I was Defeated

A friend of mine said to me recently, "Well , I guess you've turned it around, Brad." I thought about that for a moment. Compared to a year ago, circumstances are a lot better than last Thanksgiving. Compared to five years ago it's another world . It always is. So , I replied, " Yeah, but I feel like I've turned "it" around so many times that I'm dizzy. What are you gonna do? My brother says, You can never give up, even if it's chasing your own tail. Sooner or later you'll get a good bite and learn something."

Probably not to bite yourself, but the point is, never give up. It's seldom as bad as it seems. 

Ah, yes , It's turned around,...a year ago I felt like I had sacrificed forty months of hard work and sacrifice in the mountains, to return to Sacramento and take advantage of the real estate market, only to lose my money on a worthless piece of property. Eventually, I lost twenty thousand dollars on the property, plus six g in back taxes I had to pay, but in the end, it wasn't all my money, the property sold, and the plan came together at 4360 71st st. The end result made up for the floundering in the middle, although 20G 's a high price to learn a lesson, but the worse part was not losing the money, it was living the mistake.

Beating myself up mentally. Knowing what I gave up to return to Sacramento; the cabin and all I sacrificed to build it, well, it was like losing my stake, and one to the heart. Depression had me. I lost my faith. Lower I sank into the funk of "shoulda , woulda , coulda". Finally I started selling possessions and studying Chinese, trying to pump myself up for a foreign adventure and the effort to make old investments pay off. I was terrified. I was walking around with that stake in my heart and the black trying to defeat me. I booked a flight to China and canceled a flight to China. I wasn't ready. I was terrified, unhappy. Life was like the first days on the mountain again when all was uncertain and I was lost. Again I was humbled and I knew; Without Faith I was going nowhere. Without GOD, without the FORCE, without something to believe in, I was defeated. And although I had not given up, I had not the faith to act. I was deep in the black of my mind.

I was driven to my knees to beg for forgiveness for my arrogance, my sins, my short memory. I gave praise to Almighty God for all our previous success that I had squandered. And of course I asked for a break, pleaded my side a bit, and begged for things to "turn around". 

I'm not religious. I believe in THE FORCE. We can say GOD, though I believe it's more like Star Wars. I also know that, with effort, thought manifests into reality, but, whatever the reason, shortly thereafter, life got quickly better. My old house was purchased. The worthless property I had foolishly purchased a year earlier,.....SOLD. I was flush. I had work to occupy my time. I re-made the money I lost. And the very best part is/was I'm not living with a stake through my heart. All Glory be to GOD, that magical FORCE that need only be believed in to furnish faith and success,................................. Yeah, I'm lucky,

Death Smiles at Everyone

.........The best you can do is smile back. GLADIATOR

The earths population will reach 7 billion this week. That is seven times the number of people living just two hundred years ago. If we draw a timeline from the year 1800 to the year 2200, we're halfway there, and IMO, societal change and population are exploding at a rate that is unsustainable to make it to the year 2200; While human problems (population, food, water, religious, greed) all continue to expand at increased rates, the world keeps getting smaller. The bubble's going to burst. Nothing new here. All old news. We all can see the future to some extent.

Some want to change that future. Some like the idea of reducing the population . We only have to look at the Georgia Guide stones to understand some folks take the idea seriously and will act given the opportunity. And 2012, the end of the long calendar, is just around the corner. What a perfect time to create a world disaster that kills 95% of us and blame it on the stars. Scary. What did they call those"exercises" , red flag? 

I hope not. At least not until my birthday in 2061. I figure if I can stick around that long there won't be any need to see the disaster. I will have lived enough of it. Which brings us back to the world's exploding population and the effort to control/reduce it,....................there are places on earth that couldn't use another person, and other places empty, that only resilient, strong people could inhabit. It is the latter place from where the survivors will emerge.

I was in Oregon week before last looking for another piece of property. Nothing I can afford presented itself. Genius is 90% patience. Luck is even more important. Especially for those whom lack genius and patience. The Force will bring me to the future, and the spot. I just hope afternoon TV with Jerry Springer doesn't taint me before I find a new project to entertain myself. In ten months I'll have another 10% down but by then I could believe that everyone lives in the drama of "who's your daddy" and "with my sister" ? The next adventure starts as soon as an affordable mountain with power and water becomes available. Motorhome shopping is taking place now. I wonder if I can do it again. Don't think I won't try. Being poor, broke and hungry while I struggled to emerge from the mud was the most fun I've had in years. And the rainy season has just started. 

The 99%

The protests have begun. As the wealth of the average man is depleted, it is only natural then to question how the rich continue to flourish? When 1% of the people control and share 90% of the wealth, while 99% live on less than 10%, it is only natural for the 99% to want a bigger cut of the pie . When, in the true spirit of Socialism, the banks are bailed out and the financial system must be saved by the Peoples money, Then the reverse should be true also: The banks and financial systems should save the people with their money, and it shouldn't be called Socialism or Communism, it should be called " Profit sharing, Fair taxation, Benefits, Retirement". If you want to scream socialism you're too late; Bailing out the banks has already happened , the losses have been Socialized. The cost of ten years of profitable and destructive war already has been Socialized (profitable for the 1%, destructive for the rest of US), the cost of Plutocracy and our corrupt government already has been Socialized, so why do we allow the profits to be privatized? Absolute insanity! Slavery is what it equates to for the 99% It is time to recognize that Profits should also be Socialized. Socializing profits in the form of higher wages, benefits, and lower taxes, at the expense of the 1%'s profits, is absolutely the fair and reasonable solution to the inequitable current policies of Socializing losses and Privatizing profits. Otherwise, the 1% get to eat their cake and have ours too. Slavery. Goddamn maddening. The seeds of revolution are being sown, don't be afraid to be a true patriot; Recognize the plutocracy that is corrupting our lives and demand a government free of special interests. Recognize that despite what the Supreme Court says, Corporations are not WE THE PEOPLE and should not be treated as such when it comes to equal rights. We the people were forced to save the financial system, We the people should now force the financial system to save us. It's Socializing both sides of the coin, not just the one that's up. And it's not fair to scream "Socialist" when Socialistic loss sharing has been the policy of savior for the 1% all along. It's like Mao's cat, Who cares if it's white or black as long as it catches mice? Call it what you like, Whom wants to participate in a game you can only lose ? Support the 99%. Demand a fair cut. Demand American profits be invested in America and her people, not rat-holed in a bank overseas avoiding taxes or destroying other countries. Stop the Wars, Invest in America, Tax the profits of the 1%. The alternative is revolution. The seeds are sown and growing.

Bradman

PS. Life is wonderful, Hope all of you are too.

The Industrial War Machine

Recently I watched  the speaker of the house discuss the need to make cuts to entitlement programs, Social Security, Medicare and other services,  and noticed he didn't once talk about cutting defense spending. Absurd. It's been ten years since the "The War On Terror" began. Afghanistan, Iraq,  Libya, .....endless war. America's incessant military aggressiveness since has been a militia manufacturer's wet dream. These wars haven't been defensive; they've been lies, they've been maddening, they historically will be exposed as pure deceit and the catalyst of American demise, in addition to being offensive and Imperialistic.  And all while America has spent herself broke and been robbed blind by her leaders, whom now want to further betray the people. Enough! Stop the Goddamn Wars!

         Bombs are expensive.  WW2 Iron wrapped explosives are cheap, but guidance systems for modern bombs are around 20k, and the price goes up from that point depending on the bomb. Those Tomahawk cruise missiles that we fired/fire on Libya cost about 1 million to 1.5 million each. We know too well the price of what it costs to show up and fire a few. War isn't cheap and we have been waging it on other people's land for ten solid years. The question now  is, " America are you willing to relinquish your medical care  and Social Security in order to continue to wage war? , Are you willing to watch your country's infrastructure crumble while you destroy other countries with your money? Are you willing to work more, get less, and watch things continue to deteriorate across the board here at home, while your leaders play political games and don't even mention the wars when they discuss the debt problems?

       It is time for a cultural revolution America. It is time for some fundamental changes in our government that put in end to the plutocracy that grips our nations politics. The endless wars must end. Lobbyists and specials interest must be banned from corrupting the system of true democracy.  And the American people must be heard again. Stop the Wars. Reduce defense spending by at least 50%. Invest in building America, not destroying other countries.  Goddamn maddening watching special interests buy our politicians like rats at a pet store.

The Big Circle

In 1990 I bought my second house. It was a major fixer purchased for 73 thousand dollars. The property became my family home for 16 years. I sold it in 2006 for 272 thousand dollars. About three years after I sold it, in 2009, it was foreclosed upon. Since then it has been sold between banks, almost sold to a private investor in a deal that wasn't completed over unpaid liens, and finally ended up on an Internet auction where I bought it for $79,000. In 1990 I had to put $27,000 into the house just to make it livable. Thousands upon thousands more in the last twenty years, both by myself, and the owner I sold to, have been additionally invested in improvements to the property. Even in today's market I have to feel like it's a good buy, especially at 28% of what I sold it for just 54 months ago! Who'da thunk the world would change so much in a span of less than five years? And so again I own my old compound. After the cabin, and being an outlaw, and a year of helter-skelter in West Sacramento, I feel like Bilbo hobbit after his big adventure. It's good to be someplace comfortable, back in the compound. Ain't life wonderful. I haven't felt this good since I was in Hawaii. The property I bought last Spring sold and closed on Friday the thirteenth (May), too. Good-bye depression, hello something to do and cash in the bank. It's taken a year but the transition from the mountains is now complete. In time I will return to the mountains, and do it all again, there, too. I'm already looking for that avenue. I feel so very, very, grateful to have landed on my feet again. Like a cat, smelling like a rose. Isn't life wonderful? Soon it will be time to look for the next adventure. Anyway, I'm alive and it's all good, hope the same for all of you.

The Way It Is

The book Answering Back by David Coates has a very insightful summary of right-wing rottweiler techniques. “Here’s how to write like a conservative rottweiler:”

1. Straw men and Trojan horses Put together a straw-man liberal composed of several people with bizarre beliefs. Once you’ve labelled these people as “liberals”, you can accuse all liberals of holding the same bizarre beliefs. If anyone points out that very few liberals actually hold those beliefs, you claim that they nonetheless represent the essence of liberalism and that moderate liberals are merely a Trojan horse for your straw-man radicals.
2. Patriots and traitors Wrap everything you say in the American flag, speak lovingly of the old days when conservative policies made America a paradise, and then imply that one generation of liberal policies destroyed it. Cry a little to demonstrate your patriotism, preferably on TV.
3. Label the message, shoot the messenger Label any policy you dislike with as many “bad” tags as you can think of, like “activist” or “socialist”. Always present every discussion as no-middle-ground “freedom” vs “socialism” with socialism understood to be anything which might reduce inequality, increase taxes, or limit the political power the rich. Never simply disagree, but denigrate the person in medical terms, as an infection, a cancer, vermin which needs to be cut out or exterminated. Yet at the same time, exaggerate their power and prestige and present yourself as an oppressed and persecuted minority even when you visibly are not.
4. Blame the victim, demonize those who try to help Turn reality entirely on its head. Ignore the fact that the vast majority of wealth is inherited, not earned, and ignore the extremely low social mobility in America compared to all other industrialized nations. Blame poverty on the poor, unemployment on the jobless, and illness on the sick. This frees you from all moral obligations! Blame all social ills on previous liberal attempts to correct them.
5. Outflank the Republican party on the right Present Republican leadership in DC as closet liberals. Do not admit that the Bush administration was genuinely conservative. Continuously pull the Republican Party further from government-based solutions of any kind. This allows you to blame the failures of the Bush administration not on his conservative ideals, but on his betrayal of them! Turn so far to the right that not even Fox News would disseminate your ideas, because that will show how dominant the liberal media is — see, they even control Fox News…
6. Paint the immediate future in truly apocalyptic terms Treat Obama as the the source and embodiment of everything that is bad, blame him (and not Bush) for our present economic difficulties. Talk about a conspiracy of unspeakable evil bringing America to ruin by electing Obama. Get very close to inviting a private violent intervention by some hothead that might yet save us from this disaster.

There you have it folks! The right-wing rottweiler training program in a nutshell, an ingenious way to prevent calm, polite, and thoughtful discussion.

The Bi-partisan Policy Center Debt Reduction Task Force

Watching " American Perspectives" last weekend, I was thoroughly disgusted with the message that the Bi-partisan Policy Center Debt Reduction Task Force “ is propagating. Remember that name in red because it will be this committee that starts the next round of propaganda to fleece the average American of whatever they have left. The task force is preparing to make recommendations that Congress will swear they have to abide by because, " The debt belongs to everybody" (one of their lines) , or "Everybody has to make sacrifices" (another), and if you buy that bullshit , ( most people won’t be paying attention,) then you’ll be happy to know that they intend to make everybody pay! Everybody but the rich, of course. Concurrently, while they taunt the need for US all to step up and pay for the crimes of the last decade, out of the other sides of their mouths they're saying the Bush era tax cuts should not be allowed to expire because that would hamper job recovery . What a crock of shit! So while they recommend that the rich get richer ( it will be good for all of US), they also are recommending that Social security benefits be cut, the retirement age be lifted another two or three years, medicare be cut, and a 6.5 % consumption tax be enacted. A sales tax, the way I understand it, nationwide. (FYI -If enacted that would make California’s sales tax roughly 16%.) All measures that put the debt squarely on the backs of the people whom can least afford it, the decimated middle class and the poor. Proportionately, the task force recommendations would basically give the rich a free ride; Whom spends more, proportionately, of their income for the necessities of life? You can see why it was important to pick task force members at the end of their political career. Further screwing the average man is not going to be popular. It should be pretty obvious that with American business setting record quarterly profits, the idea that the average man should be responsible for the crimes of the last decade, and pay for them, is maddening! As our leaders attempt to saddle us with the debt of their crimes , before we let them steal the benefits we have paid for our entire working lives, I think we should heed George W. H. Bush’s words and “string them up“. (George was commenting , privately, on what the American people would do if they knew the truth. His words were "string us up", referring to himself and co-conspirators) None of their crimes were by accident. They should hang for them! The war on terror is the biggest deception in history! Our bankruptcy as a nation was no accident. As a people our restitution should not be either. Tell your leader, whichever liar is elected to represent you, that you want the banks and the industrial war machine to pay the debt America owes. The banks and the industrial war machine! . The business of America is business, according to George W., so let the cost of doing business (our debt) be paid by business. It’s the Rich that have profited over the last decade, it’s the rich that should now pay the bill. Make it clear America, that while the profits have been privatized, the losses need to be paid by the profiteers , Not Socialized among the people! . How many politicians will need to be strung up to make the point? Not many. We can start with the Bush’s , Cheney, the board of Haliburton etc.

Happy Thanksgiving

I've been in Oregon four days now. Sunday I traveled. Monday I spent back in Cave Junction looking at property. Tuesday I looked at property here in Grants Pass. My heart aches. I miss the mountain cabin tremendously. I miss the garden and it's profits. I miss all the things I left and, of course, now forget why I left them. It breaks my heart but I know that one can never go back in time, and efforts to return are futile. I don't have nightmares about not being in Oregon. I do have an occasional bad dream of not being with my wife. And if I could return and spend two weeks back in the cabin, I'd remember that life is too short to watch it pass by in seclusion. I wonder how many more five year episodes I will live before I find the path for the rest of my life, if at all. There is no path that appeals to me at the present, yet the desire to find the future is all consuming. What to do with another 51 years? or more. The next adventure is close, I just haven't found it. Tomorrow I go to Klamath Falls for Thanksgiving and to remind myself , Be grateful, you never would want to be anybody else. This last year has taken several people from my world and so I must remember, " life is wonderful, every miserable moment". Here's hoping that all of YOU find much to be grateful for, and have a wonderful holiday. Remember, if you're reading this, you still have time, so don't be afraid to adventure. And never feel sorry for the Bradman, I could be happy living in a refridgerator box on the American river as long as I was warm, dry and fed.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Plutocracy

Inequality is the result of specific policies, including tax policies, championed by Washington Democrats and Republicans alike as they conduct a bidding war for high-rolling donors in election after election. They're all bought and sold. It’s not complicated. It was supposed to be change we can believe in, but I don’t see any changes that I believe in. I don’t see legal prosecution of the bankers whom arranged to steal our money. I don’t see government officials whom were supposed to monitor stocks and securities being pursued for negligence of duty. They seem to be the president’s friends. As matter of fact , it’s hard to tell the criminals from the government officials. Maybe because they’re the same. That’s not change, it’s the same as the last set of criminals in the oval office. There is a lot of talk about extending the Bush tax cuts and that’s not change. The new President refused to investigate the crimes of the previous administration (9/11), refused to give the American people the truth about his predecessor and the evil designs that guided the Bush administration. That makes him an accomplice and as guilty as the previous administration, but that’s not change. Bush refused to give us the truth repeatedly. The puppet has a new head but the same hands are pulling the strings. Oh, and the prelude to the next rip-off is coming; How our impending financial ruin as a nation will make it necessary to cut our Social Security and health benefits. What a crock of shit! Tax cuts, Two never ending wars, the robbing of our banks, our jobs, and our monetary security has led to our impending financial ruin. But get ready because the attack on the lower and middle class is far from over and the changes you can believe in are not the ones you were expecting. Isn’t watching our leaders rob us blind while we get less starting to make you angry? It’s maddening! How much longer can America go before a real revolution is upon us? One of anarchy and violence. What will it take for “Change we can believe in?” A purple President? As a people we are not far from uprising. Every day more people are sick of watching the waste, the bullshit, the bought and sold mainstream media feeding us what they want us to think. ( The shame of journalism that they suppressed the truth of 9/11). It’s all so complicated, and then; ………………It’s really simple……

There was a story in China recently about the son of a local police chief running down a college student. As the man sped away he shouted “I’m Li Gang’s son” and fled. It was just the kind of story of elite privilege and string pulling the Chinese Government wanted to suppress. Unfortunately, for the government, the story and the government’s attempts to suppress it went viral on the internet. The end result was that “I’m Li Gang’s son” is now a catch-phrase for shirking responsibility, being above the law, being privileged, not doing the dishes. We have a Government that is now the son of Li Gang. They do what they want, have their own agenda, rob us blind, then rob US again by committing our tax money to their robberies, and are above the law for all intents and purposes . We Vote them in and they refuse to investigate the past because they don't want anybody looking back when they leave office. Pure treachery. When the Obama administration refused to "look back" at the crimes of the Bush adminstration, and we as a people allowed it, then we also invited the next round of thievery. It will be an attempt on the very securities we have paid for our entire lives; Social Security and Medicare. Don’t let the Government put the losses on US. Make them all pay with their Jobs, too. Bradman

The American Dream

My friend Brett is spending a lot of time stressing this week over a research paper he's obligated to write for his English 300 class. His topic, "The American Dream". Brett says he wants to write a positive paper on the American dream but, unfortunately, right now it's hard to find articles expressing a positive point of view. Hard to believe. When I google "The American Dream" I get about 104,000,000 results in a quarter second. I don't understand the stress. In a research paper you could spend at least three pages on just the definition of the dream, three more on whom is defining it, and countless pages on according to which definition, whether the dream is alive or dead. Of course "The American Dream" is alive. Ask any Naturalized American why they came to America and, realized or not, there was a dream involved. How esassy does it get? (Like that spelling) As for research, it ain't like the 70's, that's for sure. Mom used to have to walk five miles to get to school. Through the snow. My generation, living in the Sacramento Valley, had to go to the library and actually look up material in books, copy the material, copy the relevant "research facts", and write papers from our work. Nowadays research is as easy as Google, Wikipedia, cut, paste, download and print. Throw a few letters from Bradland in between the facts and you have a research paper. Back to the dream; I see that cities are beginning to levy fines on bank owned property that is not maintained. Stories like that make me wonder why the banks don't re-sell the property, cheap and quick and write the loan themselves to whomever can come up with a down payment and move in. Isn't something better than nothing? Banks don't seem to want to re-loan on their own property. Rather than let houses deteriorate, become liability traps, or be torn down, the banks should write new mortgages on them, and sell them. The houses will be sold short and cheaply anyway, Why don't the banks want to write new mortgages on their own foreclosed properties (including the shadow inventory) to generate cash, reduce liability, and start the housing recovery? I have asked Realtors to go back to the "Bank", the owners of property, and ask them if they would be willing to write the mortgage on a piece of their own property if I bought it. No. That's just not the way it works. But it seems the simplest way. Do they have to "sell'" it outright to a new bank or mortgage company? That's my question for the day. But if I owned a million empty houses that were for sale, and I was in the business of loaning money, I'd start selling houses and making loans, kill two birds with one stone. (so simple it rhymes) ( Like Sesame street) OK, and the dream ain't dead, just ask any one of four generations of Vietnamese, living in a two bedroom duplex, all working under the table and drawing immigrant Social Security. They're getting RICH. I know because I used to deliver the damn checks. They're not worried about pride, or doing the right thing either. It's a dog eat dog world out there, they understand, and the American born average Joe better start...... Being American is no longer a guarantee for a better life. Future generations will have to be smarter, work harder, be hungrier and understand, " you can no longer be lazy". Unions, the weekend, guranteed wages, air conditioned work places, why should American workers have those things if the rest of the world doesn't? I used to feel really lucky to be American. I always felt that born anywhere else in my socio-economic class, I really would have had it tough. Maybe I had it too easy and that's why I'm lazy, like so many other Americans. It is no longer easy, but the same key factors are at play, Hard work, Luck, and Determination. I 'm having trouble remembering lately, so let me say it again, "Life is wonderful, every miserable moment, remember that and life is wonderful".

Erratic, Ranting, naaahhhhhhhh. Bradman

More on Paradise

There aren't enough words in my vocabulary to adequately portray the beauty of Hawaii. Oahu, the island I was on, was everything you see in magazines and more. The sea was a shimmering clear blue. The sandy white beaches were clean, picturesque. Bordered on the shore side by emerald green grass parks with palm trees, waterfalls, brightly colored tropical flowers and bronze statues of Hawaii's historic figures , or the manicured gardens, restaurants and pools of Waikiki's finest hotels, it was pretty as a picture. Hawaii is the real deal; All those fantastic images you see of the place aren't taken on special days or in special places. Visually, Hawaii is as it photographs. I can only imagine the beauty of the outlying areas. This was Waikiki in downtown Honolulu; I never left the strip.

It rained every day. Rain in Hawaii is different . Normally I can see the rain and it makes me feel wet. The week I was in Hawaii the rain was more like a warm mist on a very humid day. Highs were in the mid 80's but lows were in the 70's. A little sticky, but definitely not what one thinks of as a normal "rainy" day, unless you're in Paradise. The sun was shining every day too, even when it rained. Hallelujah for a little cloud cover because when the sun wasn't blocked it was bright, hot, and topical. Bright, hot, and tropical make it easy to understand the dress code; Wear whatever you're comfortable in. Modesty is subordinate to comfortable and practical. Every day fashion is so skimpy that the girls put more on to be sexier. Flesh is everywhere, so commonplace that the end effect is nobody notices except the tourist right off the plane; If every one went naked, nobody would notice.

Saturday, the night before Halloween, the streets ran rampant with farmer's daughters, nurses, beer maids, etc., so many costumes with high heels, skirts a half inch from Vallejo, and low cut tops revealing just a little less than what you would see on the beach (or the street for that matter). Those bare legs tanned in the sun all day, now had White thigh high nylons covering them , and the three inch bare strip of skin exposed between skirt and nylon was as erotic as intended. The same legs, completely bare, would go unnoticed under normal circumstances. In Hawaii, more was less, and covered was sexy, while uncovered was hardly noticed. It was a wonderful place to walk around with all the grey hair on my chest, shoulders, back, and ears showing. I'm sure the visual depiction of Bradman in Hawaii paints a delightful picture, like a werewolf in London.

Since I'm on the subject of fashion, I do want to mention something that was pointed out by my realtor whom had visited Honolulu two weeks prior to my visit. Upon mention of the irony I found in the Halloween costumes, she made the statement, " and how about all the glass high heels"? I also had noticed many young women wearing shorts, mostly levi jeans cut off where their legs began, and glass three inch high heels with platform soles. High, high heels. I just thought that most of the young women were Asian and looking to add height. Glass high heels was the realtor's point though. It seemed to be the style. At least at the mall. That's where the heels and shorts were predominantly seen by me. And since I mention the mall, let me mention that the shopping in Hawaii is paradise!

Prada, Rolex, Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vitton, Dooney & Bourke, Nordstrom, they were all there. Two blocks from the condo was the Muanaloa Mall, all four stories and two city blocks worth of it. Full of tourists, locals, a food court downstairs with a different meal for every visit, and foreigners from all corners of the world, the mall was impressive. I found native Chinese there everyday to strike up conversations with. And I noticed lots of things that people in Hawaii would never buy or wear in many of the shops. Gloves, jackets, cold weather fashions that Hawaiians would never need to wear. Things that were never intended to be sold to the natives. Stores full of things to be bought and taken all over the world by tourists. Honolulu is a fantastic tourist trap, with enough stores, name brands, department stores, jewelers, vendors, etc., that even the most insatiable of shopaholics should be satisfied shopping there. What a great place to spur the economy on with a little consumerism. And what's bought in Hawaii, leaves Hawaii. If America ever wants to send things all over the world, ship to Hawaii and let the world take it home from there. (The dark side)

I drank at the Waikiki Hilton. In two nights of drinking I met an engineer from Pennsylvania working on the air-conditioning units in submarines. A young reservist from Okalahoma on practice maneuvers. A native Chinese cocktail waitress whom spoke Mandarin and was married to a round eye from Rhode Island ( I didn't discuss her husband further). An Australian spy that spoke with such an accent that I couldn't understand him ( he had to be a spy, he didn't have a business card). An aspiring actress doing small parts on the new Hawaii Five-O series, whom became the object of maneuvers, A rather drunk, over-weight, lonely hearted man looking for love with the aspiring actress (who was halfway off her seat trying to edge away from him) whom became disgruntled and verbally abusive when she announced her departure ( whatever bitch! ), a couple from San Diego attending a conference about information passing that the Australian spy was interested in, Whom pointed out the frustration of the lonely heart ( they took the picture for me )and good-hearted-ly laughed about it (we're not mean and we've all been frustrated at times), and a bad hangover trying to drink with them. We had fun. Maybe it was Paradise, or maybe being whomever you want where nobody knows you, but It was my impression that everybody liked themselves in Hawaii and wanted to share some of that joy with others. Go to Hawaii, Meet the world.

A Week in Paradise

Aloha! Two days back from Hawaii, I realize my week in paradise passed far too quickly. Especially when I consider that I didn’t hike Diamond Head, see Pearl Harbor, go snorkeling off Maui, attend a Luau, surf, swim, or screw any little brown girls. I didn’t sail behind a boat on a giant kite, I didn’t ride the glass bottomed submarine or swim with the dolphins. I couldn’t talk my way onto a sailboat for the ride home either. All things I intended to do. Neither did I lay out in the sun to get a tan. My sun bathing was restricted to walking up and down Waikiki beach with my shirt off for an hour a day, admiring the bikini clad bathers, and burning a nice reddish-brown. Honestly, I can’t fathom how anybody could lay in the tropical sun of the islands and not burn to a crisp. But everyday, there they were, oiled up and wearing the tiniest of swimming suits, turning their skin a deep brown and into leather. The Scotch-Irish in me knew it would be suicide to join the throngs of people whom were fearless, so I was perfectly happy to walk on the edge of the ocean, admire the young and beautiful, and long for the day when I would have been reckless, badly sunburned and 1/3 my age. I did eat out every meal. I did go to the mall every day to shop , buy nothing, and search for native Chinese to practice my Mandarin. I did get drunk on MaiTai’s in the Tapa bar at the Waikiki Hilton a couple of times, where I met some very nice people that I’ll probably never see again. I did feel guilty that I didn’t do more. I did relax and shake the depression that was chasing me. I did quit smoking pot (maybe for good) for ten days, and counting. I did return home happier, healthier, and determined to find a life for my next fifty years of living, even if they will be spent bald, grey, and ever older. I did read a book. I did spend a week with my youngest son in Honolulu, where we watched the Giants win the World Series and will always be reminded of the time spent together upon mention of the champs of 2010. That was all that mattered to me, the time spent with my son. At this point of life, what else is there but my immortality in the form of my boys? Paradise was wonderful. Hawaii was wonderful . I didn’t need to do a thing. Being there was enough, but next letter I’ll tell you the story of eleven dollar Mai Tai’s, drinking with the rich and famous, drinking with the desperate for love, drinking with foreigners, and drinking with Becky Sue and Ken, all my friends for a day.

A Hard Month to Write

Six months out of the mountains of Southern Oregon now, I'd like to say I'm Happy. I'm not. I miss the mountains,the forest, the serenity, my cabin (no longer), the rain, and the friends I made in my three and a half years in Cave Junction . I'm homeless in Sacramento. (renting). I own land, but it's bare land, and you can't do the things in Sacramento county, California, that you could in Josephine county,Oregon. My property taxes are four times the amount they were in Oregon. There is no sales tax in Oregon, California is almost 10%...... My wife is in Sacramento. And there is the essence of this paragraph: Despite all the reasons why I want to be in Oregon (not to mention my 82 year old mother in Grants Pass) , when my wife says she wants to spend the rest of her life with me, I cannot leave. I cannot take the heartbreak in returning to Oregon and living without her. Again. ( She can take the Heartbreak of not going though??????? ) It is heartbreaking to live in the city when I know of the peace and beauty of the Illinois valley. I love the Land of the Outlaw. Heartache.

My youngest son, now a Berkeley graduate, was hired by a company called "Test Masters" to teach private classes, twice a week, on preparing for and taking the LSAT (Law School Aptitude Test). Justin studied six months for the LSAT and did very well. Test Masters flies him to different cities, Pays for lodging, food, transportation, and a handsome salary for the class hours he's teaching. The next two months he will be in Honolulu. On Wednesday I'm going to Honolulu.

I'm hoping that a week in Hawaii will give me a brighter, cheerier outlook on life. I need a boost. I know the real problem in my life is I can never be fourteen again; I'll never look nineteen again; Men in my family don't age gracefully, and after seven years of being retired, I need a job; a purpose. I need a life so bad that I'm about to return to Oregon and build another cabin to have a purpose, (warm and dry). Of course, then I have to ask myself, " why did I ever leave"? Oh, because I needed a life. And of course, for love. Seems like I've been running this circle for years now. Maybe a mid-Pacific perspective will help. Anyway, if the plane goes down, everybody pray that I'm having the time of my life adventuring as a "Castaway", and I'll get back to you when I figure out my escape from the doldrums of "purposelessness" and Brad-island.

London is next. My oldest son, Bradley Garrett has one more year at University College London, and I want to visit in the rain this winter before he returns to America. Wear my Sacramento Kings jacket, maybe bait some terrorists looking for Americans. Maybe try and convince my son to return. Aloha.

PS I am still interested in that five acres in O'brien and will be up to discuss the piece when I return, and before the end of the year.

The Answer

I remember touring Hearst castle when I was in the army. Afterwards, more than any other impression I took away from the tour, my overriding feeling was "how could anybody be so wealthy.?" ......................................So where's the limit? How rich do you think one man should be, Needs to be, before it's excessive?

How much money can our politicians in Washington squander before Americans, whom get poorer everyday, revolt and demand to keep their money? Whom decides who gets what? I don't get to pull those strings.

I already suggested closing the borders and internalizing American money for Americans. I think that's a better plan than reducing America to a borderless, third world country. Over time desperation will set in . Then, historically the answer will be revolution. 

I am selfish. I had the least growing up of all my friends, not only in family assets, but in homelife, upbringing, structure, guidance. I lived unrestrained and reckless until I was fifty (selfish). I've made lots of mistakes, paid and still pay for them, and only bothered with worrying about money in the last few years. I'm not satisfied. I need more money to develop my land. If it wasn't for "codes" I'd spend 15 k, drill a well , and live in a box there now. Warm, dry and fed is what a man needs. Not much more than a cave and a hunting field. The point;.................... Everyman must decide his own greed, but when the Greedy are insatiable and the masses are not warm dry and fed,..............the masses are still being fed. When hunger sets in control will be lost.It is the Middle Class whom are being decimated by the policies of our leaders now. Losses are being socialized while profits are privatized. I say go back to the 2% whom made the profits and let them pay for the losses. The poor are poor, you can't get blood from a turnup. It is those in the middle, people like you who are getting screwed by the top 2%. Capiche' ?The poor, those whom have given up, the third generation welfare babies, the bums on Social Security who never paid in a dime, the bums who did pay and then were retired for "issues", the scum of the earth whom won't support themselves as long as they can get a free ride, THEY won't take your money or reduce the price of your goods or services. No, it is those whom profit from your demise that you should be angry at. Those whom send work overseas and force the American standard of living down. The poor are already poor. I say take every dime going to Pakistan, or Afghanistan, Iraq etc. and give it to them, me , the american infrastucture, or for jobs for one of the three. Fuck the 2% and their wars for profit.!I imagine you have a wonderful life. From what I can discern, there is only you and your wife, and the two of you are successful. Why be angry.? I can only imagine why, and then I could be totally wrong. Let me say, " life is wonderful, every miserable moment, if you remember that, life is wonderful". I hope things are good. If I can help out, I would be glad to offer my time and labor for free. You realize I don't live in the real world, don't you? I have no schedule. I receive two pension checks. ( not enough money for anything but being warm, dry, fed and a little adventure) I have NO debt. Don't live with my wife. (but see her almost every day) (if I like ) I do whatever I desire and have no demands on my time or person. Both my sons are through University, successful, independant. I drift like the feather in Forrest Gump. What can I do for you ?

Fall in the Mountains

Fall. Here in the valley, One could hardly discern the changing of the seasons last week. This week the temperature will be 10 degrees warmer , and that exemplifies how the cooler weather has taken hold so far. In the mountains of southern Oregon it is cool now at night. The deciduous trees are beginning to change color. In Oregon it will rain once a week from now until it rains three times a week. Nice, cool, Fall weather. Like it should be. This time of year, "tis the season" in those mountains. A long Summer of gardening will culminate soon in the exhilarating sigh of the harvest. There is nothing like having a plan come together and bringing in the herd. Nothing. Those in the "know" smile a lot and slyly pat each other on the back. Locals wave each other down for a quick visit , a little show and tell, and a sample swap. Octoberfest. I miss the camaraderie of being an outlaw, especially in the mountains of southern Oregon where a man can be respectable and an Outlaw; One does not necessarily preclude the other.

On another note;

“The distinguishing characteristic of the Third World country is you have the people at the top and the rest—you don’t have a thriving middle class,”

When I think of a "Third World country", " the rest" are always poor, and with that poverty comes desperation. Desperate times call for desperate measures, thus the world, at least for "the rest", becomes a desperate place. The scary part is America lost a big percentage of it's middle class the last few years, and despite that we're being told the recession is over, the GDP is growing, or corporate earnings are up and the rich are getting richer, the middle class is still disappearing like a vanishing species . 30% were wiped out with their equity when the bubble burst.

The air is far from being gone from the bubble and " the rest" , or soon to be, are getting more desperate by the hour. Increasingly, this desperation affects our lives and cannot be ignored. Tried selling land or a home lately? After the elections in November, grab a parachute because the next dip will take us back to pre-balloon levels. California property can already be bought at 1990 prices. In some places price's are at 1980's levels. With the banks rat-holing 4 of five properties in shadow inventory, the worst is yet to come for homeowners/middle class/ "the rest" of us. Every day I kick myself for investing in land back in May. I feel your pain and don't like being one of 'the rest', America.

On a final note;

Revolutionary thoughts.

One world will be a Third World country. If you're not on top now, it will only get harder to climb the pile. Americans need to recognize if we weren't making war, or One world, or making our leaders and those who bribe them rich, there would be plenty of money. The "redistribution" of wealth we so often hear about, is not to Americans, it is to the world, and the rest of the world thinks we are fools for giving our money away. America is a rich country. We should close our borders and divide the money. 80% of us live on 2% of the money. 80% of us could live three times as well on 6% of the money. When the difference in quality of life between the vast majority, ( "the rest" ), and the 2% whom control our country's wealth becomes ridiculous (as it is quickly becoming) the seeds of revolution are born.

A Hurricane Story for the West Coast

Watching tropical depressions forming off the African coast turn into hurricanes , hurricanes that often curl north towards the Gulf and East coasts of America has me thinking,...... What happens when one of those tropical depressions forms on the Gulf side of Panama, turns into a hurricane and jumps over to the Pacific, only to curl up and smack Southern California? It could happen in a warmer wetter world. The hurricanes form now, they jump the peninsula and curl north slamming Baja California on occasion, now. Is all a Southern California storm has to be is a bigger storm, with a bigger curl,.... isn't that what a warmer wetter world is all about; more violent weather ? So, here's a prediction, In the WWW of the future , we can look forward to the weather channel following those monster "eye"s of swirling clouds curling off the equator in southern Mexico, a little farther north and into S. California. Maybe washing the Lakers away. Wikipedia cites several storms that have come close, and these days one is led to believe anything is possible. Here in the Central Valley the rivers won't drain and the place will be an inland sea someday, too. I don't feel left out now, what with all the hurricanes in the Atlantic.

Two large comets passed within the orbit of the moon around the Earth last week . All the detection we have didn't spot them until the last minute,....at least that's the story we're being told. ( I'm not making this up ) Would you announce to the world it was about to be lit up by a meteorite? Think what would happen if a big rock wiped out Modesto for instance. The rest of the World would swear it was Nostradamus and 2012 as scripted. The Mid-East would claim it was God's war on America, The Great Satan, and California, the leader of the pack. Property prices might go up in Merced.....nahhh. Control would be lost. There are just too many people whom would see a meteorite shower as an excuse for slipping into anarchy. Of course, how many burning chunks of rock have to hit the place before you think it might not be the same? Let's hope they were lone riders, and may your side of the Earth be turned the other way. A little cheer for Tuesday afternoon. California deserves a hurricane story too.

Time for a Well

Michael Burry, the former hedge-fund manager who predicted the housing market’s plunge, said he is investing in farmable land, small technology companies and gold as he hunts original ideas and braces for a weaker dollar.

“I believe that agriculture land -- productive agricultural land with water on site -- will be very valuable in the future,” Burry, 39, said in a Bloomberg Television interview scheduled for broadcast this morning in New York. “I’ve put a good amount of money into that.”

An Ocean of Money

There was an ocean of money. It touched all the lands of the world, and the world's money was it's tributaries. The people of the world all relied on the ocean of money for stability, credit, investment, and necessary planning for the future. One day some greedy men realized that if they could dive to the bottom of the ocean of money and fart, then keep the gas hidden in a sea of investment, the tide of money would rise and appear to have grown, when really the growth was just a bubble. It was in this fashion that the greedy men fooled people into thinking the sea of money was growing, and the greedy men were earning a share of the ocean of cash honestly. People, seeing the wave of opportunity and an ocean of money, took advantage and started farting in the ocean, too. People were quick to digest the enterprise of gaseous cash and Brrrrrruuuuuppppp......the McMansion was born. Brrrrruuuupppp............... a new SUV. As long as the ocean of money was rising nobody was worried about sea levels. Then came a day when the bubble burst and the stench of the greedy men's work filled the air. The ocean of Money, long depleted by greedy siphoning, yet disguised in it's tides, sucked reservoirs dry as it fell back into it's original banks . In some places old banks were left dry. Rivers quit flowing. Springs disappeared. Cash flow stopped. The tide dropped trillions. And people everywhere wondered how they could have farted away all that money, that never existed, and they would never be able to pay back. I used to ask myself all the time ( about the worlds money), Where did that ocean of money go? Now we know, It never existed, it was a just a bubble that drowned a lot of people and gassed the future when it popped.

Interesting Times

I think about how the world has changed in the last five years, then I think how the changes have been spoon fed to us through the media with catch phrases and glimpses of what the truth means. It's the "race to the bottom", and the two times I heard that phrase being used by our lawmakers I was surprised. I wasn't surprised that it was quickly hushed up and not used again to describe America's current situatiuon, although it best describes that very situation in my mind. In recent years we heard a lot about the concept of "one world" . What does one world mean to Americans though? World competition, the refusal to close and protect American borders, maybe the erasure of borders, allowing common currency, and huge deficits in trade. One world means Americans must compete on a world level; ie with 86 cent an hour wages in China and 26 cent per hour wages in Cambodia. Obviously the standard of living is better in China than Cambodia, but not quite what Americans are used to earning. We sure like buying those products produced at slave/world wages, even if we don't want to slave for them. However that's whom we're competing with, so better understand the plan for Social Equalization. A society of ultra rich (Money) and the poor. Crazy? How could it be achieved? Right before our eyes! The first step was creating a ten year bubble. America thought it was thriving when all we were doing was running up debt and allowing the "plan" to be put in place. Then? Take our money away, bursting the bubble and taking those on the edge, over. And how that's happening! Money was devalued when we doubled our currency, the result of allowing so much credit the place went bust. Then with only half the "real money" we had before ( our creditors have the rest), credit had to tighten forcing property values to plummet and s l o w g r o w t h. Aren't most Americans deeply vested in their homes? Isn't that their biggest investment in life and for retirement? 20% of all mortgage holders are upside down right now. That's not to mention those whom have already lost their homes. Wiping out the middle class has been achieved to a certain extent already. Remember all those stories about the elimination of the middle class? The job is probably 30% done now and growing. Over the next ten years I expect the value of land/housing to drop at least 50%. Why? So the continuation of reducing the American standard of living can proceed. That $500,000 dollar house will only be worth $250,000 in the future; that $100,000 house only worth $50,000 etc., Inevitably stripping the vast majority of Americans of their wealth and eliminating the middle class. This isn't happening by accident, or because of economic hard times, it is the design of those with power and money. The American standard of living is too far above the world norm. Reducing our wealth works better in the plan for " The New World Order". Finally, bankrupt Social Security, then force Americans to accept much smaller benefits. That should do it. Without Social security, a bankroll in our property, and the value of everything from labor to property falling, it shouldn't take more than a generation or two for us to "drop" more in Line with "One World" and "Social Equalization". Alas, I've been reading to much Patrick-net. Doom and Gloom. I also passed on the deal of a lifetime in Oregon this week which is depressing. I'm thinking I need to go to London, get a change of scenery and some perspective. Soon.

The Deal of a Lifetime

Six months ago I left Oregon. I wanted to be closer to my youngest son. My oldest son is in Europe. When he finishes university this year, I want him to return to the US so I can be closer to him. My wife is also in the same city as I am now. I wanted to be closer to her, too. Returning to California will financially be my ruin, no doubt, but one realization I came to on the side of Hope Mountain was that although safe, secure and prospering, I was growing older without sharing my life with the woman and the sons I love. After forty months of soul searching and hard work in southern Oregon, I sold what I loved to return to what I love. I tested that love this week. On Friday a six acre parcel in Kerby Oregon appeared on realtor.com selling for 40,000 dollars. 

It was a duress sale and I had the inside track. When I called the agent and found out it had a Mobile home, Kerby city water, a well also, and Power, ... I decided it was probably too good to be true, but it was worth a look. On Sunday a friend and I drove to Oregon to take a look. The agent explained the owner was sick and the court was liquidating assets. There had been an offer already. On Monday the court would look at offers and select the best one. The parcel was a steal. 20 to 30 thousand dollars under market value (today). I put an offer in at $42,000. When the realtor met with the court representative on Monday, there were only two offers and mine was the high one. The court accepted it . The property had been on the market three days. It was todays deal of a lifetime. How lucky could I get? Is all I had to do was buy it . I could return to be an Outlaw and Oregonian. Once again have money, security, a home,......... or Love? I pulled out of the deal today. Just call me a fool for love. There was a helluva deal on a two bedroom , two bath house, on three acres with a nice barn for only $28,000............in Minnesota this week, too.

PS Thanks for all the help Tracy. You were a joy to work with for a day.