It's Truth, Trains and Ordinary Time Thing

Dear America,


old gthing is beginning to power down for a well earned vacation; it's been a hectic week, one totally empowered by a furious charge of rational self-interest to the max.  The hope is that the crazy days leading up to the leave will be totally worth it -- for the incentive to get it done is greater than leaving things undone for upon my return.

Speaking of which, it is the rational self-interest drive that systematically fuels our capitalist society -- no, scratch that, make that a virtuous capitalist society.

Moreover, it the the rational self-interest of learned men and those who make it their mission to break down the principles and teachings of economics and society, growth and stagnation, and just exactly how the intangible qualities of life become oh so tangible, easily enough for all the rest of us to understand, becomes essentially priceless -- priced right out of the market even.    The wealth of knowledge that ordinary people can acquire and share and express and make abundant and bear fruit becomes utterly limitless.  AND if we remain good people -- enriched in spirit, in soul, in compassion, in love -- the greater good becomes that much greater.

The chatter of the last couple of days has included the celebration of life and works of such -- a remarkable American really -- Milton Friedman.   He would have turned one hundred years old on July 31st... if we were just so lucky to have him on this earth still.

I first want to link to a great article for you to read on the man -- by Donald J. Boudreaux, for a little 'centennial celebration.'   go on now.... g can wait....


super good huh.  love that whole pencil thing.

and for a few words from the man himself, let me switch gears to a wee bit of GTV:



so true! 

"imaginative packaging and deceptive labeling"  -- how simple.

That is how all big bad government grows.

I can only imagine how Milton must be thinking of the unconscionable packaging of the "Affordable Care Act."

The thing is -- and what most people seem to no longer recognize -- is that the beauty of capitalism works for us without us even thinking about it; while the things we seem to think need fixed  -- by more regulation, taxation and control --  ultimately tie us down.

Right now, just a few days out from a very long train ride, I am beginning to get excited. For I can go on vacation without a care in the world because  ---

• I have someone taking care of my baby Boo; 
• I have someone making sure the electricity still keeps my fridge cold, saving that pound of bacon for when I come home; 
• I can do my banking from anywhere, giving me pocket change for trinkets and cocktails anywhere, anytime; 
• I can entrust my travels to the pilot, the conductor, and all who came into the making of that fine plane and train; 
• I can organize my work schedule for time off from my day's labor, reaping the instant benefits of not owing my own business and being able to walk away at any time;
• I can choose to go anywhere I want, anyway I want;
• I can choose to fine dine or find the nearest food truck;
• I can sleep on someone's couch or lay up in a swanky hotel;
• I can leave for a humanitarian project or just slip away purely for my own self-interest;
• I can take a giant leap from a life ORDINARY to extraordinary in a day;
• and I could go on and on...you get my drifter dribble

Anywho, as you are my witness, on this day, I make a pact with my rational self-interest self.

When I come home, I pledge to listen to more Milton and less Real Housewives.  I will soak up more Ayn Rand and less Jack Daniels.  I will become a student of all things Adam Smith and less anything to the contrary.

Sure, call me narrow-minded, I don't mind.  I know what I like.

I like the truth.

I like plain and simple talk explaining the truth.

So, if you'll excuse me, I need to gather my reading material for a grand total of 48 hours of uninterrupted peace and quiet.to and fro.  yippie skippy to me

Make it a Good Day, G

and now talk about all things celebratory...next blog is a very big day for gthing....but don't hold your breath, for I come and go as I please.

It's Fundamental Change Absent the Fundamentals Thing

Dear America,


happy wednesday.

returning home from my part time gig last night -- the one that feels like the more and more I show up for it, the more it feels like a full time gig (but we'll save that conversation for another day) -- I managed to catch the most fascinating five minutes with Greta Van Susteren I have seen in quite some time; she was interviewing a representative from California, Kevin McCarthy.

Basically, she was trying to get down to the bottom of the "problem with Congress."  Why isn't anything getting done?  Why does Congress insist on playing politics?  that sort of thing...

and let's just say I was stunned by the rather quiet storm of his response; not sure if it simply was his candidness in the moment, or the combined effect alongside his calm, balanced demeanor -- but he laid it all out there without skipping a beat or mincing words: the president never gets beyond the talking phase (and more than that, gives the impression that the organizer-in-chief may in fact prefer it...the bureaucratic stranglehold works).

GO HERE to read the transcript or watch the ten minute spot; however, I highly recommend that you watch it for the full effect -- if you get past the first two minutes, you're virtually home free, easily settling in until the very end.

"you never get to an agreement with him...he never finishes,"  

said of the president, per Kevin McCarthy.

well I'll be... color me surprised.

He never wants to get to a bi-partisan decision because it would not serve his purpose -- otherwise, the smartest president who ever lived would make it so.  The president is covertly resorting to Alinsky rules in everything he does -- making the making of chaos job one; making governing through the policy of 'divide and conquer' job two; making the overt use of ridicule, discrediting the opposition at the very core, job three.

Almost sounding like he is giving the president the benefit of the doubt, believing that the common ground we all share is still attainable --  Kevin McCarthy seems remarkably unable to recognize a deeper, more sinister problem:  the impure, unconscionable, root intention of the president's "fundamental transformation"  of this country.


Here is a splendid explanation [of the actions -- or better still, in-actions -- of a president] via Tibor Machan, featured in an interview from about thirty days ago on The Daily Bell [this guy is one of my favorite people in the whole world -- I could listen to what he has to say for forever and a day].   But be forewarned, this is a round-about explanation, so hold on tight:

Daily Bell: All good points, but let's back up. How has it come to this?
Tibor Machan: Those who are government activists don't proclaim it. They disguise what they're after. They have to do so in this country because traditionally American citizens have not been well disposed to government activism, even though there's quite a lot of it. And often they come to believe it is necessary, that their wisdom is supreme, just as did heads of state for centuries. So, in fact, the so-called progressives are utterly reactionary!
Daily Bell: You've referred to what they do as "nudging."
Tibor Machan: It's not my term. The influential pragmatist Professor Cass Sunstein, who is now President Obama's regulation czar, wrote a book called Nudge with Richard H. Thaler. The full title was Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (Yale UP, 2004).
Daily Bell: Can you give us a little summary?
Tibor Machan: It has to do with the old chestnut of boiling the frog slowly. You find the same strategy advanced by the Fabian Society in Britain. The idea is that you don't want to use brute force to move people toward a society based on government activism. Instead, you want to nudge people, to move them in tiny increments so they do not find it worth their while to object, or at least not forcefully.
Nudging can take place in numerous ways but a lot of it has to do with creating social norms that people will feel they have to conform to. Recycling might be seen as part of this nudging. Regardless of how you feel about recycling and environmentalism in general, recycling is seen within the public dialogue as a general "good." Thus, people will conform to the demands of recycling because they see it as a "good citizen" thing to do. They won't complain or protest that they have been imposed upon. (Just last week the feds banned over-the-counter inhalers on these grounds!)

skipping down a wee bit,

Daily Bell: So to sum up, we're in a situation – in America and the West generally – where those who believe in governmental activism are gradually trumping those who are trying to wield private morality on behalf of non-governmental civil society. Is that a fair statement?
Tibor Machan: It is certainly fair to say this in an ongoing argument. Whether or not the "gradually trumping" part is correct, only time can tell.

Granted, the interview itself begins and ends more focused upon the aspect of weighing the objective reality and ability of deciding our own morality against the government making such declarations for us. But this 'nudging' thing seems to explain a lot of things; for it seems to be the go-to tool --  not only against 'we the people' as a whole, but also, with great calculation, against the proper balance and decision making process within Congress.

Not only that -- as we have grown to witness in the last couple of weeks -- the president has "decided" he won't wait for congress; he has "decided" in his own way; and moreover, he has "decided" that he will move ahead with making gains on his so-called jobs bill totally circumventing congress through the excessive use of regulations, executive order, and czars, blatantly crossing the soft but diabolical and tyrannical line.

Oh Kevin, and you think this guy can't make any decisions...did you hear the president?  

He said, referring to YOU, 'Congress',  "if they won't act, I will."

Before I move on too much further -- please read the entire interview with Tibor Machan.  Go HERE.

The thing is, there has been a great breakdown in communication around here -- in America.  Unbeknownst to most of us, we seem to have been knee deep in living a lie for nearly the last fifty years.  It can be explained by the Occupy Wall Street movement -- and can be further demonstrated and explained by the growing numbers of Tea Party activists who are choosing to fight back. [of course, not necessarily in that order] 

The government would have us believe that the root of the problem is capitalism; this is evidently what "the kids today"  have been learning all this time, anyway.  But honestly, it couldn't be any further from the truth.

and right on cue -- the way the universe works and all -- allow me to share a two minute video:




Thank you "Uncle Ted," and in turn, a place called "dauckster's posterous"

take that, Phil Donahue.

and finally, from James Madison:

"...It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself..."  Federalist Paper #51, read in it's entirety here.

So now to the big finish -- and I'll be real quick about it.
Much like our Congress in motion, wasn't G thing on some kind of vicious circle this morning...

Make it a Good Day, G