WHAT MAKES AMERICA SO GREAT?

      Who was it that said “Life is what happens while you're making other plans”? Murphy's law states that whatever can go wrong will and at the worst possible time. I'm here to tell you that the law has not been repealed.

       I had the outline done for this month's post about 3 weeks ago. I finally sat down to finish it on New Years day and one of my faucets broke. Got that replaced and the roof started leaking in the bathroom. Got that repaired and cleaned up, sat down again to finish writing and my television blew up. That blew all the circuit breakers. Of course, that shut down my computer and the file for this post – which was open – got corrupted. Try, try again!

      On 12-12-12, I turned on the boob-tube and watched a bunch of musicians, comedians, celebrities and ordinary folks put on the Sandy Relief Concert to raise money for victims of super-storm Sandy. There was a lot of good music and several nice, heart-felt speeches all asking for donations. It got me wondering.

      I asked myself: where is the rest of the world when we need help? Forget Iran, Russia or any adversaries. What about our friends? Our allies? The countries and people that we give billions of dollars in aid to every year? Where are they when we're a bit down on our luck?

      In 1868, a Russian author named Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky¹ sat down to write a book about the perfect man. He ended up calling it “The Idiot" ² (Russian: Идиот, Idiot).

      As I finally got to work on this post, I completed my research and ended up completely destroying most of my preconceived notions regarding willingness of other nations to help those in need. I thought that the USA was the only country to pour out massive offers of help to disaster victims. I was wrong. Sometimes, we set out to prove one theory and end up proving just the opposite. As cynical as I am, it's nice to be wrong occasionally.

      Every time there is a disaster anywhere in the world, we Americans line up to help. We send money, materials and people. We seem to be willing to help anybody, any time, any where. If North Korea had a tsunami, the American people would send help without hesitation. If Iran suffered an earthquake, we'd trip over ourselves to send medical help, clothing, food and water.

      In sitting down to write this article, I had assumed - as many other Americans seem to falsely assume - that other countries around the world take all the help we can give but won't reciprocate when we are in need. A little research showed me just how far off the mark I was.

 

     What I found out is that many, many times governments around the world have offered to us money, food, search and rescue teams, doctors and medical help and anything else that we might need³.

      The reason that all that help either was slow in coming or didn't arrive at all was because of our governmental red tape, but that's a story for another time.

      What became apparent to me was that, just like the USA, a myriad of countries wanted to and have offered help. Countless governments around the world. Yes; these include Russia, Iran and even North Korea.

      In all my reading, one difference between America and all the other countries struck me (and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong on this). Although our government does give a lot of help from the tax-payer coffers, it is Americans as a whole - our people - that give the real, desperately-needed help to victims around the world. We hold food drives and benefit concerts. School children write letters of sympathy and encouragement. Churches collect and send blankets and clothes to refugee camps. Cell phone companies set up collection drives for you to simply send a text and donate money.

      While planning this article, I asked several people to tell me what they think makes America great. Sadly, only one person; my son (thank you, Michael) responded. Here's what he had to say:

      America is a great nation, arguably the richest, most powerful nation on Earth. As such, citizens of this great nation don’t even begin to comprehend what it’s like to NOT be so great and powerful.

      Let me shock you a bit: The median individual income for US citizens, 18 years and older, is $24,062. That includes the unemployed, the homeless, everyone.

       Here’s the shocker; the median individual income *worldwide *is $1,700. That means that the median American will make more in 27 days than the median world citizen will make in a *year*. We see homeless, people that are hungry, the downtrodden, and we think we understand poverty, but we really don’t have a clue.

       America loses less than 150 citizens a year to hunger, or aprox .0005% of the population. Worldwide, approximately 8.7 million, or .1% of the world’s population, die each year from hunger.

      We simply cannot comprehend *what the rest of the world experiences, as far as poverty goes. I know you think you can, but unless you have lived in a 3rd world country, truly submersed yourself in poverty, you *just don’t get it*. I have lived in the US version of poverty, but I truly cannot comprehend what the poor of the rest of the world go though.

      Secondly, the US economy is a global economy. We produced about 25% of the global GDP. We need consumers! We need the rest of the world to get above the poverty line, recover from their disasters, quit fighting, have a happy democracy, and start spending! Helping any country, anywhere in the world, with any problem, is in our national best interests.

      So what does all that have to do with America being Great?

      The United States of America is the greatest melting pot in world history. With the exception of Native Americans, almost everybody in the country can trace their heritage back to Europe, Africa, Scandinavia, the Middle or Far East and yet the populations of all these countries leave it to their governments to offer help. However, should these same people immigrate and become Americans, they seem to all “catch the fever” and just naturally want to reach out as individuals to people in need around the world.

      So that's it! That's the key. It's our people. Americans are what makes America the greatest country in the world.

       It's not our government or our constitution. Our farms and factories, music, schools, artists or athletes don't make us great. Americans! That's what makes America the greatest country in the world. I'm damn proud to be one.

 

At least that's my opinion. What's yours?

*What, you may ask, does this have to do with cryptography or any conspiracy? As far as cryptography: nothing! It is really a conspiracy in reverse; ie. People NOT banding together to do something. Think about it.

Citations

¹ Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky:1821-1881

² http://www.online-literature.com/dostoevsky/idiot/

³ Countries offer help to USA

   Who helped us?

   Wikipedia on international aid to the US

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ANOTHER YEAR ALL SHOT TO HELL

My God! 2012 is just about gone.

      I've been thinking for weeks about what to pontificate on this month. Nothing came to mind. Nada, zip, goose egg, snake eyes. Got me a case of writers block.

      Actually, I think it's more like sensory overload. We've had a really screwed up – and very long - election season. FEMA did it's usual too-little-too-late after Sandy. Syria is a total mess. Iran is (still) thumbing it's nose at the whole world. No one knows what the hell Israel is doing.

      Obama wants to bankrupt the country. Congress just wants to get re-elected. The courts are getting more liberal with every passing day and now some sports caster has decided to get political and expound on gun control during a football game.

      2012 hasn't been all bad though. I finally found my long-lost daughter (see A GLORIOUS DAY ;1 Aug) and found out that I have 10 more grandchildren. I got to spend time with my brother and sister. My oldest son started law school and my youngest daughter started college. And I'm still married to my childhood sweetheart. A lot of things to be thankful for.

      So, this December, I'm simply going to spend time with family and God and forget all about those pesky conspiracies that are lurking around every corner. I'll tackle some more of the world's insanity next year.

     I wish from the bottom of my heart that all of you spend some time in prayer and with your family this Christmas season. Tell them and God how much you love them and what they mean to you.

Until 2013, this is N. Richard Peterson signing off.

God bless us; one and all.

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THE NEW REVOLUTION

“When a government is big enough to give you everything you need,

it is powerful enough to take away everything you have"

Thomas Jefferson.

      One of the most influential people in my early life was my 8^th grade social studies teacher. Every time I watch the news or study some historical fact or happening, I remember something that he said and he ultimately helped me understand the political and historical concepts of our country.
      A major concept that he spoke at length about is spending a lot of time in the news lately. That concept is State's Rights and with it; secession.
      Lots of people have talked about leaving the United States since we officially became a country. Every time the federal government does something that someone doesn't like they rumble about seceding. Rarely though does the talk get any further than the barroom door. 

        The first major rift of the 20^th century between states rights and the federal government came over medical marijuana. In several states. people in both the political and medical arenas began to realize that the feds were sticking to old and antiquated notions that flew in the face of science and reason. The state's law makers began to rely on facts instead of propaganda and decided to enforce the 10^th amendment ¹ of our constitution and reclaim their individual state's rights.

      There is international president for their opinions and actions.
      Although marijuana is technically illegal in Israel, “...but medical use has been permitted since the early 1990s for cancer patients...²”. In 2001, the Canadian government came to it's senses and legalized it³.
      Now, the legislatures of 17 states*- Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington - as well as the District of Columbia have come to their senses and approved its medical use⁴. Several others have decriminalized it and/or are considering legalizing it. Although the feds still say it's illegal and would like people to believe that it (marijuana) has no legitimate use, all of these states have decided to claim their rights.
      Medical marijuana is one of, but not by any means the only issue that has fostered a battle between the states and the federal government.

Montana recently threw down the gauntlet over a supreme court case.

      With the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to hear District of Columbia v. Heller in late 2007, an early 2008 movement began in Montana involving at least 60 elected officials addressing potential secession⁵ if the Second Amendment were interpreted not to grant an individual right, citing its compact with the United States of America.

"In a joint resolution, the Montana politicians argue that when Washington approved the state constitution, including a clause granting “any person” the right to bear arms, upon the Treasure State’s entry into the Union in 1889, the federal government recognized that clause as consistent with the Second Amendment. If the Court comes down on the side of a collective right, they argue, it would breach the compact for statehood between Montana and the federal government.”

      Then Governor Schweitzer went one giant-step further and drew a hard, black line. “If guns and ammunition are manufactured inside the State of Montana for sale and use inside that state then the federal firearms laws have no applicability since the federal government only has the power to control commerce across state lines. Montana has the law on their side. Since when did the USA start following their own laws especially the constitution of the USA, the very document that empowers the USA.⁶” In effect, he has told the feds that they do not control what happens within the borders of each individual states, only what crosses those borders.

 Next came Texas.

      There has been a lot of talk about Texas not even being a real state and having the right to secede from the moment they became a state. Although those claims are legally doubtful at best, even their governor has chimed in saying: “We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot.⁷"
      To set their foot down, the Texas legislature passed H.C.R. No. 50⁸ that stated in part “That this serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers...”. The complete text almost reads like a call to arms, telling the feds to get off their back and out of Texas.

      An interesting note: 
“Should Texas one day secede, one man may already be vying to be its president. Actor Chuck Norris said last month he may be interested in the post.”
      Then there's Arizona and the whole immigration debacle. The feds actually sued a state and told them (AZ) that the state couldn't do the feds job even if the feds weren't going to do it. That one is still playing out; in court, both sides claimed partial victory.

And let's not forget the National ID act⁹.
      Led by Maine in early 2007, 25 states over the past 2 years have passed resolutions and binding laws denouncing and refusing to implement the Bush-era law which many expressed concerned about privacy, funding and more. While the law is still on the books in D.C., its implementation has been delayed numerous times in response to this massive state resistance, and in practice, is virtually null and void.
      About two thirds of the states have got their hackles up about something involving state's rights and the sovereignty of the individual state governments. During the War Between the States, 11 states seceded from a total of 34. I'm sure you know the results. If, however, over half of the states we have today decided to dissolve the union, the outcome is by no means a given. One thing is almost guaranteed though. With all the money and egos involved it would be a bloody mess.
      Between national ID, medical marijuana, guns, taxes, immigration, and a whole slew of other laws, law suits and actions the individual states have had just about enough. Something is going to tip a lot of states to the point where they may decide join together and either declare the US Federal Government to be invalid, make serious movements towards nullification¹⁰, mass secession or; and people, this is a very real very dangerous possibility, we could be headed for a revolution. Not a handful of nut-cases running around shouting about a new world order, but an armed uprising with the governors of several states calling out their individual militias and national guard units to battle the federal government.

"But the simple truth--born of experience--is that tyranny thrives best where government need not fear the wrath of an armed people."

Judge Alex Kozinski - United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit


     It has been said that the tree of liberty must, from time to time be watered with the blood of patriots. I hope that time, at least for our country, is a long way off.

At least that's my opinion. Let's hear yours.

On Nullification:
But once citizens understand that they can circumvent a power-hungry Congress and its enablers on the court by demanding their state governments step up and nullify unconstitutional laws, entrenched abuses of every sort could come crashing down.

[AZ] Senate Bill 1433 would create a 12-person “Joint Legislative Committee on Nullification of Federal Laws,” which would “recommend, propose and call for a vote by simple majority to nullify in its entirety a specific federal law or regulation that is outside the scope of the powers delegated by the People to the federal government in the United States Constitution.”

*Post election note: Last week's election added more states to the list of clear thinkers. Massachusetts became the 18th state to legalize medical marijuana. And there's another interesting little battle brewing; the good people of Washington state and Colorado voted to legalize recreational marijuana for the over-21 crowd. Not sure how the feds are going to handle that one but at least the people there have stood up for themselves and said enough is enough. We'll watch the confrontations over the coming months. If anything real interesting happens, you'll be able to read all about it right here.

N. Richard Peterson

Citations

¹ U.S. Constitution - Amendment 10
   Complete text and explaination of 10th amendment
² Isreal and marijuana
³ Canada and marijuana
⁴ Medical Marijuana by state
Map of Medical Marijuana states

⁵ Will Montana secede from the union?

⁶ Text of Montana Law
⁷ Rick Perry interview & Secession
⁸ H.C.R. No. 50
⁹ National ID Act summary
¹⁰ The Nuclear Option - Nillification

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THE SOCIAL MEDIA CONSPIRACY

      In 1949, a British gentleman named George Arthur Orwell¹ wrote an apocalyptic and dystopian novel titled 1984². In it, he predicted that we 

would eventually give all personal power over to the government. One of the 

things he predicted, which has become a common  cliché today is the 

“Thought Police”; ie. a  bunch of bureaucrats watching over our every word 

and deed in an effort to keep us in the “Party line”.

      So powerful and accurate were his writings that we regularly use terms like “Orwellian”, “doublethink” thoughtcrime” and “newspeak”³.

 

     Many years before personal computers, digital recorders, closed-circuit TV 

and the internet, Orwell foresaw a society where the government – through 

it's placement and use technology like ubiquitous video surveillance 

cameras– tracked our every move. With all the cameras in places like New 

York City and London and tracking equipment like OnStar , many people 

believe that we are almost there.

      I disagree on both points.

      First, we're not ALMOST there. Folks, we have arrived. Unless you live 

completely on the fringe of society paying for everything with cash, riding a bicycle and living in the forest or in a 3^rd world country, the government (or 

anybody else with a computer and some spare time) can track your every 

move from the time you get get up 'till you go to bed. Cradle to grave. The 

ability to track us may not be absolute yet, but its existence is not in question.

 

      The second place I disagree is the actual point of this article. The 

government isn't putting tons of technology in place all over the country to 

keep track of us. They don't have to.

      Wake up, people. We're doing it to ourselves.

       Big Brother (another term coined by Orwell) doesn't have to track us 

down. They just have to read our Facebook page. Want to know what

someone  is doing right now and who they're with? Check out their tweets. 

Need to know someone's political and social leanings? Just read our(my?)  

blogs. Many people even put their most personal thoughts and schemes into 

on-line diaries. Now that's a good way to protect your privacy. Even our 

business plans and dealings are getting out of offices and homes and onto the 

internet. Supposedly protected by strong encryption, yes. But who wrote the 

encryption? Beware of The Cloud!

 

     No! No one has have to work very hard to find out any information they 

want about just about any one in the country. We are lining up to give it to 

them.

       The government already has more tools than it knows how to – or is 

willing to use. According to Larry M. Elkin: Business Insider, Oct 9, 2012:  

“...I think the risk of large-scale government abuse of enhanced surveillance 

tools is pretty low. If the rules are implemented, law enforcement will 

probably be criticized more frequently for not making use of the tools at its 

 disposal than it will be for using those tools too broadly.⁴”

 

     Just think of the times every day that you use plastic money, sign your 

name on something, show your driver's license and drive by or walk under a 

surveillance camera. Then pay attention to all the very personal information 

you put on the internet for anyone and everyone to see. Forever. We ought to 

be on the FBI's payroll. If they want to keep tabs on us, we're doing all 

their work for them.

 

At least that's what I think. What about you?

I recommend that everyone who is concerned about where our freedoms are going read 1984. It's available in print or on video from Amazon.com and most major book and video outlets. Also watch the very compelling George Lucas movie: THX1138 with Robert DuVall.

Citations

¹ http://www.george-orwell.org/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/orwell_george.shtml

² http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/1984/

http://www.george-orwell.org/1984

^{3 http://litemind.com/top-3-reasons-to-improve-your-vocabulary/}

^{http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/big-brother-vs-little-brother-updating-orwells-1984/}

⁴ http://articles.businessinsider.com/2010-10-09/tech/30032225_1_encryption-service-providers-intercept

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