Daily Stoic: Avoid Owning and “Being Owned”

Seneca was a very rich man. He accumulated that fortune largely due to his service to Nero’s corrupt and broken regime, and then he put that money to work in Rome’s British colonies. In fact, he made so many enormous loans to colonists in Britain, that when the debt was called in around 60 AD, it set off a rebellion in which tens of thousands of people ultimately died. A few short years later, Seneca would learn just how painful it can be on the other side of an unpayable debt. Realizing, alarmingly late, just how deranged Nero was, Seneca tried to walk away from politics. Nero wouldn’t let him. Seneca tried to turn over to Nero everything Nero had ever given him. Even this was not enough—because Seneca, in working for such a man, had, in a sense, pledged him his life. In 65 AD, Nero, paranoid and cleaning house of potential enemies, called in the chit, and Seneca was forced to commit suicide. The lesson: Be wary of debt. Because it is not simply a financial matter. It can be a spiritual matter as well. For to owe can mean to be owned. It can mean that you’ve given up the little bit of control you have in the world and handed it over to a capricious or an insensitive person—or just somebody who values their money more than they value you. It was Marcus, after Seneca’s bloody cautionary tale, who exhibited a better relationship to debt. When he took over the Empire, its finances were a mess. So what did he do? He started selling off palace furnishings. In his view, it was better to live an austere life than one in debt to other people—people who would then try to influence his policy or limit his options. Today in the modern world, debt is a little easier to manage and the markets are a bit more complex. No one is saying you can’t have a mortgage on your house, only that if you have more than one of them...you probably have too much house. No one is saying that you can’t use a credit card, only that if you’re carrying a balance with a minimum payment larger than your most expensive utility bill...you probably need to examine your spending habits. No one is saying you can’t borrow to invest or grow a business, only that you need to be rational and smart about it. Avoid owing and being owned, before someone calls in a chit you cannot pay.

by Jm Moran

2019-01-31T21:51:24.000Z
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Just Saying...

Just Saying...
by Jm Moran

2019-02-05T12:08:43.000Z
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LIBERAL LOGIC: Baby Murder = Hero Of Justice, Black Face = Horrible Racist Monster. 🤮💩👎

LIBERAL LOGIC: Baby Murder = Hero Of Justice, Black Face = Horrible Racist Monster. 🤮💩👎
by Jm Moran

2019-02-05T12:07:44.000Z
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2019-01-31T21:52:05.000Z
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by Jm Moran

2019-02-04T02:30:21.000Z
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It’s a Long Read but Take the Time to Do It! Think About It—-Then What?

Wherever you stand, please take the time to read this; it ought to scare the bejeebies out of you! We know Dick Lamm as Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington D.C., filled to capacity by many of America's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor [and farmer] by the name of Victor Davis Hanson talked about his latest book, Mexifornia, explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal - was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream. Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America. The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States. He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.' "Here is how they do it," Lamm said: "First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bi-cultural country. History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: 'The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.' Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, Corsicans and Muslims.' Lamm went on: "Second, to destroy America, invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal; that there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds. "Third, we could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: 'The apparent success of our own multi-ethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricacy and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.' Lamm said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities. "Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, un-assimilated, under-educated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school. "My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority. "My sixth plan for America's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precept. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. 'E. Pluribus Unum' -- From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will 'Balkanize' America as surely as Kosovo. "Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits. Make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bi-cultural country, having established multi-culturalism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America , it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them." In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said, "Last, I would censor Victor Davis Hanson's book Mexifornia. His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. Unless you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book." There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate "diversity." American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America - take note of California and other states To date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book, 1984. In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength." Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream. If you care for and love our country as I do, take the time to pass this on just as I did for you. NOTHING to counteract this is going to happen if you don't!

The Boarder Wall is Only Part of Your Personal Safety Equation...

THE TRUMP WALL IS ONLY PART OF YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY EQUATION car-home-wall While your elected representatives are posturing and promoting themselves for the 2020 election cycle, you might ask what are they doing to keep you safe and secure at home, in the car, and in public? Yes, the democrats and the republicans are fighting over border protection schemes to keep illegal aliens out of the country – a necessary measure to keep Americans safe from terrorists, drug dealers, and those who are rapidly consuming our local, state, and federal resources and disadvantaging Americans in the areas of housing, employment, medical care, education, and social safety nets. But, what of the internal threats posed by the big technology companies that are capturing and selling your information under the guise of providing targeted information that you want or need? Using unilateral “terms of service” or “privacy agreements” which allow them to invade your computers, your home, your vehicle, and anywhere else licensed software resides? It appears that law enforcement authorities are now surreptitiously capturing and voice-printing incarcerated inmates – and possibly doing the same thing to innocent, law-abiding citizens on the other end of the conversation. With today’s sophisticated voice recognition software, how soon will it be before data streams, possibly involving client-attorney privilege, are captured and used in a criminal prosecution? PRISONS ACROSS THE U.S. ARE QUIETLY BUILDING DATABASES OF INCARCERATED PEOPLE’S VOICE PRINTS In New York and other states across the country, authorities are acquiring technology to extract and digitize the voices of incarcerated people into unique biometric signatures, known as voice prints. Prison authorities have quietly enrolled hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people’s voice prints into large-scale biometric databases. Computer algorithms then draw on these databases to identify the voices taking part in a call and to search for other calls in which the voices of interest are detected. Some programs, like New York’s, even analyze the voices of call recipients outside prisons to track which outsiders speak to multiple prisoners regularly. [OCS: I wonder if those products contain software licenses that permit the vendor to access that information in the guise of improving the customer user experience or the accuracy of their returned search results – and then allowing third-parties to access that information with or without a search warrant. We would also be naive to believe that those former law enforcement officials who work for the big technology companies do not do favors for their former colleagues off the books.] Corrections officials representing the states of Texas, Florida, and Arkansas, along with Arizona’s Yavapai and Pinal counties; Alachua County, Florida; and Travis County, Texas, also confirmed that they are actively using voice recognition technology today. And a review of contracting documents identified other jurisdictions that have acquired similar voice-print capture capabilities: Connecticut and Georgia state corrections officials have signed contracts for the technology (Connecticut did not respond to repeated interview requests; Georgia declined to answer questions on the matter). Authorities and prison technology companies say this mass biometric surveillance supports prison security and fraud prevention efforts. But civil liberties advocates argue that the biometric buildup has been neither transparent nor consensual. Some jurisdictions, for example, limit incarcerated people’s phone access if they refuse to enroll in the voice recognition system, while others enroll incarcerated people without their knowledge. Once the data exists, they note, it could potentially be used by other agencies, without any say from the public. [OCS: It is a truism that the inmates often do run the prison, colluding with guards to impose extrajudicial punishment for real or imagined offenses or slights. How is it that in a tightly controlled environment, we keep seeing phones, drugs, and other contraband appear with great regularity. To believe that prison officials are not benefiting from politically-arranged special interest vendor deals and actual bribes is to believe in the tooth-fairy. As we have seen, The Obamacons shared classified unmasking information with a number of agencies without controls to protect key sources and information from leaking to unauthorized persons; and in many cases, the media.] It’s particularly alarming, they add, that the technology’s use in prisons can ensnare people beyond their walls. “Why am I giving up my rights because I’m receiving a call from somebody who has been convicted of a crime?” asks Jerome Greco, a digital forensics attorney at New York’s Legal Aid Society. Greco argues that the mining of outside parties’ voice prints should require a warrant. “If you have a family member convicted of a crime, yet you haven’t been, why are you now having your information being used for government investigations?” Truth-be-told, you cannot trust the big technology companies to tell the truth about the capabilities of their products or the use to which they are put. I can remember when General Motor’s OnStar vehicle safety and protection people told consumers that their system was incapable of spying on a car’s occupants. Until the capability and its use was revealed in a court case. Want to see how bad the problem may be, read “Cartapping: How Feds Have Spied On Connected Cars For 15 Years” at Forbes? How about that fancy doorbell with the embedded camera? “The doorbells have eyes: The privacy battle brewing over home security cameras -- Police want to register — and even subsidize — private security cameras.” Your “smart” television? “Shocking: Smart TV Manufacturer Vizio Spies On Customers Using Advanced Big Data Analytics.” Your DNA? “Woman uses DNA test, finds sperm donor — and pays a ‘devastating’ price.” Even the DNA, voluntarily given by your relatives, can be used to connect you to a crime scene. And, it is being increasingly common for law enforcement officials to interrogate cell phone towers in the location of a criminal act to identify and locate potential witnesses. How long before this capability is used in a high-profile case by the bad guys? Check out what a private investigation firm is offering clients -- “Locating Lost or Unresponsive Witnesses and Clients” Even worse… It appears that major technology companies are prepared to engage in political censorship – mostly biased towards progressive socialist democrats and against conservatives. “Financial Blacklisting: NewsGuard Advises Advertisers to Avoid Pro-Trump Media” or “Microsoft is trying to fight fake news with its Edge mobile browser.” I seriously question any company’s efforts to determine “fake news” because “fake news” is specifically crafted to look like “real news” and, in many instances, the truth is in the interpretation – over which reasonable men and women can agree or disagree. Bottom line… It is time to demand that our elected officials earn their pay by creating legislation that protects “we the people” and not their special interests who fund their campaigns. We must bring our analog laws into the digital age. For individuals, you may want to consider supporting the Electronic Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org) who is fighting to preserve and protect the constitutional rights of individuals in this digital age. We are so screwed. -- steve

From a Friend... Enjoy! I bought a new Dodge 3500 Ram Tri-Flex Fuel Truck. It'll run on hydrogen, gasoline, or E85. Had to go back to the dealer yesterday because I couldn't get the radio to work. The service technician explained that the radio was voice-activated. 'Nelson', the technician said to the radio. The radio replied, 'Ricky or Willie?' 'Willie!' he continued, and 'On The Road Again' came from the speakers. Then he said, 'Ray Charles!', and in an instant 'Georgia On My Mind' replaced Willie Nelson. I drove away happy, and for the next few days, every time I'd say, 'Beethoven', I'd get beautiful classical music, and if I said, 'Beatles', I'd get one of their awesome songs. Well, yesterday, a woman ran a red light and nearly smashed into my new truck, but luckily I swerved in time to avoid her. I yelled at her, 'Crazy Bitch' The radio replied, "HILLARY or PELOSI ?" I love this truck.. I can't believe my grandparents voted Democratic this year in Ft. Lauderdale. They NEVER would have done that when they were alive. I bought a new Dodge 3500 Ram Tri-Flex Fuel Truck. It'll run on hydrogen, gasoline, or E85. Had to go back to the dealer yesterday because I couldn't get the radio to work. The service technician explained that the radio was voice-activated. 'Nelson', the technician said to the radio. The radio replied, 'Ricky or Willie?' 'Willie!' he continued, and 'On The Road Again' came from the speakers. Then he said, 'Ray Charles!', and in an instant 'Georgia On My Mind' replaced Willie Nelson. I drove away happy, and for the next few days, every time I'd say, 'Beethoven', I'd get beautiful classical music, and if I said, 'Beatles', I'd get one of their awesome songs. Well, yesterday, a woman ran a red light and nearly smashed into my new truck, but luckily I swerved in time to avoid her. I yelled at her, 'Crazy Bitch' The radio replied, "HILLARY or PELOSI ?" I love this truck.. I can't believe my grandparents voted Democratic this year in Ft. Lauderdale. They NEVER would have done that when they were alive.

From a Friend... Enjoy! I bought a new Dodge 3500 Ram Tri-Flex Fuel Truck. It'll run on hydrogen, gasoline, or E85. Had to go back to the dealer yesterday because I couldn't get the radio to work. The service technician explained that the radio was voice-activated. 'Nelson', the technician said to the radio. The radio replied, 'Ricky or Willie?' 'Willie!' he continued, and 'On The Road Again' came from the speakers. Then he said, 'Ray Charles!', and in an instant 'Georgia On My Mind' replaced Willie Nelson. I drove away happy, and for the next few days, every time I'd say, 'Beethoven', I'd get beautiful classical music, and if I said, 'Beatles', I'd get one of their awesome songs. Well, yesterday, a woman ran a red light and nearly smashed into my new truck, but luckily I swerved in time to avoid her. I yelled at her, 'Crazy Bitch' The radio replied, "HILLARY or PELOSI ?" I love this truck.. I can't believe my grandparents voted Democratic this year in Ft. Lauderdale. They NEVER would have done that when they were alive. I bought a new Dodge 3500 Ram Tri-Flex Fuel Truck. It'll run on hydrogen, gasoline, or E85. Had to go back to the dealer yesterday because I couldn't get the radio to work. The service technician explained that the radio was voice-activated. 'Nelson', the technician said to the radio. The radio replied, 'Ricky or Willie?' 'Willie!' he continued, and 'On The Road Again' came from the speakers. Then he said, 'Ray Charles!', and in an instant 'Georgia On My Mind' replaced Willie Nelson. I drove away happy, and for the next few days, every time I'd say, 'Beethoven', I'd get beautiful classical music, and if I said, 'Beatles', I'd get one of their awesome songs. Well, yesterday, a woman ran a red light and nearly smashed into my new truck, but luckily I swerved in time to avoid her. I yelled at her, 'Crazy Bitch' The radio replied, "HILLARY or PELOSI ?" I love this truck.. I can't believe my grandparents voted Democratic this year in Ft. Lauderdale. They NEVER would have done that when they were alive.
by Jm Moran

2019-02-03T14:50:26.000Z
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by Jm Moran

2019-02-01T14:22:28.000Z
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by Jm Moran

2019-01-28T12:29:28.000Z
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2019-01-28T12:29:05.000Z
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🤝👍

🤝👍
by Jm Moran

2019-01-28T12:26:11.000Z
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