What up fools

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Voted today

yeah buddy

Say

WHAAATTTT!!!!!!!

Is it time?

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

WOW!!!!!

Beautifully done. My hat is off to Ken Schoolland for a wonderful video.




Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus

Let Freedom Ring

Please.





Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus

Rollercoaster...Wheeeeee!!!!!!!

Does anyone else see past the end of their nose? The market rebounded big yesterday. The biggest one day gain ever. Was this the effect of the government bailout? Hell no it wasn't. This was the market running its course without government aid or manipulation. The rise yesterday is being proclaimed a "dead cat bounce" by those who speculate in the market.

This morning, Bush and Paulson made their speeches. The market opened up and has been dropping ever since. I am sure that the government is taking credit for the huge gain yesterday even though their plan had not yet been put into action, and that they will use the current plunge after their speeches for justification for their involvement. It is the Golden Rule..."He who has the Gold makes the rules."

One flaw with that. The government doesn't have any Gold. The government doesn't have any money. They only have the potential for money through taxation of its people. This is where we failed. We gave it up to them, the ability to rule using our money for enforcement.

The saying "Only two sure things, death and taxes", irks the hell out of me. When did we become such defeated people? In this country, the only sure things should be "life and liberty".

Be good to one another,
Rev Biggus

Give them just enough

The market started coming back today without intervention from the Gov. I can imagine the conversation.

"We need to give them something or else they will take it all." "Well I am not giving up mine." "What do we do?" "I don't care but we need to maintain the status quo!!" "Bernanke, fire up the presses!!!" "Oh wait, it is fixing itself without our help....quick, get a press conference together so that we can claim responsibility."

Just to let you know...the status quo is a fancy way of saying more of the same. We had an opportunity to make a change on the heels of this crash but we didn't take it. Who knows if the crash is over...this could be the calm before the storm.

Here is a funny way of looking at the numbers. The market fell 41%, roughly, over the last year. People lost 41% of their retirements or savings. The citizens of the U.S. are taxed so much for everything we do that we lose roughly 41% of our current worth. We work until June every year before we get to keep any of the money we earn.

And we are relieved that the status quo is maintained. It reminds me of the boiling the frog story. If the citizens lose 41% of their worth quickly, we panic, but if the government takes it from us slowly throughout the year via payroll deductions, taxing every stage of production, sales taxes, property taxes, etc, we sit back and accept it.

I don't get it. Think about how much better off we would be if we could keep that 41%. Last year the citizens of this country donated 295 billion dollars to charity. The government collected 249 billion dollars from individuals in taxes. Add this up and you get over half a trillion dollars that can be used for charity. If we didn't let the government tax everything to death that amount would go even further. Remove a majority of the abusers of the system and the corrupt actions of those who manage that money and you have yourself quite a nice system that would benefit those who truly deserve it and not foster the perpetual welfare state we have now.

I don't have all the answers but at least I am thinking about it. Do your own due diligence and think about this subject. Welfare is not bad...we should help our fellow man, our community, our families, but when an entity takes free will away from an idividual something is wrong. I have never questioned the need for charity; I have questioned the means by which this money has been procured.

Free will...if you are religious, a God given gift. If you are not religious, the perk of being an autonomous, sentient being. Either way you look at it we are having ours stifled.

Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus

This is so exciting

What a wild ride we are on. I am a people watcher by nature. I like to think that I am somewhat of an expert in the matter. I have been reading a lot of what people are writing about the financial crisis and I am seeing a trend.

People do not know anything about economics. Some know a little bit but most are totally oblivious. My big issue is that people argue economics as if that subject is absolute. This is a case of utter ignorance. Our current economic policy was not contrived by studying the subject of economics. The subject of economics came to be from the lessons learned throughout the centuries from various decisions on money.

I see and hear many comments out there in the world that we have to save the current system because the subject of economics says so. The fact is that the subject of economics tells us how to get along in the current system. The current system doesn't work so maybe we should change systems.

Many opposing views state that other systems cannot work even though this so called analysis is being done using the knowledge of the current subject of economics. Huge fallacy. Of course another system cannot work when the current rules are applied to it. These rules came to be from the experiences of the current economy. A new system would have to develop a new subject of economics.

Call it a cart before the horse or a chicken before the egg, or whatever you wish. We are blind because this is all we know. I always hate when this next phrase is used but now is the perfect time...we have to think outside the box.

Be good to one another, because pretty soon that is all we are going to have,
Rev. Biggus

Bend Over Everybody

October 8, 2008 9:54 am EST

Atlanta, GA – “So far this year, the federal government has spent or loaned nearly $2 trillion to bailout Wall Street, the housing industry, automakers, commercial banks and others,” notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “But that’s par for the course for Washington, which already has run up a national debt of nearly $10 trillion and planned a pre-bailout deficit of a half trillion dollars for 2009. What Washington knows best is how to waste money,” says Barr.

“In yesterday’s debate, Sen. John McCain, who likes to pose as the taxpayer’s friend, came up with yet another bailout idea. He wants the government to use $300 billion—which it doesn’t have—to buy up bad mortgages in order to prop up housing prices. Yet, it was the artificial inflation of housing prices that got us into this mess in the first place,” Barr explains.

“Moreover, Congress already has approved a $300 billion housing bailout measure supported by Sen. McCain. On top of that, Congress agreed to another $200 billion or more to bail-out the housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then there is the recent $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, which Sen. McCain voted for," notes Barr.

"Where does Sen. McCain believe all of this money is going to come from?” Barr asks.
“When do Americans, who have been responsible with their money—that is, who haven’t bought too much house and didn’t think the good times would never end—get a break?

Sen. McCain, Sen. Barack Obama and the other members of Congress who have supported one bailout after another have turned fiscal responsibility into a sucker’s game. It is time for someone to speak up for those who play by the rules and pay the nation’s bills,” Barr adds.

“There’s no meaningful difference between the two major parties,” notes Barr. “The American people need and deserve real change.

Readdress the candidates more fairly

In my earlier post I failed to mention all the candidates. In the name of fairness I figured I would add the ones I am missing.


Brian Moore and Stewart Alexander for the Socialist

Charles Jay and Tom Knapp for the Boston Tea Party

Thomas R. Stevens and Alden Link for the Objectivist

Gloria LaRiva and Eugene Puryear for Socialism and Liberation

Roger Calero and Alyson Kennedy Socialist Workers

Alan Keyes and Wiley Drake as Independent


Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus

The lesser of two evils

We have been duped by those we entrust with our representation. The media and the "two party system" have kept its constituents in the dark. Did you all know that there are more than 2 candidates running for president.

A majority of the people in this country can not tell you who is running for president. Almost everyone could name the Democratic candidate, Obama, and the Republican candidate, McCain. Some may get Nader as an independent. But most people couldn't tell you the others.

Bob Barr is running for the Libertarian party. McKinney is running for the Green party (btw, she is black and a woman if you base your candidates qualifications on those criteria). Baldwin is the Constitution party candidate.

I firmly believe that those in this country who are voting for Obama because they don't like McCain, and vice versa, are doing this country a huge disservice. A lot of my republican and democrat friends...strike that, all of my republican and some democrat friends say that voting for a third party is throwing away your vote. One of the major parties is going to win so you should vote for the one who is the lesser of two evils.

I have a different opinion. I say the only wasted vote is the one cast for the wrong reason. The only agenda should be what is best for this country (based on your beliefs); the “lesser of two evils” argument is not sound, nor is the “what’s in it for me” argument. If you wholly believe that the person for whom you are voting is the best thing for this country, then cast away and I salute you.

Everyone cries for change...not from the last 8 years, but from the way things are run in Washington DC. Voting for the lesser of two evils keeps the same government in place. Keep in mind that both evils, which is lesser is moot, voted for the bailout. Both agreed to spend money the government did not have. Both agreed to ruin your childrens' future. If everyone who votes with the philosophy of the lesser of two evils decides to vote for a third party in 2008 we will get change.

I have not voted for the two major parties for a long time. I do not regret for one second my decisions.

Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus

Why can't people get it?

The perceptions of the people have been bought and paid for with things. People actually accept the way things are as the way things have to be.

The economic crisis was avoidable. The current state of our country was avoidable. The loss of our liberty was avoidable. Our enslavement was avoidable. We gave it all up voluntarily.

Why couldn't the people of the "greatest country on the planet" see what was happening? I don't know. Were they blinded by all the stuff they got? Something had to be the problem. Mathematically the monetary system cannot work yet it was allowed to grow to an unmanageable level based on faith in a the dollar. The calculations prove that it cannot work yet we allowed it to happen. The illusion of worth is more important than actual value.

Our government is showing its loyalties with the new rescue plan. 700 billion dollars, a figure not based on any quatifiable data, is being supplemented with 150 billion for pet projects in order for it to gain support in the legislative branch. "For the good of America" is BS....it is for the good of the status quo. The status quo is bad so why would we want to keep everything the same?

The only outcome for our economy is disaster as we are basing our economy on credit, or more accurately, nothing real. We are doomed.

Be good to one another,
Rev Biggus

Cannot work forever

The economy. Destined to fail. Mathematically it cannot work. Every economic decision is made to stave off the failure. We have reached the end of the game but we don't want to admit it.

Think about it. How can something with no intrinsic value maintain its worth? The world is a dynamic place.

Let's put it into perspective. Which is more valuable, oxygen or money? Food or money? Shelter or money? Sure, money can buy each one of those, but what happens when people stop accepting your money for those goods? Your money is worthless. This predicament is where every fiat economy is destined to end up.

Banks can lend out 9 times the money they have on hand or their reserve. Interest that can be collected on those loaned notes can be added to their reserve, which means they can loan more, which means they get more interest, which means their reserve is more, which means they can lend more, which means....

You get it I hope. Follow the extreme of that logic. Eventually, via mathematics, we see that the amount of money (that doesn't exist) is limitless. With a limitless supply of money, the money becomes worthless.

Don't believe me? Look at every fiat economy in history. The problem is that we cannot see the trees for the forest. The scale is so grand that the layman cannot grasp it. That is where the exploitation comes in. Those with money need to keep those without wanting it so that the value is maintained. This manufactured value cannot stand the test of time.

A big problem is that people look at it from the perspective of "what my money is worth". Look at it from the opposite view...what is my dollar not worth?. When the constitution was written, an ounce of gold was equivalent to $20. It remained that way until we went off the gold standard. Now look at the cost of gold. Go ahead, I will wait. Your $20 is now worth about 2% of what it was. In less than a century, our money has devalued to 2% of what it once was.

If we bailout the banks, all we do is postpone the inevitable. If the bailout goes through, then all we can do is wait for the next time. I say lets hit the reset button.

Be good to one another,
Rev Biggus

The bailout

We reap what we sow....

Op-ed piece

Take a few to read this post in the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/opinion/24brooks.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

This cracks me up. The guy is telling us that we are finally doing good in Iraq. "Bush finally got one right". The odd part is that the mistake of us being there in the first place is being overlooked.

It hurts my heart that we have forgotten what has happened just years ago. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to relive it. We have learned nothing.

Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus

COMMON SENSE

ISN'T!

Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus

That was quick

I think my experiment is over. That was fast. After two days my posts and the ones around me, like the stripper one are no longer receiving views. Instant gratification?

The results were interesting. I received two negative responses, two positive responses, and one that just stated "interesting". In the course of these posts, I was called pretentious and self indulgent. As a matter of point, both negative comments resorted to name calling in their replies; the first lines in the negative replies contained the insult. I found that interesting.

The positive replies provided no argument or basis for their beliefs so it is hard to guage them. The negative responses were totally different. One did not even address the point of the post and the other provided flawed logic and fallacy for the argument. Interesting.

The level of interaction on the post involving drugs received the least amount of activity and posts (one shallow post posing no argument for or against the subject). The gun control and political post both garnered one positive and one negative post. This pattern of responses totally blew my hypothesis out of the water.

Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus

An Experiment

I am running an experiment. I posted three varied posts from this blog onto a website catering to what I guess is the "younger crowd". What I want to see is how serious issues fare against the norm for this hypothetical demographic. The posts can be viewed at

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/blogs/

Interesting so far. A post with the title "9 reasons not to date a stripper" has more views and a higher star rating than any of my posts, at this time. The stripper post had been up for 5 hours while my three posts have been up for 2 hours. I will be interested in seeing how this turns out.

Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus

Today

Today, I am making it a point to be happy. That's right. I have to make an effort to be happy. You do too, believe it or not.

Happiness is not the normal level of human emotion. You have to feel happy. Look at the range of emotions as a continuum of numbers, infinite in both directions. At the middle is zero where you are neither happy nor sad...you just are. At any given time your emotional state is at some point on that continuum. Did I mention you cannot reach zero? I guess I cannot say that with certainty, so I will put it another way. Reaching zero on the emotional scale is like reaching absolute zero on the temperature scale. You may be able to get within a billionth of a degree of zero, but you just can't get there. Why? I speculate that you cannot survive at zero as you would be neither happy nor sad and therefore not exist. Email me if you want to get further into this part of the conversation.

Removing all the negative stress, problems, irritants, etc does not rocket you from negative 10 to positive 10. Each side of zero is its own entity and you exist on both sides at all times independent of your other emotional self. Removing all the negative things in your life would only get you closer to zero. Same with the happy side.

Now are you confused? First I say you are somewhere on a continuum, then I say you are on two planes at once. No I did not. I said that you are on the continuum, while your happy emotional state is stuck on the happy side and the sad emotional state is on the sad side. Getting the picture yet? You can only experience one side at a time but you are on each side at all times. What you are feeling is dependant on your current stimulus.

Let's bring this back to the addiction post I made the other day. Say for instance your day to day existence makes you sad. To escape from that, you fill a vein with cocaine. You just shot up your happy side to incredible levels, but that cocaine did not bring the sad side any closer to zero. When that cocaine wears off the sad side will still be waiting.

I personally try to keep my sad side as close to zero as possible and my happy side as far away as possible. I am not always successful. Lately I am rarely successful as Mrs. Biggus will tell you. The key is that I recognize how the system works and I take the appropriate steps to fix it. Sometimes the fixes are medicinal (under the guidance of a doctor) and sometimes they are sheer will power. Today, I use will power and I am winning.

Be good to one another,
Rev. Biggus