Democrats Chasing Phantoms While World Burns

Why is that Democrats are constantly chasing false phantoms like climate "change" and the false claim of an unfair pay gap for women? Oh, and add the largely disproved "rape culture problem" on college campuses. Democrats are worried about Washington Redskins while they have bring this country much closer to financial ruin ($9 Trillion in new debt and absolutely nothing to show for it).

And all this while the world is falling apart and in flames, in part, because of Obama himself? Look at the Middle East where Obama has "changed sides" in supporting Iran. The social fabric in the US is in flames as Obama has tried to start a race war and a war against law enforcement resulting in increased inner-city violence and death of black persons (as in Baltimore). Or maybe they want to distract from the brewing worldwide financial crisis where China is crashing, and the US, Europe and Japan economies are sinking? Or the fact that the US economy has never really recovered since 2009?  Or that  64% of the public still says, after 7 years of Obama, the US is headed in the wrong direction?

Polls show "climate change" is the very least of our worries. And discrimination of women in the workplace is simply not true. Both are phantoms.

Democrats are obsessed by climate change even though, after 100 years, the effects are barely perceptible. Yeah, the earth has warmed 1.6 deg F and the seas have risen about 8" in the past 100 years. So, where's the imminent disaster? I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying the weather!  And there's reason to think that the earth will warm a further 1.6 deg in the next 100 years, which will probably mark the end of the hydrocarbon fuel era.  I don't care what "the models" say. Nor should you.

But, listening to idiots like Obama, you'd think we're facing imminent disaster -- just like Al Gore. Gore predicted 10 years ago: “within the next 10 years, the world will reach a point of no return” and “a true planetary emergency.” Sorry, I don't see any emergency except those caused by bankers and politicians.  And Gore is still spouting this nonsense! And he almost was President! He makes George Bush look like a genius.

In 2005 the UN predicted that, by 2010 (4 years ago), "some 50 million “climate refugees” would be frantically fleeing from those regions of the globe." There ARE millions fleeing the Middle East and North Africa, but they are fleeing collapsed economies caused by dictatorships, wars, violence and oppression, and corrosive Islam -- not climate change as our Idiot-in-Chief insists.

Obama, who apparently worships the United Nations, believes that ISIS is due to climate change! What a complete joke! ISIS came about after Obama's sudden and complete withdrawal from Iraq (against the advice of our $Trillion military) and his failure to act in Syria. And Obama's subsequent attempts to control ISIS would be a laughable joke if it  they weren't so disastrous. He still claims that he has a strategy, but no one can find it.

Obama recently claimed that the recent and laughable climate change "accord" in Paris, would "be a sharp rebuke" to ISIS. What? That he wasn't skewered thoroughly by the media for such a ridiculous statement again shows their bias. The media has been protecting him all along, from his first campaign until now, which has kept him in office and continuing his damage to our country. Shameful.

The other phony phantom is the repetition of false claims of discrimination in women's pay. There is, in fact, a 23% gap in women's pay nationwide but it's largely explained by logical reasons -- not discrimination. In fact, despite 7 years of this rhetoric, there continues to be a pay gap between men and women employees in the White House itself.

Again, rational people have long explained the pay gap. But Democrats need to keep alive myths and "causes" like this. They (and Obama) become irrelevant without them! Economist and professor Mark Perry says "the differences in raw wages may be almost entirely the result of the individual choices being made by both male and female workers.”

• Men work longer hours,
• Men work in more physically demanding occupations like farming, construction, roofing, logging, truck drivers and working on oil rigs,
• Women work in family-friendly workplace environments like teaching elementary school that coincide with their children’s schedules (with summers off, etc.),
• Men take less time off, or no time off, for child birth and child care to minimize their time away from the labor force that might affect their earnings.

So, the world's burning and Obama Democrats are obsessing about non-existent problems. Obama is like Nero fiddling while Rome burns. More accurately, he's like Neville Chamberlain with his unexplainable appeasement of the terrorists in Tehran. He's instead igniting another World War.

Politicians and Central Bankers are the biggest danger to your health and well-being, not climate change.

20 Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh

Something different. I recently started looking into the teachings of a Vietnamese Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh.  I love Buddhist Monks, which comes from my enjoyable interactions with Buddhist monks from my many years of visiting or living in Thailand. You might enjoy having a look at Thich Nhat Hanh's community here.

Here's a nice collections of quotes of his from one of his followers:

1. People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child – our own two eyes. All is a miracle.
2. Life is available only in the present moment.
3. If we have too many worries, fears, and doubts, we have no room for living and loving. We need to practice letting go.
4. Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free.
5. My actions are my only true belongings.
6. May our heart’s garden of awakening bloom with hundreds of flowers.
7. Let one embrace his own truth and devote himself to its fulfillment.
8. Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
9. Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.
10. I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live.
11. Because you are alive, everything is possible.
12. Be like the earth. When the rain comes, the earth simply opens up to the rain and soaks it all in.
13. Understanding is like water flowing in a stream. Wisdom and knowledge are solid and can block our understanding.
14. Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings. By living with you, I want to learn to love everyone and all species. If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth… This is the real message of love.
15. Using your intelligence and your compassion, you’ll be able to find your way out of any difficulty that arises in daily life. This gives you greater confidence in your own capability, making you even more solid.
16. Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.
17. Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.
18. When you are a young person, you are like a young creek, and you meet many rocks, many obstacles and difficulties on your way. You hurry to get past these obstacles and get to the ocean. But as the creek moves down through the fields, it becomes larges and calmer and it can enjoy the reflection of the sky. It’s wonderful. You will arrive at the sea anyway so enjoy the journey. Enjoy the sunshine, the sunset, the moon, the birds, the trees, and the many beauties along the way. Taste every moment of your daily life.
19. You have to learn how to help a wounded child while still practicing mindful breathing. You should not allow yourself to get lost in action. Action should be meditation at the same time.
20. You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.

Nothing like wisdom to calm your soul. Drink it in.

Obama's Legacy: Devastation Everywhere, Death of the Petrodollar

A chain of events leading to sudden political and economic upheaval in America is conceivable and not entirely out of the question.  Poor US monetary policies of ZIRP and various QEs, our political weakness at home and in the world, and the alienation of our traditional allies like Saudi Arabia could have a sharp and sudden impact to this country. Idiots like John Kerry and Barack Obama will never see it coming. An even larger explanation of the coming devastation lies here.

Well before the recent public "deal" with Iran's Rouhani, Obama was already removing the highly effective sanctions which forced Iran to the bargaining table in the first place. See my blog on this topic. This is appeasement in every sense. It is very likely that Obama's "reset" with Iran will end in disaster just like his entirely discredited Russian "Reset." In fact, he is reminiscent of Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s.  Liberals like Obama, who are immune to facts and reality, are dangerous and their policies lead to failure if not war.  They never see the truth to the "peace through strength" well-proven by Ronald Reagan.

Obama, who has stumbled and equivocated for years has helped to create a perception of a US power vacuum in the world. I say it's intentional as Obama is an enemy of our country (like the other US black "leaders").  Putin (and China and Iran) have been filling this vacuum. Saudi Arabia is in shock at the parade of incompetence since it's been a long-time ally of the US. That alliance is responsible for establishment of the Petrodollar.

By playing "nice" with the murderous Iranians in an effort to have a (any) foreign policy "victory," Obama has thoroughly annoyed our allies of Saudi Arabia, Israel, and many others.  But it's the Saudi's that could unleash real disorder for the US if ignored.

The Saudi's hate the Iranians and have watched the Iranians (and Russian) interests advancing in the region due to the incoherent and mindless American administration.

Could it be that the intentional aiding and abetting of our enemy Iran, and the loss of another long-standing alliance with Saudi Arabia, combined with the US policies of money printing and dollar debasement, might lead to a dollar (and economic) crisis for the US and world?  It's possible if not probable.

The potential chain of events might start with Saudi's willingness to accept other currencies for oil payments rather than just dollars.  Accepting all currencies for payment, rather than solely dollars, is hardly a radical concept.  (In fact, it would be normal except for the Saudi's leadership.)  Iran, China and Russia are already making deals for oil bypassing the US dollar in an effort to displace and diminish US power. If Saudi made a change, Iraq would quickly follow suit since they are increasingly aligning themselves with Iran (thanks to the US power vacuum).  Egypt is hardly sympathetic with the US these days too.  Libya could jump on the bandwagon too.  China would renew calls for a new reserve currency again at that moment.

The breaking of the petrodollar's status is a nuclear war without the nukes. If Saudi makes such a move and it will be followed by other oil exporters in the region, the demand for the dollar could fall significantly. Demand for treasury notes and bonds would also drop (due to less petrodollar recycling) leading to a fall of the dollar and/or possibly rising US interest rates.  Confidence is a delicate thing.  Loss of US dollar reserve status would be a huge blow for the US and cause a test of our ability to run huge trade budget deficits forever.

The economic and political decline of America could become apparent literally overnight.  Suddenly, US citizens might wake up one morning and find themselves significantly poorer vis-a-vis the rest of the world due to a decline in the dollar.  They can't say that they weren't warned.  Ron Paul, for one, has warned of this possibility for many years now, although he couldn't have predicted the chain of events.  The US might be compared to a frog sitting in a pot of water on a stove and suddenly finding itself cooked.

Devolved Muslim Animals Rampage In Cologne

I just wrote a blog entry called "Differences in Intelligence Cause Clashes of Civilization." There I explain that intelligence and culture go hand-in-hand.  I mentioned that one of the most obvious and extreme examples of a "clash of civilizations" was comparing "devolved" Palestinians, who are now devolving further with international 'welfare', versus the higher IQ Israelis mostly from Europe, who are civilized, tolerant, democratic and prosperous.  Clash of civilizations!

But it's not just the Palestinians who have devolved, it's the entire Arab/Muslim culture. It's in a state of collapse and has triggered a mass migration into Europe.

Over the New Year weekend, Muslim migrants in Germany showed their true colors by attacking and raping women in a stunning rampage of violent behavior -- in their host country!  These people, all Muslims no doubt, show that this population has devolved into animals. And that's an insult to animals!

Reuters says

“About 90 women have reported being robbed, threatened or sexually molested at New Year celebrations outside [the city’s] cathedral,” Reuters writes, adding that the men were “between 18 and 35” and appeared to be “mostly drunk.”

Listen to a chilling eye-witness account from a bystander in Cologne Germany (click here if video does not display):

Differences In Intelligence Cause Clashes of Civilizations

A higher average intelligence of a country is a good predictor of a higher degree of civil order and democracy, rule of law, higher levels of education, higher levels of economic activity, and more wealth and happiness. In other words, intelligent populations create prosperous and orderly societies. The opposite is true. Lower intelligence populations have disorderly societies, crime, poor achieving economies, poverty, less democracy and unhappiness. Intelligence causes civilization -- not the inverse.

Northern Europeans and E.Asians (and their descendants) have created the most successful cultures the world has ever known. It's not an accident as these populations have median IQs around 100 to 108. The remainder of the world has median IQs mostly in the the range of 75 to 89.  See this map of estimated country IQs. 

 

The difference doesn't sound like much, but a median IQ of 85 would mean 50 times fewer brilliant persons (and 50 times more mentally deficient) in a given population than a country with a median IQ of 100.

It's a tale of two worlds. It's also a tale of the clash of civilizations. 

The starkest example of this clash of civilizations is seen by comparing Israel with the Palestinians (and other Arabs in the region). Israel, full of higher IQ northern Europeans, is highly advanced and developed, prosperous, tolerant, democratic and highly civilized. The "Palestinians", like most other Arab/Muslim cultures, have devolved. Palestinians now find themselves locked behind walls due to their violence, are ruled by corrupt tyrants and completely dependent on international welfare to survive. That "welfare"creates a culture of victim-hood and dependence which furthers their cultural collapse, not unlike a substantial portion of US blacks. Palestinians could have decided decades ago, on any day, to make peace and work with/in Israel -- and enjoy the benefits of the only truly prosperous economy in that region. Instead, Palestinians have chosen intolerance and ruin for over 100 years now.

The entire Arab/Muslim culture in N. African and the Middle East has collapsed and a huge refugee crisis has emerged. Those "cultures" have devolved thanks to lower IQ and Islam. Islamic cultures are extremely backward; autocratic (like the religion itself) and weighed-down by self-imposed factors such as poor education, the suppression of women and violence, And there is little happiness in Islamic cultures (in the West at least).  Religion is dangerous for people with weak minds! Their uncontrolled migration into Europe is a huge clash of civilization and will bring huge problems to Europe. Muslims in Europe are not integrating or adapting. They form "ghettos" of poor people on welfare and re-create the same failed cultures that caused them to flee to Europe in the first place! They have little to offer European civilizations in their devolved condition. Then, "welfare" causes even more cultural decline.

Africa is "the heart of darkness" when it comes to low IQs -- with many countries having median IQs in the 60s and 70s. Low black African intelligence extends to the US, Latin American and Caribbean black populations. Blacks have the lowest IQs in the world and it shows. Black persons in the US continue to be a huge burden to the US and to many countries in Latin America/Caribbean. Haiti is easily considered a failed state, for example.

Latinos, who have somewhat higher median IQs, due to historical intermixing with Europeans (median IQ of ~89 and a higher standard deviation according to "The Bell Curve" from 1995), are somewhat better off. But Latino economies are still mostly backward and poor and have high levels of crime. But Latinos, with intact families and family values, are more compatible with mainstream US culture. Even so, large uncontrolled immigration of Latinos into America will lower the average IQ of the US and reduce the performance of our economy on average; with lower income and more failed governance -- like what we see in Central and South America. Latinos fall for the false siren call of populist politicians who bring ruin to their countries. This is the mechanism for a large-scale decline of the US.

Western countries should acknowledge that immigration of large numbers of "3rd world" immigrants causes needless clashes of civilization and burdens to their citizens. Until recently, the entire history of the US includes nearly all immigration from high IQ areas of Northern Europe and it's been a source of great success. Some countries realize this. Japan allows virtually no immigration whatsoever and maintains a peaceful, homogeneous society. Sweden, on the other hand, has allowed large immigration of African and Middle Easterners in the past 2 decades and has become the "rape capital of the West" with higher crime and simmering unrest and resentment of ordinary Swedes. It's a powder keg now thanks to Leftist and Liberal politicians who are willfully blind and ignorant.

If Americans want to preserve our successful culture then, we should mostly limit our immigration for higher IQ persons from Northern Europe and East Asia. Also, America could interview and offer visas to interested PhD and Masters graduates, especially in STEM fields, to stay in the US regardless of country or region. Further large-scale Latino and 3rd World immigration should be limited if we want to limit a further "clash of civilization" in America. This is a prescription for preserving "American" culture.

Our Nation's Big Problem: Black Men

Check out "Too Important to Fail" on PBS.com. It's about an effort by Tavis Smiley to help black boys (and girls) who fail high school at very high rates. Black graduation rates aren't improving. In fact, reported graduation rates are inflated because statistics fail to account for the large number of incarcerated black kids.

Of the black (boys) who don't graduate high school, 70% of those persons will be in prison at some point in their lives. On any year, ~37% of black high school dropouts are in jail or prison.  So, it's important to keep trying to improve high school attendance and performance.

The documentary says the following:

• Only 54% of African Americans graduate from high school, compared to more than three quarters of white and Asian students.  
• Nationally, African American male students in grades K-12 were nearly 2½ times as likely to be suspended from school in 2000 as white students.
• On average, African American twelfth-grade students read at the same level as white eighth-grade students. (see here)
• The twelfth-grade reading scores of African American males were significantly lower than those for men and women across every other racial and ethnic group. (see here)
• Only 14% of African American eighth graders score at or above the proficient level. These results reveal that millions of young people cannot understand or evaluate text, provide relevant details, or support inferences about the written documents they read.
• The majority of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails are people of color, people with mental health issues and drug addiction, people with low levels of educational attainment, and people with a history of unemployment or underemployment. (correlated with low median IQ and low cognitive ability)

It's important to try, but their biggest problem for the black population is significantly lower 'academic' intelligence. This fact is reflected in IQ tests, high school performance tests, SAT, and nearly every other "cognitive ability" test.  Possibly, with the passage of time, probably 1000 years, this disadvantage might be overcome with a huge concerted effort -- but after 40 years of busing, desegregation and affirmative action, nothing has changed. Instead, there's evidence that government assistance and dependence is ruining black families and worsening black culture and achievement.

The reality is that black culture is in a state of near collapse -- all this within one of the greatest cultures the world has ever known. And this, after 40 years of equal rights and equal opportunity. The evidence could hardly be clearer:

• If you add the numbers of black men in prison to the ranks of unemployed, unemployment for black men is 20%, (not 10%, see calculation here)
• Black are committing crime at 7 times the rate of whites (page 11 of link)
• 1 in 3 black men will be in prison is their lifetime. 
• As of 2008, one in nine black men was incarcerated on any given day. (link)
• Blacks (basically black men) committed 52% of all homicides, 57% of the gun murders and committed 66% of the drug-related homicides (1980 to 2008) or about 7 to 8 times the crime rate of whites. (table 7 at this link)  Remember, 93% of their victims are black. 
• About 8,000 blacks are murdered in any recent year (over 1/2 of 16,000 total homicides). And 93% of those were killed by other blacks . 
• In 2015, only 300 blacks were killed by police compared to 7 or 8,000 due to black-on-black violence; mostly men.  This point completely discredits black "leaders" who focus on a few 100 police incidents when 1000s of blacks are dying every year.  Forgive me if I no longer give a shit.
• Black men comprising only 6.5% of the population, are committing more than 50% of all violent gun crimes. (BJS Table 7)  But no one will suggest seizing all the guns from black men!
• By the time they turn 18, one in four black children will have experienced the imprisonment of a parent.(NYT)
• More young black high school dropouts are in prison or jail than have paying jobs. (Washington Post)
• Blacks make up about 40% of prison population but only 13% of the population. Whites are only 34.7% of the prison population but 77% of the population. Blacks are therefore about 7 times more likely than whites to be in prison.
• Comparing all males aged 20 to 34 yrs old, black rates of incarceration in 2010 is 10 times that of white Americans. (link)
• Some 37% of blacks aged 20 to 34 without a high school diploma are in prison right now! (link)
• Abortion rates for black women is 5 times the rate of those for white women. (link)
• Blacks are 44% of new HIV infections or about 8 times the rate for whites (link)
• Washington DC has higher HIV infection rates than most African countries (and DC is only 58% black) (link and here)
• Black gonorrhea infections among young black men (aged 20 to 24) are up to 26 times those of whites. (CDC)
• 72% of newborn black babies are born to a family without a father. (link)
• Over 80 percent of black children have been abandoned emotionally and, usually, economically by their fathers. (NYT)