Just sayin'.

Subject to Change

A King in his castle must have been sitting around one day and thinking, how can I increase my power over the Court? Life is no fun at all without risk and competition.

So the King called in his advisors and commanded them to come up with a way to achieve that. The advisors hatched a plan and the King liked it. He had all the money and power he needed already, but this would be fun.

They found a Peasant and brought him to the castle. They fed and fattened him up, bathed and cut his hair, shaved his beard and put him in fine clothes. They taught him courtly manners and introduced him to the Privileged. Who would recognize a Commoner presented by the King himself?

No one. The Peasant in all his finery and plumage was an instant hit! Not only that, he showed wisdom beyond his years, and in time it slipped the King's mind that he ever was a Lowly. He looked and behaved like a Privileged, and the King favored him as a trusted advisor.

Years passed. The Peasant became rich beyond his wildest imaginations. In time he forgot who he was.  And when a beautiful maiden in the Court fell in love with him, a jubilant wedding and a houseful of children followed.  In time, their fine sons grew to manhood and each took a wife and had children. 

Life was going pretty well for the Commoner. One day his fine sons were to be Knighted, and as part of the ceremony the royal lineage was traced. And there it was discovered that he was not Royalty at all. He was just a Peasant! The Privileged had invested in him, trusted and given him their children to marry, all that they had, dowrys and money, and he was unworthy!

They were outraged! The King was in a tight spot. And so he proclaimed the law of the land was death for such an act and ordered the family slaughtered for mixing Commoner blood with Royal blood. Among those murdered were the children and grandchildren begot of the union, which included the beloved family members of the Privileged, plus the King's advisors.

The Court was in ruins. News spread from kingdom to kingdom, and soon Courts everywhere began to rise up with one voice for accountability and change. The King ended up with no one to lead. The End.


(Ironically, this is my 99th post for 2011.)