DEAL: NO TAX RETURNS; NO DEBATES??

Makes Sense, No?

Stand Off?  Why leave it just one sided?  Debates would be hollow against a backdrop of hidden tax filings.  If the voters are stupid enough to sit still for such media-driven insanity, the outcome of the election may not matter!

Stay Vigilant!

Copyright © 2012: Williams LLC
All Rights Reserved: Williams LLC

WHEN DOES POWER TURN EVIL?

Our Founders Knew

Most of us probably think that power turns evil whenever it is in the hands of our "enemy".  Our Founders knew that power turns evil whenever and wherever it becomes concentrated.  That's why they created a government wherein power was both separated and divided.   They divided governing between  Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches at both the State and Federal Levels. These branches, at both levels,  have separate and independent powers.  The Founders set rules in the Constitution for dividing power between the state and federal governments.  Ultimate power under our Constitution rests with the people and their vote.  In the United States, the people are soverign.  We're all taught that (or should have been). 

Facing a crucial election, the citizens of this country find themselves in a situation in which tremendous power has become concentrated.   Organized religions,  combined with wealthy corporations, have invaded a political party and are willing to destroy the economy in order to gain complete control of government at the federal level.

 Funded with unlimited supplies of money, these forces are also moving, through state governors within their party, to limit access to voting by citizens.  The factions, with full control of one house of the federal legislature, and near-control of the Supreme Court, have found a way to severely curtail the function  of the federal government with threats of cataclysmic cuts in funding needed for operation.

These events, made possible by leaps in technology, have strained the model of our government.
Having withstood the ravages of a Civil War, our government model may not surpass, unscathed,  this attack by concentrated power. 

Against the backdrop of a global Economic near-Depression, brought on by six years of total control by the party seeking to regain control, the people, alone, will have to defend our governmental model.
The independence of the branches at the Federal level is most threatened.  Corporate interests, through highly paid lobbyists have userped functions of the legislative branches; to include writing our laws, and the implementing agencies of the executive branch; to include writing regulations and corrupting regulators.

This government was formed, in part, to escape the tyranny of  royalty and ruling families.  Elements of the attacking forces within our government at both federal and state levels seek to undo these achievements.  Moneyed elites are at the door.  Do we let them in?

 Stay Vigilant!
Copyright © 2012: Williams LLC
All Rights Reserved: Williams LLC

"AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM: EXPOSED

Old Snake Oil: New Bottle?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism

Various outlets of our Yin Yang Media report that Master Rove and that ilk are hoisting Mitt and the Repoobs for this election under the banner of American Exceptionalism.  Those not clear on the meaning should visit the website shown above.  Mad Ronnie used the banner and linked it to Winthrop, "Shining City on a Hill" and Puritanism.  Look out for the 2012 update.

I you're like me, you probably think you have some notion of what the term means.  Check it out; you'll probably be surprised to learn the many conflicting ideas this term has been used for over time.

Superiority, White Supremacy; Capitalism; Private Property; Puritanism; Imperialism; War; Forgiveness; Chosen People; Manifest Destiny; Slaughter of Non-Whites; Slavery; Liberty; -- everything from 1492 on can be embodied in the term.

I grew up going to the movies on Saturday (for 15 cents or bottle caps) to watch Westerns -- Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger.  I was disturbed by the fact that "Justice" was one-sided.  If the Indians killed or harmed a white settler in anyway, whole tribes were wiped out to achieve "Justice".  If whites were found "guilty" of violating Treaties, no one was held accountable.  Joel Chandler, in Broken Arrow gave a memorable portrayal of such unequal justice.

Many decades later, after winning the Cold War, this country exhibited the same attitudes and behavior toward Abu Ghraib, cloaking it in "American Exceptionalism".  Mitt and his backers want to return to that stance and abandon Obama's attempts to achieve some more sane approach to justice among different peoples on this planet.  Its a stark choice, and a lot of money is riding on the outcome.

Remember, they're counting on the ignorance, greed, fear, or indifference of the voter to bring them victory in November.

Stay Vigilant!

Copyright © 2012: Williams LLC
All Rights Reserved: Williams LLC

INSPIRATION AMONGST DESPAIR

What "Success" Really Means in this Country

In my long years in this country, "Success" (which may be uniquely defined in this country) entails overcoming obstacles, and beating the odds;  to prevail over circumstances not of our making.  Discipline and perserverance are key to "success" defined in this way.  The version purveyed by Mitt and the Repoobs is a bunch of hooey.  It doesn't ring true when stacked up against people like those featured in two lead news stories that aired on August 3, 2012.

One story, aired on CNN, is that of Earnie Casillas.  Unemployed for four years, losing a large figure income and accompanying lifestyle, his marriage and home, he toughed it out; finally finding employment.  Shaken, he told his story compellingly, making even the most hard-hearted among us aware of the hair-breadth distance between his circumstance and ours.  When asked whom he would vote for this November, he responded that he would vote for Obama.  He evidently did not buy the "bull"' spread by the Repoobs; placing blame for the economy on the President.  He stated that the progress made thus far needs to be continued, and the President needs more time to repair the damage done by those who brought us the wreckage in our economy.  Check out the footage on CNN.

Another story aired today is that of Gabby Douglas, the young gymnast that spendidly represented our country; winning a gold medal in the London Olympics.  Her story reflects genuine drive, discipline, sacrifice, and grit; the kind that many of our citizens, past and present, have exhibited.

Congratulations to both Earnie and Gabby.  They lift us all.  They are both from those non-white "minorities" that the Repoobs hold in such low regard.

 Mitt's remarks abroad about the Palestinians shame us in a way that only these inspiring stories can counter.

Stay Vigilant!

Copyright © 2012: Williams LLC
All Rights Reserved: Williams LLC

ZIMMERMAN and the DARK KNIGHT SHOOTER(DKS)

Bookends? Mirrors in the Dark?

As more is revealed about Aurora (funny how we now have only to mention the place), it bears assembling the spare facts and looking for patterns.  Many startling things have emerged from these shootings; only a few months apart.  It seems there has been an explosion of similar events since 9/11.

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora,_Colorado, shows Aurora as Denver's largest suburb, more than half the size of Denver.  It has a population (2010) of more than 325,000; about 60% white and 40% non-white.  All of those shot were white.

DKS is white; and Zimmerman is a white-wannabe who went out, armed, at night, looking for blacks.  DKS was obviously much more intelligent and capable than Zimmerman.  Do the numbers show (in their disparity) that DKS was looking for whites? Both shooters were in their 20s and males. Just about all of the mass shooters have been white male since 1976 (averaging 20 mass shootings/year,according to TIME, 6Aug12).  The places are ingrained in our consciousness.

A WELL-REGULATED MILITIA: is a requirement written by our Founders into the Constitution.

Just about everyone in this country, citizens and political leaders alike, ignore this.  Why??

DeTocqueville found in 1830 a tyrannical (white) majority ruling in this nation with murder (by gun) on its mind.  He found a new nation with two prominent goals: exterminate all Natives to get their land, and work all blacks to death in perpetuity.  Over hundreds of years, this has settled into the psyche of all of our citizens, in one way or another.  The Founders managed to depict blacks as less than human.

As the percentages of whites dwindle across the nation, the least-evolved, most threatened, and most extreme among the whites are more expressive of their fears and anxieties.  This angst is especially evident now as the political extremes are doubling down in their efforts to hoard all the money and guns http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=272;  strangle the economy; and take other draconian measures to hold onto to control.

Stay Vigilant!

Copyright © 2012: Williams LLC
All Rights Reserved: Williams LLC

WANT A JOB??

What you need to know to GET, and KEEP a Job!

For most of us, the world we knew just a decade or so has disappeared; especially when it comes to jobs and the workplace.  Gerald Chertavian was on C-Span the other day touting his new book about a program titled Year Up http://www.yearup.org/.  He said that companies are laying off according to something called ABC, and hiring according to traditional methods which include degrees.  ABC denotes attitudes, behaviors, and communication skills.  Unfortunately for employers, these attributes can only be discovered on the job -- after a person is hired. 

In their employer-sponsored program for disadvantaged youths, they pay the students while in training for the specific skills and attributes an employer is seeking.  This should be a "heads-up" to everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, or other ovarian lottery benefits or deprivations.  The depression-level job market, coupled with the ability of employers to circumvent government regulations such as Affirmative Action, should alert everyone that employers hold the trump hand.  Performance on the job and ability to build the bottom line will trump features listed on resumes.  This calls into question the roles of traditional academia, private education companies, head-hunters, and other old techniques for acquiring employment.  Even traditional family-connection jobs will suffer if the bottom-line is endangered.

Western Governor's University, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Governors_University, was founded in 1997 to take advantage of Distance Learning in remote areas and to certify skills of the students before an employer hires them.  It was known by large corporations, like the one I retired from, that many top academic graduates were poor performers on the job.

Drucker taught us that it was not "who you know", but "who knows you and wants what you can produce" that matters when it comes to getting hired, keeping a job, and getting raises or promotions (things that are scarce or non-existent in today's job market).

So, if you can no longer count on your resume or a head hunter, what do you do?  Network, Network, Network!  You have to find the person who will actually make the hiring selection (usually the person with the budget and hiring authority); find a way to get them to know you, and proceed from there.  It would be wise to ask questions that will let you know whether you "fit" the job, the work environment, and your co-workers; but most people will be so desparate for money they will contort themselves and their personal relationships in ways that cannot last.

Work smarter, not harder; consider turning your talents and skills into an income-producing situation that you control.  Good Luck!

Stay Vigilant!

Copyright © 2012: Williams LLC
All Rights Reserved: Williams LLC

DON'T "LAUGH" At The MORMONS

Some of them are "Laughing" All The Way to the BANK!

I guess its to be expected that a poorly educated and over-religious country like ours will laugh at those things we are troubled by, but don't fully understand.  The Mormons seem to be counting this in their efforts to install Mitt.  And it's our fault!

This nation has given the green light to religions to participate in business in ways that give them a competitive edge.   Businesses that are not backed by organized religions are at a distinct disadvantage.  The "Chicken" flap currently in the news today is a case in point.  The Mormon backing of anti-Gay issues has been widely reported.  We know the results of the invasion of organized religion invasion into our politics, during the Repoob rise.  We don't pay much attention to their activities within our corporations and smaller businesses.  We should, because we make it possible by giving them humongous tax breaks.

They were given these breaks because they promised to significantly reduce poverty, and to improve the lives of the communities in which they operate.  Have they??  Nobody's taking a serious look at this issue.  Maybe now, when the country faces bankruptcy is a good time to study it??.

Mitt also provides an excellent opportunity for all of us to look around at the lucrative activities of not only the Mormon businesses, but also those of all faiths. 

Laughter is a poor substitute for knowledge.  Google, in 2012, takes away all of our excuses for staying tragically ignorant on this phenomenon.  How much do we know about the "Mormon Wars" and "Massacres"?  What about the "White Horse" prophecy of Joseph Smith?  If we seriously start Googling, maybe Mitt will have to break his silence on these topics.  Laughter will not penetrate the shield behind which Mitt hides his tax treatments and his religious beliefs.

Stay Vigilant!  Don't let the joke be on us!

Copyright © 2012: Williams LLC
All Rights Reserved: Williams LLC