Smedley And Ernest On Our Friend “War”; The “Racket” Continues (September 7, 2015)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Book Reference, Magazine Reference, Military, Oil, Wall Street, War on September 7, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

_          “Four score years ago this month, the world of arts and letters and the world awoke to a pair of trenchant commentaries on our friend ‘War’ written by two scholars who had spent time in the trenches and developed the ‘street cred’ to command attention and respect.  Smedley D. Butler was a United States Marine Corps major general, the highest rank authorized at that time, and at the time of his death the most decorated Marine in U.S. history who also should have won a Nobel Peace Prize.  Ernest Hemingway wrote stuff.  We should listen.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary presented on a prior Memorial Day on this Labor Day at In Memoriam (May 26, 2014).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers.  In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.  I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914.  I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in.  I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street.  I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912.  I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916.  I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903.  In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested.  Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints.  The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts.  I operated on three continents.”  Smedley D. Butler in a poem in the September 1935 issue of the magazine “Common Sense” that later become an overlooked classic. 

“They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.  But in modern war there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying.  You will die like a dog for no good reason. . . .  The only way to combat the murder that is war is to show the dirty combinations that make it and the criminals and swine that hope for it and the idiotic way they run it when they get it so that an honest man will distrust it as he would a racket and refuse to be enslaved into it.”  Ernest Hemingway in “Notes on the Next War: A Serious Topical Letter,” in a September 1935 issue of the magazine “Esquire”.

Here Comes Da Judge; Dere Goes Da Justice (August 31, 2015)

Posted in Courts, Federal Courts, Judges, Judicial Arrogance, Judiciary, Law, Law School, Magazine Reference on August 31, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

B-W L          “I told my client in a personal meeting face to face in the office that we were assigned a judge who would rule against us without reading any of the pleadings.  Zero percent chance of success.  An appeal was too expensive.  The client said to proceed making the arguments and angle for an angle, some angle, any angle.  You should always send a separate letter as an attachment to an e-mail and by snail mail to the client confirming your concerns that the outcome may not be favorable as discussed.  I slow rolled things playing for time with no grand plan.  Out of the blue, an entity moves and is allowed to intervene; the judge steps out of the case without comment.  New judge takes over case; new judge follows the law; client prevails.  You need to get lucky some times.”

W-E L S          “We are spending the third year trading war stories like this in the student lounge.”

B-W L          “And that part of the process is not even covered by tuition.  I told another client that we drew the right judge and could expect a favorable outcome.  Some judge gets deployed overseas to join in killing innocent folks and a new judge is assigned.  A judge who liked to use the expression ‘a no-brainer’ and met that qualification.  However, the argument required a brain.  He employed his patented ‘no brainer’ analysis.”

W-E L S          “Dead.”

B-W L          “DOA.  Upon notice of the reassignment, the first reaction was utter dread.  Game over.  A death notice from the court.  You may not realize that your state still has the death penalty in civil cases.  And not a shot was fired.  How do you explain it to a client who is utterly disgusted with the whole process.  He kept yelling that he wanted the first judge and wanted me to get the first judge back.”

. . .

B-W L          “MSU is a military expression that applies to the law.  Making Stuff Up.  The facts and the law.  No one will ask the fundamental question whether all the money, public and private, spent to indoctrinate a young law student is worth fomenting the illusion and delusion.  Is there value in the truth?”

W-E L S          “Can I get a refund on my tuition?”

. . .

B-W L          “Few if any of your law professors ever practiced law.  You are obligated to repeat and are rewarded for propagating the myth.  That is the Game.”

. . .

[B-W L: Battle-Weary Lawyer; W-E L S: Wide-Eyed Law Student]

[See the e-commentary at Playin’ The Legal Game (March 28, 2011) and Assigning Blame: The Lawyers: 50 Percent; The Non-Lawyer Public: 50 Percent; The Judges: 100 Percent (December 3, 2012).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“Your honor, we will be filing a motion this afternoon to transfer this case to an entirely different judicial system.”  “The New Yorker” cartoon in office.

MSU:  The motto of the American judicial system

A system of men and women not a system of laws.

The first thing we do let’s banish the American-acculturated judges.

The Stock Market Racket (August 24, 2015)

Posted in Pensions, Stock Market on August 24, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

I1          “The stock market is not a market, it is a racket.  The Stock Racket, I call it.  The Racket does not provide much financial security.”

I2          “And I too am a hostage to that Racket.  I am now at a stage and an age when I am told to avoid risky investments and to move toward less risky instruments, yet those who make the economic rules eliminated that time-honored option.  I receive nothing to put my money in the bank and take less risk.  I have faith that I will receive nothing at the end of the day to take huge risk in the Racket.  I am forced to keep one foot in the Racket in a desperate bid to obtain some upside yet now see the decline that I expect.”

I1          “I don’t call that traditional financial security.”

. . .

I2          “Those who run the defined benefit pension plans are playing the Racket.  When the Racket collapses, I will be forced by the courts to fund the short fall while living with little or no pension.”

I1          “I don’t call that traditional financial security either.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at Party Like It’s 16,919.99 (May 19, 2014) and “Titters” v. “Self-Unemployed” (September 1, 2014).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

The Stock Racket

On Success, Incipient Success And Self-Esteem (August 17, 2015)

Posted in On [Traits/Characteristics] on August 17, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

P1          “The youngster’s t-shirt questioned:  “What would you try if you knew you could not fail?”

P2          “They say that risk is the handmaiden of reward.”

P1          “At first I thought the sentiment was quaint because failure is indeed always a possibility, yet I wondered whether cultivating some confidence at a young age leads to a sense of possibility and develops reasonable risk taking in later years.”

P2          “I was allowed to fail.  I now try when I am almost certain that I will fail.”

. . .

P1          “Not trying is certain failure.”

P2          “They say that you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary on schooling and self-esteem at Readin’, ‘Ritin’ and ‘Rithmetic . . . and Respect . . . and Success (March 14, 2011).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”  Wayne Gretzky

“You Can’t Be Smarter” (August 10, 2015)

Posted in Bureaucracy, Courts, Entertainment, Journalism, Judges, Judicial Arrogance, Law, Law School, Newspapers, Personal Stories Series, Personal Story, Press/Media, Television on August 10, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

P          “You might as well leave law school with some useful insight.  When you begin practice, ferret out the longest serving person at the firm.  That person likely will be female and the secretary for a senior partner.  Take her to lunch.  Ask for advice.  Listen carefully.”

. . .

SS          “Your biggest challenge?  You must accept that you can’t be smarter than the judge.  That will vex a person like you.  And don’t expect much civility or any humility from the bench.  Good luck.  You will need it.”

. . .

YL          “So it is like law school but with consequence.  It is like high school writ large.”

SS          “And I am downstream from the bullying and arrogance of the judges and the senior partner.”

. . .

YL          “Looking back, I realize that professors were and judges now are the greatest impediments to advancing sound ideas.”

SS          “They don’t teach you much in law school.”

. . .

[Jon Stewart left The Daily Show recently.  See the e-commentary at Brian, Jon And Journalism Today (February 16, 2015).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Better to know the judge than the law

Intended Consequences In Iraq (August 3, 2015)

Posted in Iraq on August 3, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “If you want ISIS or ISIL or whatever they are to emerge, then invade Iraq in March of 2003.  If you do not want ISIS or ISIL or whatever they are to emerge, then do not invade Iraq in March of 2003.”

. . .

1          “Life is often so simple and predictable.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary under the Category on “Iraq”.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

If you want ISIS, first invade Iraq; if you do not want ISIS, do not invade Iraq. 

The “Superfluous Consumer” (July 27, 2015)

Posted in Consumerism, Economics on July 27, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

 L          “They say that 70 percent of economic growth is driven by consumer spending.  Yet the consumer is spent.  So many consumers borrowed money (at substantial interest rates) from tomorrow to consume yesterday.  Today, the consumers must borrow from the day after the day after tomorrow to pay for necessaries.”

. . .

M          “What will they do when they can’t consume?”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

Work Buy Consume Die

On Standards & Quality (July 20, 2015)  

Posted in Genius, On [Traits/Characteristics], Society on July 20, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

4          “If I look up and can see the bar, I drop everything and raise the bar until I cannot see it.  Even with a pair of 10 by 40s.  I am not interested in surmounting a bar I can see.  I then move the bar down the field and out of sight.  Outta sight, inna mind.”

. . .

4          “That is true.  They say that if you hold someone to a higher standard, the person may aspire to reach the higher standard.  When I look around, however, at the end of the day the only way others can pass the bar is to drop the bar on the floor.  Maintain even low standards and no one passes.”

8          “So much gross incompetence and ineptitude today.  Perhaps it has always been that way.”

 . . . 

4          “If you hit a target they cannot see, they say that you missed the target they can see.”

. . .

4          “Build a better mouse trap and you may trap a few more mice.  Build it and you will need to buy a riding lawn mower.”

8          “Bloom where you are planted.  You may be able to trap more mice in your nicely manicured field.  Or you may decide to let the mice roam in a wild field.”

. . .

8          “Perhaps nobody cares.”

. . . 

Bumper stickers of the week:

“Talent hits a target that no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.”  Arthur Schopenhauer

“There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best.”  Joe DiMaggio

“A Thing of Beauty is a Joy For Ever.”  John Keats

Nobody cares.

Venturing A Few Unfounded And Unwarranted Predictions (July 13, 2015)

Posted in "L" Shaped Economy, Bankruptcy, Banks and Banking System, Collapse, Depression, Elections, Foreign Policy, Gold, Gold Standard, Kleptocracy, Money, Pensions, Quantitative Easing, Recession, SDR - Special Drawing Rights, Security State, Silver, Silver Standard, Supernova Dollar, Zero Interest Rate Policy on July 13, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

3          “Pensions will be even more problematic.”

4          “When the stock markets reset catastrophically, pensions will need to be reset correspondingly.”

3          “We will need to muster the collective intellect and imagination to craft a provision allowing states to file bankruptcy.”

. . .

3          “Interest rates cannot be allowed to rise and will not be allowed to rise beyond a nominal .25 percent.  Any greater rise would result in devastating financial and economic consequences.  Some nominal rise will be imposed to proclaim that interest rates can indeed rise above zero without negative consequence.  Those citizens who planned to fund a retirement with interest-bearing instruments have been sacrificed and will continue to be sacrificed without even a vote or even a debate on the policy.”

4          “Sacrifices have to be made.  Few folks are concerned or even aware that the Federal Reserve rather than the market sets interest rates.  The way I see it the Petrodollar will continue to rise as other currencies decline and those with the wherewithal seek the safety of the Petrodollar.  At this time.  The Petrodollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency and fundamentally weak foreign economies are a double magnet for money.  When the world establishes its own world currency such as a system of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) and circumvents the Petrodollar, the Petrodollar will explode and decline precipitously in value.  As I describe it, the ‘Supernova Dollar.’  The last American export – the Petrodollar and resulting inflation – will not be imported by the world.”

3          “Along those lines, the physical dollar will disappear from circulation in the United States before it disappears from the world stage.  The U.S. government and large corporations are slowly discouraging and will ultimately outlaw the use of dollars as ‘legal tender’ and as a medium of exchange.  Possession of gold and silver bullion by private citizens also will be outlawed.  The government will outsource to large corporations the issuance and control of the Universal Electronic Benefit Transfer (UEBT) cards to its subjects.  Current credit and debit cards will be re-purposed seamlessly.  The IRS will send a statement each year or even each month dictating one’s tax obligation and deducting the amount owed directly from one’s government controlled account.  As a consequence, everyone’s inclinations, transactions, and movements will be monitored and manipulated as necessary.”

4          “On the other hand, possession of gold and silver in any form by foreign citizens and governments will be the law and settled practice.  The West has readily abandoned gold and silver to an East that has eagerly absorbed the precious metals at rates that have been manipulated down by the West.  And gold and silver will be a component of the Special Drawing Rights.”

3          “The West will no longer be able to use paper and electronic transactions to manipulate the prices of physical gold and silver.”

4          “If the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system and the Petrodollar are circumvented, the West will be less able to use paper and electronic transactions to manipulate prices.”

. . .

3          “The nations in the oil-producing regions will not fight over the oil they have but over the water they do not have with far less involvement of and intervention by the United States.”

4          “Nation-States will also disappear as thriving and functioning communities and be replaced by Corporation-States that dictate policy.  The United States Congress took the lead and sold out to become the ‘Citigroup-Congress’ recently.  More than just naming rights are involved.  Current nations are just entities that can be manipulated and maneuvered to go to war with each other when necessary.”

3          “Along those lines, shares in United States Senators will be sold more openly akin to shares in corporations.  The news will announce that shares in ‘Senator Larry Jenkins, Inc.’ are up 3.1 percent today on news that he will sell his vote for the Big Project.  The John Roberts Supreme Court has endorsed the two-step business plan.  If you pay a politician directly for a vote, you are in trouble; if you pay an intermediary that pays a politician for a vote, you are blessed.”

4          “Notions of freely-established supply and demand for goods, services and commodities will yield to quotas per subject each month.  Without functioning markets and with regular and systematic market manipulation and intervention, notions of inflation and deflation will be antiquated.  World population will continue to grow and resources will continue to be more precious which under the old paradigm would fuel inflation.  However, people will simply do without.”

3          “Along those lines, capitalism is a system that socializes the costs of activities and privatizes the profits.  The end stage is the emergence of a very small cabal who control all resources and allow the subjects access to just enough resources to subsist in a police state that throttles any debate or dissent.”

4           “The treatment of Cyprus and Greece are intermediate stages in the process.”

3          “The future is not unpredictable.”

. . .

[See the efforts to eliminate cash at http://betterthancash.org/.%5D

[See the e-commentary at Monitoring The Masses: The Card And The Chip (January 12, 2015).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

If you do predict a definite event, do not pick a definite date.  If you do pick a definite date, do not predict a definite event.  Unless you want to.

In the past, if you could predict the future accurately, you could make a fortune.  In the present, you can predict the future astutely, but you cannot do much to protect your fortune or your future.  Even if you want to.

“The best way to predict your future is to help create it.”  Attributed to Abraham Lincoln

There are few warning signs on the off ramp down the road to serfdom.

What about global climate change?

The Confederate Flag:  What Does It Mean To You? (July 6, 2015)

Posted in Politics, Race, Slavery, Society, South on July 6, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “It means that Blacks are second class citizens.”

2          “It means that voting rights should be denied.”

3          “It means that discrimination should be allowed.”

4          “It means that lynching should be legal.  For Blacks, I mean.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

E          “All of the above.” 

It’s mean?