Good Ideas: Farrakhan proposes savings and acquiring property

It amazes me that some people won't give people a chance to explain their views.  I used to be one of those people.  In my pre-libertarian days, I would have ignored Louis Farrakhan.   In my mind, he was just a man yelling from a pulpit how poorly blacks have been treated, and how it was all the white man's fault.

Nowadays, and after more research, I realized there is a lot of good that Farrakhan preaches with regards to the Federal Reserve, property rights, and savings.

He recently spoke at a Nation of Islam event, stating:

The constitutional right to bear arms holds no relevance in the black community, he said, because of the prevalence of illegal weapons. But Farrakhan said he respects the Second Amendment’s value in warding off government tyranny.

Also:

He also took black Americans to task for their own spending habits — including what he said was $3.3 billion a year on tobacco, $3 billion on whiskey, wine and beer, $2.8 billion on non-alcoholic beverages and $19 billion a year on telephone services. “No wonder the FBI knows everything about you,” Farrakhan said.

It is interesting to note how he picks up on the way government can track purchases.  The government is HEAVILY involved in the alcohol, tobacco, drinks, and telephone industries.

I don't agree in his push for equal justice:

And he used the human body as a metaphor for an economy where every organ — or every person — gets exactly what it needs and nothing more. He wondered out loud for the crowd whether he was advocating for socialism. “I’m advocating what God has set up,” Farrakhan said, “that makes every cell comfortable.”

This falls in line with people who believe inequality should be wiped out.  It's impossible.  Some people will be taller, funnier, smarter, harder works...even from the sense that we are mammals in the animal kingdom.  The fact that we are superior than an ant we can step on, no matter how equal we try to make things be in this world, is proof enough.  Inequality does not mean a lifetime of misery and pain. Some of the most successful people in this world would have been classified in the inequality group if it was up to the Central Planners / Marxists of the world.  Who knows what we would have missed out on in society if we would dedicate all our efforts to be equals.

It's good to see someone is advocating property rights, even if there is tinge of socialism at the end. 

 

 

Toledo nets $3 million, Society gains...?

This headline sums it up from the Vindy article:

Toledo nets $3 million from traffic cameras

Yes, the city netted $3 million.  But wasn't this about safety?  Weren't traffic cameras supposed to decrease people speeding around schools?

Don't let any local/state/federal governent fool you.  When it's about 'safety', it's about power grab and growing the government grasps around your daily life.

Enjoy the Oscars!  Arrogance and social injustice abound!

Hop Hop Hop, Sell Sell Sell

Lent always reminds me years past more so than other holidays like Christmas.  It's always a journey.   Sometimes it feels really rewarding.  Sometimes it is a time that is really tough on me.  I lose parts of my faith I was hoping to strengthen.  Its in those times when you need to recognize God's love for you, and his willingness to be there for you.

This Lent has not gotten off to a good start.  I missed mass on Ash Wednesday because I flew out to Columbus for an Ohio State recruiting trip.  Then I missed church on Sunday because I was at a farm conference.  The trip to Ohio was really needed for me to regroup.  All the emotional stress I have been feeling has weighed me down spiritually and physically.  I just want to be happy again.

Thankfully, I am blessed with a large network of family and friends to give me support. My friend Chuck texted me yesterday saying 'Hop Hop Hop, Sell Sell Sell'.  It is the phrase we used to hear at HFS during the Gorant's candy sale.  I laughed really hard and almost cried because I remember how simple life used to be back then.  Just being a kid.  I feel like we are all kids, just our bodies grow up. That doesn't mean people should be or are all immature.  I have met children 7 or 8 years old that are stronger than I will ever be.

It's moments like that where I get sentimental.  I feel like my life is more fulfilling when I am trying to get back to the days of being a kid...

Family Matters...not the TV show

As the country shuts down to watch grown men attempting to cross a goal line, it has more of a personal connection to my hometown of Youngstown.  The Debartalo-York family has been prominent for many decades in Youngstown.  Ed DeBartalo Sr.'s driver's wife (yes, the only person in Youngstown to have a limo driver), was my babysitter growing up.  Many members of their family have attended my alma mater Youngstown Cardinal Mooney.

What is intriguing is how the family went through a very rough patch where Ed DeBartalo Jr. and Denise DeBartalo-York countersued each other.  The problems caught up with the team as the product on the field languished.

Cleveland Frowns highlights the ups and downs of the ownership here.

GO 49ers, beat the Ravens!