The Next Time

Sadly, in the wake of the terrible Sandy Hook killings of innocent children, gun control advocates continue to storm the country in favor of changes in the law which will prevent nothing. I understand their rage; I understand and sympathize with their sorrow. I just wish they offered better solutions, and real villains to attack…like Rolling Stone magazine.

Yes, I said Rolling Stone magazine. Why? The editorial staff of this once cool publication decided to be “edgy” and “controversial” (translate: “desperate to sell magazines at all costs”), by putting one of the Boston Marathon bombers on its cover, a photo that made him look rock-star cool.

I am refusing to publish the bomber’s name, not because I can’t spell it, but because I refuse to feed any ghoulish desire for publicity which he might harbor. This puts me way ahead of RS, which felt no compunction or moral obligation to avoid rewarding a murderer of children by providing rock-star quality publicity.
How sick and sad that those who own and control RS see no danger in feeding the ego of not just the bomber, but all those sad and warped wannabes twitching out there in the dark. “Guns Don’t Kill People; People Kill People” warns the NRA—trite; a cliché; but holding more than a mote of truth.

Even if you magically banned all assault weapons tomorrow—other weapons, or objects capable of being turned into weapons, remain readily available. Sad but true.

Shame on Rolling Stone for now having blood on their collective hands the next time, and there will be a next time, one of these unspeakable tragedies occurs. More than any gun maker, gun seller, or gun, glamorizing these sick monsters constitutes serving as an accomplice after the fact, and more, clears a psychological path for horrors to come.

I understand that Rolling Stone possesses important First Amendment rights; I fail to understand its utter abdication of social responsibility or conscience. Not only will I never again purchase a Rolling Stone magazine, I am exercising my First Amendment rights to call out Rolling Stone, its owners, editors, and subscribers for the cowardly, cringing enablers they are.

The next time, don’t focus on whatever convenient weapon facilitated the tragedy, focus on those who fawn over pure evil for profit. Focus on those who helped create the next dark day with their craven, venal, high capacity publicity machines of death, as to which they felt no compunction in pulling the trigger. Focus on those who scorned the idea that their words and pictures of today would almost surely result in future deaths…and just didn’t care.

Copyright 2013–All Rights Reserved

Theodore Roosevelt called being President “the bully pulpit.” He meant “bully” in the sense of “splendid” or “wonderful” as he often referred to a happy event with a joyous cry of “bully!”Now we see a President who intends on using the bully pulpit for actual bullying.
President Obama and his Democratic allies view the sequester with disdain and fear. Cutting government spending or the size of government, in any fashion, stands anathema to their nature. Plainly, they view the current size of government to be of the absolute minimum size to keep intact western civilization as we know it. One penny less; let alone one program less, and we careen into the abyss. (One wonders if the emperor may have no clothes on this point, but I digress.) Perhaps they see it correctly. One problem. The government fails to collect enough revenue to pay for said perfect government, and not by a small measure. $4 trillion in spending; $3 trillion in revenues—roughly speaking. The wealthy? They just absorbed a significant tax increase in January of this year, but not nearly enough to close the spending gap. In fact, if you completely confiscated the wealth of the top 1% of U.S. citizens that would only cover the deficit for one year. What would you do in the next year?

Enter spending cuts, or the sequester, which went into effect in March. Approximately $80 billon in annual across the board spending cuts. Not nearly enough to close the gap, but a start. It constitutes a baby step down the path of responsible government before the bond market gags on U.S. treasuries and the whole sucker goes down, to paraphrase the often mocked, but often right, George W. Bush.

But wait, did someone just kick that baby-stepping sequester into the gutter?
Repeated reports indicate the Executive Branch intends to make the cuts hurt. What does this mean? Popular programs cut first, not last. Vital functions, not duplicative ones, whacked. Employee furloughs instead of slight pay cuts for federal employee who faired very well during the Great Recession, seeing no layoffs or pay cuts while the private sector suffered through both over the last five years.

How dare the people, through their legislative branch, tell government to cut back and live within its means? (Even though this constitutes an explicit function of the Congress, as set forth in the Constitution.) Make no mistake, the Executive Branch possesses the means, and apparently, the will, to make it hurt. I just personally witnessed apparent cut-backs in TSA staffing at the airport, resulting in unusually long lines. One hears reports of Head Start programs cut back, illegal immigrants released from detention, and certainly a parade of horribles to follow.

Moreover, it may work.

Recently, our local school superintendent requested a referendum to raise school funding. It failed to pass. He vowed to make it hurt. He did. He cut the German program altogether. He cut back music programs. Rather than finding ways to do more with less, and minimizing pain to the citizenry, he maximized pain.

A second referendum came forth, and this time, passed.
You see, apparently the day has passed where the people tell government, local or federal, how much they want to spend, or how big they want government to be. Instead, now government tells us how big they intend to be, and they will be that big. We either pay for it, or suffer. We get to choose our punishment: exploding deficits or retaliatory service cut backs, but we suffer nonetheless, for daring to tell government to live within its/our means.

Government by the people, of the people, for the people stands morphed into government for the government, as dictated by the government, to the potential detriment of the people, if the people dare to question government’s size, direction, or motives. One can still say we get the government we deserve, and this is what we voted for, albeit 51% to 49%. However, this feels like being bullied…and not bully at all.

Happy 4th of July! What follows provides a brief report of what this American found upon a recent visit to Scandinavia and England.

London, England

Great Britain, wracked by hard currency concerns, now rents out Stonehenge. Summer solstice brought out the Druids and their cash for a drenching at the historic monument. Ordinary tourists could merely gape in wonder as the white-clad tree worshipers did their thing. Oddly enough, as soon as the Druids left, the drenching rain stopped. Our guide claims wheat circles happen frequently in the area, and remain unexplained except for the occasional prank event. Downtown London offers a multi-cultural experience. We found ourselves in Lebanon West. Not what we expected!

The North Sea

Not listed on the itinerary, it still made its presence felt. Final tally: AJ, sea sick; Alex, badly sea sick; Jake, not sea sick but threw up in the room from alcohol sickness (he claims–smelled no better, nonetheless); SSC, deathly sea sick, skin really can turn green!; DJC, nope, brain too numb to get sick, but just call me the old sea dog. Took care of everyone else including a trip to the ship physician for SSC.

Copenhagen, Denmark

We biked with Mike through downtown Copenhagen. Our existentialist guide took us to the park dedicated to Kirkkegaard, and bragged about how Denmark offered the highest tax rates in the world, as well as very high rates of smoking and drinking, both of which bore heavy taxes. He waxed poetic on the great health care and high standard of living these taxes created and then took his fee in cash, most likely so he could avoid said taxes. Rank hypocrisy aside, this place ranks as first rate 21st century living. Downtown moats restored so well you could drink out of them (try that in St. Petersburg). Huge emphasis on bike riding as a means of transportation. Running trails galore. The people all struck you with their trim fitness despite the apparently heavy smoking and drinking. You also sense the happiness and optimism of the people. Overcast skies and a big emphasis on that little mermaid in the harbor, but you feel strongly of a nation on the rise.

Stockholm, Sweden

The “Venice of the Baltic” proved to be all of that and more. Built on and around a series of small islands, and at the back of a long, narrow natural harbor, Stockholm presented a postcard vista at every turn. We will never forget the cruise out to sea in the evening, as we passed close by to endless small “lake” cottages on both sides of the channel. Happy people, tasty food, and not too proud to build an entire exhibit around the wreck of the Vasa. The 1628 pride of the Swedish navy sunk on its maiden voyage in the harbor, and was raised, intact, 350 years later. The restoration and preservation both sparked accolades, but none of us will ever forget the rumors that the “malice of Poland” caused the sinking. In fact, poor engineering did the deed (top heavy).

Helsinki, Finland

Heavily advertised in the tourist literature: Finland kept out the Soviet Union Commies in the heroic “Winter War” of 1940-41. Not heavily advertised: Finland sided with the Nazis in WWII, and had to pay heavy reparations to the Soviet Union as a result. What a hell hole! Easily the “Gary, Indiana of the Baltic,” the bus tour included the driver running a scam where DJC handed him a 100 Euro note and he switched it with a 10 Euro, and then claimed he was shorted. Rather than getting in a fist fight in a foreign country, DJC simply told him that God knew what he had done, and he should give the money he just stole to the Church or he’d be sorry. Better than DJC spending time in foreign jail. (Any one else see “Midnight Express”?) Giant flea market downtown–very white trash. Total waste of a stop, although the salmon at lunch was mighty tasty!

St. Petersburg

On to the the jewel of the Baltic (not), St. Petersburg, for two days, no less. If you observe the port security, apparently the Cold War never ended. After a process similar to the “soup nazi” episode of Seinfeld, we received reluctant approval to meet our private guide. No tourists possess the right to visit the city without official escorts. And what a city! Having been born in 1958, I missed most of the glory of the ’50’s, but obtained a pretty good taste of them in St. Pete. Traffic jams, smog, pollution, all in the wake of the “Glorious People’s Revolution” as our brain-washed, but pleasant, guide kept calling it. We visited the spectacular, but oppressively crowded, Hermitage, situated on the banks of the very polluted canals. We then ventured via hydroplane to the spectacular, but crowded, summer palace of the czars. No wonder these people revolted!!! Obscene opulence in every room.

On day two, the kids revolted, and were left on board the ship. Good riddance! We visited the summer residence of Catherine the Great in the suburbs–no wonder these people revolted! (See prior comments.) Amber room was spectacular, as was the photo montage showing how the Russian people put the palace back together after a total trashing by the Nazis. I’ll give the Russians credit for pure grit. We then visited the Church of the Spilled Blood (not making this up) where Czar Nicholas the First was assassinated by anarchists in the 19th century. The inside was Russian Orthodox iconography to the extreme. We also visited another church of extreme beauty, Church of St. Isaac, which would have been bombed by the Nazis, except they used it as a reference point for their bombing missions.

St. Petersburg remains a work in progress at best. We saw Putin’s official residence and, surprise, it is no less than a restored Russian czar’s palace. Bad visual; bad judgment. Many signs of wealth in terms of Mercedes and Lexis cars on the streets. However, the very unpleasant temperament of the locals, the terrible poverty of our guide, and expressions of frustration with Putin, combined with the inability to articulate what policies Putin failed to implement, other than limiting his term in power, all bode poorly for Russia. Short Russia!

Tallinn, Estonia

You just knew in your bones Estonia would be awesome. 1.3 million people in the entire country, so we are talking about a country the size of central Indiana. These people just got their freedom in 1991, and they are on fire for democracy. They have the best internet access in the world, and they teach English from 4th grade on. An Estonian invented Skype, and this place beams its happy face at everyone, with a certain vampire flair. Great food (pork loin, sauerkraut, and mustard–yum!), pleasant old world charm, better prices than Russia, and an astonishing number of striking young women on the street. Our attractive tour guide told a very moving  story of their bloodless singing revolution of 1991, as they threw off their Soviet oppressors. She showed us the KGB headquarters, where they found a “mincer” when the people took over the building. DJC visited the ELA affiliate, and received a very kind, if puzzled, reception. Forget the stories about white slave trade, this place seems ready to take off. Buy Estonia, the Baltic’s little gem!

Gothenburg, Sweden

Arrived Sunday morning after a day at sea. Very clean alleys, very little going on. Volvo headquarters nice but hardly worth the stop. King Gustuff Aldolpho needed a window to the West (who doesn’t?), so here we are. At this point, the Carr family could care less. DJC had a nice conversation in French with somebody until SSC spoke to DJC in English. Then the Frenchman said in English: “You speak English, too?” and proceeded to conduct the rest of the conversation in English, to show off that he could speak English as well. With such attitudes, DJC’s French will never get better.

Ready to head home. Really great time in many respects, but it re-enforced the issues that caused our ancestors to get the hell out of Dodge, and head for a new land, away from monarchists, socialists, and communists. A land where the government didn’t tell you what to do, allowed you to breath free, and make your own success. We return believing in American exceptionalism more than ever. Turns out, we live in the greatest country on earth after all, although it wouldn’t hurt to start charging a fee to use the restrooms, and finding some super power to safeguard our freedoms for us at no charge. Perhaps we could balance the budget after all.

Copyright 2011–David J. Carr–All Rights Reserved

Warren Buffett, Genius Porn Stars, and Treasure

Even with the economic decline, Warren Buffett’s net worth stands at $37 billion dollars, give or take a few million.  At the outset, please understand I hold nothing against Mr. Buffett.  Having recently devoured his authorized biography, Snowball, I fully note his genius, his wit, his consistency, in the modest life he lives.  I even intend to follow his investment methods.  Yet, this highly favorable, unabashedly fawning biography highlights some significant lowlights to Warren’s magnificent life.

Specifically, of his three children, none graduated from college, even though one attended prestigious Stanford University and almost completed his degree.  His three children managed to wrack up four divorces.   At 50, his wife Susie moved out, and left Nebraska for good, establishing her own separate life in beautiful Laguna Beach, California.  She established various separate relationships with old flames, and her one-time tennis instructor, among others.  While Warren and his wife continued to be married and affectionate until her death in 2006, Warren established a common law marital relationship in Omaha with Astrid Menks, and made no bones about it.  After his legal wife’s death, Warren and Astrid married. 

Money, it seems, guarantees neither perfect children, perfectly happy children, or serene and blissful marital harmony.

Asia Carrera, studied piano as a child, played Carnagie Hall at 14, starred as a state spelling champ, Math team champ, and won a full ride academic scholarship to Rutgers.  Where is she today?   She recently announced her retirement from the world of pornographic films, where she scored many leading roles in films with titles not appropriate for a Christian newsletter.  Why?  According to her web site (I boast of no familiarity with her films), she cites demanding parents who never found her successes sufficient, who pushed her too hard until she snapped, and just ran off into the night, and ultimately, pornography.  With brains and exceptional beauty, it made for easy money to be a porn queen.

Asia’s hero?  Warren Buffett.  She follows his successes as a true fan, and, like me, hopes to emulate his financial investment success.

Brains, it seems, guarantees neither automatic financial success nor contentment with choices made by others, including parents, no matter how well-intended, and apparently wise, compared to the choices made by the aforementioned genius.  Will she treasure her legacy?

Jesus, of course, offered a few words on treasure.  According to the gospel of Matthew 6:19, he warns:  “Do not store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up yourselves treasures in Heaven…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

To his credit, Warren announced a spectacular foundation that will receive the great bulk of his wealth upon his death.  No Christian he, I wonder if some of Jesus’ ideas seem to be making more sense to him as he heads towards the end of the trail.  Does Warren regret the early pursuit of wealth that may have contributed to the tribulations of his private life?

As we ourselves abruptly now come to the end of our gilded age of financial aggrandizement and look at the cost of our wealth acquisition spree, individually and as a nation, does a different sort of treasure now possess more appeal?  While we breath, it’s never too late to seek a better sort of treasure.

Copyright 2010 – David J. Carr

Thank Goodness for Al-Qaeda

 By David J. Carr

With the Haitian earthquake came the immediate response of Al-Qaeda .  The calls for aid created an outpouring from the organization and those who support its worthy goals and ideals.  Literally within hours of the quake, aid began pouring in from Al-Qaeda :  cargo planes loaded with food, water, temporary shelters. 

People, boots on ground, followed as well, although more than a few Al-Qaeda  members already were in Haiti when the disaster occurred.  Indeed a number were casualties themselves, having been involved in ongoing relief and missionary work directed towards the perpetually beleaguered nation.  In a particularly highly publicized move, Osama Bin Laden himself, being a multi-millionaire, flew his own personal 747, filled with donated supplies, into Port-Au-Prince airport to the cheers of millions across the world.

In small towns and villages controlled by Al-Qaeda , religious groups took up special offerings exclusively for Haiti relief.  All over controlled areas, special prayers went out, even children of Al-Qaeda families raised thousands of dollars for Haiti.

Meanwhile, the world cringed as the United States, with little or no mention of the heartbreaking suffering of the Haitian people, proudly took credit for a Ramadan season attempted bombing, by munitions-loaded underwear, of an Air Arabia airlines flight loaded with men, women, and children coming home for the holiday.

 Since that cowardly episode, the U.S. continues to be conspicuously absent from the world Haitian rescue and relief effort.  No planes of relief, no food, no supplies, no shelter, no relief workers, not even any mention of prayers toward the poor suffering people.  All indications point toward, if anything, renewed attacks against the peaceful civilians of the Middle East–attacks designed to maximize the deaths of non-combatants, including women and children.  Rumors continue that the U.S. may even try to fly a commercial airline into the world’s tallest building located in Dubai.

Is it any wonder that the glorious Ayatollah Khomeni repeatedly referred to the United States as the Great Satan?  Thank goodness for Al-Qaeda . 

Copyright 2010–  David J. Carr

Obama Care and Torrey Pines Tee Times

Most everyone knows that Torrey Pines stands as one of the most magnificent golf courses in the world.  Nestled against the Pacific shores of La Jolla, California, it offers unmatched cliff-side vistas—a golfer’s dream, and sparkles as the sight of the Buick Open each year.  It also stands out as a public course with exceptionally low greens fees (e.g. for you non-golfers, cost to play).

How do free markets react to exceptional values at artificially low prices?  Excess demand, of course.  Torrey Pines attempted deal with this by limiting advance tee times, meaning that golfers wishing to pay could not schedule a playing time in advance.  Instead, it required the golfer to come in several hours in advance, huddle in the dim, cold morning fog, and wait in turn for the chance to secure, after a wait of several hours, one of the prized tee times for the day, with no guarantees.

A frightful system?  Yes.  However, free market forces, like Marvel comic super heroes,  mercifully intervened.  A secondary market emerged.  The unemployed, underemployed, or the merely adventurous entrepreneur, could stand in line for others, secure the “golden ticket” tee time, and then sell the ticket to a broker.  The end user golfer purchased the ticket from a broker, paying full market value for the tee time, but getting to play the fabulous course on the day, and at the time, that he needed.  The entrepreneur, the broker, and the end user golfer all came out ahead.  Free enterprise at its best!

Alas, our story offers no happy ending.  Sadly, the California State Parks Department took exception to our happy little enterprise zone.  It secured illegal status for the brokering, scattered the entrepreneurs, and limited the allowance of out-of-county tee times to five per day.  The result?  A windfall for local residents, a requirement to sign up for tee times as much as six months in advance for everyone else, meaning no golf at all for most eager duffers, due to limits of time and scheduling.

Medical care, like golf, by its nature possesses even more stringent limits on time and scheduling.  As John Maynard Keynes accurately stated, “In the long run, we are all dead.”  Healthy competition between insurance companies or health care providers for your dollars seems most likely to secure an efficient allocation of health resources.  Government control of the economics of medical care likely will fare no better than its regulation of Torrey Pines tee times.  Enjoy your Obama Care; just don’t get sick.

Copyright 2010 –David J. Carr

The Worst Generation?

Our parents’ generation received the moniker: “The Greatest Generation” from former broadcaster Tom Brokow.  Brokow’s book of the same name makes a convincing case for the appellation. 

Born in the throes of the Great Depression, our parents matured in time to fight World War II, the Korean War, and for some even the Vietnam War.  A generation winning wars, raising the standard of living, giving birth to, well, us, the Baby Boomers.  We arrived on the wave of post-WWII prosperity, which washed across this great land. 

We grew up while our parents’ generation struggled to fight, and win, the Cold War against Communism, and the Soviet Union.  That last struggle saw the ageless warrior, Ronald Reagan, lead one last great triumph for that generation.

Having now reached middle age, of what triumphs can we boast?  Middle East peace? Not exactly.  Worldwide elimination of poverty?  No.  Worldwide embracing of democracy?  Fits and starts at best.  Worldwide embrace of capitalism?  Perhaps, but it came in the form of the 18^th or 19^th Century form, the one that smacks of corruption, exploitation, and avoidance of minimum labor and environmental laws now considered mandatory in this country as part of the definition of modern civilization.

Promotion of the family?  Hardly.  We did manage to bring in a new worldwide plague in the form of a new venereal disease: AIDS.   On our watch out-of-wedlock births soared.  In this country, minority birth out of wedlock exceeds 70% of total births.  Caucasian out-of-wedlock births continue to trend upward, and in some Scandinavian countries total birthrates show over 75% out-of-wedlock.  We appear well on the way to subsidizing the extinction of the nuclear family.  Public subsidies make the government, not a spouse, the “bread winner” of last resort.

Promotion of morality or even the rule of law?  Just like the Roman Empire, outside our borders “might makes right.”  All too often, military force remains the weapon of choice.  When self-proclaimed enemies declare war on us, rather than pray for them, we bomb them.  Even more unfortunate, the bombing remains insufficiently pinpoint to completely avoid the killing of  innocents, playing right into the hands of our enemies.

Domestic tranquility?  De Tocqueville mused that democracy will be finished when people discover that they can get what they want from their government, and send the bill to the next generation.  In 1968, the federal budget allocated over 45% of revenues to the military.  Today, thanks to the afore-mentioned Cold War victory, that percent stands reduced to a mere 19.1%, a peace dividend. (Source: gpoaccess.gov/budget)

Unfortunately, in its place, entitlement payments (Health and Human Services) rocketed from 7.3% in 1968 to 24.5% today, and represent the largest line item in the federal budget.  The federal debt stands at an all time high: $12 trillion and climbing.  The federal budget for 2010 projects an annual deficit of $1.4 trillion on a total budget of $3.6 trillion.  While we remain a wealthy nation with GDP of $12-14 trillion annually, we appear to be racing toward a sovereign debt crisis.

We respond by voting ourselves a new entitlement, health care, with generous subsidies and little in the way of legitimate funding mechanisms.  It also appears to provide little in the way of incentives for wellness or health cost containment.  The means to obtain this entitlement involved political gimmickry, backroom deals, and circumvention of the Senate filibuster mechanism. 

We remain unwilling to recognize that 43% of the citizens of the nation on our southern border would prefer to live here—no surprise—to take advantage of our entitlement system.  Our system invites their illegal immigration to our country by guaranteeing full benefits to all of their children simply by virtue of their birth upon arrival.  Indeed, currently 70% of the births in Los Angeles public hospitals record the parents as illegal immigrants.

Guaranteeing health care for all of these new U.S. citizens certainly will do nothing to discourage further illegal immigration.  While these brave new immigrants, and their innocent children, bring many positive attributes to our country, the further entrenchment of an underground economy seems destined to further undermine the rule of law in this country.

Will the U.S. end up being “no country for old men.”  Will we go down in history as the “worst generation”?  Time appears to be running short on the chance to make our legacy a positive one.

Copyright 2010—David J. Carr