Some people have a perverse need to act overly nice.  Strained voices attempting to mimic smooth jazz, improper emphasis added to the ends of sentences, exaggerated chuckling as if they've just referenced an inside joke that only the two of you share.  I respond in neutral tone, belying no hint of positive or negative emotion, impervious to their boorish attempts to elicit some sort of reciprocated charade.  These people don't know me, they don't like me, and they probably don't even like themselves.  They're dishonest in the worst sense, and I hate liars.  I could act annoyed, but that would only please them and give them something to complain about.  They could focus their vapid minds on that.  If I give them nothing, however, they'll choke on it.  They'd rather I hate them then not care at all.  I hate them enough, and I'm intelligent enough, not to give them that pleasure.  They don't know what to do with it.  I probably ruin their whole day.  They probably sit around feeling uneasy about it.  They probably snap at coworkers unexpectedly.  Owned.

This blog is FAKE!  BECAUSE I'M BORED!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Economics is an extremely popular topic nowadays for a society that understands it quite poorly.  How many people that talk about rising gas prices and fewer jobs while offering harebrained solutions in rapid-fire succession know what "fiat currency" is or the differences between "Keynesian" and "Austrian" policies?  The problem goes beyond historical or factual education though: at its root, the problem lies in a severe handicap amongst the general population to formulate logical theories.

A theory, properly formulated, is a general rule about a thing or process that omits specific details.  Theories can be developed through inductive or deductive reasoning, and possess verifiability (able to be validated or invalidated by observational data), but in the end the specific details of a system that is described by a theory are inconsequential to the theory itself.

Quite typically people become so inundated with facts that its difficult to see the relationship between the facts.  This is called "not getting the big picture."  On the other hand, people also have a tendency toward unchecked premises and a priori reasoning, by which I mean: coming to conclusions without any empirical evidence whatsoever.  When you combine these two bad habits consistently with an aversion to reading I believe you end up with modern society.

Of particular interest today is the question, "Why do things suck so much?"  To a logical thinker, a secondary question might arise which is, "What makes things not suck?"  Since I'm getting bored with this already, I'll skip the first 90 pages of that blog and get to the part where I share to you my thoughts about gas prices.  I was going to talk about that originally anyway… I started reading some crap online about it, got irritated, and decided to write about it, but then I got off on this tangent… and I wonder why people think I'm an intellectual jackass.

Can you tell I don't spend any time drafting these things?

Anyway…

Now I'm done.  How unproductive.  This is why I'll never be an author.

Cognition is difficult. Nature has provided us with clear evidence of this in ourselves. Considering that the rarest form of life known to exist is life that reasons, and that rarer still is life that exhibits the ability to form abstractions, it should be no wonder that even the species most adapted to use its wits on this planet still struggles to do so.

Humans have come a long way from sharpening sticks and chipping stones. The most profound evolutionary changes our species has experienced haven't been biological ones, nor were they spurred by competition with other species; they were ideological changes, many of them necessitated by environmental factors and competition within the species, but even moreso: necessitated by the ideological changes that preceded them!

How long was it that humanity searched in vain for the simple means of understanding truth? Was religion invented the first time some pre-human ancestor pondered the night sky, or felt wonder at the destructive powers of nature that were beyond his control? It took considerable millenia of sacrifical worship to the incomprehensible forces of the Universe before societies arose that discovered the great destructor of fear: formalized logic.

It happened in multiple places at various times with varying degrees of profoundness: a caste of society emerged that devoted itself mostly, if not entirely, to thinking rather than doing. Thinking about thinking, that most self-gratifying activity I'm currently engaged in, became especially popular in ancient Greece. Still, after all this time, the tendency not to think (let alone to think about thinking) is more prevalent among our species as a whole.

It requires courage to place the burden of understanding yourself, the world, and the Universe squarely upon your own shoulders. If you believe that such understanding is possible, then you'd feel morally guilty for not attempting it, but such an attempt requires considerable effort. The easy thing to do, therefore, is to believe in things that are outside the realm of human understanding: e.g. God.

Thus it follows that there is a large majority of people in the world who segregate their everyday logic from their musings about fundamental truth, and we call these people hypocrites. Unfortunately, most hypocrites are the target of undue hostility from rationalists who don't realize it is much preferable to live with hypocrites than it is to live with entirely suicidal maniacs, which is a characterization i would ascribe to the differences between western culture and middle eastern culture.

I digress...

I just left to go eat a sandwich and now I've lost my train of thought. That could be a great allegory for something. The end.

So, my grandfather, grumpy and old-fashioned as he is well-intentioned, says to me earlier "I don't want any of those cheapies!  The Bell stuff has all been tested and proven."  For those of you who may not know, he was referring to Bell Telephone, the massive telecommunications company founded by Alexander Graham Bell that existed from the late 19th century through the 1960's and connected most of the nation via telegraph and telephone land-lines.  The "cheapie" in question: A wireless Netgear router for the DSL I finally convinced him to order.  Rather than take my advice and spend $40 or less at Best Buy, he opted to purchase a $100 router from Qwest, the DSL provider.

I could have tried explaining to him, calmly and rationally, that Bell Telephone hasn't been around for 40 years and times change, but it would have angered him to have his ancient wisdom challenged by this young whippersnapper who obviously doesn't have a clue.  Indeed, I'm inclined to purchase electronics and cars that are mass produced in asia, whilst he clings to the dated notion that only American products are of sound quality.  In his day, that was true: In the 1950's the U.S. accounted for over half of the entire world's industrial capacity, and some 80% of the whole world's GDP.  This is where the technology and skilled labor were found, because this is where the capital investment was found.  Times change.

Its sad, in a way, to be reminded that I live in the shadow of the glory days of the country that my grandfather lived in.  I'm looking for a job when the job market is in recession, and every dollar in my pocket is worth about what a dime was worth when my grandpa was my age.  Back then, a High School diploma meant you understood Trigonometry, and today it means you understand your ABC's.

Still, not everything has taken a backward step.  Music is better, drugs are better, toys are more fun, and more girls like anal.  Unfortunately, my grandpa doesn't see it like this.  Who's story is more sad?  Depends on which one of us you talk to.  The older generation may have valued sound investments and hard work, but my generation values larger breasts and louder shit-talking.  I guess each generation got what it wanted.

Why are sunny days so depressing? Oh yeah... I have no friends.

Someone be my friend.

I'm sitting alone in a crappy little coffee shop, drinking a mocha shake, connected to the wi-fi via a MacBook. Its 70 and sunny outside. Absolutely gorgeous. I'm driving a car that's got a bumper sticker that reads "Get Right or Get Left" and another that says "Jesus will set you free." I haven't said "fuck" in three days. I'm getting sick of faking a smile. I'm lonely and bored and fuck fuck fuck.

I've been sending my resume to various job listings on careerbuilder.com and craigslist. One thing to be said about the Portland, Oregon area: there are a lot more jobs around here. There's also a "happening" music scene that I have no idea how to become a part of.

Its surprising how much lonelier a place can be that's so much more full of people.

This is apparently not the place I should have gone to hang out. I unfortunately don't know my way around.

Oh here comes a blonde with an I.D. tag.

ty;emr.

We totally just made out.

by Dr. Ron Paul - February 13, 2008

Madam Speaker,

I rise to speak on the concept of competing currencies. Currency, or money, is what allows civilization to flourish. In the absence of money, barter is the name of the game; if the farmer needs shoes, he must trade his eggs and milk to the cobbler and hope that the cobbler needs eggs and milk. Money makes the transaction process far easier. Rather than having to search for someone with reciprocal wants, the farmer can exchange his milk and eggs for an agreed-upon medium of exchange with which he can then purchase shoes.

This medium of exchange should satisfy certain properties: it should be durable, that is to say, it does not wear out easily; it should be portable, that is, easily carried; it should be divisible into units usable for every-day transactions; it should be recognizable and uniform, so that one unit of money has the same properties as every other unit; it should be scarce, in the economic sense, so that the extant supply does not satisfy the wants of everyone demanding it; it should be stable, so that the value of its purchasing power does not fluctuate wildly; and it should be reproducible, so that enough units of money can be created to satisfy the needs of exchange.

Over millennia of human history, gold and silver have been the two metals that have most often satisfied these conditions, survived the market process, and gained the trust of billions of people. Gold and silver are difficult to counterfeit, a property which ensures they will always be accepted in commerce. It is precisely for this reason that gold and silver are anathema to governments. A supply of gold and silver that is limited in supply by nature cannot be inflated, and thus serves as a check on the growth of government. Without the ability to inflate the currency, governments find themselves constrained in their actions, unable to carry on wars of aggression or to appease their overtaxed citizens with bread and circuses.

At this country’s founding, there was no government controlled national currency. While the Constitution established the Congressional power of minting coins, it was not until 1792 that the US Mint was formally established. In the meantime, Americans made do with foreign silver and gold coins. Even after the Mint’s operations got underway, foreign coins continued to circulate within the United States, and did so for several decades.

On the desk in my office I have a sign that says: "Don’t steal – the government hates competition." Indeed, any power a government arrogates to itself, it is loathe to give back to the people. Just as we have gone from a constitutionally-instituted national defense consisting of a limited army and navy bolstered by militias and letters of marque and reprisal, we have moved from a system of competing currencies to a government-instituted banking cartel that monopolizes the issuance of currency. In order to introduce a system of competing currencies, there are three steps that must be taken to produce a legal climate favorable to competition.

The first step consists of eliminating legal tender laws. Article I Section 10 of the Constitution forbids the States from making anything but gold and silver a legal tender in payment of debts. States are not required to enact legal tender laws, but should they choose to, the only acceptable legal tender is gold and silver, the two precious metals that individuals throughout history and across cultures have used as currency. However, there is nothing in the Constitution that grants the Congress the power to enact legal tender laws. We, the Congress, have the power to coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, but not to declare a legal tender. Yet, there is a section of US Code, 31 USC 5103, that purports to establish US coins and currency, including Federal Reserve notes, as legal tender.

Historically, legal tender laws have been used by governments to force their citizens to accept debased and devalued currency. Gresham’s Law describes this phenomenon, which can be summed up in one phrase: bad money drives out good money. An emperor, a king, or a dictator might mint coins with half an ounce of gold and force merchants, under pain of death, to accept them as though they contained one ounce of gold. Each ounce of the king’s gold could now be minted into two coins instead of one, so the king now had twice as much "money" to spend on building castles and raising armies. As these legally overvalued coins circulated, the coins containing the full ounce of gold would be pulled out of circulation and hoarded. We saw this same phenomenon happen in the mid-1960s when the US government began to mint subsidiary coinage out of copper and nickel rather than silver. The copper and nickel coins were legally overvalued, the silver coins undervalued in relation, and silver coins vanished from circulation.

These actions also give rise to the most pernicious effects of inflation. Most of the merchants and peasants who received this devalued currency felt the full effects of inflation, the rise in prices and the lowered standard of living, before they received any of the new currency. By the time they received the new currency, prices had long since doubled, and the new currency they received would give them no benefit.

In the absence of legal tender laws, Gresham’s Law no longer holds. If people are free to reject debased currency, and instead demand sound money, sound money will gradually return to use in society. Merchants would have been free to reject the king’s coin and accept only coins containing full metal weight.

The second step to reestablishing competing currencies is to eliminate laws that prohibit the operation of private mints. One private enterprise which attempted to popularize the use of precious metal coins was Liberty Services, the creators of the Liberty Dollar. Evidently the government felt threatened, as Liberty Dollars had all their precious metal coins seized by the FBI and Secret Service this past November. Of course, not all of these coins were owned by Liberty Services, as many were held in trust as backing for silver and gold certificates which Liberty Services issued. None of this matters, of course, to the government, who hates to see any competition.

The sections of US Code which Liberty Services is accused of violating are erroneously considered to be anti-counterfeiting statutes, when in fact their purpose was to shut down private mints that had been operating in California. California was awash in gold in the aftermath of the 1849 gold rush, yet had no US Mint to mint coinage. There was not enough foreign coinage circulating in California either, so private mints stepped into the breech to provide their own coins. As was to become the case in other industries during the Progressive era, the private mints were eventually accused of circulating debased (substandard) coinage, and in the interest of providing government-sanctioned regulation and a government guarantee of purity, the 1864 Coinage Act was passed, which banned private mints from producing their own coins for circulation as currency.

The final step to ensuring competing currencies is to eliminate capital gains and sales taxes on gold and silver coins. Under current federal law, coins are considered collectibles, and are liable for capital gains taxes. Short-term capital gains rates are at income tax levels, up to 35 percent, while long-term capital gains taxes are assessed at the collectibles rate of 28 percent. Furthermore, these taxes actually tax monetary debasement. As the dollar weakens, the nominal dollar value of gold increases. The purchasing power of gold may remain relatively constant, but as the nominal dollar value increases, the federal government considers this an increase in wealth, and taxes accordingly. Thus, the more the dollar is debased, the more capital gains taxes must be paid on holdings of gold and other precious metals.

Just as pernicious are the sales and use taxes which are assessed on gold and silver at the state level in many states. Imagine having to pay sales tax at the bank every time you change a $10 bill for a roll of quarters to do laundry. Inflation is a pernicious tax on the value of money, but even the official numbers, which are massaged downwards, are only on the order of 4% per year. Sales taxes in many states can take away 8% or more on every single transaction in which consumers wish to convert their Federal Reserve Notes into gold or silver.

In conclusion, Madam Speaker, allowing for competing currencies will allow market participants to choose a currency that suits their needs, rather than the needs of the government. The prospect of American citizens turning away from the dollar towards alternate currencies will provide the necessary impetus to the US government to regain control of the dollar and halt its downward spiral. Restoring soundness to the dollar will remove the government’s ability and incentive to inflate the currency, and keep us from launching unconstitutional wars that burden our economy to excess. With a sound currency, everyone is better off, not just those who control the monetary system. I urge my colleagues to consider the redevelopment of a system of competing currencies.

    I find writing this blog immensely boring.  It is, however, slightly more entertaining than the prospect of moving my sore ass out of this chair.  Specifically, its my right ass cheek that is sore and bruised, in addition to my left knee, my right wrist, and most of the muscles in my body.  The series of misadventures that led me to this unfortunate state began at Alyeska Resort, my head bundled protectively in a long black scarf that served simultaneously as a hat, ear muffs, and face mask (it worked well, except that I consequently looked like a ninja poof).
   Attempting to navigate the hard-packed snow at relatively slow velocity with a long, flat board strapped to my feet, I was greeted quite often by violent impact against my extremities, typically localized around a muscle or bone that had just been violently introduced to the ground moments before.  In this manner, my extremities became annoyed quickly, but it mattered little what I did for the ground always managed to find a way to foil my best efforts to stay vertical and hit me here, there, and everywhere that my best armor consisted of soft pink flesh pressed against cotton.  I had a lovely time and I hope to do it again soon.
    As this was my first snowboarding attempt, and the conditions were miserable, I'm willing to try it again during better weather because those 10 year olds that sped by me with grace and ease appeared to be having a lot of fun.  Indeed, I felt overjoyed every time I managed to balance myself upright and accelerate downhill, the wind starting to blow at my face as snot froze to the inside of my brain, going faster and faster until realizing that the probability of serious injury in ratio to the amount of fun I could possibly have whilst moving at five miles per hour was getting quite high.  Next time I may wear body armor hidden underneath all the cold-weather apparel, even if it it has snowed well enough recently, but I am determined to conquer the lazily rolling declines that vexed me before.
    I am now going to attempt to move.  Blog off.

this blog is for and about sam:

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<3

the end.

Falling asleep only to wake again
Caught in a nightmare that you've created
Woe and calamity and shit
I guess its time to die now.

 

it took me all night.