Henry George would have been for Social Security!

Beyond What We can See

Out in the darkness, beyond what we can see,

There is a place in our imagination, where all can be free.

But we live in A world, where the dark is out of sight,

Just on the other side of a wall, that we fear, called the night.

 

Out there in the darkness, where I know you are,

As distant from me now as a faint vanishing star.

That is where only my imagination can go.

Even though I know that it is just my aching soul.

 

Maybe where you are, all is clarity and light.

Or maybe you sleep a dreamless dream in eternal night.

All I know for sure, is that one day I'll join you there.

In a place deep in the earth, where I won't have to care.

 

Meanwhile, I'm here, with other strange survivors.

Dwindling in numbers, huddling against the cold.

We sail in a vessel that is leaking and is sinking.

Comforted by memories of when our fine ship sailed the seas.

We might be a fine wine, we might be just the lees,

But we are temporary survivors of this process called growing old.

 

Christopher H. Holte, written 8/16/2015

Yogurt and YaÜ

Always on the Search for good eats. I found this little yogurt Creamery:

http://eatyau.com/story/

It's caramelized!

The Georgist Constitution

Rick DiMare Dug this up in his studies of Georgism and Henry George's writings. It was called the Georgist Constitution. He writes:

"The following Georgist platform was adopted on September 3, 1890 in Coopers Union, New York, on the final day of a 3-day convention, the first national convention in Georgist history, and only a few months before Henry George had a stroke that would cause him to withdraw from the movement (though he kept writing important works until he died in 1897)."

"The event was remarkable, as hundreds of delegates attended from nearly every state in the union. It was after this convention that Georgism entered a new phase, one that sought federal and international recognition. This month (August 2015) the movement’s 115th annual convention was held in Detroit."

Economic Rents are private Taxes

Modern Neo-Georgists (my term for them) have a principle called "All Taxes Come from Rent (ATCOR). It is an assertion derived from interpreting what Henry George had to say in his book "Wealth And Want." It's my contention that this principle is an invention of Mason Gaffney not Henry George and reflects a drift in ideation from what Henry George actually said. Even so the principle is true, but not necessarily the way that its proponents try to claim it is.

The MAD insanity of War Planning with Atom bombs and Bunker Busting

The "Mutually Assured Destruction" doctrine known as MAD planning illustrates the insanity of War Planning with Atom bombs comes from the fact that Atom bombs are a doomsday device. Sadly that insanity is still the only thing that is sane about our international regime at the moment. Instead of working to stop proliferation, reckless leaders are using fear-mongering while seeking to sabotage arms negotiations and use warfare to attack Iran.

The reasons that nobody has used them in (intentional) mass murder since the USA did at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, are manifold:

Radioactive Fallout ignores National Boundaries. For example the USA is downwind of both Russia and Japan.

If one country attacks another, the country attacked will definitely retaliate

They are totally useless as weapons except to destroy the targets one might be fighting over.

Does the Third Way get it right about our Trade Deficit with Asia?

Third Way is incredibly influential with establishment Democrats. Rank and File Democrats don't always feel the same. So I wanted to critique their articles so people I know can make an intelligent decision.

In an Article titled "Losing Ground in Asia: Why the U.S. Export Market Share Has Plummeted" by Third Way the authors note that despite the Obama's efforts to do an "Asian Pivot" - that includes his push of the Trans Pacific Partnership treaty - we have not only not gained ground, we've lost ground on exports. They claim:

"Despite this policy shift, when it comes to economic performance in Asia, America is failing." [3rdWay]

They then provide a report:

"This report examined 26 entities (25 countries, including the United States, as well as the combined rest of world) and their share of the Asian import market from 2000 to 2014." [3rdWay]

They claim:

1. The Asian import market grew by 261% between 2000 and 2014, from $1.5 trillion to $5.4 trillion.
2. Despite the Asian market boom, the U.S. market share fell by 46%, the biggest drop of any of the 25 largest exporters into Asia except Japan.
3. While U.S. market share in Asia is fading, China has been the largest beneficiary.

They then use this decline in Market share as an argument:

"Over the next several months, the United States and 11 nations are expected to conclude negotiations on the TPP. This is a sure fire way to increase U.S. market share in these important Asian economies. The global economy is projected to grow by over $60 trillion in the next 15 years, and almost 90% of that will occur outside of the United States, making global commerce an even larger part of future American success.4 By tapping into these lucrative markets, the United States can retake its lost share of these expanding economies, which means more wealth and prosperity for the middle class and the U.S. economy." [3rdWay]

But is that, in fact, true?