Monday, January 18, 2010

The Black or White Fallacy

There seems to be quite a bit of ink (actual and virtual) being spread around about the upcoming election in Massachusetts to fill the late Senator Kennedy's seat. As news and opinion (haven't they really become the same?) are reaching a fever pitch, it seems most appropriate to mention something called the Black or White Fallacy. The fallacy simply presents something in an Either/Or format pretending those are the only two choices when if fact, there are many shades of gray in-between.

After eight years of Bush-Lite bringing us to the brink (of what I am not sure), the country decided we had had enough and it was time to pull back, that Hope and Change were needed, so Obama was elected. The vast majority of the electorate had spoken saying they Hope for Change, but I don't see much of either.

Well, a year into the new President's term (a year is a year), I have pretty much lost hope for positive change. I feel like we are being nudged (shoved) closer to the edge, and we are starting to teeter with arms waving to stave off our fall just a moment longer... and that gets me to the point of this entry - Democrat or Republican... they're really all the same - they're all POLITICIANS! We accept TWO choices only. We are made to feel we are wasting a vote if we leave the well-worn path and vote for someone who really may be different (Ron Paul, Mike Gravel, Harry Browne).

If I run for office, do I have a snowball's chance? I may have some ideas that may appeal to some people, but I am not a recognized POLITICIAN (which should actually be a good thing. I have no one to answer to or "take care of" except the People! I am not a black or white - I am a gray that most people won't even acknowledge exists. I am an outsider, and the only way for me to even make a blip on the radar is to have one person tell two people who will tell two people, etc. If that happens just 30 times and everyone spoken to votes for me, I would receive 1,073,741,824 votes, which is something like 3.5 times the population of the United States! My ideas are at: http://www.bermansbits.com/politics.html. You don't have to like them, but at least compare them to what else is out there now

To vote for the lesser of two evils is still to vote for evil, and that's what we have to choose from... time after time after time....

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Moving the Money

$$$$$ to $$$$$

Okay, I have a new cause. Since Washington is not capable of bringing about any real change to watch out for "we the people" (they have too many special interests to watch out for), it has to fall "to the people." There is a current movement called "Move Your Money" (check out: http://moveyourmoney.info/). Can one person make a real difference? It would be like a gnat on an elephant. How about a million gnats? They could be like the straw that broke the camel's back. I see this movement the same way. When we have banks too big to fail, something's wrong when people are failing. It's called Wall Street vs. Main Street. As long as things remain the way they are, guess who's going to come out on top....

I have two major credit cards. With my good credit, one is charging me 25.24 percent - that is usury (defined as "The practice of lending money and charging the borrower interest, especially at an exorbitant or illegally high rate." That's my "reward" for mainting a good rating and being responsible? I don't think so!

I am going to check out my local credit union, which appears to have a rate of 9.9 percent. That's a bit more reasonable! I am one person, but if millions of "one persons" moved their money, that would be noticed and felt. One drop of water may be insignificant, but millions can start a flood.

Let it begin.

(Edit) I did apply for and should receive a new credit card with a rate of 9.9 percent! That’s a lot better than 25+ percent. Not all will qualify, but the money stays local.

BACK IN THE DAY....

I remember when I was growing up (as much as I did), there were a few career choices that I considered. The bottom line is that I was never ...