The So-Called Evils of Capitalism
My first lesson in economics
When growing up I remember hearing stories about a counter-culture hippie colony in the mountains in my area established in the late 1960s.  Hippies came from all over the country with a sort of anti-capitalist utopian socialist dream of a self-sufficiency “one for all and all for one” communal lifestyle.  As it turned out the experiment was good in theory, but not so in practice.  Before long, the members doing most of the work pretty much got fed up with the ones that didn’t pull their weight.   Being self-sufficient and not having any political structure and money took its hungry toll; and by the mid-1970s the colony had pretty much been dissolved.  Some of its members stayed in the area, got legitimate jobs, and bought their own houses.  I remember going to school with the kids of those ex-hippies.   They were good and very smart kids, but there was a different aura about them that kind of set them apart.

The truth is that hippie colonies can only work if they embrace certain elements of capitalism and produce products that can be sold.  There also must be some political structure and authority in place to manage affairs, pay taxes, and weed out the lazy, unproductive members.  Then it pretty much becomes a cooperative style company steeped in hippie idealism and ideologies. 

 I actually enjoy going to hippie cooperative stores and markets because I find them interesting, and they tend to sell very high-quality good food. (I give them some credit.)

Coddled by capitalism
The Covid pandemic has brought about sudden disruptions and changes in our lives never seen before by most of us.  Among the biggest disruptions and upheavals caused by Covid are the global shortages on many products.  

We have become spoiled and coddled by capitalism, and until now, most of us in the developed world have not been able to fathom the concept of shortages, empty shelves, and not being able to instantly buy any product that our hearts desire, even if we have the money right in our hands.

What most don’t realize is that shortages and empty shelves was a very normal way of life in communist countries in Eastern Europe throughout their entire communist history.  I witnessed this first-hand while traveling in Eastern Europe in the 1980s before communism’s collapse, when seeing, for the first time, shortages and empty shelves in the grocery stores. I heard from people who lived in the former east DDR Germany that in order to buy a car, one had had to be put on a waiting list, and the wait often took between ten to eighteen years to buy a simple car with a primitive 2-stroke engine.  People then would have to check regularly to make sure they were still on the list in order not to lose their spot.  Incidentally, the communist political leaders were able to get cars much faster.  (Imagine that.) The filthy running, completely unreliable East German ‘Trabant’ car was the running joke when I lived in Germany, and later became a symbol of the bygone communist era.

I’ve always been fascinated by antiquity, and the evolution of modern economic and political systems. Throughout my life I’ve researched the majority of economic and political systems of the past, and there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that capitalism is by far the most ingenious economic system that this world has ever known.  The thing that amazes me the most about capitalism that is overlooked and taken for granted is its ability to produce and distribute enormous food surpluses and feed the masses.  No other economic system in world history has ever had anywhere near the abundance of food or the ability to transport it like in today’s modern capitalist world.  The food shortages and famine that were so common in the Middle Ages and prior, have pretty much disappeared from the modern developed world.  Now that former communist countries in Eastern Europe have taken their walls down and adopted pro capitalist economies and policies, the shelves in their stores have magically been filled with food and products. (Amazing how that works.)  Even today, China’s pro-capitalist economic policies has very quickly brought about a reduction in poverty in world history.

The claims of so “called evils of capitalism” and industrialism, though real, have been very one sided, distorted and wildly exaggerated.  Leftist socialist anti-capitalism zealots have been a major driving force behind this dangerous campaign and have set out to purge the world of capitalism.  They will most often point out only the drawbacks and pitfalls of industrialism and capitalism and inaccurately paint the pre-industrial capitalist world as a sort of idyllic time on earth.   Like most convicted people trying to reinforce their opinions, they will only highlight the worst examples of the opposing view/side. They tend to use examples of the cruelties of the factory system when it was in its infancy as a basis for their arguments.

Capitalism was not so much a plan or design but the inevitable result of the industrial revolution and its factory system.  The truth is that few people, if any, truly desire to go back to an age before capitalism and industry to the days of slave labor and serfdom where there were no factories, no modern transport, and no great mechanical inventions doing the roughest work for us.   The emancipation of workers in today’s world was a product of capitalism, democracy, the industrial revolution, and labor unions. Only now for the first time in world history do workers have opportunities for education, literacy, knowledge, recreation, leisure time, retirement, travel, and freedoms that had previously been denied to them.   Basic luxuries and amenities that we take for granted like imported foods, sugar, coffee and salt seasoning, along with basic manufactured products like glass, plates, utensils, and ready-made shoes and clothing that were only enjoyed by a few wealthy people prior to industry and capitalism are now enjoyed by every level of society.

The rise of new men
Capitalism, democracy, and industrialism also helped bring about the demise of the ancient lineage/caste system where people were rated judged and measured based on the family or the social class that they were born into.  The free market system in America helped usher in the rise of “New Men.”  This term came to define men who rose out of peasantry and common backgrounds and acquired wealth, power and status through hard work and resourcefulness; not by inheritance or milking their family name.  bloodlines and noble titles carried little if any weight in the new world, and for the first time in history the freedom to innovate and invent was in the hands of a large percentage of the population and not just a privileged few. This was a first, and a brand-new phenomenon in that time.  This economic freedom and the rise of these new men advanced economies, invention, and business like nothing ever before it.


The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer

Societies’ buzz catchphrases come and go, but one that has stood the test of time for well over a hundred years is “The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer.”    Every capitalist country has a version of this catch phrases in their language. It probably has its roots in the 1800s when Karl Marx was preaching his ‘critical theories’ socialist/communist utopian blueprint. It has since gone through many generations and it has always been and continues to be recycled, milked, exploited, and raped by socialists throughout the world. It cannot be denied that many people throughout the capitalist world live below or barely above the poverty level. Socialists have argued throughout capitalism’s history that poverty is caused by unequal and inequitable distribution of wealth under an unfair capitalist system. The truth is that poverty is overly complex, and there is no single condition that explains it. There are many causes of poverty such as, but limited to,

lack of education, economic conditions/unemployment, war, culture, heritage, bad surroundings, poor life choices, corrupt self-serving ineffective government, oppression, character flaws, mentality, laziness, just to mention a few.

Socialists school of thought simply calls for a redistribution of wealth as a remedy for poverty, but the truth is since there is no single cause of poverty, then there can be no single remedy for it either. Furthermore, to distribute wealth, wealth must first be created and when there is no incentive, there is also no creation.

Capitalism and its industrialism in all its imperfections has and continues to lift millions from poverty around the world. With the modern spread of education and industrialism for the time in history skilled laborers out number unskilled laborers. Laborers also no longer belonged to the lowest class as they once did, but in fact live better than most of the upper class did prior to capitalism and the industrial revolution.

The ‘Communist Manifesto’ that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels coauthored ushered in a long resentful anti capitalism hate campaign that is still felt to this day despite communist regimes in Eastern Europe ending in catastrophic economic and political failure. Communist countries throughout the world were basically giant prisons who’ very survival was hinged on preventing mass defections into capitalist countries.

It is my personal belief that staunch socialists like Marx and Engels are often resentful and bitter toward capitalism or deem it unfair, because they see people intellectually inferior to them making more money and living much better than themselves.

Whether in public office or in person, I have never seen a happy socialist; they always are sour, angry, and indignant as if someone just pissed in their coffee.

 capitalism is indeed a system for dreamers. My parents and many of my relatives immigrated to the U.S and Canada penniless and accomplished remarkable things without being stigmatized by the heavy baggage of entitlement, but with dreams, perseverance, and a work ethic. They all came with a capitalist enterprising spirit and no bitterness or indignancy in their hearts or bankrupt political ideologies in their heads.

The great equalizing socialist experiment
In the 1920s under the leadership of Lenin, Russia became a one-party socialist state with a radical form of Marxist communism ideology known as Leninism.  In a short time, they abolished private property and allowed the peasants to divide and take over the estates that they had previously worked without compensation to the rightful owners.   Lenin nationalized the banks, railways, mines and seized the industries.  All of which were to be operated by the workers and managed by the state.

Closed factories, shortages, disorganized crippled railroads, and starving cities were some of the immediate results of Russia’s Marxist socialist experiment.  In this time Russia’s entire system of production and transport broke down and coupled with serious crop failure brought about shortages, famine, hardship, and death to many Russians.  They also took people from the hated upper and middle classes and forced them into hard labor like slaves.   In recent years, history has nearly exactly repeated itself in Venezuela.


Capitalism and Its Billionaires

Critics of capitalism paint the picture of greedy wealthy capitalists hoarding all the wealth and swimming naked in a sea of money at the expense of lower segments of society.  This perception that billionaires are selfishly hiding and hoarding their money is a less than half truth, as many large and small businesses, industries and jobs would not exist if it were not for the spending of billionaires.  Whether through investment, banking, consumption, or philanthropy their money is being circulated throughout economies.  My employer for instance manufactures products for Amazon's offices and warehouses.  A good revenue stream that would not exist if it were not for a billionaire.


Old times are very often idealized, but the truth is that in premodern times before capitalism, even in antiquity's wealthiest, grandest empires, the vast majority of people were underprivileged, underfed, needy and poor by today's standards.  We have become spoiled, and we take things for granted.

Final thought
This current leftist, anti-capitalist, angry hate campaign against the wealthy and large companies is a dangerous slippery slope with serious consequences. Capitalism and the industrialism that comes with it are far from perfect; but, in my opinion, they have done more to improve and advance the world more in the last 250 years than all the previous political and economic systems combined had done in the previous 4000 years.   We have come so far so quickly in the way of knowledge, quality of life and human progress in general, and if we’re not careful, we are going to undermine and torpedo what we’ve built and sink back the into dark turbulent times of antiquity, where shortages, hunger, oppression, severe hardship, depopulation and pestilence of every kind become the order of the day.


Not real socialism (Final final thought...)
Many conservatives have come to misuse the term socialism to describe any government assistance program that they don’t agree with.  Government assistance programs like a national health care system is not real socialism or what I’m referring to here. Government, society, and capitalism fail when good hard-working people lose their homes/property to pay medical bills after losing their jobs.  Even the staunchest hardcore conservative will not turn down government assistance to pay medical bills in desperate times.


Secret Societies:  Smelling the B.S.

Throughout my life I have heard many colorful conspiracy theories about “secret societies.”  There was a  time that I somewhat bought into the hyped up urban swill that surrounded them, but I have come to believe that this is all more fantasy and a bogus mystique that we have built around them more than anything else.  In earlier times it was very fashionable and cool for wealthy influential men to belong to these secret all male sausage fest fraternal orders, but in recent times they have since lost a lot of their steam.  Belonging to secret societies has always been a certain sign of status, prestige, influence, and high standing in society. It is interesting how men who belong to secret societies make sure that it’s no secret that they belong to them. Secret societies are based on the premise of being shrouded in secrecy/mystery and offering so called “secret knowledge” and “superior status” to its members.   This mystery and pretentious secrecy have always been the source of intrigue, urban legends, suspicion, fear, and Hollywood blockbuster movies.

Even though secret societies have always been very real, I am just not buying into their mystique.   I find their secret handshakes, rituals, secret code words, access to hidden secret knowledge/truths to be silly and laughable at best. (Grown men playing fantasy make believe kids games.)  I believe that the line between wealthy powerful men, their  secret societies, supposed quest for world domination and/or their global power and influence is a delusion (or wishful thinking) that is often set by both people on the inside and outside of these societies.  I also believe that in modern times this secret society fear, mystique,  mythology , and overall “hokem” is fueled  in large by the internet , conspiracy theorists, religious leaders, the paranoid, best-selling authors, and from the imaginations of Hollywood writers and producers.


My Thoughts on Traveling

Since I was a young boy, I had the fever to roam and explore.  I used to study the mountain behind my parents’ farm from a distance and pick certain interesting looking points of interest and hike up and explore the first chance I got.  When I got older I didn’t look much at the mountains anymore; I started looking at the globe instead. I took advantage of my freedom as a young man and traveled every chance I got.   I Spent a year in Europe traveling and working on and around farms.  I have to say that that was probably one of the most memorable and interesting years of my life.  My dating, courtship and wedding being the most memorable.  (My wife pressured me to clarify this after proofreading.)

Back then I never turned down an adventure. I enjoyed the challenge of the language barrier and just roaming through a new country and exploring everything I could on my own.   I must admit I was never a seasoned graceful skilled traveler as I did more fumbling around than anything else, but that’s okay. I did the best with what I had and somehow made it work.

My philosophy for traveling was like my philosophy for life.  No big plans.... just point myself in a certain direction and take it as it comes.   This philosophy for living is always a point of contention in my marriage but we work it out.  My wife does all the planning and preparation, and I get most of the credit. (That being said......it’s common knowledge in our circle that my wife is a lot smarter than I am.)
More recently while accompanying my wife on one of her business trips to Asia, she handed me a travel advice book.   Like many travel advice books...it made some good points but nevertheless it irritated me.    In recent years there’s been a trend toward discrediting, belittling and even demonizing western culture/western civilization.   In a roundabout way these books suggest that we as westerners need to kowtow and pander to other cultures when we visit their countries and when they visit ours.  I even notice these sorts of subtle undertones in these travel advice books.  Here’s my two cents on traveling based on my experience.

Over the years I’ve heard and read a lot of complicated nonsense about how to adapt to the local culture when traveling abroad.  Most things that I’ve both read and heard were in the context that we here in the West are arrogant and culturally flawed and everyone else in the world is not.   This is obviously can’t be true.   We don’t live in the days of Marco Polo.   The world is smaller than ever, and cultural differences are not nearly as extreme as they once were and people are generally more knowledgeable about the world and other cultures than ever before. Not to boast here but I have been in over 60 countries in my life.   I’m no culture expert but here are a few commonsense tips, advice and insights that I believe apply everywhere.

Always take your shoes off before entering a house. ...unless otherwise directed by the host. (This applies everywhere.)

Basic politeness, courtesy, respect are international.  A smile and a handshake work everywhere. When I was in South America it was customary to greet women by kissing them on the cheek.  I personally felt pretentious and uncomfortable with this custom but guys if you don’t have a problem with it...go for it.  This cheek kissing lady’s custom is for the most part only done in Latin countries.
If you have a germ hang up then stay at home, you have no business traveling. You are far more likely to get sick by eating something bad than from touching someone or something.

Basic good table manners work everywhere. If you can’t eat with chopsticks most restaurants in Asia or Asian restaurants anywhere will happily accommodate you with flatware. (Nobody will judge or condemn you.)

Dress neatly and appropriately. And basic hygiene always works. You’ll be amazed how many people around the world stink with body odor. The smell of soap is always pleasant.  If other cultures can punish us with their body odor we can certainly punish them back with our soap smell.

Women, unless you’re directly dealing with men avoid making eye contact with them.

If you think that you are camouflaging yourself from pickpockets and hustlers by going for a poor shaggy blend in look, you are only fooling yourself. If I can easily spot the travelers, I’m sure the seasoned crook can too   There are better ways of protecting yourself.   If you are traveling you are most likely not poor despite what you’re wearing.   At the same time don’t wear pretentious outfits to show yourself off or that attract a lot of attention.

Be diplomatic and avoid talking politics.... if you do, speak with a light tongue.   When people start up with angry politics it’s best just not to hit the ball back to them.   Political arguments are very seldom won.

When you travel abroad you are an ambassador to your country.    The way you conduct yourself will reflect your entire country.

Whether you like a place or not usually depends a lot on dumb luck and the experiences (good or bad) that you happen to have while you’re there.  If you happen to meet nice people, eat good food, nice weather etc. etc. you will probably love the area.  If you just happen to meet rude people, get rained on, get pickpocketed, get sick, etc. you will most likely hate the area.  Bad luck can happen in the best areas.  

Famous places are often over bragged and disappointing.  Many famous places tend to have a bogus mystique and or romantic mythology to them. (Paris being the best example of this.)  They never show the hordes of tourists and mega commercialism in these places in the James Bond movies. The best places are very often the ones that you’ve never heard of and discover by accident.   I have experienced this many times over.   In other words, be adventurous, open minded, explore and talk to other travelers.  

By far the best way to get orientated with a new place is to start out by taking a few day tours.  When I was young, ignorant idealistic traveler any type of tour was out of the question. “We’re travelers, not tourists,” we used to tell each other.    We believed in adventure, blending in and doing everything on our own.    That attitude will only waste most of your time.  You will waste valuable time trying to figure out the transit system, and or walking around a strange city with a map or plan in your hand looking like a confused tourist anyway.   Taking day tours is a great way to meet people from all over the world, get a lot of valuable information and most of all get orientated with the layout of the city or place much more quickly than on your own. Instead of seeing one or two places a day you can see a dozen or more and later return to the ones that you like on your own.  At the end of the day you have much more time to explore on your own.  I always try to get to know the tour guides as they are a wealth of information as to where the good restaurants and local hangouts are located.

Back in the day before the internet we all relied on travel books.  They were decent, but very often what interested the authors of these books, didn’t interest us.   We would spend a lot of time finding their recommended places just to be disappointed.   The “Bible of budget travel”  that I used was very often not the gospel truth.

Tourist areas can be cheesy and full of gimmicks but are well worth checking out.  Many tourist areas have some excellent restaurants and shops.  In many Asian countries if you want to find traditional artisans/artists making and selling their crafts you must go to the markets that cater to tourists.
Furthermore, like on the day tours, these places can be fun and enables you to meet people from all over the world.   I’ve found that when people are out of their locale far away from home and their social clicks they tend to be in more outgoing and in a friendlier socializing mood than when they’re at home.  
I still very often meet tourists/travelers young and old who absolutely refuse to take any kind of day tour or visit any tourist hotspot.   These stubborn idealistic people are taking traveling far too seriously and missing out on a lot of fun.
All that being said, I don’t consider cruise ships and resorts to be traveling.

In many places such as cities in southern Europe pickpockets and street hustlers are common.  Every traveler has been at some point in time has been a victim. When traveling people generally want to be friendly to locals on the street and this is very often the very card that these pickpockets/hustlers will play.  These street crooks are highly skilled masters of their craft.  They have magician like skills and can figure out your weaknesses and vulnerabilities at a glance.  When they strike, it happens very quickly and without warning.
Beware of distractions that involve you.
Put your main source of money, passport, and ID in a hidden place close to your body that can’t be pickpocketed. (There are a few good options.)
Be careful when going into city parks, especially bushy parks.  Parks are very often sewers where the scum and filth in the city drain into (metaphorically speaking). All that being said, I’ve run into far more good people on the streets in my travels who were genuinely nice than bad people.   Having good judgment and being friendly to people who approach you and at the same time not being naive and gullible is always a delicate balancing act.   The times that I was pickpocketed were simply because I stopped to be nice to locals and walked into a trap on the process.  Live and learn.  
Footnote:  If a pigeon craps on your back it’s mostly likely not crap but someone behind you with a loaded mustard bottle. Be sure to clean it off yourself.   The clean-cut man wearing a nice business suit who offers to wipe it off for you doesn’t have your best interests at heart. Just one of the many creative tricks that I’ve run across.

When I traveled Europe, it was common to get the unlimited travel rail passes that were valid for a couple of months or so.   These rail passes are a great way to utilize your time and see as much as possible but there is one drawback to them. Having unlimited travel is a lot like having unlimited amounts of money, food, alcohol, resources etc. etc.  you tend to be a pig and overuse and waste a lot.   In other words, you run around and go from place to place and just end up missing a lot of real cool things.

If I have any regrets in life or about traveling in general, it’s that I was too serious and idealistic when I was young and took life and the world far too seriously.  Traveling and life should be about exploring, learning, laughing, growing and having fun.   I learned this way too late in life.


The Wasteful Cycle of Asphalt Composition Roofing

     I recently wrote this bit of commentary on my phone on vacation while on the big island of Hawaii to post on a social media site that I belong to.  It seems a bit out of place to post on MartinsPostings.com, but my wife simply added a new tab labeled "Random Thoughts" and all was good (she wanted to call it Random Crap I Think About, but I didn't find that as amusing as she did).


     Back in my younger day I got a job once working for a roofing contractor who specialized in asphalt composition roof repair and replacement.  I have to say honestly that it was by far the worst job I ever worked.  The only good thing that I can say about the job is that I learned a lot about roofing, roof systems and most of all what type of roof not to put on my house.  In my many travels around the world I would always look at the roofs on houses and all buildings in general and one thing I learned is that the U.S. and Canada are about the only countries (that I have seen) that use this inferior disposable roofing material on a large scale. 
     After starting this job, I soon learned that my job was to do the bull work of tearing off the old material, clean up and carrying the new material up to the roof to be installed by the roofers.  That's fine...... we all have to start somewhere.  Another laborer and I would start by spreading tarps around the house on the ground right up against the foundation to basically catch all the old debris that we would tear off the roof. We would then go up on the roof with scrapers and start pealing the old material off and throwing it off the roof onto the tarps.  This was a difficult job and if the roof pitch was steep, a very dangerous one as well.  We would then proceed to pick up the waste off the tarps, trees and bushes etc. and throw it into a small dump truck. Many of the roofs we tore off were supposedly rated for 30 or 40 years and were less than 20 years old.  Many of the older homes had two, three , and even four roofs on them. (One on top of the other) In other words, the roofers in the past did not remove the existing comp roof but simply nailed the new one on top of the old one.  I understand that this is a practice that has since been outlawed.   At the end of the day it was my job to drive the dump truck to a landfill and dispose of the waste.  This was by far the easiest job of the day but it was the one that bothered me the most.  There were literally mountains of old composition roofing waste at this landfill brought there by other roofing contractors.  Seeing this colossal amount of waste on such a large scale bothered me and was a real eye opener.  I lived in a relatively small area.....I can't even imagine seeing a landfill in a large area.  I really believe that most people have no idea the amount of senseless unnecessary waste that results from composition roofs.

Things I know for sure about composition roofing material:
     'Guaranteed' is always a strong convincing word, but don't believe it one bit when it comes to comp roofing. The 20 30 or 40 etc. year ratings and warrantees are not worth the shingle wrapper that they are written on.  They are only marketing B.S. to make the homeowner believe that the roof is good for that many years. They won't last anywhere near that many years especially in rainy or any kind of extreme weather areas including hot areas.
     These so called ratings and warranties are full of fine print,  limitations and conditions and there is almost no way that the manufacture will honor them.  (They have their butts covered.)  In most cases the homeowners have no idea what brand of roofing material is used or will forget the brand a month after it has been installed.  If the home owner would decide to pursue  the warranty and the material manufacture somehow agrees to honor their warranty, the manufacture will only "pro rate" the old roof.  In other words the manufacture will only give a small discount on the new roof and the homeowner will be installing exactly the same roof that prematurely failed in the first place. Rest assured the manufacture will not lose any money by honoring their warranty. About the only thing the manufactures warranties guarantees is that the home owner will once again be  buying their brand.
     Roofing contractors will tell people in high wind areas that if the roof is installed in the heat of summer that the heat and sun will cause the tar adhesive strip on the underside of the shingle to melt, seal and glue the shingles down somewhat thus preventing the shingles from lifting up and blowing off.  This is less than half true.  Composition roof shingles are very prone to blowing off in storms and or high wind areas regardless of how or when they are installed or what grade of comp  roof material  is used. I live in a fairly high wind area and after a storm it it common to see damaged comp  roofs and the roofing contractors are swamped repairing them.   My parents had to replace an expensive "40 year"  comp roof only 7 years after it was installed.  A roof that was "guaranteed."  If my parents would have listened to me instead of their building contractor they would have got it right the first time.  The second time around they finally had a snap-lock metal roof installed and since then they never looked back.
     Comp roofs come in many beautiful colors and people will spend a lot of time sorting through samples trying to decide which color best suits their taste and the house.  When choosing a paint color for your house you can admire and enjoy it for many years, but this does not hold true with comp. roofs.  Generally within five or seven years (especially in rainy or extreme weather areas) your once beautiful comp roof will look like a faded worn out old work boot.  In rainy areas you will see dark streaks forming after only a few years and you will find the rock granules that the roof sheds in the gutters.
     Comp roofs can be full of mysteries and sometimes  it is very difficult to figure out where they are leaking.  I have heard roofers boast how they can find any leak in a comp roof. This may be true but why not install a roof in the first place where you know you won't have these sort of problems.
     I have argued with roofers and roofing contractors about this, but arguing with experts in most cases is like trying to move a brick wall.....there's no budging it. The roof is one of the most important things on a house and there is no doubt that these cheap disposable comp roofs that we are putting on millions of houses are inferior compared to other roof systems like tile or metal. The solid proof of my argument can be found in the landfills and in the phone book where there's always a large number  of roofing contractors specializing in roof repair and replacement.  Just look around for yourself.   It is very common to see relatively new houses having to have their comp roof replaced.  The expense and huge amount of waste of constantly repairing and replacing roofs is completely unnecessary.    Just like a comp roof after a windstorm,  I am 'blown away' when I talk to roofers and homeowners who seem to think that the big hassle and expense of constantly replacing or repairing roofs is normal and part of routine home maintenance.  I am currently traveling on the big island of Hawaii and the first thing I noticed about this place  is that the majority of the houses and buildings here have metal roofs on them.  Many of the newer resorts and condos have tile roofs.  Some of the older houses here have metal roofs that have been on for well over fifty years.  If someday they need to be replaced nearly everything can be recycled and very little waste will end up n a landfill. I saw exactly the same thing while traveling in Japan with my wife a few years ago.  All the houses had some form of metal or tile roof system.
     I have come to the conclusion that about the only thing that composition roofs are good for is the economy.  Using this  inferior lower priced product at the expense of quality and longevity is yet another sign of what a short sighted throw away society that we are.



Modern Medieval Fallacy

Here’s a bit of commentary that I wrote as an answer for a question-answer social media site that I belong to.   I’ve found that in many cases when people try to rewrite history it’s usually because of some belief or agenda that they cling to, and to reinforce it they simply fabricate their own truth. It seems that in recent years some people on the left are attempting to rewrite history by telling us that the Middle Ages were not nearly as bad as once believed, that in fact they were times of social, political and economic security. I felt convicted to answer this because I’ve never heard a bigger bunch of rubbish in my life.  Here’s my take on it, you make up your own mind. 

Answer:
I read some of these answers, some suggesting that the Middle Ages were not nearly as bad we once believed they were.  I’m not sure where this is coming from but absolutely nothing can be farther from the truth. Make no mistake about it, the Middle Ages were terrible times of severe hardship, oppression, ignorance, dogma, and superstition just to mention a few things.  In the modern times the Middle Ages have been marketed, glorified and romanticized by fairy tales, romance novels, and by Hollywood.  This is nothing but a huge fallacy that has been spoon fed to us from a young age.  The truth is is that for many centuries the majority of Europeans were bound by the laws of tradition, the ruling class and most of all the iron fisted medieval church.  (Medieval being the Latin term for Middle Ages)
I am just going to give a brief summery here.     

(The dark ages) In the first few centuries that followed the fall of Rome, cities and towns lost their importance and faded away. The highways of trade and commerce disappeared, and land became the most widespread form of power and material wealth. Europe was in a constant state of warfare and instability and the political military system of feudalism and the economic system of manorialism eventually provided people with what little security there was.

A large majority of the population was completely illiterate and had relatively few words in their vocabulary.  Generally, the only literate people in the Middle Ages was the clergy.  Information and knowledge were at an all-time low and most of that was misinformation and dogma that was propagated by the church. (In modern times literacy and a free press is taken for granted)

People generally lived in isolation and rarely traveled much farther than the boundaries of their feudal manor.  As a result, languages drifted off into many dialects and people from different regions couldn’t even understand each other.

Manorialism like most ancient economies was based on slave labor.  The biggest difference between the medieval serf and the African slave in America is that the medieval serf could not be bought and sold apart from the land. In other words, the serfs belonged to the land that they farmed. Both had very little freedom.  The black slave was enslaved because of their skin color as whereas the medieval serf was enslaved because of their heritage, the class system that they were born into, as well as being divided by their name and the level of the language they spoke. These medieval serfs accounted for the majority of the population.  (Serf being the Latin term for slave.) 

The notion that there was an abundance of food is bunk. Farming was very localized, and the peasant farmers were constantly at the mercy of bad weather, droughts, pests, blights etc.  One of these factors could easily cause a crop failure and or food shortage.  The manorial system barely produced enough food to feed the local populous never mind for export. On the other hand prior to the middle Ages the Romans produced food in different regions (like Sicily) and had a very extensive food transport and commerce system in place.   Like in communist countries, and other command economies the medieval serf’s private gardens generally did much better than the fields they farmed for the government. (Go figure) 

Like I said earlier medieval society was based largely on tradition and as a result the rate of progress and change was next to nothing.  The church’s power over the people was based on ignorance, and dogma.  For example, the people were led to believe that they needed the church from the cradle to the grave.  (Baptism at birth, confession, wedding & burial ceremonies.)  The church used various verses from the Bible to justify their oppressing agenda, keep people ignorant, and discourage people from acquiring wealth. (Matthew 19:24)

Products were produced in medieval guilds only to meet certain needs not to make a profit.  The church generally set the prices of everything.  In antiquity these were referred to as “Just Prices” (English translation) These set prices had no economic rhyme or reason by today’s standards and were generally set to prevent profit and control society. 

Nobles typically resented the church because of the churches power over their subjects.  In many cases if a Noble would refuse to submit to the church the church would excommunicate their feudal manorial workforce causing peasant uprisings, forcing the noble into submission.

The crusades ultimately exposed Europeans to the outside world and ushered in the winds of change in science, knowledge, progress and economics. The crusades probably disrupted the Feudal system more than anything else.  Towns and villages sprang up along with markets, traveling fairs and profiteering merchants and traders.  The clergy hated and resisted change and the rise of towns, markets, wealth, profiteering and general information being passed around. These things were all the greatest threats to their reign.

It was the demise of feudalism and manorialism, the loosening of the church’s yoke on society, the rise of towns and the coming of free markets that increased wealth and began to improve the quality of life for Europeans.

There’s no doubt that the church kept medieval Europe in darkness for centuries but many argue that the Catholic Church is the  one thing that saved Europe from complete ignorance and destruction.   Personally, I don’t like it when the Pope or any religious leader sticks their noses into politics. (Or vice versa.)  It is reminiscent of the dark, terrible, turbulent times that were the Middle Ages.   

History has proven over and over that mixing religion and politics poisons religion, society and the ruling government. Don’t take my word for it, study and understand history for yourself. 


The Best Way to Get Out of a Ticket

I have heard countless tricks and methods of getting out of speeding tickets over the years; everything from flat out denying any wrongdoing to evoking fifth amendment rights and saying nothing at all (good luck with that one). Back in my younger, long commuting days, I got out of many tickets, so I’d like to think I have some expertise here.
It’s a popular myth that the police try to trick you into admitting your guilt when they ask you why you think they pulled you over.    The police have all the evidence they need on their radar device; the only reason they ask you this is to get an idea who and what they’re dealing with (your response to this question speaks volumes about you).
The best trick to get out of a ticket is by taking responsibility for your actions and simply admit you were speeding.  Try to have your proof of insurance and registration ready when the officer walks up. If not and you have to reach in your glovebox, always first let the officer know what you are doing. Cooperation, a little smile and even a well-placed joke can go a long way. Be pleasant and do not give the officer any reason to dislike you, police see bitter faces and hear lame excuses, tricks and lies all day long. They will appreciate some honesty. Remember, do not overdo it. Keep it subtle and natural because no one likes a patronizing schmoozer. When the officer asks you if there is any reason you were speeding, the best line is, “I was in a hurry to get home (or wherever), and I wasn’t watching my speed.” 
With the right delivery and timing, honesty combined with humility can be as big of a smokescreen as deceit.

No guarantees as every officer and situation are different, but this works more than it does not. Also, a clean record and a modest vehicle helps.

Footnote: When being questioned and or scrutinized by authorities at traffic stops, border crossings etc., it’s best to smile, be pleasant, answer their questions as briefly as possible, and don’t volunteer any information beyond that.
Footnote:  Airplane Freeway speed trap operations involving multiple officers are nearly impossible to get out of as they are expensive operations where they systematically ticket pretty much everyone they pull over.  Remember, “following traffic” is never a good excuse. Best to travel in the right lane and let the speeders fly past you. Long holiday weekends are notorious for these freeway speed traps.


The North America Success Story


Once again, I wrote this as an answer to a question on a social media site.  The question asked was “Why is Mexico and much of Latin America in such poor economic and social condition compared to the Unites States and Canada?”  
Here is an extension of my answer.  

Over the years I’ve heard many creative fallacies and lame explanations as to why the United States and Canada developed at a much faster rate into successful economies of scale compared to Latin America and other colonies in the area.   We live in the age of excuses and lack of accountability, and most of these explanations are just that.  Excuses that involve blaming someone or something else besides the country themselves.

One of my favorite theories that has been propagated by many people on the left is that the United States, throughout its history, has conspired in various ways to keep Central and South America poor and weak to maintain its own economic and military dominance in the region.   If this conspiracy is true, it is one of the very few bipartisan things that the Republicans and Democrats have been able to successfully work together on over the many years.  I’m not sure how or if Canada fits into this conspiracy.  Furthermore, I must ask, why did the U.S. not conspire to inhibit Canada’s economic growth as well? 

Another explanation is the “endowment theory”.  This theory suggests that the U.S. and Canada were born with golden spoons in their mouths and had been blessed with attractive endowments such as fertile soil, ideal weather conditions, and most of all had the geographic size for seemingly endless expansion.  It is also argued that North America benefited by free loading off the British military, British laws, and borrowing from British institutions.  This endowment theory doesn’t hold any water and can be easily disproven over and over.   It does not explain why the rest of the new world which had the same endowments and access to European institutions did not develop anywhere near the same rate as North America. The endowment economic theory in general also does not explain why relatively small countries like Japan and South Korea have developed into successful powerhouse economies of scale with very little endowment.

Another theory suggests that the booming slave economy of the American south was responsible for establishing America as a world economic power. The truth is that the booming slave economy of the south was short lived and after the civil war the south was economically and politically broken.  During the Atlantic slave trade years, millions of African slaves were brought into to Portuguese, Spanish and French colonies throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. (Interesting that this Latin American African slave history is rarely ever mentioned or taught anymore.) In fact, African slave labor was the cornerstone of the Spanish Casta racial classification system of the new world. Once again, this theory does not explain why America benefited from slavery in the long run, whereas these other countries clearly did not.

The old Spanish Casta racial classification system, among other things, left behind a class system in Latin America  that is largely based on ancestry.  A class system in which there is little chance of escape, and where people are still defined and categorized by the color of their skin and the status level that they were born into.  A form of this old class system still exists today and is clearly noticeable at a glance.  (I’ve been there.) 

My own explanation: Countries are generally products of their historical and cultural grass roots.

Rewriting history:  In recent years militant out of control political correctness has brought about a dangerous revisionist trend of rewriting history in a search for the so called “unbiased truth”.  In this so-called quest for truth leftist revisionists create their own truth by sweeping the history that they don’t agree with under the carpet or rewriting it to their own pleasing or to fit a certain agenda.   This distorted one-sided history of North and South America that is taught nowadays in our schools is a perfect example of this as it has become more about discrediting North America and putting Its people on a guilt trip than anything else.

The cultural difference:   Why is it that most countries that were settled and colonized by the British have had huge successes and have prospered, whereas the countries that were colonized by the Spanish have had exactly the opposite effect?  There are some exceptions to this rule such as established British colonies in the Caribbean that for some reason just seemed to have completely missed the boat. Other than that, this is a pattern that is pretty much straight across the board.

North America and Latin America started out with vastly different themes and had very different cultural grass roots. Despite what is taught nowadays in the colleges and universities, most people that initially came to North America were the peasants and workers who came in pursuit of social, economic, political and religious freedom.  When these freedom hungry colonists broke away from the tradition bound master and servant class system in Europe, the shackles were suddenly loosened and as a result the colonies quickly prospered.   In that time, life in north America was very difficult and there were very few if any social services available.  (The churches provided what few social services there were.) For this reason, lazy incompetent people and European nobility (which are generally the same) basically stayed in their comfort zone in the old country.  It was colonists searching for a fresh new beginning, private land ownership, a free market, hardship, and a strong protestant work ethic that set a certain precedence and cultural theme planting the first grass roots thus setting the stage for the North American success story.

The first government and congress of the U.S. was as dysfunctional and divided as could possibly be, but there’s one thing that its members had in common.  Their visions and ideas of how the newly formed nation should be governed were vastly different from one another, but their ambitions were not motivated by greed or a selfish lust for power. They were thinking about the future. (There’s a lesson in that.) 

Latin America on the other hand initially started out with a much different cultural theme and grass roots. Conquistadors engaged in a policy of ruthless brutal colonization and began a long process that lasted for centuries of stealing gold from the natives.  The conquistadores committed countless atrocities over the course of a few centuries.  Where ever the conquistadores went death, widespread killing, raping, and misery for the natives came with them.  Instead of embarking on a search for a freedom and a new life as the colonists in North America did, thousands of greedy corrupt conquistadors flocked to the new world in search of gold and silver to steal from the native population only to exalt God and or to enrich and glorify the Pious Nobility swine of southern Europe.  Conquistadores pretty much robbed, pillaged, enslaved, and raped on a massive scale and did it all with the cross and the sword.

While visiting an old church in Spain in my younger day I overhead a tour guide describing the magnificent opulence of the golden decor throughout the entire church including a large golden cross in the very front.  With both arms up in air I remember her exact words: “This beautiful gold is all stained with blood.”  In some cases, the Spanish sailed north up of the west coast of North America but found no gold and quickly sailed right back where they came from.  The Spanish conquest of the Americas was rooted in desperation and greed.  This long, evil, and self-serving corrupt conquest sowed the cultural seeds and set the stage for their present-day situation.

The English fur traders that sailed up the west coast to trade with the natives were far from perfect but generally developed good business relationships with them and didn’t terrorize, kill, and rape.   Initially the colonists and the natives formed friendships, but as more and more settlers moved in the natives were constantly being pushed back and tensions eventually flared into real conflicts and wars.  This eventually resulted in a policy where the natives were forced off their lands and onto reserves.

It’s my belief that the modern tribal casinos are nothing but a form of poetic justice and is the ultimate revenge of the American Indian. 

In modern times, to support their own agenda, the left loves to amplify and exploit the injustices that North Americans committed against the native population.  At the same time, they will completely ignore, downplay, or even whitewash the valor and the horror that was the Spanish conquest of the new world.  Don’t take my word for it, the next time you hear someone on the left speak very passionately about the injustices committed against the North American Indians, simply ask them about the Spanish conquest of the Americas. 

Bottom line:  The success of a nation is based on its culture, work ethic, resourcefulness of its people, and a strong competent stable central government.  Make no mistake about it.