The Beast

I will be in the belly of the Beast - aka Manhattan, NYC - until Friday. In my spare time I hope to see the Egyptian collection at the Brooklyn museum, which I missed on my last two trips. I'll be interested to see if fashions are still dominated by black and drab colors. I will be wearing my "babe-magnet" ties with my pinstripes, doing my bit to liven up the city.

Two "Minor" Examples of Ruling Class Activity

For a few years I've written how various groups in the Ruling Classes have been gutting American - and World - economies and cultures with their relentless greed for more. And how their ruthless Educated Class enablers have bollixed up government and other institutions by making everything complex, in order to hide their personal grabs for more personal power & money.

Here are two small examples from past literature. This process has been occurring since WW II; maybe since WW I. Both are taken from the Spring 2010 issue of Lapham's Quarterly, which is an excellent quarterly journal of fine writings from the past on various topics. The referenced issue is titled, "Arts & Letters".

First Example
1946 - George Orwell on Bad Writing, excerpt from page 95:

*** quote begins***
I am going to translate a passage of good English into modern English of the worst sort. Here is a well known verse from Ecclesiastes:

I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Here it is in modern English:

Objective consideration of contemporary phenomena compels the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.

This is a parody, but not a very gross one.
***end of quote***

The educated cohorts of the Ruling Classes use this complex language "in a consciously dishonest way", to confuse and obfuscate the common man and to hide the true intentions of Ruling Class policies.

Second Example
1973 - by author Barbara Rose, page 164, about art.

***quotes begin***
The art world collapsed on the night of October 18, [1973] at Sotheby Parke Berner [in NYC] - and it ended not with a whimper, but with a bid.
...
People did not bid on paintings so much as they rooted for them. Cheers accompanied the record-setting prices
...
The real excitement obviously was generated not by art (you don't go to an auction to see art), but by the visible action of instant profit making - the only real main event [the author goes on to provide an example at art originally purchased for $750 being sold for $40,000]
...
The fascination with such excess profit taking is understandable in terms of the corporate mentality that now dominates the art world.
***end of quotes***

Thus meaning and beauty in art goes down the gutter, replaced by the hog trough of the Ruling Classes. The recent citation from the Financial Times of billionaires buying art in the manner of lottery tickets for more riches - simply to make money and gain fame as "smart buyers" - shows that Ruling Class philistines have ruled the art world for decades now.

Conclusions

The common man and woman need to throw off the Ruling Classes; to restore decency and fairness to the economy and government. The principles of Fraternal Libertarianism provide a sound and simple framework for doing this. Yes, it's an ideology. But an ideology is necessary to provide coordination for the common men and women to analyse and make decisions without suffering the traps, snares and pitfalls the ruthless Educated Classes set for keep their Ruling Class in power.

Word of the Day

"Chicanery" - noun [$10]
Chicanery means deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry: trickery.
Sentence: The ministers of the Ruling Classes use complexity and complex writings as chicanery to fool the common man. That's why government tax code and other laws and regulations are so impenetrable.

Power Outage

I held off turning on my generator until the sun came up, hence my blog prep time got snuffed. No post today.

Krypto will check later for orders from the Machine; if any, I'll post them.

Actions

The Machine wants me to sell some pacific stocks, some European stocks and some gold/gold stocks. I will obey and have put the orders in.

Listen to the Machine ... Obey the Machine

Yup, that's me today as I obey the Krypto Fund trading rules. A few months ago after a beefer-induced dip in stock prices, I put on the first 1/2 of a "Buy low, Sell High" trade in US stocks in Krypto Fund's US stock position. Futures prices this AM indicate the market should open up over 1200 for the S&P 500. That's the target so I'm doing the "Sell High" now, at the open.

I'm bullish, but I like to be heavy when prices are low and light at they reach intermediate term highs. Then I ride the new wave up until it's time to cut back more. S&P 1200 has been by break point level for awhile and at that level I want to simply have normal US stock allocations. This dictates today's significant sale.

Krypto Fund is up over 11% year to date, which is fine performance, stomping on many, many overpaid beefer managers. They are mostly scam artists, anyway. Good doggie, Krypto, here's your fee - a tasty dog biscuit.

Word of the Day

"Weal" - noun [$10]
Weal means (I) welfare, prosperity, good fortune; (II - alt. usage) a raised or reddened area of skin usu. accompanied by itching.
Sentence: Why worry about investing for retirement? One should simply listen to the machine, i. e., Krypto's machine, to keep one's retirement balances in wondrous weal without anxiety. Obey the machine ....

What it Means

The people want policies to help economic growth and jobs.

The people reject most oddball candidates.

The people reject Obama's agenda and policies.

The people reject mandates on them.

The bicoastal media centers are out of touch with most of the US.

The Ruling Classes are reeling.

Congress will get a huge influx of new ideas and energy.

Old boy networks in Congress are likely dead.

Obama will begin to rule by "executive order" and regulations.

The Fed is the only force likely to do anything to help the US economy.

The people recognized the P-O-R "stimulus" bill was a fraud.

Massachusetts is still a one party state.

California is proven weird again, voting for the disastrous status quo.

Predictions

Stocks will rally awhile as the dust clears.

The Bush tax cuts will ALL expire - no compromise.

States will not obtain further handouts from DC and will have to deal with their pension and employment cost structures.

The economy will improve slowly; confidence will increase.

Obama will move left, sound increasingly shrill and strident, and slowly become a national joke.

Word of the Day

"Dross" - noun [$10]
Dross means 1. rubbish, refuse; 2.a. the scum separated from metals in melting; 2.b. foreign matter mixed with anything, impurities.
Sentence: The election was a crucible for the Tea Parties. Have they become more pure with clear ideas and disposed of the dross of oddball candidates? Time will tell.

Voter Guide by Bunkerman

This is easy:

When in Doubt,
Vote them Out.

Unless an incumbent politician has shown real action in limiting the power of the Ruling Class, he or she is likely part of the problem. Vote against them.

Any politician who voted for the health care mandate on individual Americans is shown to a crypto Lord of the Manor who wants you to be his or her serf. Vote against them.

Any politician who supported the P-O-R phony stimulus bill, which was truly just a bailout out for overspending State governments, is proven by their actions to be an enabler of the Hogs at the Trough. Vote against them.

Vote against any politician who talks about "bringing home the bacon". He just stole your hog, kept the fine pork roasts for himself and is giving you a bit of leftover bacon for flavoring. Vote against them.

I think you get the idea, Use your head, think and vote for the person closest to the principles of Fraternal Libertarianism.

Word of the Day

"Theodicy" - noun [$10]
Theodicy means 1. the vindication of divine providence/justice in view of (in the force of) the existence of evil; 2. an instance of this.
Sentence: Will today's election be a singular event of theodicy for Fraternal Libertarianism - and the people - or not? The people make that decision today.

What's Going On?

Thinking over the changes that have occurred in the US over 45 years and some intriguing ideas of a friend of mine about a "coup", I noticed some parts of two books by Alvin Gouldner that perhaps had some connection. Below I rough out this sculpture of a government run by a New Class - not the middle class or the Left or the Right or any of the usual suspects.

The strong and broad feeling exists in the US public that government is "out of control". Who's in charge? Mostly, all we can point to are entrenched Congresspersons, Wall Street money, big corporate bosses, highly paid lawyers, high level permanent officials in the bureaucracy, technocrats, on and on ... no one or nothing specific. Yet They seem to work in rough coordination to make our lives more complicated and to run more of it from DC or State capitals. And take more money and power for themselves.

They are bipartisan - government increased under Bush I, under Clinton, under Bush II and under Obama. It increased hugely under LBJ and Nixon and Carter, too. Only under Reagan was government power held in check a bit - only a bit since Congress during that period worked hard to increase their power. The Courts are part of the Them, too.

Who are They? Not pod people who secretly at night replace normal persons with controlled zombies. They aren't the proletariat, nor the bourgeoisie, nor a revolutionary vanguard party, not socialists or libertarians or aristocrats.

What do They have in common? Advanced degrees. They are a cluster of highly educated persons who see government as a source of power. They are using their human capital to gain more and more money and power through government power.

That an Educated Class exists is rather obvious. But how can parts of it become a group that seems to have taken over the nation? Easy - They believe in an ideology - a rational system of beliefs that give them social cohesion to work together for a common cause without even communicating with each other, without even knowing each other. The core principal is something like, "with government, all things can be better". It's a mutation of Plato's Philosopher King, or the "Optimates" of Rome - rule by the "best". It's an offshoot of Positivism, where science and learning chooses the best for the people and put their solutions into practice with governmental power. But these mutations act like cancers, metastasizing out to all branches of government in DC and the States.

Ideally, that slogan sounds good. BUT apply the analysis of Hayek that we used so successfully to gut Libertarianism as a workable principal of political economy. A ruthless segment of the Educated Class - a rotten core of rotters - would naturally want to claim more and more power and money to themselves. This is not a conspiracy - it's a simple result of a distribution of humanity. Some are people are angels, some are devils and there's mass in the middle. The rotters in the Educated Class have taken over.

Not a coup, but it seems like one since their takeover has been accelerating for years. They believe in more government and make it grow. They never put breaks on government nor cut it back nor simplify it. Why should or would They? That's how They get more power and money.

They are always saying They have a solution to endless problems, but never solve a problem. They just add more and more complexity to government - rules, taxes, regulations, huge and lengthy laws, courts that are arbitrary and capricious in decisions, more departmetns and programs, etc. They love complexity - that's how they hide from sight and obscure their intents. Who can understand what They do but more persons with advanced degrees. They marry each other and their children more into powerful positions in government, too.

The Media is part of Them, too. They always are using Boob Bait for the Bubbas to fool the people and gain power. Rational, thoughtful debate in the Media has disappeared since the 1970s. The Media today gives us People magazine crap, celebrities and sports, endlessly. Nothing like the "White Papers" or true documentaries of the 1960s. Nor real debates such as on that old old show, The Advocate or on Firing Line. The Media is the propaganda machine for Them. For all the professional degrees in Journalism, is there not less true "journalism" now versus decades ago?

What to do?

Anyone proposing solutions that are not simple and clean and easily understandable is likely a knave, a rotter in the Educated Class. Just say NO!

Any new governmental action that does not restrict the power of the Ruling Classes, or help the poor in simple ways is a subterfuge for Them to get more power.

When in Doubt, Vote Them Out.

If the KISS rule doesn't apply (Keep It Simple, Stupid"), don't believe Them.

Word of the Day

"Bruit" - verb, transitive and noun [$10] pronounced, 'broot' to rhyme with a tree 'root', the 'oo' is long; followed by about or abroad.
Bruit (verb) means to spread news of, repeat.
Bruit (noun - archaic) means 1. a rumor, 2. a din, a clamor, 3. a report.
Sentence: Let's all bruit about the existence of this rotten bunch of rotters in the Educated Class who are destroying our freedoms and economy. And kick Them out!