Depression Then and Now

I'm reading a book, "The Forgotten Man." It is history of the Great Depression. In the Introduction it mentions:

 

The standard history of the Great Depression is one we know. The 1920s were a period of false growth and low morals. There was a certain godlessness---the Great Gatsby image---to the decade. The crash was the honest acknowledgment of the breakdown of capitalism---and the cause of the Depression. A dangerous inflation caused by speculating margin traders brought down the nation. There was a sense of a return to a sane, moral country with the crash. A sense that the economy of 1930 and 1931 could not revive without extensive intervention by Washington.

 

Haven't we heard this scenario before?

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

Heisman Jinx?

No, there is no Heisman Jinx. There is no "best college player." What there is, is a target on the Heisman winner. In games the opponents will be determined the Heisman winner will not beat them. In the NFL teammates will make the Heisman winner prove he was the best, which everyone knows they are not. Opponents will again make sure the Heisman winner does not beat them. So while there is no "best college player" there is a target on what is called the Heisman winner. It is best to come in second.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

Reporters Should Report

Come on Bill. Get back to the story. Anyone else noticed that Bill O'Reilly is spends as much time (or more) talking about himself than the news? Instead of reporting he talks about himself. 

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

What Do We Expect?

Think about it. Only in America. A high school graduate, no college education, never had a real job, plays golf and people worship him. He is not educated nor does he have any practical skills. He plays golf. Anyone who has hit a bucket of balls understands just how low his IQ must be to be able to do nothing but swing at a golf ball everyday, all day, day after day after day. Mostly Asian but has the skin color of a black man so he is considered black. Marries a blond caucasian woman who happens to have pictures on the Internet new and displaying everything. Lives isolated from the real world. Has the morals of a hound dog but why should we expect different? Morals come from Jesus.  

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

Out with the Old in with the New

The entire White House "social" staff must be replaced as does the entire Secret Service contingent responsible for the protection of the president and White House. They are laughing stocks and have lost the respect of the public and the fear of their enemies. Nothing less is acceptable. They succeed AND fail as a team.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

Tiger Trouble

Tiger Woods is making the same mistake the Iranian government made when they tried to muzzle the Internet, Facebook, Twitter etc. It cannot be done. Woods has banked on his popularity with the public for his wallet now he has to be accountable to that same public for his misdeeds. If he continues to stonewall he will only hurt himself. He had better explain in detail now or he will certainly explain later. Interesting how egos think they are larger than life. Woods can drop as fast as he rose and my guess is he cannot afford to live in the style to which he has become accustomed without the fawning of the public. If he lied to the police he had better make them happy because they can make him miserable.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

Harry Truman - Matthew Algeo

Harry  Truman was a different kind of President.  He probably  made as many, or more important decisions regarding our nation's  history as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure  of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the  White House.

The only asset he had when he died was the  house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri . His  wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than  their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives  there.

When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a  year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and  personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and,  later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per  year..

After President Eisenhower was inaugurated,  Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was  no Secret Service following them.

When offered  corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating,  "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and  that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on  his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't  consider that I have done anything which should be the reason  for any award, Congressional or otherwise."

As  president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food..

Modern politicians have found a new level of  success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold  wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to  become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their  offices. Political offices are now for sale.  (sic.   Illinois )

Good old Harry Truman was correct when he  observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player  in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth,  there's hardly any difference!"

I say dig him up and clone him!!

Killings on the Canal

In war you kill people. In WWII many Germans were shot trying to surrender. Many German wounded were killed to prohibit them from fighting again. Same with Japanese soldiers. Same with our soldiers. In war you see your buddy as a puddle of road kill or you find parts of him. In war the soldier is on the edge. He knows he could be killed at any time. In war you are shot at and when you shoot back you find their are non combatants but are you sure? In war a 12 year-old girl can kill you as easily as a experience soldier. The murder of a couple of civilians is inconsequential. Free those soldiers. No one should judge unless they have been there even if they are a General.

 

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

The Road to Rome

Throughout our history as a country when we did not like a group we declared them not human. Native Americans were considered savages and inhuman. Black people were considered slaves and not human and now we are doing it to babies. When combined,abortion and birth control allows people to have sex with anyone and anything at anytime. We are Rome and Obama is Nero. He didn't start it but he is supporting it. Some day we can expect repercussions.

Broken Windows and Power of Context

There is what is called Broken Windows theory. The argument is that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes. Broken windows are invitations to more serious crimes.

 

Muggers and robbers, whether opportunistic or professional, believe they reduce their chances of being caught or even identified if they operate on streets where potential victims are already intimidated by prevailing conditions. If the neighborhood cannot keep a bothersome panhandler from annoying passersby, the thief may reason, it is even less likely to call the police to identify a potential mugger or to interfere if the mugging actually takes place.

 

This is an epidemic theory of crime. It says that crime is contagious---just as a fashion trend is contagious---that it can start with a broken window and spread to an entire community. The impetus to engage in a certain kind of behavior is not coming from a certain kind or person but from a feature of the environment.

 

In New York City removing graffiti from the subway system resulted in a lowering of the crime rate.

 

The graffiti cleanup took six to seven years. At that time the second phase of the subway cleanup began. They began to crack down on fare-beating/ Why? Because it was believed that like graffiti, fare-beating could be a signal, a small expression of disorder that invited much more serious crimes. An estimated 170,000 people a day were entering the system without paying a token. Once one or two or three cheat the system other people --- who might never otherwise have considered evading the law --- would join in, reasoning that if some people weren't going to pay, they shouldn't either, and the problem would snowball.  Because there was only $1.25 at stake, the transit police didn't feel it was worth their time to pursue it, particularly when there were plenty of more serious crimes happening down on the platform and in the trains.

 

Fare-beaters would be nabbed one by one, handcuffed and left them standing in a daisy chain on the platform until they had a "full-catch." The idea was to signal, as publicly as possible that the transit police were now serious about cracking down of fare-beaters. A check was done on all arrested. One out of seven arrestees had an outstanding warrant for a previous crime and one out of twenty was carrying a weapon of some sort. After a while the bad guys left their weapons home and paid the fare.

Health Care Plan and Congress

Reference the current debate on Health Care. Your credibility is at stake here. Voting for or against Health Care for the people while you as a member of Congress have a separate and superior plan will work against you in the next election. I encourage you to cancel congress's special health care plan and go with the one you want or don't want for the people. If you vote against a Health Care plan for the people then you go without also. I also encourage you to cancel congress's retirement plan and go with social security. It is time, it is passed time for members of congress to reject privilege and exhibit moral, ethical, and honest leadership.

Measure of Success

If Obama can get the United Statesback with its once Allies he will have been a success. Without that no one will work with us. The number of countries buying and selling in dollars will dwindle. Our economy will continue in limbo. Lou Holtz says he never talks about his problems because 90% of the people don't care because they have their own problems and 10% are glad he has them. For the United States as a result of the Bush presidency 10% of the countries don't care because they have their own problems to deal with and 90% are glad we have them and will do nothing to help us.
 
The only thing that that can help us is if Obama is successful in getting our Allies to be friendly and helpful again. Complaining about Obama in the media does nothing except possibly discourage our Allies.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question . . . or is it?

NCAA Rules Encourage Illegal Behavior

There is what is called Broken Windows theory. The argument is that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes. Broken windows are invitations to more serious crimes.

Muggers and robbers, whether opportunistic or professional, believe they reduce their chances of being caught or even identified if they operate on streets where potential victims are already intimidated by prevailing conditions. If the neighborhood cannot keep a bothersome panhandler from annoying passersby, the thief may reason, it is even less likely to call the police to identify a potential mugger or to interfere if the mugging actually takes place.

This is an epidemic theory of crime. It says that crime is contagious---just as a fashion trend is contagious---that it can start with a broken window and spread to an entire community. The impetus to engage in a certain kind of behavior is not coming from a certain kind or person but from a feature of the environment.

In New York City removing graffiti from the subway system resulted in a lowering of the crime rate.

You might wonder what this has to do with two college students using a pellet gun to commit a robbery. Circumstances and situations may make committing a crime more inviting, make it seem more logical. Circumstances or the environment may encourage a person inclined to criminal behavior to act or to pause. Circumstances or the environment do not turn a criminal into a law abiding citizen but they might cause an otherwise law abiding citizen think twice about committing a crime.

NCAA rules allow athletes on scholarship to earn up to $2,000 during the school year working part-time jobs. In principle, it's a step in the right direction. In reality, it's a cruel joke. Given the demands of being a college athlete, putting in 20 hours a week at a part-time job is not very practical. The hours athletes would spend working at a job are already spoken for. Typically, they already spend that much time every week in team meetings, practices and traveling to out-of-town games. And depending on the sport, the time demands during the off season aren't that much different from the actual season. That's why college athletes should be paid some kind of reasonable stipend which should be made part of the awarded scholarship. Since they don't have the time to work, it's the only way they can receive money without breaking any NCAA rules. It's the fair thing to do, especially for those athletes who come from low-income families. True, athletes who are on a "full ride" have all the basics covered for school: tuition, books and room and board. Even so, the scholarship does not include a spending money allowance to help cover incidental expenses such as laundry and bath items or being able to go to the movies or buy a hamburger and french fries.

The question is would some of the criminal behavior by University of Tennessee athletes been avoided if not for the NCAA rules.

Robbery is never the solution but a change in circumstances may deter someone from thinking it is. These fellows need to be punished but can something to be done to help others avoid making the same bad decision?

Measurement of Success

A country satisfies its interests more easily when those interests are compatible with the interests of others. During the Cold War, at least with its Allies, the United States pretty much adhered to this concept.

After 9/11 Bush abandoned this approach. He thought the power of the United States was uncontested. He issued demands. No president had ever told so many other governments what they "must" do. He demanded other countries choose to align with the United States or they would find themselves against the United States. He said he was going to rid the world of evil with him as the judge to decide which.

The power of the United States is substantial but considering the events of the past several years, not the least of which being the Iraq War, his "for us or against us" appears foolhardy. Bush's policies did yet unseen damage.

By overstating the Islamist danger, George committed the United States to an open-ended global war that cannot succeed.

If Obama can get the United States back with its once Allies he will have been a success. Without that no one will work with us. The number of countries buying and selling in dollars will dwindle. Our economy will continue in limbo. Lou Holtz says he never talks about his problems because 90% of the people don't care because they have their own problems and 10% are glad he has them. For the United States as a result of the Bush presidency 10% of the countries don't care because they have their own problems to deal with and 90% are glad we have them and will do nothing to help us.

The only thing that that can help us is if Obama is successful in getting our Allies to be friendly and helpful again. Complaining about Obama in the media does nothing except possibly discourage our Allies.

Politics requires artful dissembling

"Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling." Politics requires artful dissembling. Those who aspire to the presidency offer large promises, while delicately skirting any complications that might call into question their ability to translate promise into reality. The Big Lies are not the pledges of tax cuts, universal health care, family values restored, or a world rendered peaceful through forceful demonstrations of American leadership. The Big Lies are the truths that remain unspoken: that freedom has an underside; that nations, like households, must ultimately live within their means; that history's purpose, the subject of so many confident pronouncements, remains inscrutable. Above all, there is this: Power is finite. Politicians pass over matters such as these in silence. As a consequence, the absence of self-awareness that forms such an enduring element of the American character persists.  

No Time for Complaining.

Obama is president. The democrats are in power. The republicans failed us miserably when they had a chance. Now is not the time for the critics to continue to complain. It is time for all of us to work together. Passed time.  If I was Obama I would be more likely to listen to constructive ideas than complaints. Complaining also puts him in the siege mentality and that is no help. Complaining is time spent whining and not productive. When I was working and my department had a problem we had to solve I permitted no recitation of the problem. We knew the problem We needed ideas. Our country is in the same position today. As they say United we stand and divided we fall. Currently we are falling big time.

Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, Paris, December 20th, 1787

Paris, Dec.20, 1787

Dear Sir,
My last to you was of Oct. 8 by the Count de Moustier. Yours of July 18. Sep. 6. & Oct. 24. have been successively received, yesterday, the day before & three or four days before that. I have only had time to read the letters, the printed papers communicated with them, however interesting, being obliged to lie over till I finish my dispatches for the packet, which dispatches must go from hence the day after tomorrow. I have much to thank you for. First and most for the cyphered paragraph respecting myself. These little informations are very material towards forming my own decisions. I would be glad even to know when any individual member thinks I have gone wrong in any instance. If I know myself it would not excite ill blood in me, while it would assist to guide my conduct, perhaps to justify it, and to keep me to my duty, alert.

I must thank you too for the information in Thos. Burke's case, tho' you will have found by a subsequent letter that I have asked of you a further investigation of that matter. It is to gratify the lady who is at the head of the Convent wherein my daughters are, & who, by her attachment & attention to them, lays me under great obligations. I shall hope therefore still to receive from you the result of the further enquiries my second letter had asked. The parcel of rice which you informed me had miscarried accompanied my letter to the Delegates of S. Carolina. Mr. Bourgoin was to be the bearer of both & both were delivered together into the hands of his relation here who introduced him to me, and who at a subsequent moment undertook to convey them to Mr. Bourgoin. This person was an engraver particularly recommended to D'r. Franklin & Mr. Hopkinson. Perhaps he may have mislaid the little parcel of rice among his baggage.

I am much pleased that the sale of Western lands is so successful. I hope they will absorb all the Certificates of our Domestic debt speedily, in the first place, and that then offered for cash they will do the same by our foreign one.

The season admitting only of operations in the Cabinet, and these being in a great measure secret, I have little to fill a letter. I will therefore make up the deficiency by adding a few words on the Constitution proposed by our Convention. I like much the general idea of framing a government which should go on of itself peaceably, without needing continual recurrence to the state legislatures. I like the organization of the government into Legislative, Judiciary & Executive. I like the power given the

Legislature to levy taxes, and for that reason solely approve of the greater house being chosen by the people directly. For tho' I think a house chosen by them will be very illy qualified to legislate for the Union, for foreign nations &c. yet this evil does not weigh against the good of preserving inviolate the fundamental principle that the people are not to be taxed but by representatives chosen immediately by themselves. I am captivated by the compromise of the opposite claims of the great & little states, of the latter to equal, and the former to proportional influence. I am much pleased too with the substitution of the method of voting by persons, instead of that of voting by states: and I like the negative given to the Executive with a third of either house, though I should have liked it better had the Judiciary been associated for that purpose, or invested with a similar and separate power.

There are other good things of less moment. I will now add what I do not like. First the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly & without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopolies, the eternal & unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land & not by the law of nations. To say, as Mr. Wilson does that a bill of rights was not necessary because all is reserved in the case of the general government which is not given, while in the particular ones all is given which is not reserved, might do for the audience to whom it was addressed, but is surely a gratis dictum, opposed by strong inferences from the body of the instrument, as well as from the omission of the clause of our present confederation which had declared that in express terms. It was a hard conclusion to say because there has been no uniformity among the states as to the cases triable by jury, because some have been so incautious as to abandon this mode of trial, therefore the more prudent states shall be reduced to the same level of calamity. It would have been much more just & wise to have concluded the other way that as most of the states had judiciously preserved this palladium, those who had wandered should be brought back to it, and to have established general right instead of general wrong. Let me add that a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, & what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences. The second feature I dislike, and greatly dislike, is the abandonment in every instance of the necessity of rotation in office, and most particularly in the case of the President. Experience concurs with reason in concluding that the first magistrate will always be re-elected if the Constitution permits it. He is then an officer for life. This once observed, it becomes of so much consequence to certain nations to have a friend or a foe at the head of our affairs that they will interfere with money & with arms. A Galloman or an Angloman will be supported by the nation he befriends. If once elected, and at a second or third election out voted by one or two votes, he will pretend false votes, foul play, hold possession of the reins of government, be supported by the States voting for him, especially if they are the central ones lying in a compact body themselves & separating their opponents: and they will be aided by one nation of Europe, while the majority are aided by another. The election of a President of America some years hence will be much more interesting to certain nations of Europe than ever the election of a king of Poland was. Reflect on all the instances in history antient & modern, of elective monarchies, and say if they do not give foundation for my fears. The Roman emperors, the popes, while they were of any importance, the German emperors till they became hereditary in practice, the kings of Poland, the Deys of the Ottoman dependances. It may be said that if elections are to be attended with these disorders, the seldomer they are renewed the better. But experience shews that the only way to prevent disorder is to render them uninteresting by frequent changes. An incapacity to be elected a second time would have been the only effectual preventative. The power of removing him every fourth year by the vote of the people is a power which will not be exercised. The king of Poland is removeable every day by the Diet, yet he is never removed. Smaller objections are the Appeal in fact as well as law, and the binding all persons Legislative Executive & Judiciary by oath to maintain that constitution. I do not pretend to decide what would be the best method of procuring the establishment of the manifold good things in this constitution, and of getting rid of the bad. Whether by adopting it in hopes of future amendment, or, after it has been duly weighed & canvassed by the people, after seeing the parts they generally dislike, & those they generally approve, to say to them `We see now what you wish. Send together your deputies again, let them frame a constitution for you omitting what you have condemned, & establishing the powers you approve. Even these will be a great addition to the energy of your government.'

At all events I hope you will not be discouraged from other trials, if the present one should fail of its full effect. I have thus told you freely what I like & dislike: merely as a matter of curiosity, for I know your own judgment has been formed on all these points after having heard everything which could be urged on them. I own I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive. The late rebellion in Massachusetts has given more alarm than I think it should have done. Calculate that one rebellion in 13 states in the course of 11 years, is but one for each state in a century & a half. No country should be so long without one. Nor will any degree of power in the hands of government prevent insurrections. France, with all it's despotism, and two or three hundred thousand men always in arms has had three insurrections in the three years I have been here in every one of which greater numbers were engaged than in Massachusetts & a great deal more blood was spilt. In Turkey, which Montesquieu supposes more despotic, insurrections are the events of every day. In England, where the hand of power is lighter than here, but heavier than with us they happen every half dozen years. Compare again the ferocious depredations of their insurgents with the order, the moderation & the almost self extinguishment of ours. After all, it is my principle that the will of the majority should always prevail. If they approve the proposed Convention in all it's parts, I shall concur in it chearfully, in hopes that they will amend it whenever they shall find it work wrong. I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe. Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty. I have tired you by this time with my disquisitions & will therefore only add assurances of the sincerity of those sentiments of esteem & attachment with which I am Dear Sir your affectionate friend & servant
Th. Jefferson

P. S. The instability of our laws is really an immense evil. I think it would be well to provide in our constitutions that there shall always be a twelve-month between the ingross-ing a bill & passing it: that it should then be offered to it's passage without changing a word: and that if circum-stances should be thought to require a speedier passage, it should take two thirds of both houses instead of a bare majority.


The Thomas Jefferson Papers Series 1. General Correspondence. 1651-1827, Library of Congress

Greed and Advarice

Capitalism requires that for one to get ahead one must get behind. One step up the rungs of the ladder calls for someone to be stepped upon. The stock market used to be people investing their money by purchasing shares of stock. Over the years watching the company, lead by honest, ethical and moral men and women progress; expand providing a product or service. But that is no longer the case. Today investing in the stock market is no different than online poker or the lottery or a crap shoot. For one to sell one must buy. One sells, thinking the price will be going lower, to a person they hope is naïve enough to think the price is going higher. Business leaders no longer can be assumed to be ethical, honest or even moral. The sins of the flesh are quite available thus the high divorce rate among corporate leaders as well as unethical and dishonest behavior by those leaders. Lacking morals and ethics corporate leaders believe they can and must do anything and everything to get the stock of their corporation to increase in price. So do the holders of such stocks.

Dennis just helped people in their drive for more. If his clients thought there was a chance Dennis could lose their money they would not have invested with him. They believed Dennis had some magical formula that could beat the market. Remember for one to win one must lose. For one to sell high one must buy high. His clients assumed they were not going to be the losers. Given a level playing field they might have appreciated a modest growth but they did not expect modest. They expected wealth and lost.

How could they expect any different? When Dennis got money did he help people? No. Like the fellow in the parable he looked at his barns and said to himself I will tear down my barns and build bigger barns to store all I have gained. He built a horrific house useless except for kindling. But guests worshipped at the entrance of his house.

Business leaders fell at his feet and worshipped what they thought they saw. They paid homage to the rich man and ignored the plight of the poor. They ate sumptuously at his table while many of the children in Sevier County do not eat unless school is in session. They buy big cars and big houses while their employees cannot afford health insurance. They saw in Dennis what they wanted to be and the balloon broke. Now no one has anything.

Do not lay up treasures where rust and moth corrupt for where your treasure is so shall be your heart.

So, now Dennis lives his remaining years in prison. He's gone. His client's fortune is gone and the world goes on. Forgive and forget.

A Bit Odd, don't you think?

Am I the only person who thinks it a bit odd that a few soldiers are killed at their home base and the country weeps, the media stares while individuals who die in war are mourned and honored only by their families and buried out of the view of the country.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

How Much Luck Does One Person Deserve?

What luck. Abdul-Jabbar contracts cancer and has an contract to promote the medicine that is supposed to cure it.  Paid to have cancer. What luck.

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

Iran Hikers

Leave them in jail. The less intelligent of our country cannot be permitted to be used as as pawns by our enemies. Besides they are probably spies. Why else would a citizen of the United States go hiking in an area of the world at war with the United States? Leave them in jail.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

World Series Tickets at a Discount

Whoever thinks paying a discounted $225 a ticket is something regular people can afford is out of touch with regular people. Anyone who pays $900 for a seat at a game better seen on TV has more money than brains.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

"We are more and more into communications and less and less into communication."
Studs Terkel

If I Were the Devil - Paul Harvey

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

 

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;

 

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;

 

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

 

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;

 

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

 

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;

 

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that life of animals are valued more than human beings;

 

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;

 

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;

 

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the minds of every family member for my agenda;

 

I would attack then family, the backbone of any nation. I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

 

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movies screens, and I would call it art;

 

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

 

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agendas as politically correct;

 

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, the Bible is for the naive:

 

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

 

I GUESS I WOULD LEAVE THINGS PRETTY MUCH THE WAY THEY ARE!

Afghanistan? Yes or No?

As the president cogitates on sending more troops to Afghanistan the soldiers in country can see him delaying. We can only imagine how they understand the delay. Would you like to join previous casualties and die for a mistake? That is how they understand the delay.

NFL Brain Injuries

If you want to reduce the number and seriousness of brain injuries and neck injuries and quarterbacks get rid of the helmet. The players feel protected but they are not. The helmet may minimize skull fractures but they do nothing or very little to protect the brain. Get rid of the helmet. The players use it as a weapon and the officials are to scared to call the infraction. If the NFL returns to the helmet worn by Red Grange things will be better and safer.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

As an American - Newt Gingrich

"As an American I am not so shocked that Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize without any accomplishments to his name, but that America gave him the White House based on the same credentials."

- - Newt Gingrich

Afghanistan and Iraq Yes? or No?

We can only imagine how encouraging it is to the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq knowing their Commander and Chief cannot decide if the two countries are worth risking additional American lives for. Must be a real moral builder. Think of the honor of being the last person to die for a mistake. Reminds one of Viet Nam. But we still have a way to go. In Viet Nam over 50,000 died for a mistake. This country sucks when it comes to wasting the lives of our military.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

Educated Fools v Morons

With Barack Obama winning in 78 of the 100 U.S. counties with the highest education levels and John McCain winning in 88 of the 100 counties with the lowest education levels do we conclude the educated morons went for Obama while the morons went for McCain? .

 

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

BODY FOUND IN BELLE RIVER, PIERRE PART, LOUISIANA

                   The Assumption Parish Sheriff's Department reported finding a man's body in Belle River just south of the Spunky Monkey Tavern. The man's name will not be released until his family has been notified. The victim apparently drowned after consuming an excessive amount of alcohol. He was wearing black fishnet stockings, a red garter belt with matching bra, bright red lipstick, eye shadow, and an Obama T-shirt.
                  

The deputy removed the Obama T-shirt to spare his family any unnecessary embarrassment.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me it would defeat the purpose.

Liam McCarty

Reference Liam McCarty and another boy in Japan. Lesson learned. When you marry someone from a different culture you live under their rules. Both boys are with their mother so what is the problem?

 

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me it would defeat the purpose.

Dreams of a Successful Church

Rick Warren says congregations should look at successful congregations and see if they are doing something they can use. Here are some dreams of the Saddleback church:

 

It is the dream of a place where the hurting, the depressed, the frustrated, and the confused can find love, acceptance, help, hope, forgiveness, guidance, and encouragement.   

 

It is the dream of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the hundreds of thousands of residents in south Orange County.   

 

It is the dream of welcoming 20,000 members into the fellowship of our church family-loving, learning, laughing, and living in harmony together.   

 

It is the dream of developing people to spiritual maturity through Bible studies, small groups, seminars, retreats, and a Bible school for our members.   

 

It is the dream of equipping every believer for a significant ministry by helping them discover the gifts and talents God gave them. 

 

It is the dream of sending out hundreds of career missionaries and church workers all around the world, and empowering every member for a personal life mission in the world. It is the dream of sending our members by the thousands on short-term mission projects to every continent. It is the dream of starting at least one new daughter church every year.   

 

It is the dream of at least fifty acres of land, on which will be built a regional church for south Orange County with beautiful, yet simple, facilities including a worship center seating thousands, a counseling and prayer center, classrooms for Bible studies and training lay ministers, and a recreation area, All of this will be designed to minister to the total person-spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially-and set in a peaceful, inspiring garden landscape. 

 

We dream of 15,000 members who have committed themselves to the Maturity Covenant: Having a daily time with God, giving a weekly tithe to God, and participating in a weekly team (small group) for God. 

 

We dream of a network of 1,000 small groups within our church providing support, encouragement, and accountability to our members as they seek to grow in Christ likeness. These groups will continue to be led by trained lay pastors and leaders who lovingly lead, feed, and care for those in their group. 

 

We dream of our Life Development Institute for our members, offering a balanced program of Bible studies, classes, topical seminars, and annual conferences for building knowledge, perspective, conviction, skills, and character. We expect 7,500 members to receive the LDI basic diploma by 2020. 

 

We dream of our midweek believers' service involving 5,000 adults, children, and youth who are not involved in a small-group fellowship. 

 

We dream of a faculty of 250 gifted lay teachers, equipped with the vision, character, knowledge, and expertise to feed our flock. We dream of a teacher-training program that produces experts in individual Bible books, doctrine, apologetics, and Christian growth. We dream of the day that it can be said, "The best Bible teachers in the country are the lay teachers at Saddleback." 

 

We dream of an age-appropriate Life Development Process that leads our children and youth to love Jesus and his church, grow spiritually, discover their shape for ministry, and understand their life mission in the world. 

 

We dream of Saddleback as a model of Christian education that focuses on life change, not just comprehension. We intend to make available resources, tools, and training to thousands of other purpose-driven churches. 

 

We dream of working with seminaries to establish a church-based training program for pastors. We intend to train leaders for the twenty-first century church in how to start, develop, and lead purpose-driven churches. 

 

The goal of this vision is to bring glory to God by presenting Jesus Christ with as many Christ like disciples as we possibly can before he returns Col. 1:28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 

 

I stand before you today and state in confident assurance that these dreams will become reality.  Why? Because, they are inspired by God! 
 
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

"Remember, the only difference between marital and martial is where you put the 'i'"
Albert "the Reb" Lewis

Kill a Tree or Choke a Turtle?

Those little plastic bags we carry our purchases home in are an ecological disaster. In the United States 88 billion are used each year, their cousins are blowing in the breeze from Sao Paulo to New Delhi, caught in shrubbery, filling gutters and killing animals that eat or get caught in them. The worst part is they take 500 to 1,000 years to decompose. The good part is they are 1005 recyclable. Problem is about 1% get recycled.

 

Not that paper bags are better. Estimates are it takes more energy and pollutes more water to make paper bags than plastic ones.

 

A paper cup consumes 33 grams of wood while a polystyrene one use about 4 grams of fuel oil or natural gas both take a slew of chemicals. Making a paper cup consumes thirty-six times as much electricity and 580 times of the volume of waste water, which contains some level of contaminants like chlorine;  on the other hand, making the plastic cup produces pentane, a gas that increases ozone and greenhouse gas. But then there are methane releases of paper cups left to biodegrade in a landfill.

 

The smart answer to "Paper or Plastic?" is Neither---I brought my own bag. But. . .what are the impacts of that brought-my-own-bag? Were they manufactured in factories certified to offer fair wages with no child labor, were carbon offsets purchased to cover the impacts of manufacture and transport, and were they sold (to the end user) at cost? Was fair trade cotton used and was it bought directly from small growers?

 

Winners and Losers Balance

When the playing field is level the only way one individual can get ahead is if another loses. Overtime guessing will balance winners and losers. Someone inventing a better mousetrap is the only exception to that rule. CEOs can get outrageous salaries, bonuses, golden parachutes only if their hand selected Board of Directors gives them to him or her. They are all unethical.

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

"Remember, the only difference between marital and martial is where you put the 'i'"
Albert "the Reb" Lewis

Can You Trust General McChrystal? No..

The man chosen by Barack Obama to lead the war in Afghanistan also helped cover up the friendly-fire death of NFL player turned soldier Pat Tillman. He administered a fraudulent medal recommendation to keep the public in the dark. So why isn't anybody talking about it?

Laura Buxton

On NPR today there was a story of Laura Buxton who lives in England. It seems that in June 2001 she released a helium filled balloon during celebrations for her grandparents' gold wedding anniversary in Blurton, Staffordshire, England. Attached to the balloon was her name and address and a note asking the finder to write back. Ten days later she received a reply. The balloon had been found by another Laura Buxton in the garden hedge of her home in Pewsey, Wiltshire, 140 miles away. One Laura was 10 years the other was 9 years 6 months. Both had three year old black Labradors, a guinea pig, and a rabbit. When they met they were the same height, had the same hair color, and were dressed in similar outfits, both wearing pink jumpers and jeans. They each had brought, unbeknownst to the other, their guinea pig with them to the meeting. Both guinea pigs were brown and each had an orange patch on their bottom. Each girl had a pet rabbit - a gray one, and a 3-year-old black Labrador. And that was the beginning of a discussion concerning miracles and/or coincidences. It is similar to the coincidences between Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy.

BREAKING NEWS on Social Security

Hey,

I just got some really bad news about next year's Social Security payments.

For the first time in 35 years, seniors are not expected to receive an automatic cost-of-living adjustment, the yearly increase that helps them make ends meet and keep up with rising prices. This is in spite of the fact that the costs of prescription drugs, utilities and health care continue to rise.

This is a big problem - and, unless Congress acts, the 41 million seniors who rely on Social Security will be left without relief in this tough economy.

Join me in contacting Congress to tell them to act fast to make sure that seniors get the help they deserve next year. Just click the link below to send your message.

https://secure2.convio.net/aarp/site/Advocacy?id=453&pagename=homepage

Thanks so much for your quick help on this urgent matter.
To take action on this issue, click on the link below:
https://secure2.convio.net/aarp/site/Advocacy?s_oo=utnh98F0T7avfCzzeUAH-A..&id=453
If the text above does not appear as a link or it wraps across multiple lines, then copy and paste it into the address area of your browser.

Letter to Sens Corker, Alexander, and Rep Roe

I just heard that next year Social Security recipients will not see a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their payments. That is a troubling thought for the 41 million seniors whose financial security depends on the program.

While overall inflation might not be rising in the United States, the daily costs for seniors are growing fast - especially on the things that seniors need most, such as health care and prescription drugs. The average senior spends $4,400 out of pocket every year on health care alone.

Further, a depressed housing market, investment losses, and low returns on CD's and money market accounts make it even harder for seniors to recover from the recession.  Now is the worst time for a lack of a COLA for Social Security.

As your constituent, I would like you to work with your colleagues to ensure that seniors get the relief they need at this important time. Not only would this relief help seniors afford health care, prescription drugs, food and other basic necessities, but it will also inject money directly into the economy, because seniors are more likely to spend the money than any other age group.

Thank you in advance for your support on this important issue. Please act quickly to remedy this problem of no Social Security COLA.

The Rule of 150

Robin Dunbar, a British anthropologist has concluded the number 150 represents the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have  a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to us. The military uses the approximate number to size various units. It is possible to run an army with larger groups, it just takes  complicated hierarchies and rules and regulations and formal measures to try to command loyalty and cohesion. Below 150 these same goals can be met informally without the hiearchies.

 

Some Turned it Down. .

 Le Duc Tho was awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize with Henry Kissinger for their roles in brokering a Vietnam cease fire at the Paris Peace Accords. Citing the absence of actual peace in Vietnam, Tho declined to accept. Being Vietnamese Americans did not think that much of him winning the prize but being the egotist he is Henry did not let the lack of peace interrupt his party.

 Jean Paul Sartre waved off the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature. His explanation: "It is not the same thing if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre or if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prize winner. A writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution, even if it takes place in the most honorable form."

 

Afraid of Soviet retribution if he traveled to Stockholm to claim his prize, Boris Pasternak declined to accept the 1958 Prize in Literature, which he'd earned for Doctor Zhivago. The Academy refused his refusal. "This refusal, of course, in no way alters the validity of the award. There remains only for the Academy, however, to announce with regret that the presentation of the Prize cannot take place." Yevgeny Pasternak accepted the prize on behalf of his deceased father in 1989.

Swedish poet Erik Axel Karlfeldt won for Literature in 1918. He did not accept because he was Secretary of the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize. He was given the award posthumously in 1931. This was allowed because the nomination was made before Karlfeldt died -- no candidate may be proposed after death. In theory the prize is for current accomplishments and very few people accomplish much when they are dead.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

"Remember, the only difference between marital and martial is where you put the 'i'"
Albert "the Reb" Lewis

One is Dead or Alive, no in between.

Come on, the lack of a pulse means if you don't get one started soon you WILL BE dead but you are not dead. Dead is BRAIN DEAD. Brain dead is no brain activity..

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

"Remember, the only difference between marital and martial is where you put the 'i'"
Albert "the Reb" Lewis

Our Pres's Peach Prize

When I first heard President Obama had been given the Nobel Prize for Peace I thought it was a bit early and that the president had not done anything yet. I thought being given the prize before he had done anything could be a negative and would raise expectations which he would surely not meet. Then it occurred to me, what other leader of any country had, in the past 20 years, encouraged enemies to meet and talk about their problems? The answer being none put our president in their sights, so-to-speak. Being willing to talk with our enemies without preconditions and as equals is refreshing even if it comes to naught.

Now the question is since the president may not keep the presents he is given will the prize money go into his personal bank account or into the treasury to help pay down the deficit?

Another thing to consider is the prize is political. People have received Nobel Prizes and later found the accomplishments being rewarded were errors, mistakes, stupidity, accidents and eventually withdrawn. If WWIII breaks out during Obama's time as president I imagine his prize will be withdrawn.

A Standing Army

A standing army is an army composed of full time professional soldiers who 'stand over', in other words, who do not disband during times of peace. They differ from army reserves who are activated only during such times as war or natural disasters.

In the British Colonies in America, there was a general distrust of peacetime armies; too much under the power of the head of state, versus civilian control of the military, resulting tyranny.

 In Great Britain, this led to the British Bill of Rights which reserves authority over a standing army to the Parliament, not the King, and in the United States, led to the U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 8) which reserves similar authority to Congress not the President.

"When a government wishes to deprive its citizens of freedom, and reduce them to slavery, it generally makes use of a standing army." – Luther Martin, Maryland delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

 

"[The King of Great Britain] has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature. He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power... For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states. For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury, For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses...." –Declaration of Independence

 

"No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, ... keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace" -- United States Constitution, Article I, Section 10.

 

While none of the Founding Documents mention the word "police", our Municipal, City, County, and State Police fit this description of a Standing Army. The Founding Fathers are on record for opposing the abuses of Standing Armies: "What, sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty." Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts (August 17, 1789).

 

 

 

The New Economics of Culture and Commerce

Most of the top fifty best-selling albums of all time were recorded in the seventies and eighties (the Eagles and Michael Jackson), and none of them were made in the past five years. Hollywood box-office revenue was down 6 percent in 2005, reflecting the reality that the theatergoing audience is falling even as the population grows.

 

The author gives other examples and concludes that in short, while we still obsess over hits, they are not quite the economic force they once were. Number one is still number one, but the sales that go with that are not what they once were. The ratings of top TV shows have been falling for decades, and the number one show today would not have made the top ten in 1970.

 

The author compares two teenagers, Chris, raised in the seventies and eighties and Ben being raised today with the Internet.

 

Chris had access to a half dozen TV channels, and virtually everyone watched a few or more of the same handful of TV shows.  There were three or four rock radio stations in town that largely dictated what music people listened to; only a few lucky kids had money to build record collections that ventured farther afield.

 

Everyone saw the same summer blockbusters in the theater and got news from the same papers and broadcasts. About the only place Chris could explore outside the mainstream were the library and the comic book shop.

 

Ben grew up with the Internet He has a Mac in his bedroom, an iPod and friends with the same. Like his friends, Ben has never known a world without broadband, cell phones, MP3s. Tivo, and online shopping.

 

The main effect of all this connectivity is unlimited and unfiltered access to culture and content of all sorts, from the mainstream to the farthest fringe of the underground. Ben's world is far less dominated by any of the traditional media and entertainment industries.

 

From Ben's perspective, the cultural landscape is a seamless continuum from high to low, with commercial and amateur content competing equally for his attention. He picks from an infinite menu where Hollywood movies and player-created video-game stunt videos are listed side by side. 

 

Ben watches just two hours or so a week of regular TV. He counts as TV the anime he downloads with BitTorrent, a peer-to peer file sharing technology, because it was originally broadcast on Japanese television (the English subtitles are often edited in by fans).

 

Anime (pronounced AH-nee-may) is a term for a style of Japanese comic book and video cartoon animation in which the main characters have large doe-like eyes. Anime is the prevalent style in Japanese comic books or manga. In Japan, the comic book is a popular form of entertainment for adults as well as for younger audiences. Story lines are often very sophisticated and complex and extend into episodic series. Typical anime themes or genres include Ninja and other martial arts; the supernatural or horror story; the romance; and science fiction including robots and space ships. Foils for the main characters, including robots, monsters, or just plain bad people, often lack the doe-eyed quality.

BitTorrent is a file distribution system used for transferring files across a network of people. As you download a file, BitTorrent places what you download on upload for other users.

The files downloaded via BitTorrent are called torrents.

He watches movies he downloads, such as amateur machinima and independent productions such as Star War Revelations, a fan-created tribute film with special effects that rival the Lucas originals.

 

Machinima is a form of filmmaking that uses computer game technology to shoot films in the virtual reality using a game engine.

 

Some of the music on Ben's iPod is downloaded from iTunes, but most comes from his friends.  When one of the group buys a CD, he or she typically makes copies for everyone else. He listens to almost no radio.

 

He, like a few of his friends, is so into Japanese subculture that he is studying Japanese in school. When Chris was in school he studied Japanese because Japan was a dominant economic power and language skills were thought to open up career opportunities. Ben studies Japanese so he can create his own anime subtitles and dig deeper into manga than the relatively mainstream translated stuff.

 

Manga are Japanese comic books. Manga is often made into Japanese cartoons, or Anime. The art in Manga has a very definite look to it and is often referred to as "Manga Style."

 

Most of Ben's free time is spent online, both randomly surfing and participating in user forums. He is not interested in news—he reads no newspapers and watches no TV news. –but follows the latest tech and subculture chatter on sites such as Slashdot (geek news) and Fark (Weird news).  He instant messages constantly all day with his ten closest friends. (Texting is preferred by those out and about a lot; IM is the chat channel of choice for those who tend to spend more time in their own rooms). Ben plays video games with friends, mostly online.

Slashdot (often abbreviated as /.) is a technology-related news website which features user-submitted and editor-evaluated current affairs news with a nerdy slant. The site slogan is "News for nerds. Stuff that matters."

Fark.com is a community website allowing users to comment on a daily batch of news articles and other items from various websites.

The main difference between Chris's and Ben's experience is choice. Chris was limited to what was broadcast over the airwaves. Ben has the Internet. Chris did not have Tivo (or even cable); Ben as all that and BitTorrent, too.  Chris had no idea there was even a thing as manga, much less how to get it. Ben has access to it all.

 

Compare that with the experience of those of us who grew up in the forties, fifties and sixties whose experiences were much different and much more limited.