CAUSING CHAOS

For many years now, I have thought that Putin has an unstated policy of causing chaos in countries with oil. In this way, he tries to keep the price of oil high.

With today's price of oil, Putin is really desperate.* So he needs the Middle East to explode into chaos.

IMHO, Putin ordered that a western airline be blown up, so that the West would overreact, under the principle that violence begets violence.

Putin does not trust ISIS. So Putin relied on his old KGB buddies, who should have been able to easily blow up a plane.

Unfortunately for this plan, Egypt had good security in its airports. Worse, the British airlines had even better security on access to their planes.

My guess is that Putin said, "I do not want to hear excuses, I want a plane flying out of Egypt TO BLOW UP!"

Unfortunately, the only plane where there was access, was a Russian charter plane. This was because the charter company may have covered part of its costs by smuggling drugs.

It should be noted that Daesh** could not have blown up that plane. The explosion took place in the luggage area and produced shrapnel, which that bomb in the Daesh photo could not have done.

Now Putin is bombing areas of Syria, which are NOT controlled by Isis. Putin cries crocadile tears for his "friend" Assad. IMHO, Putin does not care if Assad is beheaded in a public square, as long as the price of oil goes back up.

* I think it is possible that Russia's monetary reserve does not actually exist. Putin keeps in power by allowing his cohorts to steal billions from his government. If oil does not cover this expense, where else does Putin get money?

** It is a BAD IDEA to invoke the name of ISIS while on Egyptian soil. %<)

WELCOMING REFUGES

America has been welcoming refugees since there was a land bridge from Asia.

Tomorrow, even our decadent cats celebrate by eating turkey.

We celebrate with our family and friends, forgiving them of the sins of the past in favor of harmony and fabulous food.

I wish the entire world could be tolerant of differences.

Perhaps one country could set us a good example. For instance, Ukraine could restore electricity to Crimea. Civilized people do not freeze babies and the sick just because they were overwhelmed by an aggressor.

I have planned a Thanksgiving full of souvlaki, sushi, shrimp, and Star Wars.

Enjoy the joy of giving thanks!

WHY THEY HATE US!

They are angry that their women refuse to marry them unless they use force.

Deeply religious young men hate us because they have been raised to be domestic tyrants.

Many of these men will not even LISTEN while women talk. It is really amazing to give out expensive legal advice to a man who can not put aside his prejudice against women to even LISTEN to the advice.

Men who are raised to expect obedience from women are discovering that women will NOT marry them. A heterosexual man who discovers that he will never have a wife and family can become depressed and/or extremely violent.

This is not just a problem for the fundamentalist Muslims. It is a problem for American young men who have shot up campuses and theaters.

I think that Paris was the target because we all love Paris. I think that Assad WANTS us to stop accepting refuges, because many of the refuges were going to be FORCED to fight for Assad.

The only way to stop these self destructive young men is to STOP TEACHING THEM THAT WOMEN ARE INFERIOR TO MEN!

NO ONE IS INFERIOR TO ANYBODY ELSE! That is what equality really means. If we are serious about fighting terror, we have to TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT and give HELP where help is needed.

UPSET CON ARTISTS

The fraudulent and predictor loan industry is UPSET over the CFPB*, because the federal government will not allow them to CON POOR PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR MONEY.

One of the hidden secrets of the Bush financial crises is that all the people who lost homes, also lost the down payments on their homes. These down payments were often 20% of the inflated prices of these homes.

People who want to buy food or shoes for their children, often get payroll loans by writing post dated checks. Then, if the loan is not repaid, they are put in jail for writing a fraudulent check.

Fraudsters can ruin A+ credit by stealing your card information from companies too greedy to pay for proper internet security.

The CFPB is trying to stop these lucrative practices. The semi-legal thieves are UPSET and making ads which imply that no one will ever get a loan ever again.

I know that many of us are unable to control our spending impulses. Now that I can use my bank account as a credit card, I no longer have a credit card. It is my way of protecting myself from myself. (I also keep very little money in my separate debit bank account, as it is stupid to risk the money that you need to pay your rent.)

After watching the Bush financial crises, I believe strongly that the predator loan companies need federal oversight. Those of us who get our credit information stolen are even happier to have federal help to catch the bad guys.

* Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

FOOTBALL POWER

No one cared when a graduate student in the Midwest went on a hunger strike against a college president tolerant of racism.

But when the FOOTBALL team said it was NOT GOING TO PLAY unless the college president RESIGNED, the college president resigned.

Yes, there are some social things that you can do without bothering to vote. But, in the end, the politicians are interested in keeping their jobs. And the only way we can all FIRE them, is to VOTE*.

You all have a year to think about this. Are you pleased that your nephew has gotten health insurance? Did the extension of unemployment benefits help you out when your back was to the wall? Are you enjoying your first taste of marijuana edibles?

All this, and more, will go away if you all do not bother to vote.

As an example, the Republicans are crying crocodile tears over the lack of medical care for our veterans. The reasons the vets do not have proper care is that the REPUBLICANS REFUSED to fund the VA. Then they blamed Obama for the resulting mess.

* Voting also helps with the negotiations that are the lifeblood of politics. If you know that people care enough about an issue to VOTE OUT the person who stands against you, then you have a much stronger negotiating position.

US VOTING TOMORROW

VOTE! Off year elections is when the conservatives try to pass their draconian laws, because only they vote in non-presidential years.*

It is especially important to vote in San Francisco. Using the power of the internet to turn homes into hotels adversely impacts residents of popular tourist cities. As demonstrated by the former Castro Halloween street party, too many people can destroy the fun.

As we found during the mortgage crises, the internet can quickly turn a small social problem into a HUGE PROBLEM.

NOTHING YOU DO FOR YOUR CITY AND COUNTRY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN VOTING!

I actually have a friend running for office later this month. Antipas J. Konou is running for Council from the Jeirok area of the Majuro Electoral District of the Marshall Islands. I wish him luck!

* In California, you can check with your county registrar to see if there is an election in your area. The League of Women Voters also keeps track of elections. I believe that all citizens have a duty to vote. No candidate is going to personally please everyone. I vote for the least bad. Otherwise, the truly bad can end up telling me what to do.