Matt Curtin

Again, it has been a long time since my last post. It has not that I haven't had the desire to write but rather I really didn't feel any specific topic worth an entire post. Therefore, even if I opened up my blog, other distractions quickly pulled me away. Tonight, the dam has burst as I've found a solution to this problem. I'll simply write a post without lingering on any topic too long. These are things that have run through my mind in the past month and which I really don't feel like getting in a mire with all the details.

1. Healthcare
- If one listens to the talking heads too long in the media one is bound to go crazy. Thank goodness for American media that they have simplified the debate into two camps. The one camp that really stands out is of course the conservative side. I think this is because they say the most outrageous things which makes the news, Youtube etc. They do better at getting people fired up. On the left, I find myself reaching to think of a few talking heads but when I do, the Daily Show and the Young Turks come to mind but even these shows do not inspire the passion that the conservative side does.

My Opinion:
- Being back in the States I find this all silly. I have been in countries that have no health care. They do what they can but have no social net if they cannot afford treatment. Therefore, what I perceive here in the USA seems like a bunch of spoiled children, half of which wants the government to take care of them and half of them who do not. For the Liberals, they want big brother to take care of everyone which at first glance is a noble intention but we have fiscal troubles at the moment. The conservatives on the other side detest big brother and only want to take care of themselves or people they directly know. Perhaps they can just pray for everyone else and believe that will suffice.

After seeing people in other countries that have absolutely no healthcare, I really do not feel sympathy for either side but if I were forced to choose, I would choose universal healthcare but would make them get their finances in order first.

When I look at the conservative media such as Hannity show, I just see a bunch of old prom queens and ex-high school quarterbacks who drive SUVs drink their Starbucks and could give a rats ass about the poor class. The liberals on the other hand are more elitist and seem a bit snide with their comments.

2. Global Warming
- Another hot button issue. I understand the conservative point about the "cult of globalization." It seems like a bunch of liberals taking up a cause in order to further their other agendas for what the conservatives believe is completely false.

My Opinion:
- I believe the scientists and from everything I have read points to Global Warming. Yet, their approach can seem a bit shady. However, if strict measures were not taken then how can we stop putting junk in the atmosphere. I have lived in cities where the pollution is atrocious. Even here in the Bay Area we can no longer see across the bay. Only after a severe storm can we see the other side. It would be best to stop putting crap in the atmosphere as this will cause problems in our lungs and one does not really want to breath the crap I have in certain cities. Perhaps the liberals are not going about it the right way but the bottom line is we have to stop polluting. We only have one Earth to live on! I am not on either political side on this one but the first one to come up with a good plan to stop polluting (and is not shady) I will support completely.

If we continue to pollute then I believe it will take a good majority of the population to come down with asthma before most people understand the problem. Unfortunately, by then there will be many other problems to contend with such as drought, rising oceans etc. On the conservative side, they can continue to deny it as we won't feel the full brunt of the problem for another 40 years or so and by then the people who deny the problem will most likely be dead so they can say anything they believe now and not have to worry about the consequences.

I detest the fact that they see some snow and then use it to say there is no Global Warming. Even if it didn't turn out to be as severe as scientist predict, it would do well to stop putting crap in the atmosphere.

3. Most passionate = Most uninformed
- I have never read so much as I do now. With the birth of the Iphone and all the free media I find myself reading anything and everything on a daily basis. It has almost become an obsession. Yet, I often ask myself "Am I learning anything or is it all just noise?" I believe the majority of the media is just noise which really doesn't teach me anything. I find that I have a better perspective on the world through my travels and reading books from the past. When I read something that was written by someone in the 1800s or even earlier, I find I have a better understanding on what is actually happening today. The cliché is that "If we forget the past we are condemned to repeat it." Well, from what I read in todays media, it would seem we have a very short term memory.

Those that do not read, have not traveled have a very small scope of understanding. By relying on the talking heads of today we are severely limiting ourselves in our understanding and simply taking up "talking points" by which to debate the issues. I'm afraid it is quite un-useful to have debates with most people back here in America as the majority simply repeat talking points that are used in the media. Those that have the most passion are most often the most uninformed and ignorant. I miss my discussions with top ambassadors and people of note that I had access to in Vietnam. Only on occasion do top news outlets such as the New York Times come out with a really good article that fosters great debate. Recently, the debate has been shit. If people really took the time to understand the issues of the day then there would be more people in the gray area than on the extremes which has happened now.

4. Facebook
- On a lighter note, I'm very delighted about the fact that I have been able to re-connect with just about everyone I have ever met. It is not so much that I am intimately reconnecting with everyone but rather am able to see their pictures and get a sense of how their life is progressing.

Some, prefer to keep their friends list pretty tight in that they only keep the friends with whom they interact with the most. For me, I prefer to keep connected, even if only lightly, with everyone I have ever met. Perhaps the reason is that I have lived in so many different places and am not bound to conform to any certain thinking or group. I also live in a place where I perhaps will never see the majority of people on my friends list ever again. Therefore, they are just a figment of my memory and only "become real" should I have the chance to meet them in person again.

This seems like a hard point to explain but perhaps the best way to do so is that most of them are just pictures and updates on a computer. I don't have to worry about someone not agreeing with me on a certain point or keeping with the social norms. As Mr. Smith put it in the movie "The Matrix," I've "become unplugged, out of the network" if you will. Therefore, I have the freedom to write things such as this because I have no fear of unpleasantness or disagreement with my social network. People who want to agree or disagree remain simply updates and pictures on a computer.

5. Rush Limbaugh
- For amusement, I find myself listening to Rush Limbaugh quite often in the mornings. I find that at first it got my blood boiling but now just seems like a comedy show. This man is full of hate speech for three hours every day. Yet, to my surprise, I did agree with him on one issue this past week. He was speaking about Toyota and the witch hunt going on between the government and Toyota. He made a point that it seems very odd that the Government is seeking answers from a private company and threating to punish them. Why, should the government be involved in this? In the public sector, as Toyota has caused problems their sales will suffer. That is the way of the market economy. Why is it that the Government needs to get involved?

My Opinion:
- Government, stay out of it. Toyota will pay the price for their failings and don't need any trouble from you. Less government is better in this issue and by taking a private company to task, you are raising the fear which the conservatives have been most harping about. If you want to do something, just pass healthcare and leave everyone else alone.

In any case, that is my two cents for the week. Had to get it off my chest.

Mateo

Hollywood is pretty well known for making movies with a liberal political theme. However, Avatar is making some major waves and it seems that there are many writeups about it in the news. I saw this film over the Christmas holiday and unfortunately due to the time schedule in 2D. Afterwards, many people kept asking my opinion of the movie as though there was something special about it. Some were simply referring to the outstanding special effects. Others were referring to the political aspect and that is what this post will be about.

At first, I thought I might actually be the only one that did not like the political nuance of the film. Yet, shortly after articles started appearing in major news outlets about these aspects and what they mean. However, most of the articles simply concentrated on the parallels to Iraq and Hollywood sticking it to perceived American Imperialism. Only one article really resonated with me due to the emphasis on the cultural perspectives rather than simply the military.

I think those that have spent a lot of time overseas, spent time assimilating into other cultures, have learned a language and know their history will feel the exact same way as I do about this film. In short, the special effects are great while the storyline is horrendous.

Here is what I was going on in my mind as I watched the film.

A bumbling GI-Joe outcast goes along with the colonialist western powers to plunder yet another third world country. He realizes that what the colonialists are trying to accomplish is wrong and by some miracle is able to learn the language. He then, not only gets laid by the prettiest native, but also just happens to be the strongest and most intelligent of the native tribe! It is then up to him to lead the charge against his own people and unrealistically is able to defeat the far superior power! Then this former bumbler is now the greatest of the natives who could not have done it by themselves and gets to be king or something.

Now for the parallels

1. Evil corporation = Global Corporations coupled with the American military: Halliburton, Nike, Oil Companies etc. Or if we go farther back, the original bad guy, The East India Company

2. Na'vi = American Indians living in what could be: Vietnam, (or all of Indochina), Iraq, Africa, Mexico or any other place that Western powers set up colonies and basically raped the country for their own benefit.

Before I proceed to better endings I also saw a parallel with this movie and Giacomo Puccini's "Madam Butterfly." In that libretto the military captain gets the pretty Japanese woman due to the excitement and infatuation wtih the beautiful native girl. However, this guy leaves her after realizing he should go back, be smart and marry a western girl ("Where da White Women at?" - Blazing Saddles). She is distraught and promptly commits suicide.

I often wonder how this opera is seen from a Japanese point of view. I don't think Americans can even properly contemplate this because it would be like China invading and conquering America, a Chinese captain banging Miss America but then realizing it is better to marry a sophisticated (and better) Chinese lady. Me thinks this would not sit too well with an American audience but it is quite acceptable for the opposite to occur.

Now, let's have some fun and change the storyline to reflect realistic scenarios and would have made me happy. (With the historical reality, not necessarily the outcome)

1. Quick Scenario - Bumbler GI-Joe guy goes into the native areas and is promptly shot by an arrow. End of story.

2. State Department Scenario - The Evil Corporation gets smart and sends a highly intelligent agent from the State Department who really does speak the language and actually does understand the culture to manipulate the Na'vi. Yet the agent knows right away it is wrong, resigns from the agency and starts an awareness campaign of this abuse back on Earth. Then the population is split in their opinions of it. Half go stage a protest on Capital Hill while the far right makes radio programs and Fox television shows demonizing the "traitorous State Department Agent" and saying that he is trying to weaken America.

3. Vietnam Scenario - The Na'vi appeal to help from the UN saying that America (France actually) is destroying their country. The western powers manipulate the UN and tell the Na'vi to feck off. The Na'vi then align with China,, er I mean that larger planet which they orbit. The Na'vi defeat the French but then America spots an opportunity and tells their own population they must defeat the threat of Na'vi solidarity. So America moves in and sets up a Na'vi dictator to split the population in two. When this fails they send "advisors" and these advisors start shooting. Then the North Na'vi infiltrate the southern population with the Na'vi-cong. Then the North Na'vi win and American imposes sanctions on Pandora to only be lifted when they need their help to control and contain the population of that much larger planet around which Pandora orbits.

4. Mexico Scenario - The evil corporation is from Spain. At first they pretend to cooperate but then the Spanish general puts handcuffs on the Na'vi king. The population gets upset so Spain sends in the Jesuits. The Jesuits put pictures of Mary which have been modified to look like a Na'vi goddess on everything. They then they report stories of Na'vi tribes-people who have actually witnessed miracles regarding the Mary-Na'vi goddess and tell them to convert. They also take the Sacred Tree and put a cross in front of it, then mass produce this image and pamphlet the population. Seeing that this new goddess favors the invaders and obviously must be more powerful they do convert and the population is suppressed.

5. Nike-Scenario - After a devastating war the Na'vi can either win or lose it doesn't matter. Then the Americans impose economic sanctions which means the Na'vi cannot buy T.Vs or SUVs. The leaders want these things but need to have money. So they contract out sweatshops with the Nike corporation, make millions and now are rolling in the latest BMWs. Nike notices that some of the Na'vi are athletically gifted (cause they are all 10ft tall) and could dominate in American sports. So they lobby congress to get visas for some of the better players and now the Na'vi are some of the most popular players in the NBA and MLB.

6. Economic corruption scenario - The Americans win but see that the fruits of Pandora are really delicious!! So they start to import the Pandoran fruits to America but realize they are losing money by having to send the ships back to Pandora empty. So they stock the ships with Campbell's soup, powdered milk and other canned goods to sell to the Na'vi upon arrival. Now the Na'vi do not get to eat any more fruits from their own planet but instead must eat canned Dole peaches and Chiquita Bananas.

But no, none of the above scenarios happened. Instead the evil western power destroys the Na'vi village but in order to make the home audience feel good they make a westerner become the most powerful of the natives and defeat the bad forces from their own country and everyone gets to feel good.

No me gusta.

They are calling our current economic state "The Great Recession." As I am bombarded (through my own fault and due to Iphone) with bad news in the media and almost wonder if it is worth reading anymore. I read for enjoyment but also to get a feel as to how things are going to go and to keep a pulse on the world at large. The reason it seems futile to try to get a clear picture is perhaps there is too much information and should there be a slight improvement in some economic indicator the media is all over it. Then things fall again and the media is all over that. It sometimes seems like a roller coaster and I could have just as much a sense of how things are going to go by not reading any news at all.

Instead, I simply need to look around. Living in San Francisco we do not get a true picture of the state of things because everywhere you look you can still find people going out, spending money in expensive restaurants, going to expensive theater shows and so on. However, if one pays attention the downtown foot traffic is not as heavy as it used to be. In my work I also spend a lot of time in high rise buildings and there is often plenty of office space available.

From when I came here three years ago a lot of businesses have disappeared. The video store in front of my apartment went out of business (due to Netflix). Virgin record store closed (Hello Itunes). I don't know of anyone that shops on Market Street and a lot of places went out of business there too.

It also occurred to me recently that three out of the four companies I have worked for also went out of business. In Japan, I worked for the Nova English language school which was the 900 pound gorilla of language schools and had a branch location near just about every train station in Tokyo. However, due to very bad upper management they went bust even before the "Great Recession." Nova was a great place to get a foothold in Japan and I am thankful for my experience there. Yet, I knew at the time it was the kind of business one had to move on from and relatively quickly. It was a shock when they went bankrupt and threw a lot of English teachers out of work, so much that, even national embassies had to get involved.

A much larger shock has come this past week with Japan Airlines going into bankruptcy. When this happened it almost seemed as the sky was falling (mostly for the Japanese) since Japan was one of the most celebrated corporations in Japan. When I obtained a job there in 2004 I was pretty ecstatic. This was one of the most popular corporations to work for in Japan determined by a survey of young people and the kind of place one does not leave. I really did not want to leave Japan Airlines but the aviation industry was falling on very hard times and I did not see any room for advancement given the situation at the time.

I really have a vague idea as to why it happened as the majority of "fat" in the company was in Japan. They were in bed with the government for way too long and the government really did not give them much leeway to make the tough corporate decisions companies have to make to survive. Basically, it was held hostage by the government in terms of routes it had to fly and airports it had to support even though they were not profitable. In the end, it took a change of government to force the airline to come to terms with it's unprofitable model. Couple that with the horrible economic situation there was no room to avoid disaster.

It really is a weird time economically speaking. People of my generation do not have the luxury of taking a job and expecting that they can hold on to it for life. With technological change and the state of the economy entire industries are going down and there are no safe havens. As for loyalty, I do not think that really exists anymore. Companies are laying off at will (and to survive). But this is a double edged sword. The feeling is that if one does a poor job the company has every right to lay a person off. However, if one does a very good job then the company better pay handsomely or the worker would do well to simply move to another company that will pay.

Politically, it is a hard situation because some expect the government to take action while others would prefer the government take no action at all. Both sides feel that if the government would just follow their belief then everything would be better. In reality, it seems that the government is between a rock and a hard place because the ship is sinking anyway no matter which way it decides to turn. My personal feeling is that it should have the courage to do less but this would most likely be political suicide. In fact, even in business upper management needs to be seen doing *something* even if the best course of action is to do nothing.

The Dow has also taken a beating this week due to the unemployment report and perhaps that the government is going to put some restrictions on the banks. Again, this is a tough situation because the banks through reckless lending did cause a lot of trouble. Yet, it is loathsome to think that some bureaucrat in Washington would be telling companies how they should do business. The financial sector is in the business to make money, not to make the world a better place. This is the ugly side of capitalism but the prevailing though is "What is the point of business other than to make money?"

Sometimes, the blame is laid on the consumer and Americans by far really went on a spending binge for a long time. It can make one feel good to rebuke these people that spent too much. I actually heard a commercial today saying that "the big banks got bailouts, but where is my credit card debt bailout?" To me, this is despicable. People spent more money then they had and the taxpayer should compensate them for being financially retarded.

Yet, on the other hand, I was having a discussion with a bright young Chinese woman and really like how she put that situation. "The consumers were LEAD to these un-advantageous loans." In effect, the consumers trust institutions and the sales pitches and besides, everyone else is doing it! They see their neighbors buying large houses and cars and they want to do the same. When the economy turned sour that really bit them in the arse but how much blame should they be accountable for? Most people just trust the system and sales pitches and thought they really were getting a good deal! It's almost like we have to keep on our guard, but being a hyper-capitalist society we are bombarded with sales pitches all day long!

A most recent one on the conservative talk shows is the hosts hawking gold. They get everyone whipped up into a frenzy and some people put their faith in what these hosts are saying. For anyone who recently bought gold and are now losing money, it would be wise to use your own head and not trust anyone who gets paid to hawk any certain item.

Again, it just seems like a very weird time in terms of the economy as there seem to be no more safe havens. When thinking about my own future I wonder which industries would be a safe bet but it's hard to come up with even one. Everyone is talking about Asia being the next big economic engine and that is just fine with me. I feel that I have had a great time in San Francisco but would not hesitate for one minute to work back in Asia again. I am almost tempted to stop trying to plan and just let things proceed as they will. Companies (and people) rise and fall with the tide. In fact, I believe it was Thomas Moore who said "A rising tide lifts all boats." I wonder when the tide will come back in or if we are all going to have to scramble for a while.

The only conclusion I can come to is to simply enjoy life and being alive and let things come as they may. Try not to think about what the future holds as we are in turbulent waters but instead to simply enjoy the ride.

I've kept a blog this blog for quite some time. However, I really haven't been very active in terms of approving comments, learning new things or writing new entries. Just now I looked at the comments and found a lot! I also checked out the visitor statistics which are pretty good for a blog that really doesn't have any set theme. In fact, there was a comment from one of my previous students in Tokyo that was actually here in San Francsico for vacation. (Mari, sorry I missed you, find me on Facebook!)

Note to any that read this blog: If I know you then find me on Facebook! www.facebook.com I'm not hard to find, just search my name and lets connect!

I'll try to write more entries from now on and keep it interesting. The reason I really haven't written much recently is that I got used to my life in San Francisco and I start to feel that things aren't interesting enough to write about. I felt the same way living in Tokyo and Saigon after a while, thought that my writings wouldn't be that interesting since life seemed normal to me. Now I wish I would have written more during those times as I enjoy looking back and realize that even though it wasn't so interesting to me at the time, it might be interesting for others and I would also enjoy reading it now.

So, even though my SF life seems pretty normal to me now I have to make myself realize that it could be possibly interesting for those that do not live here and especially for my friends in foreign countries.

Another reason for the lack of writing has been Facebook. Facebook made things just so easy and I found myself concentrating my time on Facebook which supplanted this blog as my main source of online activity. However, Facebook is really only good for keeping in touch with friends and has a set audience which would be those on the friends list. The internet, being a complete universe within itself does not contain those boundaries and is open to all.

I did set up an RSS feed for this blog to be automatically published to my Facebook and I had to give that a lot of thought. The reason is my entire social network would be able to see what my thoughts are on a variety of topics and these are people with varied opinions. I thought about the exposure to my personal network which seemed a bit more intimate since I actually know those people and might receive some very personal feedback rather than from someone out in the internet who I really do not know.

I thought I might have to temper my fiery political posts since I have such a wide spectrum of friends but after much thought, I decided to do it anyway. One of the reasons is because I'm still pretty much of a hermit having lived away from my hometown for so long and it is most probable that I will not meet most of those people in real life ever again. It is not that I do not desire to meet people but rather, on Facebook these relationships are much farther removed as we are communicating through a computer. In fact, these friends are really just a collection of words, thoughts and pictures and do not have the impact of face to face conversation.

Our friends on Facebook are just memories combined with recent pictures, and electronic communication until one day they might appear in your life again and then they turn "real" again. These meetings are quite fun as one can refer to the events in their lives from posts on Facebook and the conversation and "catching up" seems almost as though it is much more effective and efficient. I've found myself referring to Facebook so many times in conversation with those I've "friended" online but perhaps had not actually seen in person in a very long time. In fact, at a recent family gathering a few cousins of mine decided to play a drinking game where they had to drink every time I said the word "Facebook."

That got me thinking about how communication has changed due to Facebook and for some it can seem silly and as just a diversion with no bearing in real life. However, it is in fact, a real tool and will most likely be referred to quite often for the younger generation when they meet in person and already have a wealth of information about their recent events.

Anyway, I'm trying to write this entry with a movie being played on the T.V. right behind me and it is quite difficult to get my thoughts together. So, I'll make an end to it now but will work on posting more entries in a timely manner.

For the past year I keep hearing this word "Socialist" being flung around like a 10lb bag of crap. On the "conservative" channels it seems this is an extremely dirty word and akin to calling someones mother a so on and so forth. In the political blogs there is always some comment or other about socialism and for the few of you that actually do read my blog your feelings are already starting to tilt one way or another.

However, everyone can relax because this isn't skewed to one side or another and frankly I've become bored with the whole political drama scene. It's like being stuck watching a play that keeps getting more ridiculous and they are just pushing to see how far they can go before people walk out,, but unfortunately half the crowd knows they are locked in and the other half are starting to root for one side or the other!

So back to Socialism, before I studied abroad I really didn't know what it was. I did know the USA was "Capitalist" and ergo Socialism must not be correct. Then, I met all these Europeans who seemed to be a bit more sophisticated about politics than I and half of them were from Socialist countries! One part of me thought they should be wearing all red with hammers and sickles on their heads trying to get me to join a commune.

But, no, they were wearing normal clothing (even slightly stylish) and did not ask me once to join a revolutionary party. Over time as I became familiar with other countries I thought whatever system they were in must not be all that bad because everyone seemed pretty normal. Granted, I did not study the different systems (except Capitalism because I did go to business school) and therefore did not write a Ph.D thesis on the topic but I felt I knew enough and would learn a sufficient amount through osmosis. The point is, I learned that their countries were pretty cool but did not give any other thought to their economic models.

Fast forward to today I keep hearing people yell and scream about this or that being socialist. So I got to thinking, well, what is Socialism? From my laymans perspective it seems it is a system where the Government puts constraints on people concerning taxes with the aim of leveling out the inequalities to varying degrees. In other words, it gives to people with less and takes from people with more.

Again, I do not have any strong feelings one way or the other because I felt that economic models didn't really matter in my daily life and were best left to people that want to concern themselves with such matters.

But, as this word kept being tossed about at anything even remotely seen as "liberal" I got to thinking that in some way or another we are all Socialist.

How can this be?!! Certainly, the USA was founded on the entrepreneur by whose sweat, tears and brains the USA has lead the world in so many categories! But then, how many entrepreneurs do I actually know? And, how many people do I know that go to work for some business and expected to be paid accordingly for their work?

In other words is it not true that most people work for some company and expect to be GIVEN a paycheck? The more I thought about it, a true Capitalist starts his/her own business and gives the workers money for their time and effort. But you may say, it's a fair trade, money for services rendered! This is true, but how many of us could say that another could not do as well or even better than we do? Therefore, we rely on our company and try to hold on as tightly as possible so we are not replaced by another. Is it not true that very few people are so indispensable?

More specifically, could it not be said that employers take care of their employees and in their benevolence not fire and hire so quickly? If we look at Unions which were designed to look out for the easily expendable, would that not be considered a form of Socialism? Surely HR managers are aware of image and lawsuits that could arise should they be so careless with their personnel.

As individuals move out of the blue collar work and to white collar then these hints of socialism do become less as they have to perform quite well to keep their jobs. The sales team has to bring revenue, accountants keep the books and so on. But if we examine a corporation carefully how much "fat" is there in that company?

In this financial crisis we do see a bit of Capitalism at work with so many being laid off from their jobs. Another phrase I'm seeing quite frequently is that "people are looking for jobs." In other words they need an employer to give them something to do and pay them money for their time. Our economy has become so advanced and diversified that it would be very difficult for any one individual to be completely self sufficient. Instead, we all have to learn skills to function in very specific categories. The workers RELY on the system to pay them a salary. For example:

1. The barber needs people to come to his/her shop so he can cut their hair.

2. People that sell guns and butter (economics 101 anyone?) need people to buy their wares and the purchasers need people/things to shoot or to make confectionery.

3. Laywers need people to sue.

Therefore, if nobody needed a haircut, there was nobody to shoot, confections were not being baked and there was nobody to sue then the professions above would be worth nothing. Instead, these people rely on others to come give them employment.

Perhaps we all need a haircut now and then so unless we want to cut our own hair barbers are necessary. AND if I want to shoot someone then the gun seller would come in handy and should I want to eat cake then the confectioner would be useful as well. The point of the whole matter is that in such a complex economy we are all relying on each other one way or another. In a way, this could be considered a bit socialist as we all need to be a bit social to buy and sell to each other. If we were not social then perhaps we would be stuck inside all the time with very long hair, not shooting anyone and have nothing nice to eat and nobody to sue!

In it's most basic form wouldn't the Capitalist go out into the woods, build his own house, hire lumberjacks to harvest trees, sell the trees to China, buy wooden products from China and sell them to his lumberjacks ensuring a wonderful profit! This man would be a true capitalist and everyone else could be considered socialists because without the capitalist they would have nothing left to do but sit inside their house with long hair!

Now if we multiply this scenario by a million and add other employment besides cutting trees would it not be a similar scenario?

As for fair pay for fair work, well the lumberjack had to learn how to cut down trees somewhere. Isn't it wonderful that we live in a society where either our parents or the state provides us, nay GIVES US, an education. Sure some of us come out with loans which we have to pay off but would that not require a company to GIVE US a paycheck?

In fact, thinking like a Capitalist, it would be much better to bring in workers from another country who demand much less of a wage to cut down the trees and then the Capitalist could make even more money! BUT Wait, THERE'S MORE! (R.I.P. Billy Mays). It would seem that we have laws limiting immigration so the Capitalist cannot bring in cheaper workers and therefore must hire the more expensive lumberjacks here locally.

Well, that to me doesn't seem very Capitalistic at all. The Capitalist has a right to make as much money as possible and shouldn't be forced to use local labor. Tree cutting doesn't take that much expertise now does it? So there we have it! People having their jobs protected to a varying degree from Unions, to immigration laws. So how can these so called CINO (Capitalists in Name Only) be for immigration laws? Don't they want to make more money? How absurd!

Now changing gears and arriving to the opinion if someone is against or for Capitalism and or Socialism. (It would seem to me that one could be both - I am depending on the day and my mood.) All these people spewing one opinion or another seem to have recently obtained them from these national Media types. They watch their show (On Fox or MSNBC ,,choose your poison) get all fired up, and then go onto the comment pages and cause a raucous! But the little devil on their shoulder should constantly be whispering "These opinions were GIVEN to you........"

Therefore, could there not be such a thing as an intellectual socialist who listens to opinions in the media, chooses which side he/she agrees with then gets up on the soap box and starts singing the praises of either idea!

I can't imagine that these ideas have come spontaneously into their heads without some assistance. If we imagine a person in the woods who has never had human contact, do we really think they would be considering which is better, Socialism or Capitalism? How about the super professor who has written a lot of books on the subject. Has not the professor spent countless hours in the library studying up on the matter and would it be inconceivable that his/her opinions are derived from the books they have read? How many of the talking heads came up with truly unique ideas to these competing ideologies?? AND how many have stitched together the ideas of others to formulate something they believe might be unique, but in reality is just an accumulation of other peoples ideas!? I suspect that those talking heads are in reality "intellectual socialists" as they borrowed (or stole) from the ideas of someone else.

If we were truly Capitalist would it not be prudent to take this idea of Capitalism, break it down to its individual parts and pay the creators of these ideas accordingly? Perhaps everyone would have to pay royalties to Adam Smith (or his descendants since he is dead.) MAN, what a cluster that would be. Every time the talking head said something their bank account amount would become less! And where did Adam Smith get his ideas from? Perhaps some investigative work into antiquity would be required and soon enough we would perhaps find ourselves back with the Greeks!

In conclusion, could it not be possible that everyone with a job and or an idea, has been given such, and could be regarded a socialist unless of course the individual in question was the outright owner or came up with the idea with absolutely no academic inputs!

As a last thought, and breaking my previous statement that I had "concluded," I also hear this word called "freedom" being tossed about quite randomly. To be honest, every time I hear that word I can't help but imagining the commenter as some renegade with a bandanna tied around his head with a gun in hand running around the words yelling "Freeeeedoommm" as Mel Gibson did in Braveheart.

Now I'm not against freedom at all and am actually quite for it. But again, if we are going to go for something lets go all the way and not take half measures. It would seem that in the USA I have to carry a passport and cannot get in our out of the country without one. Did you know that it wasn't until WWI that people were actually saddled with these things? When I come into the country I also have to answer a series of questions which not answered correctly could put me in the slammer.

Furthermore, I am not allowed to drive my car at 150 miles per hour.

Ok,, forget that last one, I understand that the law is there and in it's essence says I'm free to "swing my fist as long as it does not hit anothers nose." Well, what if I want to smoke a pound of crack? I'm not allowed to do that either and I'm not hitting anyone in the nose. I'm also only allowed to have one wife! Who was smoking the crack when they made that law eh?

Now, back to seriousness, it would seem that laws are made to keep society functioning well based on the principles of some party-poopers called the Puritans! And these Puritans came from England! Thus it just goes to show we can blame all the worlds problems on the English. AND these ideas about Capitalism apparently came from some bloke named Adam Smith who was also ENGLISH!!! Man, for such a small country they certainly cause a lot of trouble.

But getting back to Freedom, it would seem there are all sorts of laws derived from England which do not allow me to be free. So what is all this hooting and hollering about freedom? It would seem we are already compromised and just begging for more yard time even though we are mostly stuck in our cell at the jail. If I were completely free then I think I would move to Japan and become a ninja but unfortunately I could only stay for three months without a work permit and the USA would try to take my yen in taxes. So I'm not exactly free with these yokes around my neck am I?

In conclusion (part deux) it seems that we are not completely Capitalist nor completely free at the moment. It would also appear that we all have to compromise a little to keep society functioning and it all just comes down to arguments about how much. Uncle Sam already takes an obscene of our money so why is everyone just complaining about it now? I believe that before and after the Civil War there were no taxes (or very little). Shouldn't that be the true aim rather then complaining about healthcare??? My healthcare plan is to not get sick, not take any drugs and go to the gym. Yet those complaining on both sides either want it from the Government or from their employer. Either way, to a purist like me, both sides want to be GIVEN it one way or another. Some just put a bit too much worth in their skills which could most likely be outsourced to India so it would probably be wise to not be so pompous. The entire system is taking care of people one way or another.

Everyone is a socialist.