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We Americans are a selfish bunch often becoming “patriotic” only when it helps our pocketbook.

Our vote has become a self interest vote which is part of democracy’s strength and also part of its weakness. The poor vote one way and the rich another; the poor vote hoping to get a free piece and the rich vote to keep all of their pieces and not have to share any. Or something like that.

The undecided straddling the middle cast the swing votes; they hope to give a little and get a little and not take too big of an overall hit.

The neither rich nor poor get caught square in the middle or “middle class” as it is often called. The Twilight Zone might be a more appropriate name.

For example. When a politician promises to create jobs they neglect to tell their uninformed electorate that government does not and cannot create jobs. Taxing Peter to “create” a job for Paul is not job creation but a form of legalized theft.

It’s called bad government and it’s not what government does well and it is simply untrue to say that it does.

Entrepreneurs create jobs. Government can only create and maintain the economic conditions that help entrepreneurs create jobs.

What we don’t hear are politicians encouraging entrepreneurs; politicians just increase the cost of doing business. Subsequently entrepreneurs usually see government as setting up obstacles rather than creating positive economic conditions. Is this surprising?

So when politicians tell you bad trade agreements are responsible for your company going bankrupt and your losing your job, they are fooling the foolish.

An uninformed electorate is supposedly a bad electorate but opportunist politicos love it when voters are not able to think and reason for themselves. Or just don’t know.

In this air of non-traditional patriotism stockholders and industry want a bail out when things fail. Bankrupt homeowners want a bail out when they speculate and lose. The educational system wants more money yet continues to be out of step with the educational needs of a modern, technological society.

Are you better off now than four years ago? The question implies that if you aren’t better off now you can vote for Politician X and that will change. Like it or not, the truth of the matter is that government has become increasingly irrelevant in the modern world.

The two meaningful parties in the U.S. have the electorate fooled into thinking we are fighting for our very own selfish interests. What they neglect to say is the pact they have with each other is commonly called “gridlock” and is somehow supposed to represent our best interests, checks and balances and all that good stuff. Really?

The liberal lie is “You can have a bigger slice of the pie if you vote for me.” The conservative lie is “let’s not change anything because that way we benefit the most and above all else we don’t want to give that up that relative status.”

Neither side is very willing to help the general populace as they are already committed to helping their own focused support base. That is how they raise money, get elected and the turn the proverbial worm.

Of course as societies become self-centered and greedy they become weak, corrupt and hasten their own downfall. We may not want to believe this depressing news but there has never been an example otherwise.

But the politicians simply don’t care as seen by their actions. Theirs is a short term vision just as the CEO’s is for the next quarter. The only time the politicos ever go into the factories and machine shops and diners is at election time.

What we have created is a gridlocked, cultural sporting event compromise instead of looking at what is best for America. This is what we wanted; should we be surprised we have gotten it?

What America needs is not the false hope of a government induced comfort zone but a government that challenges its electorate and creates opportunities for all to do better. Doing better is what America does best or at least in the traditional sense of patriotism.

But we get what we deserve and we deserve some of the politicians we get. Those politicians like to keep us confused.

Shame on all those politicians. But bigger shame on us. We can clearly see that social evolution has exceeded government’s and politics’ ability to respond. By nature government and politicians are reactive and not strategic.

And in a rapidly changing world increasingly irrelevant.

Jack Deal is the owner of JD Deal Promotional Marketing, Santa Cruz and Monterey, CA. Related articlesmay be found at http://www.jddeal.com/blog/politics and http://www.freeandinquiringmind.typepad.com

Diamond minds comes to us rarely, and to enjoy any quality lifestyles were a challenge during the lifetime of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Events that unfolded during these years created general boundaries for the modern world new and old. By then a fellow citizen of what would become Italy had opened up a new world, while Leonardo was some times forced to move to Avignon in France while armies of Florence fought off Venice who fought them all off. In fact in one of these flights for a more healthy lifestyle than dying, he brought along a painting, which he offered the King of France, who was also one of several Popes at that time, safe harbor.

So we should all stop our frowns that the Mona Lisa was war booty by some Napoleon, who did take much from many. But the Mona Lisa, we now learn, was as payment for several years protective custody, where he lived in secure luxury and created much. So, dear France, I take back my fierce glance: your Mona is yours, as if payment to Rome, for healthy lifestyles to Leonardo, until a nicer Borgia said it you can come home.

And my leap to the present is to touch on the point, about how Leonardo would discover a body in it’s complete sense, including doing autopsies to peel away a dead corpse of a human, skin through muscle to organs and bone. He did this once at an old home when he asked questions of a man in his nineties some of his ways. The gentle man talked as our wisdom today, he was poor but he counted his blessings. He tried to be kind and thoughtful to others. He could savor the joys of his long life during famines and plagues. He thanked everyone, was a forgiving soul. He was still close to his family, and he ate well, and walked. He was careful to not fall, as he saw many people end this way.

And then he died. Leonardo was so overwhelmed he requested, and was allowed to do a complete autopsy of this wonderful man. He found a body still inside so unusually young, while he had lived through so much.

So we do know that Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa as his inner eye saw her. He created her skeletal structure, and then filled in the organs and over them the layers of muscle. And over those layers he pulled on her skin, and popped in her eyes, and worked on her smile. There are many layers of muscle under that skin and those lips, and that is one of the magic of her eyes as well. They are rounded with layers, as people can see, that when you walk right to left, her eyes follow you. And her smile changes too. That is Leonardo for you.

My wonderful large book on Leonardo, I have mentioned before, was given to me by a wonderful man named John. He had been a navigator during World War Two, and his caution for air flack had him one of the few to have flown so many missions and made it back each time. They were usually the last to arrive, and always the other half of the mission to make it back had landed earlier, and had the best seats at the bar.

The other pilots, while mourning those did not return, could always tease the pilot of John’s aircraft, late again. But as always, John had kept them alive, and was evading killer fighters and every shooting site he could see. And if he had to zig zag them from Bavaria to Denmark he was taking them home in their same skin. But they were not heroes, as they were not first. But they did still survive, still were alive. Some times it is wise not to rush, but observe. Then orient yourself, decide, and then act on your nerve.

Derek Dashwood enjoys the combining of science into the humanities to measure politics and use and wise use of power, diamonds or coal for brains at
It is Her Diamond,Let Her Choose!

Napoleon warned Europe that China was a sleeping dragon and it was wise to let her sleep. For if awakened, her roar would shake the earth. Did you feel that tremble? He spoke that at the height of his glory as he was winning at every battle he took on. But, what did Napoleon know?

By 1844 the British had wrested control of Hong Kong in south China in a 99 year lease of a deep protected harbor. Here they began to secure their west Pacific naval base, while eight thousand miles to the east over the Pacific Ocean,near Victoria Canada would be their east Pacific Naval base.

And although within decades Canada had created itself a nation, it was years before Britain was only a visitor at this base, and only a decade ago that Hong Kong reverted to China.

During the re building after the war with Japan, Hong Kong under the British thrived, allowing free enterprise. Millions of Chinese poured into the enclave where it was China but not China and you could get rich, as many did. But the success of this free Hong Hong created the need to put up fortified fences to keep Chinese out, as the population exploded. British control of Shanghai had them create a great European city, in which the park signs read No Chinese Allowed.

China saw wealth and power eluding them with the ways of Marx. Thus gradually, Communist leaders saw this was also happening, and way too much with Japan. There did seem to be some magic to this free market trading. How was it that China was on the winning side of World War Two. But Japan had been so utterly humiliated and forced to accept the Anglo American ways of democracy and a free market economy guided by fair rules, under and after their tutelage Japan and Hong Kong were beating Britain and America at their own game.

So while the Soviet system adopted by China imploded into Russia and the ten smaller bears, yet rich enough with natural resources at just the right time, China was at a cross roads it had already passed. No democracy, but free market cooperation between state corporations and the corporations of the world.

So China is thriving with few natural resources except coal, yet a hard working, diligent, intelligent people who are now building their futures and that of China as never before. Hundreds of millions of people are still on the move to the coastal factories.

On the coast, men and women earn far more than they could have back home. And even in the countryside, the government remains fearful of the many rebellions that do happen every time more people are moved from their ancestral homes by the army, for yet another mega hydro plant or factory.

To ease life in the country, China is helping create one hundred million bio gas cement septic tanks that collect the farm and human waste. From here, a plastic tube feeds back to the family stove, which now gives clean natural methane.

Such a family no longer need to search for branches to cook their meals, cleaning their homes of dirty soot, This greatly and quickly improves the health of the family. This seems to be one of the simplest and least expensive ways to begin to reduce soot into the air, that is: global warming.

If we imagine and then put into place several billion of these in areas such as India and Africa, where the stripping of skeletal trees in the dry lands or desert causes soot and the spread of the desert.

Meanwhile, Chinese are shopping and walking proudly in their parks in Shanghai and across the river a vast new ultra modern metropolis we see. All to the good.

So far, the communist leaders had not been brave enough to loosen controls and also try democracy, but with millions being taught sciences and computer technology people have a way of making their voices and computers heard.

It seems that the extreme good fortune of China was to have ninety nine years to watch and marvel at how that empty deep bay of Hong Kong became the little powerhouse so rich mighty, poor China just could not ignore. Any more.

And besides, if Japan got any richer while China stayed poor, how could they ever defend themselves if either Russia or Japan or that thorn in their side, off shore Taiwan.

The future, except for full democracy, is here now and that growing mutual wealth, the more spread around, the less likely riots and bombs. And we think that is progress of the right kind for now.

Derek Dashwood loves the combining of science into the humanities to measure happiness and bliss.Love and showing it is central as you know, and can see here at
Chinese Heritage and Antiques

These words about the use of power by Lincoln had me think of the legacy of power that America had enjoyed during the presidencies of the first President Bush, and also with Bill Clinton.

In a touch of brilliance to push all signatories to sign the Akron Accord for some short peace in the area, Clinton held the meeting at the location of largest fleet of air bombers in the world at Akron. Clinton of course had all enjoy a military review of the entire length of this vast airfield filled to overflow with bombers brought in from all over for the big day.

By the end of the review, and then the return to the room with the papers and pens, after all those enemies had absorbed the force of America, they all sat down among the massive sea of bombers at Akron, and all signed, all signatures. Then I suspect all asked if they could use the washrooms. They all knew that Bill Clinton had it in his power to snap his fingers and lift those thousand bombers warming up as they walked, and be off bombing some factories and homes by nightfall.

This was a clever and very powerful hint of force, to achieve the results Clinton and the world sought, with not one bomb dropped, many heads banged together with the sounds of aircraft engines warming up. Some wise application of power is so long overdue. Here is to hope, wisdom spouting out of the sidewalks in Washington, less provocation and arrogance, more cooperation and humility. That is what Lincoln would have done, as historians describe Lincoln as an emotional genius.

Lincoln insisted that General Robert E. Lee be left to live out his life in dignity and peace on his farm in Virginia, to show all there was now to be healing and forgiveness.

Lincoln did not send Lee to Guatanamo, or hang him by his thumbs, nor mortify his faith or have him blindfolded with wires to car batteries. That legacy belongs to the emotional morons who now jump and leap from chandelier to rafters inside a place some would call Casa Blanca. Spanish for White House, Rick says.

In contrast,the first Gulf War was a masterpiece of diplomacy applied in cooperation with enemies and allies to talk Iraq out of Kuwait. When that failed, and only when President George Herbert Walker Bush, who had worked hard to achieve full amazing cooperation of all key players, not only in the region but all world powers and the United Nations on side. Only then did we all attack and chase home Iraq.

That we stopped at the Iraq border caused many of us to cry that we were only so many miles from taking out that dictator. But a very experienced senior career diplomat who had once called called the Reagan tax cuts “voodoo economics”, had the wise power of a Lincoln to stop at that border. All Arab states on our side in that war had warned this was about respect of borders. And a wiser Bush, unlike little Caesar, did not cross this Rubicon.

Bill Clinton had to complete what the senior Bush had started, which was to undue the voodoo economics that Reagan, and now Bush Jr. have had in placed, hollowing out the treasury and tossing the keys to China and Japan and Arabia. All to ensure his oil subsidies to the barons continue, as America sinks in debt, and the poor get poorer.

Which brings us to the incumbent vice president, who appeared a man of strong resolve in the first Gulf War. But after that cliff hanging flawed win over Al Gore, I was shocked to watch a news reporter asking if since this was such a narrow election and America was so clearly divided, would the winners by finger nails work with those policies of Clinton.

And this sneering man pushed the reporter aside and said why should we, we won. And we quickly saw the Clinton policies which were keeping America prosperous and yet there was finally bi partisan agreement to pay off the debt of America within the decade. And Clinton even was criticized for bombing that Sudan factory, which had been done on false evidence that bin Ladin was in the building. He had apparently, just left the building. As near a hit as ever since.

And while we civilized discussion in Europe about how they may dare become greater, tear down more walls, listen to those are not yet fully friends, and see if we come together. The healing policies of a Lincoln have crossed the pond at last.

It is long past time for the application of some of that wisdom back home. America owes it to her ideals to behave more like a member of civilization again, tear down those Guantanamo mentalities. Time to rebuild. That would be a wonderful change of the application of power. What would Lincoln have done? He would not have done much, if you think of it honestly, of what this wrecking crew have done. Only my opinion, of course.

Derek Dashwood loves the combining of science into the humanities to measure politics, power and bliss. We show more of this in the top right on our site under Health to Wealth, as well as many other topics of concern to us today at Healthy Lifestyles With Your Name On Them

Our image of heroic Greek antiques and figures grew out of even more ancient histories of western civilizations. They evolved and grew out of the cultures of Asia around Mesopotamia and in north Africa with Egypt and the Black Pharaohs to their south, and first allowed free speech in the times of Greek antiques.

Here there was little influence until the times of Marco Polo would any understanding of the Orient, or China come to the west. The ways of India were more known as the mountain ranges below the mighty mountains that very much separates India from China.

English in the British centuries of control of India began to learn that all western languages seemed to come from the Sanskrit of India. This amazing realization that an Indo-European culture that had come out of Africa, had first flowered and evolved in warm India.

And this Sanskrit civilization had then somehow poured westward to spread their more Caucasian peoples or at least their language structure through Persia into all of Europe.

In fact, I will add an unproven theory: those Sanskrit speaking Homo Sapiens could have been those who drove into extinction the Neanderthals of Europe some 30,000 years ago.

This theory has just occurred to me, so I can not yet verify this portion: the rest is well documented. We do know Sanskrit became the mother base of modern European languages. Except in Hungary and Finland where some of the descendants of the Mighty Khan settled.

The languages of Hungary and Finland share a Mongol base, very distinct from their neighbors who more likely have a base around mama for mother and dada or pappa for father and so many other common base words that 1770 English gentlemen of letters noticed this to their shock.

But up to Greece creating a citizen army, a free city state where all were encouraged to speak and the theater made mockery of foolish decisions by the elders in charge. Even Socrates, the father of independent thought, had been badly wounded in three mighty battles to defend Athens from Persia, always on the attack.

It was a reward for wounded older soldiers such as Socrates to receive their pension and discuss matters, and how they won the war.

But with Socrates and his pupils Aristotle and Plato the issues took on a deeper quest: what was this all for? The fighting, defending, never ending struggles against forces greater than them and determined to destroy them.

Socrates would always turn the question back on them: what if he had not fought and earned his small pension and stopped the evil death they all knew the Persian army intended all of them.

Would they be here alive as free men to discuss this if he had not openly shown his wish to be free enough he would defend that right and those of his family to the death, as he had done until he could not swing a sword any more? They had difficulty to do more than thank him, and all would mutter they certainly would do the same for their own families, if it came to that.

When dying, Socrates said to Aristotle, who later said to Alexander the Great, he believed there was a God, and that he as a good man was going to a better place.

In contrast, there have been so many documentaries on about Rome and all the excess and self centered degradation of slaves, the gladiators, lions killing Christians, thumbs down. The Republic gave way to an Emperor at Augustus and all rulers were a Caesar after that.

No wonder Thomas Jefferson admired the ideals of Greece over those of Rome. His architecture, and that of justice halls of America may seem like the glory of Rome. They are not. They represent the freedom ideals of ancient Greece, as his serene Monticello shows.

He was our Democratic Republican President, more emphasis on the democratic than the republican, I think. I stand with Tom.

Derek Dashwood notices how democratic minded people resent republican ideas that only they are on top and all should remember their place. We rejoice we change directions without any mobs at a Bastille but with ballots at
Greek antiques

Socrates in his youth was a fit warrior, but wounds of wars made him in old age an ugly old man. Socrates was retired with a small pension when he could no longer fight, and would walk in rags through the streets of Athens in his later years.

But in his youth, during the height of the Golden Age of Greece, Socrates had performed with great bravery at three great battles against the ever looming armies and navies of Persia. As Socrates aged, he limped and was infirm; no longer fit for military defense of Athens.

A respected, wise old warrior, he was allowed to walk and talk to groups of people at the markets. And as always all would stop and talk to an old man and listen to his times of war with Persia when they held them off at the pass, which was always the case when Athenians could rejoice.

To others and youth this was ancient history, but what drew the brightest students and scholars to the feet of this quiet and thoughtful humble old warrior to hear of his wise series of questions and answers that he brought you to conclude about you own questions which Socrates would usually turn back on the student.

Socrates would encourage the students to search his own deeper meaning about a sometimes witty but shallow question. They could now allow how this must reflect their deep inner thoughts, worries, needs or actions.

His purity of mind allowed thoughts of good and ways to improve the human condition and how we all must search our own soul and moral code before causing another a harm. This is often heard from an old warrior, but none spoke with such clarity around the essence of a question. What was the question asking, really?

At first it was as the old warriors around the village water hole in their older days, who would reflect on what had gone wrong and how they could have made right and what had gone wrong in their battles, defeats, retreats and occasional victories. What had it all been for, would be asked of Socrates.

Most old warriors, even today, would defend what ever decisions, however apparently harmful, the present administration was taking. This little civilization on a hill was surrounded by ignorance or power, and all citizens of Greece needed to be on their alert.

As at Gettysburg or the Battle of Britain,some times the fate of democracy could seem to hang by threads, being defended by those brave few. Socrates made the leaders of ancient Greece jealous and he was by law required to die. His choice was hemlock rather than strangulation, the sword, or by being hanged.

This happened quickly with Aristotle, Plato and a few students with him to the end, which Aristotle later described to a young Alexander, within years of birth.

But with the disciples and wise men from the east, even 350 years before Christ, men believed in a nirvana or heaven of bliss for those who lived pure lives.

Derek Dashwood loves the combining of science into the humanities to measure happiness and bliss.Our site has sections on Happiness, and top right is our Health to Wealth Sites connection, at
Healthy Lifestyles - 8 Steps To Bliss