HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Have a fun and safe Halloween.

OCCUPY YOUR CITY AND THE ARAB SPRING

When democracy protesters occupied city squares to protest their repressive governments, the Western world cheered. Western leaders talked about the legitimate aspirations of the Arab people.

When the Occupy Your City movement camped in front of the Oakland, California city hall, the police waited until 4 30 am, cut off all media access, brought in officers from other jurisdictions, and forcibly cleared out the camp. An Iraqi war veteran was hospitalized with a serious head injury because the police SHOT tear gas, at close range, into the mostly peaceful crowd.

NO WONDER MOST OF THE WORLD THINKS WE ARE HYPOCRITES.

The Occupy people are tying to get the attention of their leaders, who seem to believe that it is OK to rescue the rich people, but also OK to let the poor people lose everything.

Economists have been saying that stimulus is necessary to bring us out of recession. China listened and their economy is doing very well. Western leaders, except for President Obama, seem to believe that economies work like household budgets and that they should just cut back on spending.

It looks like they well not listen until the 99% take to the streets in protest.

I did not want it to come to this. But, if you feel that you need to protest, PLEASE KEEP THE PROTEST PEACEFUL.

Large protests get out of control unless they are internally controlled. You need protest marshals with the authority to give instructions to the protesters. Listen to those with protest experience.

PEACEFUL PROTEST IS A POWERFUL WAY TO GET YOUR MESSAGE HEARD.

VIOLENT PROTEST CAUSES THE OPPOSITION TO BECOME MORE POWERFUL.

Yes, Oakland made a poor choice when the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time interim police chief decided that no one was going to camp outside HIS city hall. A more experience officer would have analysed the political ramifications of his actions. After all, Oakland is only a few miles from People's Park.

9 9 9 TAX AND DAMAGE TO CHURCHES

The proposed 9% sales, personal and corporate tax may damage the ability of churches and charities to fund raise.

The 9/9/9 tax is a FLAT TAX. This means that everyone pays the same percentage in taxes, but THERE ARE NO DEDUCTIONS.

NO DEDUCTIONS means that people will no longer be able to deduct their donations to churches and charities from their income tax. This could significantly affect donations.

People like giving money to something they believe in and people HATE paying taxes. If people no longer get a "twofer" by saving taxes and giving to their church, they may give less money to their church.

I have no idea how much hating taxes has to do with charitable donations, but I think it may be significant.

I think that cavemen came home from the hunt and said, "I was the one who killed the beast, why should I give any of it to the women and the children?"

Certainly, there are historical records of people hating taxes ever since the people paying taxes could write on the walls.

I believe that a flat tax will cause people to give less money to both churches and charities.

US EXPORTS PROHIBITION TERROR TO MEXICO

45,000 people have been killed during the US sponsored Mexican war to enforce drug prohibition.

The US media does not care about these deaths, probably because the dead are brown, Spanish speakers. No wonder much of the world thinks we are selfish racists.

We are exporting the drug prohibition war. I will bet you that the US is picking up a large part of the monetary costs of this violence. The US certainly threatened Mexico when Mexico tried to legalize all prohibited drugs.

When alcohol prohibition was in effect, the US got upset at the deaths of 7 people in the Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago. But, if the drug enforcement of prohibition is in Mexico, it is OK that THOUSANDS of people are dead.

We think we are protecting our children from drugs by doing this. We ignore the fact that, when the drugs reach the US, the US drug dealers prefer to use children to sell the drugs. This is because teenage boys are often reckless, and the sentences for teenagers are usually lighter, so the teenagers are less likely to rat on their bosses.

Teenagers can get illegal drugs easier than they can get alcohol. This is because sellers of illegal drugs do not care who they sell to. Sellers of alcohol are afraid to sell to teenagers because they could lose the right to sell alcohol.

Can we at least try to pass HR 2306, which would remove the federal prohibition of marijuana? Can we also put pressure on our government to let Mexico make its own decision regarding the prohibition of drugs?

If you do not believe my analysis, please watch the PBS Ken Burn's documentary on the prohibition of alcohol. Just substitute "raves" for "speakeasies" and "drug dealer" for "bootlegger". See if we are not repeating history.

We do not even have the excuse of not remembering history.

TIME FOR DESSERTS

This is the time that I allow myself to indulge in desserts. My winter holiday season starts now and runs through the middle of January. It starts with my birthday and ends with another birthday. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's are sandwiched in between my private celebrations.

I have been dreaming of the desserts and candies of my childhood. The female descendants of the Swedish and German settlers of Sully County, South Dakota are great cooks. The bake sale was a regular fund raising event.

I can close my eyes and see the upper rooms of Blaine School, full of people, cakes, pies, cookies, candies, all home made. I can almost taste the divinity (without nuts, of course). Rum balls were made with real rum. If you could not make flaky home made pie crust, you brought something else. The German chocolate cake was a favorite of many. I just ate as much divinity as I could get away with.

We lost something when we got liberated.

I am pleased to see the SLOW COOKING movement involve both men and women with the cooking of fine food. I am sorry that eggs, butter, and whipped cream are now considered heath risks.

Most of all, I miss home made divinity.

CHOICES FOR MILLIONAIRES

Let us pretend that you have a million dollars to spend? Are you really going to spend it creating jobs? Will those jobs be in the US?

You could spend it on:

A trip around the world. No US job created.

A famous painting. Some US job creation if buy from US gallery.

Antique furniture. Again, depends on where purchased.

Maid service. US jobs created.

Starting a business. US jobs created only if the business is located in the US.

Planting a garden. US jobs created if garden is in US.

As you can see, millionaires do not always spend their money on job creation. The people I know who started businesses and created US jobs have part time employees or else they borrowed the money to grow their business.

I think the "Do not tax the job creators" is a MYTH, a propaganda tool of the far right, said to protect the millionaires who do not like paying taxes.

FEMALE CHILD -- OBEY OR DIE

We in the US say that we are for freedom for women. We deplore "honor killings", where male relatives murder women who do not obey their fathers and husbands.

We say that female children are as valued as male children.

Large numbers of US Christians say that a female should die in pain and suffering as punishment for early sex. They confuse giving a shot with giving permission to have early sex.

The vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases are most effective when given before sexual maturity. Somehow these confused US Christians have formed the belief that giving the vaccine means it is OK to have sex at 12 years of age.

We give measles shots to children so that babies are not born deaf and blind. We give whooping cough shots to children so that babies do not die of whooping cough. Some people think the minute risk to their children is worth the risk to everyone else's unborn children. These people would rather believe the work of a discredited doctor than to believe the work of the immunologists.

ANY SHOT that can prevent a DISEASE is a good deal. The risks are low and the benefits to individuals and to society are huge.

Sometimes I think that people are just afraid of needles and project that fear onto their children. MAN AND WOMAN UP, GET YOUR SHOTS.

GUNS AND GRASS

Gun owners seem to be upset that they cannot own guns and use medical marijuana.

Last week, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, issued a letter that stated that if you had a medical marijuana card, it indicated that you were a user of a controlled substance and therefore, could not legally purchase a gun.

ATF IS RIGHT. IF YOU USE MARIJUANA, YOU CANNOT OWN A GUN.

Currently, it is against federal law to grow, buy, sell or prescribe marijuana. Marijuana is a schedule 1 controlled substance, deemed to be worse than heroin.

If use marijuana, even occasionally, and you have a federal gun permit, you are guilty of perjury because you did not tell the feds that you use a controlled substance. A medical marijuana card is probably proof of this perjury.

If you find this upsetting, please support the passage of HR 2306, which would repeal the federal prohibition of marijuana.

STEVE JOBS WILL LEAVE A HOLE IN OUR APPLE

Steve Jobs taught us that our tools can be toys and that our toys can be tools.

He saw that the toy playing music could be a tool to compose and record music. He knew that a toy to play movies could become a powerful tool to make movies.

Steve Jobs believed that even the mundane could be elegant and that tech should serve us, rather than us serving tech.

He left us too soon and he will be missed.

"My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night. But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends - it gives a lovely light." Edna St. Vincent Millay.

WORLD SAVING IDEA -- SMALL SALES TAX ON STOCKS, BONDS, ETC.

All of the world's governments need more money. Almost all of the world's people believe that speculation on the stock, bond, derivative and currency markets is dangerous.

EU President Barroso has suggested a .05% tax on the sale of stocks, bonds, derivatives, and currency. I would add a .o5% tax on futures, with an exception for commodity futures for edibles. This tax may even dampen speculation.

Most of us would never even notice this new tax. But BILLIONS of tax dollars would be collected.

Please, President Barroso, MAKE IT SO.

EUROPE AND THE US -- LISTEN TO THE ECONOMISTS

Both the EU and the US are listening to the FEAR from people who seem to think that governments budgets are the same as their personal budgets.

Economists have told the EU and the US that the government needs to stimulate the economy and, if the recovery slips, stimulate the economy again. Do the US and the EU do this? Not really.

President Obama has a plan that takes into consideration the values of both political parties. The Republicans still seem to be bound and determined to sabotage ANYTHING that the President proposes. The continuing obstruction from the Republicans will almost certainly slow the economic recovery in the US.

Germany seems determined to treat Greece as an errant little brother. Greece was deluded into believing that economic development could be hurried by borrowing money without insuring that tax collection was universally enforced. They are not the only country to think that growth can come without the rich paying taxes. It is unfair and short sighted of the EU to allow Greece to borrow and then not help Greece with the problems that ensued.

Forcing a large percentage of the population of a county into poverty is NOT the way to recover from a recession.

I notice that several recent elections in Europe have by won by the liberals. The fear generated by the media which resulted in the election of conservatives is being replaced by the reality of much of the population becoming poorer. This is true in both the EU and the US.

SO LISTEN TO THE ECONOMISTS or go into retirement after the next election.

THE EMPTY BEATEN PATH

Two of the most popular travel destinations for lovers of antiquities are currently EMPTY of tourists.

Right now, the pyramids of Egypt and the Acropolis of Athens have few tourists. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to have an almost tourist free visit to these sites. The pyramids are one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Acropolis and the surrounding sites are where democracy was born. It is an indescribable sensation to stand where Socrates stood.

You can probably spend a quiet several days admiring the golden artifacts in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. The tombs of Thebes may be practically empty.

THERE IS SOME DANGER in both Egypt and Athens. I would bet that visiting Times Square also holds some danger. But if you stay on the beaten tourist paths, and act politely, and do not dress stupidly, you should have a grand time.

You can, of course, wait until both countries are totally stable to go visit. The choice is yours. To visit now in lonely splendor, or to wait and share the experience with the rest of the tourists.

Remember what Mom says, "You can get killed walking across the street."

If you are afraid of Egypt and Greece, consider going to Spain and Portugal. Travel in the counties that S & P thinks are in trouble, and you will be helping the country and having a great time.

I bet amazing travel deals are available in all these countries.