I really don't feel like being all that ground-breaking today. Just drag up one thought and re-iterate what a lot of other people have probably thought or said or wrote for thousands of years. And here is one already.
"Any government poweful enough to give you everything you want is also powerful enough to take away everything you have. Therefore the proper function of the state is to protect the life, liberty, and property of its citizens... nothing more. That government is best that governs least."
Sounds great! But is it true?
As a collectivist
MOST people do not know what is best for them. And over the years a countries government will set up laws to protect people from themselves. From having guns too easily because people seem to kill themselves with guns. From having drugs like cocaine or heroine because people ruin themselves on addiction. From any number of things because people screw up all the time.
Answer
But the more government does for people, the less they do for themselves. The more dependent they are on others.
And in the opposite corner as a... I don't even know... libertarian?
SOME people do not know what is best for them. And if you let them make mistakes these people get smarter, or others get smarter by their example. And the end result is more and more competent people in the world as the most competent are allowed to excell... not pay for others mistakes.
Answer
But the system is heartless and so many people fall through the cracks.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
For the Greater Good
"The greatest evil can sometimes result by attempting the greatest good." ... or something like that...
Here is a history lesson for today...
1) The US government wants people to be able to buy a house, so they make it easier for Americans to get loans.
2) The increase in demand... according to laws of supply and demand... raises the prises of homes.
3) People buy houses they can't afford because houses are overprices... yet they still get these crazy loans to help them out
4) Eventually the loan payments are too much and Lehman brothers files for bankruptcy.
5) All because government tried to help people out.
And in case you didn't catch that...
1) The US has tons of grants and laws out there to help people pay for tuition to go to college, because they want to help people and have a more educated society.
2) Colleges see the increase in demand and... raise their prices.
3) Tuition now costs incredible amounts of money that students only afford because of the government money and loans.
4) The end result is the students are in serious debt that they have to pay back for years after they leave school.
5) And now a tuition bubble exists where tuition at many schools has increased 50% in the past 10 years. All because the government tried to help out people.
Other side effects of these good intentions include...
(A) Too many 'smart kids' and not enough plumbers... or any other kind of trade.
And also
(B) Small universities trying to capitalize on this new inflow of cash... And they're crummy.
And
(C) With everyone going to college people are forced to stay in college even longer in grad school to distance themselves from their peers... More time away from giving value into the economy, taking more government grants... and... going into more debt... all because the government tried to help people out.
Here is a video to explain it rather well...
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIcfMMVcYZg&feature=channel
Or for lazy people... the main point of the video is: "It creates a culture of dependency where, because the government is involved and the prices are high, the people need to have government money to afford (insert government initiative here)... but the fact remains that if the government wasn't involved in the first place... the prices would still be low... and they wouldn't need the government to afford it.")
And now, in summary, here is where the lesson applies...
1) The US Government now wants to get into healthcare in order to guarantee health insurance for every American. Again. Really good.
2) But the thing about insurance is... it makes the doctors run a whole gambit of tests for everyone that comes in the door because it is not on the patient's dime... it's all insurance... (which insurance companies would try to limit by being petty, dirty, and cheap)... but on the government's dime, most likely all the tests will be done... again, all on the taxpayer's dime... because the doctor will do everything to make sure they don't get sued....
3) Thus greatly increasing the demand for health care in the states... Greatly increasing hospital costs... Greatly increasing debt...
... So in a sense I really don't like where it's headed... but I'm still for public health care because I still believe insurance companies have a conflict of interest between making profits and caring for sick people...
Here is a history lesson for today...
1) The US government wants people to be able to buy a house, so they make it easier for Americans to get loans.
2) The increase in demand... according to laws of supply and demand... raises the prises of homes.
3) People buy houses they can't afford because houses are overprices... yet they still get these crazy loans to help them out
4) Eventually the loan payments are too much and Lehman brothers files for bankruptcy.
5) All because government tried to help people out.
And in case you didn't catch that...
1) The US has tons of grants and laws out there to help people pay for tuition to go to college, because they want to help people and have a more educated society.
2) Colleges see the increase in demand and... raise their prices.
3) Tuition now costs incredible amounts of money that students only afford because of the government money and loans.
4) The end result is the students are in serious debt that they have to pay back for years after they leave school.
5) And now a tuition bubble exists where tuition at many schools has increased 50% in the past 10 years. All because the government tried to help out people.
Other side effects of these good intentions include...
(A) Too many 'smart kids' and not enough plumbers... or any other kind of trade.
And also
(B) Small universities trying to capitalize on this new inflow of cash... And they're crummy.
And
(C) With everyone going to college people are forced to stay in college even longer in grad school to distance themselves from their peers... More time away from giving value into the economy, taking more government grants... and... going into more debt... all because the government tried to help people out.
Here is a video to explain it rather well...
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIcfMMVcYZg&feature=channel
Or for lazy people... the main point of the video is: "It creates a culture of dependency where, because the government is involved and the prices are high, the people need to have government money to afford (insert government initiative here)... but the fact remains that if the government wasn't involved in the first place... the prices would still be low... and they wouldn't need the government to afford it.")
And now, in summary, here is where the lesson applies...
1) The US Government now wants to get into healthcare in order to guarantee health insurance for every American. Again. Really good.
2) But the thing about insurance is... it makes the doctors run a whole gambit of tests for everyone that comes in the door because it is not on the patient's dime... it's all insurance... (which insurance companies would try to limit by being petty, dirty, and cheap)... but on the government's dime, most likely all the tests will be done... again, all on the taxpayer's dime... because the doctor will do everything to make sure they don't get sued....
3) Thus greatly increasing the demand for health care in the states... Greatly increasing hospital costs... Greatly increasing debt...
... So in a sense I really don't like where it's headed... but I'm still for public health care because I still believe insurance companies have a conflict of interest between making profits and caring for sick people...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
And the Grand Prize!!!
... A cord of wood?
The volunteer firefighters had a charity fundraiser last night at the fire hall. And first of all, the German word for 'raffle' is 'lose'. Honestly... it's 'lose'... I would not joke about this. You would see all these firefighters in overalls walking around holding plastic pails with 'LOSE' written all over the side of them. Ironic... and I thought it was hilarious... and yet no one else seemed to think it was very funny. Doing their whole 'well, in Germany it's 'Low-zay' and it's all the rave over here. Second of all... third prize was a cord of wood... it was sitting next to the counter... and it was about as tall and wide as me... logs of wood.
First prize was an all-inclusive weekend for two in a five-star hotel. Second prize was an all year superski pass in the valley. Fourth prize was a barbie fun house.
And they only served local specialties... roast pork... some sort of cabbagy vegetable... and roasted chestnuts... and the thing about chestnuts is... they're liars... they smell absolutely amazing but taste like chewy crumbly oatmeal. A disappointment. But a very fun night.
The volunteer firefighters had a charity fundraiser last night at the fire hall. And first of all, the German word for 'raffle' is 'lose'. Honestly... it's 'lose'... I would not joke about this. You would see all these firefighters in overalls walking around holding plastic pails with 'LOSE' written all over the side of them. Ironic... and I thought it was hilarious... and yet no one else seemed to think it was very funny. Doing their whole 'well, in Germany it's 'Low-zay' and it's all the rave over here. Second of all... third prize was a cord of wood... it was sitting next to the counter... and it was about as tall and wide as me... logs of wood.
First prize was an all-inclusive weekend for two in a five-star hotel. Second prize was an all year superski pass in the valley. Fourth prize was a barbie fun house.
And they only served local specialties... roast pork... some sort of cabbagy vegetable... and roasted chestnuts... and the thing about chestnuts is... they're liars... they smell absolutely amazing but taste like chewy crumbly oatmeal. A disappointment. But a very fun night.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Budapest
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=2259500&id=4640&ref=nf
I leave Budapest with a better feeling than when I arrived... the last day... finally... once we got off our schedule... and off the tourist map... felt like a vacation... we did what wanted... we saw what we wanted... on a whim we changed course to something that caught our attention... something that we thought was cool, instead of what everyone else said was cool...
... And it's not like the places we saw the first few days weren't worth it... it's just when you're on a schedule... trying to see as much as possible when museums open at 10 and close at 6... mapping routes between landmarks on opposite ends of the city... you aren't able to spend extra time to really see a place... you can't enjoy it before you have to move on to something else... you can't even sit down for a cup of coffee because you'll be late for the next bus to leave... and the stress that comes with rushing around hurts what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation...
... The hop-on hop-off bus was our first day... and because it only ran every hour on the hour it was more trouble than it was worth... without a choice we were forced to rush our tours in order to make them within the hour... or be forced to wait another hour for the next bus... I can see how the bus would be better in a place like Rome where buses leave every 15 minutes... but every hour, on a tight schedule, is no good... and even hurts your plans to eat a nice meal... if you have any... But I still really enjoyed the places we saw... the national art gallery, victory square, St Stephen's basilica and the Synogogue... and only the Synogogue may not have been worth it because there was little to see and yet costed more than the rest...
... The second day was a walking tour of Castle Hill... Because it was out of season, and cold, we were the only ones on the tour... And it made the experience very rewarding... Some of the information was not what I read on Wikipedia... and makes me wonder if... unbelievable I know... the internet might be wrong... Or if... similar to Rome... they add on to the story in order to make the history sound better... After a lunch we hit up the spa for the afternoon... and could have capped the night off well if not for the walking we did afterwards... giving Danelle a callus... and me a back ache... We crashed hard that night, even before Danelle could have supper...
... On the last day we saw the Parliament... we met a couple from Buffalo that said they have been to Budapest 4 times... Twice when it was a part of Communist Russia... they can't get enough of the place... and makes me wonder what we must have missed... They did say that we missed a winery that samples over 400 wines for the price of 35 euros... they loved hockey... and said their son was a great hockey player before he punched a ref and was banned for life from the league...
... And with a full day to drive home the feeling was different... no longer on a schedule... no longer a serious plan... as I already said... we shopped... drove... detoured... and really enjoyed our drive home... we drove through Vienna because I assumed merely a drive through was all the city would ever need... how wrong I was... as it might be the most amazing downtown that we have ever seen... And now our hearts are set on going to spend some serious time there... But with 8 castles within a 10 block radius it's hard to see how we cannot go back to rushing... and not learn the lesson we should have here in Budapest...
I leave Budapest with a better feeling than when I arrived... the last day... finally... once we got off our schedule... and off the tourist map... felt like a vacation... we did what wanted... we saw what we wanted... on a whim we changed course to something that caught our attention... something that we thought was cool, instead of what everyone else said was cool...
... And it's not like the places we saw the first few days weren't worth it... it's just when you're on a schedule... trying to see as much as possible when museums open at 10 and close at 6... mapping routes between landmarks on opposite ends of the city... you aren't able to spend extra time to really see a place... you can't enjoy it before you have to move on to something else... you can't even sit down for a cup of coffee because you'll be late for the next bus to leave... and the stress that comes with rushing around hurts what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation...
... The hop-on hop-off bus was our first day... and because it only ran every hour on the hour it was more trouble than it was worth... without a choice we were forced to rush our tours in order to make them within the hour... or be forced to wait another hour for the next bus... I can see how the bus would be better in a place like Rome where buses leave every 15 minutes... but every hour, on a tight schedule, is no good... and even hurts your plans to eat a nice meal... if you have any... But I still really enjoyed the places we saw... the national art gallery, victory square, St Stephen's basilica and the Synogogue... and only the Synogogue may not have been worth it because there was little to see and yet costed more than the rest...
... The second day was a walking tour of Castle Hill... Because it was out of season, and cold, we were the only ones on the tour... And it made the experience very rewarding... Some of the information was not what I read on Wikipedia... and makes me wonder if... unbelievable I know... the internet might be wrong... Or if... similar to Rome... they add on to the story in order to make the history sound better... After a lunch we hit up the spa for the afternoon... and could have capped the night off well if not for the walking we did afterwards... giving Danelle a callus... and me a back ache... We crashed hard that night, even before Danelle could have supper...
... On the last day we saw the Parliament... we met a couple from Buffalo that said they have been to Budapest 4 times... Twice when it was a part of Communist Russia... they can't get enough of the place... and makes me wonder what we must have missed... They did say that we missed a winery that samples over 400 wines for the price of 35 euros... they loved hockey... and said their son was a great hockey player before he punched a ref and was banned for life from the league...
... And with a full day to drive home the feeling was different... no longer on a schedule... no longer a serious plan... as I already said... we shopped... drove... detoured... and really enjoyed our drive home... we drove through Vienna because I assumed merely a drive through was all the city would ever need... how wrong I was... as it might be the most amazing downtown that we have ever seen... And now our hearts are set on going to spend some serious time there... But with 8 castles within a 10 block radius it's hard to see how we cannot go back to rushing... and not learn the lesson we should have here in Budapest...
Thursday, November 5, 2009
How Many People Can Say They've Been in Five Countries in One Day?
... Two more... that's who...
... I want to continue the epic win train... but first... I must... a reflection... after driving through Vienna... the most spectacular city I may have ever seen... I realized that the biggest difference between here and Budapest is light... Every building... every corner... every sign... every lamp post... brilliant... spectacular... friendly... light...
... And Paris... a city of lights... And Rome... warm in the sun...
... But contrast the darkness that descends on Budapest every night... empty... unlit streets... shops closed and boarded up every night... metal bars on the windows... dark coats that walk huddled from the cold... the shadows that dance around trees with every passing car... creates unwelcome feelings for the city...
... So maybe that's it...
... But now...
...yes...
... 5 countries... Hungary... Slovakia... Austria... Germany... and Italy... in a day... Budapest's second largest Parliament of Europe... 30 cent chocolate bars in Bratislava... The outlet stores of Austria... Photo radar... 2 miles from the Autobahn of Germany and no photo radar... And now to find snow in Italy...
... A day of days...
... I want to continue the epic win train... but first... I must... a reflection... after driving through Vienna... the most spectacular city I may have ever seen... I realized that the biggest difference between here and Budapest is light... Every building... every corner... every sign... every lamp post... brilliant... spectacular... friendly... light...
... And Paris... a city of lights... And Rome... warm in the sun...
... But contrast the darkness that descends on Budapest every night... empty... unlit streets... shops closed and boarded up every night... metal bars on the windows... dark coats that walk huddled from the cold... the shadows that dance around trees with every passing car... creates unwelcome feelings for the city...
... So maybe that's it...
... But now...
...yes...
... 5 countries... Hungary... Slovakia... Austria... Germany... and Italy... in a day... Budapest's second largest Parliament of Europe... 30 cent chocolate bars in Bratislava... The outlet stores of Austria... Photo radar... 2 miles from the Autobahn of Germany and no photo radar... And now to find snow in Italy...
... A day of days...
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Budapest
This is our second full day scurrying around Budapest... for scurrying... no fault of our own... is what it feels like...
... We did Paris... We saw Rome... and they are busy... but these places don't hold a fragment of the stress that seems to hang over this city... and resonate on every street... and... I don't understand why...
... It's beautiful... historic... but inviting?... it is friendly... helpful... touristy... but... ?... something does not sit right...
... Sure... I'm glad I came here... and sure... I've learned... and glimpsed... a world I've never known before... still shrugging off the life under the iron curtain... people held under the foot of others since the 15th century... lost every major war for 5 centuries... a beaten people... and maybe... through years of suffering... the fear of occupation... the culture was all wrung out... if culture was what I hoped to find... now... maybe... slowly coming back to it's own again... but not quite here yet...
... and in it's absence... though I try to throw out a line... I find nothing to connect me to this city... not even a collectible... a bobble... that lines the windows of tourist shops... maybe to put on your keychain... that defines the place... lets everyone else know that is where you have been... and what they stand for...
... But in its defense... I have yet... and will not have the time... to really look for culture in this place...
... We did Paris... We saw Rome... and they are busy... but these places don't hold a fragment of the stress that seems to hang over this city... and resonate on every street... and... I don't understand why...
... It's beautiful... historic... but inviting?... it is friendly... helpful... touristy... but... ?... something does not sit right...
... Sure... I'm glad I came here... and sure... I've learned... and glimpsed... a world I've never known before... still shrugging off the life under the iron curtain... people held under the foot of others since the 15th century... lost every major war for 5 centuries... a beaten people... and maybe... through years of suffering... the fear of occupation... the culture was all wrung out... if culture was what I hoped to find... now... maybe... slowly coming back to it's own again... but not quite here yet...
... and in it's absence... though I try to throw out a line... I find nothing to connect me to this city... not even a collectible... a bobble... that lines the windows of tourist shops... maybe to put on your keychain... that defines the place... lets everyone else know that is where you have been... and what they stand for...
... But in its defense... I have yet... and will not have the time... to really look for culture in this place...
Monday, November 2, 2009
Mind over Matter
St Augustine, the legend, has really always been St Augustine, the man... for sure he wrestled with a lot of things in his life... and confessed it... confessed... not in a, 'look at how amazing my sins were so I have all that going for me too' kinda way... instead... 'counting them as less than nothing'... a true confession... look at how messed up my life was and see what God has done with it...
... it's not easy to open your life to public scrutiny... celebrity tell-all books the obvious exception... but they write to honour themselves... and for money... and usually through the revision of an editor...
... but this is bare bones... no glitter... no shine... no control of the message... it feels genuine... (and I've read enough of these tell-all books to know when it doesn't)... and this is meant to glory Someone else...
... He writes... (shortened in my writing and with hopeful intent)... ... Why could I not do what I knew in my heart I should do?... ... If the mind tells the body to act a certain way... for example... the arm to move in this or that direction... it does so without question... it is almost as if the will and the act were one... mind over matter is easy... ... yet if the mind tells itself... to decide on a course that it is not fully set upon... such as to get out of bed while in a state of great inertia... and content... even fully knowing that it would be better to be out of bed... you will stay in bed... (This is similar to what Paul wrote about doing things he does not want to... but caught my attention because it is so directly applicable to me... it's specific... shockingly, surprisingly similar to my senior year, where no amount of mental effort would get me to my 9 AM class... zzz... or 10... or 11... ...)... ... and continues... there is this duality, or more likely plurality, in the mind where your will cannot reign supreme... Because if you fully willed some course of action you would not have to give an order... you would simply be acting... you can imagine trying to choose between your two favourite meals... equal in all regards... and stuck between them because you want them both... understandable... but this is often between something a person knows is good for them and something that they know is bad... or a few choices... some of them they know are good and some of them they know are bad... yet they're still caught in this struggle... (again in his words...) because they are weighed down by habit... habit is too strong when it says... 'do you think you can live without these things?'... when they have become a necessity... ... And... I know... why must everything always come back to habits and become some prolonged life lesson?... ... You ever seen smokers trying to break the habit... One smoker struggling years and years to quit while another quitting the instant a friend dies from lung cancer... never touching it again... this could only be possible if, disregarding all of the physical dependencies and triggers, it was mental... commit completely... 100%... all in... and know you can live without it...... So the battle is really in your mind... like you didn't already know... but how do you win?... ... It occurs to me, first, that if you struggle... in the process of building up the one side of your will you might also strengthen the other... You might even reinforce the habit you are trying to break... the old... 'dont think of a white bear'... 'dont think of a white bear'... 'dont think of a white bear'... 'dont think of a white bear'... ... imprinting of negative reinforcement... just imagine what the, 'dont smoke after you...' mindset could trap you in... ... And, to further how not to break a habit, it actually sounds a lot like the Old Testament to me... 'DO NOT...' had a very prominent place in the Old Testament law... but in the New Testament the law changed... it became positive... 'Love one another'... 'Love the Lord your God'... DO... instead of DO NOT... (There is no try)... maybe it was Jesus pointing out something about our nature that we should really clue in to... and interesting... in Jewish history... maybe I'm wrong but... the commandments the people seemed to falter least on were the positive ones... 'remember the sabbath'... and 'honour your father and your mother'... ... So, in contrast to 'THOU SHALT NOT' a better strategy might be introduce something positive to replace an old habit... change the program in your mind... or interrupt the program... create your own ending while it's in the process... the trigger to smoke after you eat could become soaking in the tub... turning off your alarm clock and sleeping in now becomes getting up to meet with a friend for breakfast... I never could find something to make me get up... but I also never tried...
... it's not easy to open your life to public scrutiny... celebrity tell-all books the obvious exception... but they write to honour themselves... and for money... and usually through the revision of an editor...
... but this is bare bones... no glitter... no shine... no control of the message... it feels genuine... (and I've read enough of these tell-all books to know when it doesn't)... and this is meant to glory Someone else...
... He writes... (shortened in my writing and with hopeful intent)... ... Why could I not do what I knew in my heart I should do?... ... If the mind tells the body to act a certain way... for example... the arm to move in this or that direction... it does so without question... it is almost as if the will and the act were one... mind over matter is easy... ... yet if the mind tells itself... to decide on a course that it is not fully set upon... such as to get out of bed while in a state of great inertia... and content... even fully knowing that it would be better to be out of bed... you will stay in bed... (This is similar to what Paul wrote about doing things he does not want to... but caught my attention because it is so directly applicable to me... it's specific... shockingly, surprisingly similar to my senior year, where no amount of mental effort would get me to my 9 AM class... zzz... or 10... or 11... ...)... ... and continues... there is this duality, or more likely plurality, in the mind where your will cannot reign supreme... Because if you fully willed some course of action you would not have to give an order... you would simply be acting... you can imagine trying to choose between your two favourite meals... equal in all regards... and stuck between them because you want them both... understandable... but this is often between something a person knows is good for them and something that they know is bad... or a few choices... some of them they know are good and some of them they know are bad... yet they're still caught in this struggle... (again in his words...) because they are weighed down by habit... habit is too strong when it says... 'do you think you can live without these things?'... when they have become a necessity... ... And... I know... why must everything always come back to habits and become some prolonged life lesson?... ... You ever seen smokers trying to break the habit... One smoker struggling years and years to quit while another quitting the instant a friend dies from lung cancer... never touching it again... this could only be possible if, disregarding all of the physical dependencies and triggers, it was mental... commit completely... 100%... all in... and know you can live without it...... So the battle is really in your mind... like you didn't already know... but how do you win?... ... It occurs to me, first, that if you struggle... in the process of building up the one side of your will you might also strengthen the other... You might even reinforce the habit you are trying to break... the old... 'dont think of a white bear'... 'dont think of a white bear'... 'dont think of a white bear'... 'dont think of a white bear'... ... imprinting of negative reinforcement... just imagine what the, 'dont smoke after you...' mindset could trap you in... ... And, to further how not to break a habit, it actually sounds a lot like the Old Testament to me... 'DO NOT...' had a very prominent place in the Old Testament law... but in the New Testament the law changed... it became positive... 'Love one another'... 'Love the Lord your God'... DO... instead of DO NOT... (There is no try)... maybe it was Jesus pointing out something about our nature that we should really clue in to... and interesting... in Jewish history... maybe I'm wrong but... the commandments the people seemed to falter least on were the positive ones... 'remember the sabbath'... and 'honour your father and your mother'... ... So, in contrast to 'THOU SHALT NOT' a better strategy might be introduce something positive to replace an old habit... change the program in your mind... or interrupt the program... create your own ending while it's in the process... the trigger to smoke after you eat could become soaking in the tub... turning off your alarm clock and sleeping in now becomes getting up to meet with a friend for breakfast... I never could find something to make me get up... but I also never tried...
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