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that being said, sprite, where i live in sonoma county ,california virtually EVERYBODY receives an application for absentee voting so lack of a voting holiday is seemingly irrelevant. also, the time-tested institution of slavery should have taught us all that forced work will never be the best work. heck, i know people whom i’d rather didn’t vote. maybe uninformed opinions (votes) are as valid as any but….i ALWAYS vote and i’d like to see others do like-wise, like my daughters (i can’t even talk them into donating blood regularly), but again force seems a poor way to achieve any goal for most folks.p.s. the absentee voting drive is nation-wide (i believe!) and seems like a reasonable solution for those who want to vote on the day they want to (preferably before the election).
actually you can own bullion in the u.s. the problem with it, as i understand it,is that to sell bullion it has to be assayed , at the then cost of 35.00 per ounce. coins are accepted on the face of it. but, needless to say, buy low and sell high and be patient. trading time should be over years. of course you can lose your a** if you’re imprudent or unlucky or desperate but…..temper my advice with the fact that i’m not wealthy, just not poorer. sounds like many of you have done well. good luck down the line!
i posted re:gold awhile ago. i quadrupled my money when nixon made gold legal to own. this is fact. i bought kruggerands. deak perrara redeemed those without any bona-fides. hand the gold, look at it (as kruggerands), pay me cash, walk away. now, i’m sure, it’s different but…. i recently bought 10K of gold stocks (because i didn’t have cash to buy gold coins) and now it’s 32K after 3 years. why? INSECURITY drives the value more than anything else. buying some seems like a good idea. why buy coins? no need to pay $35 ,or more now, to assay bullion and as long as you stay under the reportable cash transactions rules no one knows what you’ve done. thank you mother earth news for this idea. gold coins can be sold for cash, subject to the caveat of current rules. don’t be GREEDY, just focus on SECURITY and you’ll find everyone else’s bottom is pretty much the same (in general). but hey, do what you want. i’ll follow my own advice since it’s worked so far.
excellent reply gringotico. i really respect and envy persons who are articulate and organized enough to express what many of us know to be representations of the way things are. thank you for an argument that will clarify my own expressions to help enlighten others with what i view as restricted viewpoints. i have a philipino friend that i go round and round with re: the corruption issue. hard to bribe a cop in the u.s.but we aren’t pristine, just different level and scale. only the wealthy, for the most part, can subvert justice here. maybe latin american(among others) corruption is more egalitarian. power to the people! je je.
furthermore, my wife passed away in 1984 and my mother passed recently. the only tax i pay on my modest inheritance is on money that was tax privileged during their lifetimes (namely tax deferred income) and income generated from previously taxed monies. hopefully you can enlighten me as to ways i can avoid even this. i’m not an expert on all these laws, and it appears that those who are wealthy are advised on ways to avoid the taxes rest of us pay. well doesn’t that tend to prove an obvious point about the wealthy? i refer you to the famous stanford study re: people assigned as guards in a faux prison in a basement in the U. and the result abuses generated by the conditions. in other words, a mileu that induced otherwise DECENT persons to become monsters (ABU GRAIB). well obviously the poor are lazy, inferior beings that don’t any rewards due to their self-generated poverty. hell, if they were any good they’d be wealthy. hey, maybe sink or swim will certainly produce some swimmers but…i’m not a member of any religous institution, but jesus would certainly say,” let “em starve, then they’ll learn.” this is the logical extension of the philosophy of every person for themselves. ALOHA.
terry, any argument will be senseless, since we are all posting for self-validation and changing no minds, at least in the present. facts are always manipulable however, philosophically speaking, the operative word here is SOCIAL. your only rational option is to move to an isolated retreat all by yourself and completely disconnect from all socially generated or facilited services. do it on your own FOR REAL. surely you can find a place to live your philosophy FOR REAL. sorry if that sounds like love it or leave it but….. viva meeism. the liberal says the glass is half full, the conservative says who the hell stole half MY glass.
maybe those folks are the freedom and responsibility promoters. no govt., corporate socialist programs for me! i can’t buy private health insurance due to pre-existing conditions, from kaiser, whom my union provided for 35 years. multiple physical conditions resulting from my employment have left me unable to keep the pace in construction, so no more bennies. at 60 with an out of date college degree and an inability to perform at my former well paid job options are limited. no program will sell me health insurance except the one offered at 90$ per month that offers a 10-30% discount at some drs. what a deal. you do the math roark. last emergency room visit was 900$ for two tests and no treatment. cat scan on elbow 1600$ sans treatment. sure you can get treatment if you have NO assets, if you do you’ll soon lose them.hsa promoted by bush and others. well try to get quotes from any dr.to spend wisely. i have.try it! so i’m one of those faceless 45 million. and my job is one of the most dangerous and hard working available.now it’s poverty or health. what a deal! i don’t mind paying taxes and never did. we should pay more to exercise social responsibility, just as we should pay more for gasoline to offset the damage it does. the most wretched 3rd world countries are the free-est ones around. they don’t collect much in the way taxes and don’t offer much service. live in the philippines, i did.very poor tax collection and poor people laying in the streets and against the concrete wall surrounding your house in cardboard boxes. just your kind of country. and as far as foreign aid, well most goes to u.s. contractors and their co-horts in the countries we’re so generous to. do you travel much? i mean spending time there with the masses. nothing’s perfect but…..
worked for me very well, and still does. quadrupled first time and tripled recently. wow. working and saving gave me money to invest in others fears (thanks mother earth news!). live for people and relations and save, not spending on frivolities. eat well, drink well, have friends, volunteer, sports participation. made more money monkeying around than working. seems immoral and i almost feel guilty. now i’m not rich but relatively independent. real freedom is from excessive needs. the herd needs the wolves (not to make too much of the predator analogy). why do i get involved in these arguments? nobody’s going to be changed by this. just self validation, and the typing’s tedious. oh well, good luck all.
i am a licensed wood destroying organism inspector in calif. the single best relatively non-toxic termiticide is tim-bor (brand name for tetrahydrate octoborate). it can be leached out by water, but pre-treated or impregnated (available in the u.s.) materials are toxic to termites and all other wood destroying organisms (i.e. fungus). a deadly dose to a human is measured in ounces, depending on your body weight. it is a form of borax, is necessary to growth and life in modest amounts. i strongly support the use of this substance as a pre-treatment (i.e. spray all above ground wood framing, trim and or access paths) to prevent infestation. no adaptation is possible for the organisms since the action is physical. termites will not tube over treated wood. the primary mode of action is dessication, not poisoning. LD 50 is 2.2 grams. also cheap.
ava , i lived in hawaii for ten years in waianae (oahu), with my filipina (local kine)wife from kauai. we moved there and built a house singlehandedly. i worked for imua builders service as a finish carpenter (UNION). she passed away and i made the stupid mistake of moving back to da mainland (calif). maybe you know what that’s all about. new marriage, keeds ly dat. now da keeds stay beeg and time to move on. hawaii seems to me, on return trips, to be getting shabby. i consider costa rica to be hawaii without the expense. the climate in the highlands is similar to the hills above makakilo. 1 year or so (with consideration for the housing market) and i’ll be moving there. as a well traveled individual i believe i have a unique perspective. da locals used to say, eh bra you no stay like da uddah kine haoles, all stuck up ly dat. you je like us brah. i worked foah imua builders service and lived in lahaina while building the maui surf hotel (yeah, long time befoah). anyhow, reply if you like. two plus years of internet research and 1 visit to costa rica (where i was invited into one costa rican home)gives me some perspective. all these replies are telling you to get your s*** together prior and they’re right. lots to consider beforehand and bonafides to compile, but you’ve got the right idea. good luck to ya! crayzrj@earthlink.net. p.s. i’n not necessarily a great co-respondent but i do reply in hawaii time (costa rica time same same)aloha nui loa.
maravilla, i have a degree in behavioral science and considerable self-education and working experience in psychology, as well as extensive experience in criminal behavior, and you’re essentially right. drugs are perceived as an easy and “rational” way to deal with an issue that is so abstract as to be “impractical” to handle otherwise.many people want an easy solution to problems,and a pill is as easy as it gets. life ain’t like that. it requires work, deep understanding, seeming ambiguity,life and family history. cho was, for real or perceived reasons, s*** on regularly and persistently; and,by his lights, rationaly, responded to that.does that excuse him? NO. but…..brain chemistry can be a cause ,maybe, or….can be a result of your life experiences. and no studies that i’m aware of address that issue. is your serotonin screwed because of psychological issues or are you psychologicaly screwed because of your serotinon. cause and effect is the real issue here, not evil (that’s stupid).
p.s. the drug INDUSTRY needs to be looked at. rationally, of course they’re going to say they have the answer. MONEY. put yourself in the place of the drug co. employ who thought of this and communicated this to their employer. well….need i say more. how about the therapist?well……a pill beats the hell out of an endless and ambiguous analysis that requires changing other people or the culture to solve the problem. many of the problems that we face happen only in the u.s. to this degree. could there be something wrong with our “best in the world,not” culture.just say no, duh! questions? history will tell. see mexico, think CORN.nafta is only good for the already well-off. it’s there it’s history it’s real. sure there’s benefits, but for who? think the greatest good for the greatest number, regardless of what you think about “values”.would the u.s. promote a policy that doesn’t benefit them more? no, we’re just trying to help you at our expense, benevolent dictators that we are. hey trust me, i’m only trying trying to help you poor folks, no matter how much it costs me. look at how much better off the iraqis, the panamanians, the kosovians, the grenadians, the somalis,the palestinians and so on are thanks to us ( the 17th leading democracy in the whole world) are thanks to our help. i’m so proud.
pran…..is right. rarely do you see this clear-headed intelligence. buy a gun and the opposition will escalate.NO, i repeat, NO data shows that arming the populace will reduce violent crime. gun carriers are weak and the gun advertises their weakness. you think a gun is an easy answer, there is NO easy answers. dude, be tough and nobody will f*** with you. i’ve been around and i KNOW. ever been confronted with a situation that you FEEL needs a gun to protect you? most people would not know or be able to use it properly to be effective. we call ’em PUNKS.
i liked siempreverde at 55$ per day in an old but not shabby plantation house on a coffee plantation. leave the airport turn left at alajuela turn-off from the autopista and head up the hill, thru town, following signs to volcan poas (basically straight) until you see the sign for siempreverde and turn left. you’re there.say hi to jose from the raider guy (viva las piratas !)i’m going back next year.www.siempreverdebandb.com. good luck, crayzrj
thank you all for your insights. it happened in calif. it has been expunged, but there’s more to it.an inquiry to my local p.d. shows nothing. my concern is with the fingerprints. having tried it, the state will respond with all records and that may be true with the f.b.i. and interpol. short of a pardon, which gov. browns admin. was unwilling to give all convictions remain, but access is limited to (well that’s unclear)at least myself and any govt. agencies to which i may apply for licensure or jobs (security, police, medical, casinos etc.)so, like most things it’s not so simple. govts. don’t necessarily agree with our ideas of what’s reasonable.i should know by the end of this year (i’ll start the process then when my i.r.a. is acessible) and i’ll share what i’ve learned.i’m in a credit union but i can always go to hsbc with the deposit and try to get certified.or the brokerage account that the funds are in.thanks again.
