Well, how about that...we had us some real rain for a change, and with anything good usually comes something "not-so-good"...
That's not being cynical...just realistic.
*** Case in point, the tragedy at the Indiana Fair Grounds this weekend that killed at least 5 people.
Here's the link to the story:
http://news.yahoo.com/outdoor-stage-collapses-indiana-state-fair-022230858.html
At least you can honestly say that people pulled TOGETHER in the aftermath of the stage when it collapsed.
And it does go to show that people ARE capable of helping one another in times of duress.
*** Today is an important date in our history, and perhaps one you're not even aware of (and I forgot about totally):
Here's the link to the article:
http://news.yahoo.com/august-15-1971-date-lived-infamy-233635079.html
Yes, friends, it was way back on THIS date in 1971, when (then) President Richard Milhous Nixon announced that the USA would NO LONGER trade GOLD for DOLLARS...!
And how's that been working out for us since, hmm?
One would have "thought" that gold prices would have stabilized in the wake of such an announcement....NOPE!
By 1980, gold prices had RISEN from $35 an ounce to $350 an ounce.
At least during the Reagan years, the price LEVELLED off for nearly TWO decades around $800 an ounce.
Kinda makes you want to RETURN to the "gold standard"...for SO many reasons. This is also referred to as the "Nixon Shock".
This story is a very good read.
*** And did you know that being ORGANIZED is considered "vital" in high school???
(say it ain't so, Bob)
Yepper, getting (and keeping) your collective "sh*t" together seems to make a difference...who the hell knew?
Here's the story on this:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110815/FEAT/308159981/1011/FEAT
Now my Mom ALWAYS made sure I had all the (crap) stuff I needed to get me through every class, and sometimes, that cost more than a few bucks.
But, we didn't have our hand out to someone else for any of it...
My wife is already wondering HOW MANY students will enter her class on the FIRST day back, and NOT have "the essentials" (God, now I sound like a commercial for TCM...lol). Apparently, it seems to be typical for some to NOT come "prepared" to do anything.
Guess all those A's are gonna be gotten through OSMOSIS?
(not hardly)
"The right tool for the right job" was the old saying, and in school, you have "tools" to assist you in learning.
We called them PENS, PENCILS, RULERS, NOTEBOOKS, ERASERS...well, you get the idea.
There is simply NO excuse to NOT have these...and definitely no REASON, either.
(unless baby-mama was too busy cooking meth, or smoking weed, and baby-daddy took the pen apart to snort a few lines)
Semper Paratus - the motto of the COAST GUARD...and something to remember even when going back to school.
*** Sunday's paper had a good article on the UK riots, with another "take"...
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110814/EDIT/308149956
Now, this IS an "opinion" column, but a damn good one, none the less.
Considering what was TAKEN during the riots and looting, it makes perfect sense.
If you're making a "statement" for POVERTY, then WHY steal electronic crap, sneakers and big-screen TVs?
Or, if you're protesting the shooting of a black ( known drug dealer) man, then WHY burn down STORES?
It's a clear case of class-warfare...the WORKING against the NON-working...simple as that.
That's something you DON'T want to screw with...the WORKING man or woman.
You DON'T want to deny them of THEIR livelihood...or career.
But nevertheless, there it is...in jolly old London-town.
In a related story, the police in the UK are now going INTO HOMES. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110811/NEWS04/110819923
Granted the story is several days old, but I had not even known this to be happening.
Gestapo tactics? Or good old POLICING?
You make the call here.
Interestingly enough, the Brits are trying to enlist the aid of former police chief (in Boston, LA, and NYC) William Bratton.
(( Bratton said he believes British police need to focus on quelling racial tensions by collaborating more with community leaders and civil rights groups. He also said social media sites can be a useful tool for law enforcement trying to monitor gang activities.
"The idea is to get ahead of the violence rather than just react to it," he said.
When Bratton stepped in as Boston's police commissioner in 1991, the city was still being rocked by the violence that gripped many U.S. cities in the late 1980s as potent and addictive crack cocaine flooded urban neighborhoods.
The ensuing gang turf wars forced a dramatic spike in the city's murder rate, hitting a high of 153 people in 1990.
One of the steps Bratton took to curb the violence was to deliver a list of about 400 of the city's gang and drug kingpins to then-Mayor Raymond Flynn, who had appointed him police chief.
Flynn said Bratton wanted direct indictments for as many as possible, sweeping some of the city's most violent criminals off the street for up to a decade.
"That's what he was good at; he was able to get those ringleaders off the streets," Flynn said. ))
Hey, sounds like a plan to me. Wish they'd do that in Fort Wayne.
(yeah, I can dream, the price is still right...)
Here's the WIKI on Bill Bratton:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Bratton
And wouldn't you KNOW it...he thinks like *I* do...he's a advocate of the BROKEN WINDOW THEORY...and pursues the ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY...imagine that.
I guess THAT is how you get the job done regarding stomping down criminal activity.
Nice to know we're cut from the same cloth in that regard...
*** Lastly today, many people in the UK that have studied the causes of the riots there have a stern warning for us in the "colonies"...
It can happen HERE, and perhaps sooner than we all realize.
Are "we" taking the needed steps to either AVERT such a premise, or even PREPARE for any eventuality?
Let's face it, government budget cuts HAVE to be made, and if that means certain "welfare reformation" is in the offing, that WILL cause the lazy-asses of this nation, who have been generationally on the dole to riot.
THAT they can do...unlike seeking gainful employment.
And they may even promote another agenda...like civil rights, or racial unfairness, or some other lame excuse.
Although ti seems like a good way to go, any form of MARTIAL LAW is never preferred.
The average citizen doesn't want that to occur.
But you will have to handle the "unwashed masses" who WILL take to the streets and seek to "take all they can get"...from whoever gets in their way.
These types of scenarios need to be replayed by those in the position to enact such restraints on the populace, should a situation like the UK one surfaces. We ALL need to be aware, and remain vigilant for such a possibility (for the time being).
This isn't being fatalistic, just forewarned.
Whenever someone says "That can't happen here"...believe that it CAN, and will be attempted.
We have a unique chance here...to be like those in Britain...OR, more like those at the Indiana State Fair.
I'd like to believe there are more of us that subscribe to helping one another, than harming one another.
In that, we shall see.
Have yourselves a good week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.
6 comments:
Man, Bob, that's a busy post!
The Nixon article is interesting, especailly in light of the "panic" over 6% unemployment. I Have my reservations, However, about bashing Nixon for what he did. Take a look at this from wikipedia: "Some economic historians, such as American professor Barry Eichengreen, blame the gold standard of the 1920s for prolonging the Great Depression.[4] Others including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman lay the blame at the feet of the Federal Reserve.[5][6] The gold standard limited the flexibility of central banks' monetary policy by limiting their ability to expand the money supply, and thus their ability to lower interest rates. In the US, the Federal Reserve was required by law to have 40% gold backing of its Federal Reserve demand notes, and thus, could not expand the money supply beyond what was allowed by the gold reserves held in their vaults.[7]" So just as in everything else, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. But you gotta wonder what impact a gold standard would've had on our ever-increasing deficit.
Also, some thoughts on Britain: How about the fact that Londoners volunteering to help clean up the mess were turned away by city council, because they might get hurt on the broken glass. Never mind the recent societal hiccup, continue on with your nanny state.
Also, for all the evil, gun-toting American talk we've heard lately, it takes an American cop to go over and explain to them how to straighten things out. GO FIGURE!
Oh, yeah, somebody told me that Obama was asking Congress about getting his picture on money a-la Lincoln and Washington. As part of the debt deal, Obama's picture will now be featured on food stamps.
CWM:
And to think you got ALL that info in LESS than FIVE minutes...GOTTA be a record...LOL!
I'm not really "bashing" Nixon per se...I kinda liked the guy.
He DID have a good approach in the 'Nam (better than the Dems).
But doing away with the gold standard DID have far-reaching effects.
Even the boss of the Fed (in '71) didn't like it much, and that was when the Fed could be trusted (a little...lol).
Perhaps retaining that GOLD standard mught have indeed PREVENTED massive gov't spending...we will never know.
Yeah, I LOVE the IRONY about having an AMERICAN "top cop" straighten out the lawlessness across the pond.
ROFLMAO...food stamps.
Now that's ONE thing in O's administration that actually DOES make sense!
(scary, hmm?)
Glad you found the post interesting.
And thank you for spending some time and commenting.
Stay safe up there
(in that ever-decresing wilderness)
Tell Scrappy "hi" from us.
Hey Bob G:
Thanks for the Nixon/Gold article. I was reading in Seeking Alpha, I think, that fixing the world economy will require a return of currencies to the "gold standard," i.e. gold-backed greenbacks.
Now however, such a move would require that gold be upwardly-valued at something like $7,000 per ounce. Maybe it is time that we should strap on a "Cash for Gold" signboard while standing at the corner of Coliseum and Coldwater!
Sorry to hear that about the State Fair, but was not aware of how citizens pitched in to help.
With Bratton, he has his work cut out for him. Until leaders there (and here as well) understand the difference between immigration and migration, they'll be just urinating into a fan.
Gadfly:
Without knowing the intracacies of how much of our Treasury Department operates (it was like AREA 51 in MANY respects), we could always susbstitute SILVER for GOLD.
I hear the price of SILVER has risen quite a bit (but the Lone Ranger refuses to sell...good for him...LOL)
By going OFF the gold standard we have indeed inflated the price of the metal beyond belief, and a sudden shift BACK to it, would most certainly spike the prices astronomically (unless you happen to have an ALCHEMIST handy).
BTW, at today's exchange rate, you're gonna need a few WHEELBARROWS of cash for the gold you trade for...sounds like Germany in the 1930s all over again. (yikes)
Thanks a lot for swinging on by to comment today.
Stay safe out there
(esp @ Coldwater & Coliseum)
Slamdunk:
The spectators at the Fair were remarkable (from the footage that was shot)...amazing response to a tragic situation.
And yes, Bratton is going to have to completely OVERHAUL the entire policing system in the UK (if they want him to, and allow him to, that is)...
Diversity never had the problems it suffers today, that's for sure.
We see folks that have assimilated wonderfully into the American "experience", while others, curiously enough, have decided to SEGREGATE themselves all over again.
And unfortunately, when you have a bunch of "bad apples" in ONE place, that doesn't go over well.
We have indeed become a more "transient" global society, an maybe a tad bit of "isolationism" isn't such a BAD thing in times like this.
Thanks much for spending some time here today and commenting.
Stay safe out there.
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