Things I've learned

When we were remodeling our kitchen a few years ago, the electricians said we needed to put an outlet at the end of the snack bar. I thought it was a dumb idea, but they insisted on putting the wires in, but they didn't install the outlet.

Well, I was wrong and I later put the junction box and outlet in myself, with the wires the electricians put under the cabinets.

Turns out the outlet is really handy for slow cookers, grills, and other electrical appliances.

 

Narratives of the Establishment or How to Cover-up Their Role in the Problem

The recent Paris attacks were quite criminal and horrific. 

I do not want to see a repeat of the attacks, ever. That being said, a proper review of the backstory needs to be articulated and I had intended to do so, but David Stockman beat me to it. (He did it better than I could have, also.)

Therefore, please see this link to his article.

Do I think we will see more attacks like this? Certainly. Why? Because the Western Powers/Establishment/Elite/military-industrial-congressional-university complex benefit from all aspects of these horrors. Their power increases as well as their budgets. (sarc on) Plus it's a lot of fun to direct drone attacks in real time from half way around the world! (sarc off)

Milton Friedman, RIP

Once upon a time I believed what I was told about Milton Friedman (by the likes of the Economist, etc.), namely that he was a proponent of liberty and a free market economist.

Later, I learned that he help devise payroll tax withholding to fund WWII while he was working for the Treasury Department.

That seems like the opposite of freedom and liberty to me. So, thanks, Milton! 

We still have payroll tax withholding today, more than 70 years after you invented it for wartime expediency. A dedicated statist could not have done better!

When to Plant a Tree - When to Stop Meddling in Foreign Affairs

There's an old saw about when the best time is to plant a tree - 20 years ago.

When is the next best time to plant a tree - today.

When is the worst time to plant a tree - tomorrow. (Which in many cases turns out to be never because of procastination.)

I hope it is obvious why. Trees take time to grow until we can enjoy their shade and maybe have some fruit, assuming a fruit tree was planted.

Here's my new old saw about foreign policy:

When is the best time to stop meddling in other countries' affairs - 20 years ago. (Or 50 or 60 or 100 years ago)

When is the second best time to to stop meddling in other countries' affairs - today.

When is the worst time to stop meddling in other countries' affairs - tomorrow (which in the CIA's case is just about never).

I define meddling in other countries' affairs as:

assassination and assassination attempts
bombing
planting propaganda
comparing the leader to Hitler
destabilizing foreign currency
funding fake opposition groups
sending guns to opposition groups
blackmailing leaders
kidnapping
buying journalists
drone attacks
financial blackmail
freezing assets
torture
lying to the UN
planting evidence of WMD
buying political opponents
etc.
etc.
etc.