Random Thoughts on Various Subjects

1. THE DEATH AND LEGACY OF STEVE JOBS

The biggest news this week was the passing of Steve Jobs. There is not much I can say or add to the many things other people are saying about the man at this time. Whether you loved him or hated him, he did put a dent in the universe.

My own thoughts have turned to the larger thoughts on mortality. Death is the shadow behind everything we do. Steve Jobs knew this like few others because of his struggles with his health. So, knowing the clock was ticking, what did he choose to do? He chose to work. In a nation of slackers who never saw a day off they didn't like, Jobs continued to do what he loved to do. He didn't decide to retire and spend his little remaining time on a golf course or blowing his money. He worked.

We all know the line about the guy on his deathbed not lamenting that he didn't spend more time at the office. The fact is that Jobs almost certainly wished that he had spent more time at the office because he would have achieved even more in his remarkable life. In the end, it is your work and what you did with your life that matters. Nobody is going to give a damn about how many times you played at the beach.

It wasn't about money for Jobs. Jobs knew something very valuable. He knew that if you focus on creating value that the money will take care of itself. This is how that man took a company looking into the chasm of bankruptcy and turned it into the biggest tech company in the world. Jobs knew that it was innovative work that made the difference not just cost cutting.

Jobs also had a wife and a family. He was not alone when he died. This is something that crosses my mind a bit as it is almost a certainty that I am going to die alone. I already have heroes that died alone, so it doesn't bother me. I know the greatest friend I have is myself. I am the only person I can count on.

2. OCCUPATION MOVEMENT

I have been watching the Occupy Wall Street Marxists doing their thing, and I have registered my opinion of them on Facebook. These people are the ones who are going to loot and riot here shortly. I know this because this is the same horde that we have seen before do this at trade conferences. The horde is much bigger and currently peaceful. But there demands are completely Marxist with calls for free healthcare, free college education, guaranteed jobs, and a $20 an hour minimum wage. And where are all these free lunches supposed to come from? Clearly, they intend to loot it from the rich.

The Tea Party was ignorant, but they aimed in the right direction--Washington, DC. The Occupiers are profoundly stupid with not even the most basic working knowledge of economics. I call both movements Dumb and Dumber. One side is about the warfare state while the other side wants the welfare state. Naturally, Washington will cater to these ignorant masses. Right now, legislation is chugging along to slap punitive tariffs on Chinese imports. The trade war is about to begin.

The world is one stupid place. Capitalism and free markets give us so much wonderful stuff. Government destroys this as much possible. And who do people turn to? Government. This is because everyone wants to live at everyone else's expense. The Occupiers are not as angry over the corporate bailouts so much as the fact they wish for their own bailout. They want to stick their snouts in the trough and feed.

Imagine if these idiots saw how the government created all this shit in the first place. Imagine if they realized the thing corporations fear most is an unfettered free market. Imagine if these fools wised up and voted for Ron Paul. But this is not going to happen. I know this. You know this. When I hit the button to publish this post, I know some Marxist shithead is going to leave a comment on this post to the effect that Ron Paul is a liar and will give everything to the rich. If this were true, why aren't the rich falling over themselves to see that this man gets elected?

I predict that this movement will turn violent at some point. This is what happened in Greece and Britain. It will happen here. The unions have already muscled in here. When they run out of coffee, Starbucks locations will be nothing but shattered glass and coffee beans in the street. I'm glad I live in a red state and not a blue state.

3. ALABAMA

Alabama has now surpassed Arizona as the shittiest state for Mexican immigrants to live in. Both legal and illegal immigrants are making the exodus out of the state that promised to crack down hard on Mexican immigrants. Farmers are now without labor. Families are being purged from the state. It is sickening to watch.

People are very attuned to past atrocities and are quite vigilant about those things not ever happening again. This is why blacks and Jews have it so good now compared to then. But people are quite blind to the present atrocities. Right now, the Mexican is the most hated minority in the USA. Why this hatred?

The hatred of Mexicans comes partially from xenophobia, but it is primarily the function of economic ignorance. People seeing their piece of the pie shrinking conclude that it is those damn Mexicans taking all the work and driving down wages. This is ludicrous considering that most unemployed Americans prefer collecting unemployment checks to doing actual work. Mexicans actually work. This country needs not only their work, but their work ethic. We pay them under the table and then piss on them while they are down there. Yet, they are vital to our economy. If they weren't, no one would hire them.

Wealth comes from production. As such, it is virtually infinite. Mexicans produce. The total share of wealth is larger because of their labor. It is the fat lazy American with his consumption that is killing this country. But the blame gets laid on those dirty Mexicans. Mexicans take a slice of the pie, but they make that pie larger by being here. Americans are the ones making the pie smaller with their addiction to welfare and their laziness.

I'm glad Alabama has elected to be stupid because we get to see what happens to a state that enacts such stupdity. Sometimes, you have to cut off the finger to save the hand, so Alabama gets to be the experiment. They have already begun to pay the price for their stupidity. Hopefully, they will be a lesson in what not to do when it comes to dealing with immigrants.

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