Kristopher Jones

True Wisdom Echoes Queitly Through Time

The rancor and tumult of the present too often drown out the wisdom of past.  Bernard Baruch was one of the wisest Americans you probably have never heard of.  He made his fortune on Wall Street at an early age and devoted the rest of his life to serving and advising Presidents through WWI, the Great Depression, WWII, McCarthyism and the good times of the fifties.

He contributed an essay to Edward R. Murrow's series "This, I Believe" that should resonate through the generations...

"Because I place my trust in reason, I place it in the individual. There is a madness in crowds from which even the wisest, caught up in their ranks, are not immune. Stupidity and cruelty are the attributes of the mob, not wisdom and compassion."

His words resonate with me.  You can read and hear his entire "This, I Believe" essay here.  It's worth your time.

Whenever I'm troubled by the events of my day, whenever I feel deeply that something is not right, I search the past for this kind of wisdom.  The kind of reason that rings true across the generations.  The tea-baggers and the birthers and the mobs that are trying to drown out the public discourse (and therefore democracy) on health care would do well to withdraw from the mobs for a moment, quiet themselves, and engage in calm, introspective reason.

Bernard Baruch took his meetings with great men on a park bench in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House.  I'll take his brand of intelligence and reason over today's incitement and rancor every day and twice on Sunday.  The mob mentality, which cable news and syndicated radio amplifies, only serves to make us all "morans."

Monday Morning Pick Me Up

Nothing touches me more than the simple sincerity of a dog.  Their love is always honest and genuine and boundless.  I've often thought of volunteering at a shelter but, honestly, I'm not sure I could handle the hard reality of it.

I'm Sorry if it gets a little "dusty" when you watch this.  On the one hand I'm glad it's only a short version of the song, on the other hand I wish there was more. 

"Choose me."

I've been a busy beaver this summer

I'm good at making sawdust and so far this summer I've made a lot of it.  Mission creep being what it is, in May we got a bid to have the deck stripped, sanded and stained.  I love a good home project, but I'm not THAT crazy.  Anyway, we got a good bid and were ready to move forward... then the contractor says, you know, you might want to do some simple repair on a few of the boards and railings here and there before I get started.  He was right.  It'll look much better in the end.  So, I replaced a few boards on the deck, a couple of posts and all the top railings as they were all showing their age.

You know... since we're having the deck done we might as well do the front porch too...  It'd be cheaper to get it all done and would it be nice...

The problem was, in addition to a few boards and railings, the front porch stairs needed to be completely replaced.  What started as a couple of weekends of work turned into two months.  I'm fairly handy but my INTJ traits assure that I will take the time I need to do the job to my satisfaction.  Let's just say that I put measure twice and cut once to shame.

Anyway, I finished all that up a couple of weeks ago after feeling like my summer had been hijacked.  Here's a pic of the new front stairs...

The 2x4's from the old stairs were really weathered but they were still strong so I wanted to find another use for them.  This weekend I built a platform for golf practice at home made entirely from material I on hand and recovered from the last two months.  Now, all I need is a net!

There's a lot of satisfaction that comes from finishing projects like these, but it's more fun when you're doing it for fun.  Now, my INTJ is puzzling over how to erect a net that can easily be put up for the summer and taken down for the winter.

Education eclipses ignorance (it's about damn time!)

The cultural shift isn't just about age.  Much more importantly, the younger generations are more highly educated and have been exposed to a broader cross-section of the American social fabric.  Even though I don't have kids, this is why I ALWAYS vote for education!

"The high education areas Obama carried - 78 of the 100 counties with the highest education. McCain carried 88 of the 100 counties with the lowest education. As we move to cultural politics, that's been the shift."

I'd love to embed the video of the former governor of Virginia, Tom Davis (R), but it's not up yet.  This link will have to do.

Michelle Bachman (R-MN): Re-nut-lican

Further proof that Michelle Bachman is...

A. - A nutjob
B. - A McCarthyist hypocrite
C. - An ultra-neocon who never met a wacko-right position she wouldn't pimp, but when pressed won't stand behind her own words
D. - All of the above

With GWB and DICK Cheney out of the way, she's my public enemy #1.  Her opponent in the next election cycle will get a donation from me (as did the last one).

July Pick Me Up

Okay, first off I apologize for being MIA the last few weeks.  Things have been more than a little crazy.  I needed something fun like this to get me back in the swing!

"Nothing's impossible if you don't know it's impossible"

Eleven year-old Owen Voorhees and his little brother Finn created a top 15 paid educational ap for the iPhone because, "I thought it would be cool."

Owen Voorhees rocks!

Iran: Echoes of an American Revolution

The foundation of power in any dictatorship and/or theocracy begins with the control of information and the threat of retribution against any who might question authority.  This form of leadership, if you can call it that, has been effective in many third-world or developing countries because the population is generally poorly educated and relies only on information provided by, or approved by, the government.

When there is unrest, demonstrations, or a move against a dictatorship or theocracy, crackdowns always follow in key areas: against demonstrators, communication,  universities, and information in/out of the country.  It's all targeted to prevent the spread of information and dissent.

The Iran situation is particularly fascinating to me because the leadership is based on the old-school model of theocratic dictatorship, but in 2009 the population there is well educated, very informed and well connected to the outside world.  Perhaps not since the founding of America have we seen another example of a society intellectually maturing beyond the confines of an oppressive government.

In the 1700's emancipation came in the form of the printing press, in 2009 we're seeing it happen again thanks to the influence of satellites and particularly the internet.  The printing press and the internet opened the floodgates of information on a scale that was previously absolutley unimaginable.

Information and education are central to recognizing oppression for what it truly is.  Taking to the streets, shouting and throwing a few rocks is one thing, but when the people collectively stand up with a rigid backbone of unwavering endurance forged by oppression then they might have a chance to match the inherent power of a controlling and well-armed existing government.

The wildcard that the theocracy of Iran now faces that Britain did not is a long-oppressed segment of society that has, until now, remained largely silent.  Women may well become the backbone that's needed to force democratic change in Iran, and eventually, the Middle East.  They now have their first female martyr, Neda Agha-Soltan.  For Iran, Neda could well be Rosa Parks and Paul Revere rolled into one.

If change does not come now, it is surely on the way.

Monday Morning Pick Me Up

Your money or someone else's life

On my desk are three pieces of paper.  At first glance, they're just part of the general clutter of mail, magazines, CDs, product brochures and the remote control.  Some of these things demand attention, others are attended to when I have time and the third group come to the fore when I'd rather not think about the first two. 

But these three pieces of paper are quite different because they're ballots and they're separate from the rest of the clutter because I've read and re-read the words on them that frame the issue that I'm supposed to vote on.

Fidelity Investments 401K:

"THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THE FOLLOWING:

Shareholder proposal... concerning procedures to prevent holding investments in companies that, in the judgment of the Board, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity."

Fidelity Investments actually produced a ballot recommending that I choose to make a few bucks (really, they mean not losing quite so many bucks) knowing that someone, or several someones, might die to support my retirement.  What a happy thought!  People in Africa will die not knowing that the price of their life is a round of golf in my golden years.

Seriously?  That's not a choice any human being should present or have to make.  What night-of-the-living-dead zombie would even pose such an obsene choice?  That's right... the Board of Trustees at Fidelity Investments.

These three pieces of paper have been on my desk for almost a week... not because I'm at all unsure how I will vote, but because I'm disgusted and astonished and dumbfounded that I have to cast such a vote at all.  I read the words over and over because it's just so incomprehensible.

FWIW - I can't touch my Fidelity 401K for a few more months.  My previous company was sold and the accounts are frozen... which really means bleeding money and we can't do anything about it.

Bleeding money... and apparently, someone else's blood.