The Semantics of Equity, (or, a rambling post full of non sequiturs)

Because we have managed to make it all confused.  The nature of that confusion cuts to the core of our country's schizophrenia.

n. pl. eq·ui·ties

1. The state, quality, or ideal of being just, impartial, and fair.
2. Something that is just, impartial, and fair.
3. Law

• Justice applied in circumstances covered by law yet influenced by principles  of ethics and fairness.
• A system of jurisprudence supplementing and serving to modify the rigor of common law.
• An equitable right or claim.
• Equity of redemption.

4. The residual value of a business or property beyond any mortgage thereon and liability therein.
5.

• The market value of securities less any debt incurred.
• Common stock and preferred stock.

6. Funds provided to a business by the sale of stock.

________________________________________

You see, the same word that we use to define justice is the same word that we use to define the acquisition of wealth and status.

What one part, by far the larger part of our country wishes is the emphasis on definitions one and two.   (BTW, we will call these folks the "current losers") The have this odd idea thatthe system should  be just, impartial, and fair.   Our fellow losers own just a very small part of the country and there appears to be a concerted effort to relieve us of the remainder which lies in our hands.

To the country's current owners, this is a very bad dream.  The corporations and the wealthy have made a holy mission out of the extraction of wealth from the aforementioned "losers" and their whole hearted opposition to any idea of fairness in the tax code or the playing field brings them out in a cold sweat.

I really think the thing shifted into high gear with the good old standby, "the ownership economy".  This was a seismic shift in thought back there in the late 90's and early "oughts".  What you owned was your value.   Oh granted, there have always been those who felt that only those who owned something was deserving of the vote, but now we are getting back to it.

So the whole purpose of this hastily-wrought piece of fluff is a reminder that maybe, just maybe, we are primarily doomed as a Republic because we can't seem to differentiate between concept of fairness and the imperatives of "mine".

Apparently this guy is the current republican frontrunner

It is going to be a monumentally bad election

First there is this.

The guy is a sleazebag in every way.  No wonder the right is so enamored with him.

From Wikipedia

Ethics sanctions
Gingrich is the only Speaker of the House to have been disciplined for ethics violations.^[63]
During his term as Speaker, eighty-four ethics charges were filed against him; eighty-three of them were dropped.^[64] The remaining charge concerned a 20-hour college course called "Renewing American Civilization" that Gingrich had taught through a tax-deductible foundation, Kennesaw State College Foundation. Allegations of tax improprieties led to two counts "of failure to seek legal advice" and one count of "providing the committee with information which he knew or should have known was inaccurate" concerning the use of a tax exempt college course for political purposes. To avoid a full hearing, Gingrich and the House Ethics Subcommittee negotiated a sanctions agreement. Democrats accused Gingrich of violating the agreement, but it was forwarded to the House for approval.^[65][66] On January 21, 1997, the House voted 395 to 28 to reprimand Gingrich, including a $300,000 "cost assessment" to recoup money spent on the investigation.^[67][68]
The full committee panel did not agree whether tax law had been violated.^[69] In 1999, the IRS cleared the organizations connected with the courses.^[70]

And the capper:

Gingrich addressed his past infidelities by saying, "There's no question at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate."^[128][129]

Far be it from me a to claim a perfect life.  But this guy is big time fucked up.

Over to John Stewart for his take

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This Just In

Ministry of Truth states emphatically that US is not a police state

Nittany

Man:  I am so disgusted by the Penn State mess that I could vomit.

I really have no love of college football.   I played at Utah for 3.2 years and left without a tear.  The game is corrupt and self serving beyond belief, but I never, ever thought that it could be taken this far.

If I were the trustees of that college, I would close the program for good.  If a school takes a fucking game so seriously that pedophiles are protected to save the reputation of the program, that school and program cannot be saved.

I really hope my kid goes to a small school

Oil is Back At $100

Forget all the nonsense that you are hearing about saving this or bailing out that.

45 minutes long.

Worth every second of your time

Gnawing at the bit

OK:  This one here will require a touch of thought.

Common Dreams, which is my absolute favorite hippie-dippie newsource (and this is by no means a pejorative term, merely descriptive) have come out with the following article.

https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/09-5

Now, they are dissing the scientist as "never worked on nuclear weapons".  I will give them that one.  But for Gods sake, lets look at what he does for a living.

Nanodiamonds.

What that means is that this guy has probably more working knowledge in the application of conventional explosives than just about anyone.  He could probably design an implosion squeeze system for a nuclear weapon in his sleep.

What I think is that Iran is trying desperately to gain access to a nuclear deterrent.  Hell, with our record of invading countries and Israel's record of sabre-rattling and attacks, they would be fools not to do so.

But I really can't see how this would effect us.  The genie is out of the bottle.  I am more worried about the Russian arsenal and the interface between India and Pakistan than some vaporware "bomb" that the Persians are trying to develop.

So, what we are seeing here is an attempt to discredit a source for political purposes.  But the political issues that we must deal with are not well served by this kind of specious attacks.

Back Writing on a Day off

Just haven't been into it this week.  The whole damn thing is going apeshit in slow motion and the games that the bankos and the politicos play are getting stale.  I am tire of commenting on the same.

The local environment is saner and constrained.  Much easier to get a handle on.  Money is getting tighter week by week.  Getting by is getting more of a tightrope act.  Such is life.  Things will probably get worse before they get any better, better learn to deal.  Mostly life lately has been the formulation of strategies to make do with less.

You see, that is going to be the fate for a while.  It will be a fate shared by a majority of the folks you and I know.  The rules will be quite simple.  Make do with less, perhaps a lot less.

I am kind of irritated at the prospect.  Being a crabby old man who has watched the game being played for a long time,  I can turn my 20-20 hindsight to the rear and see where the mistakes were.  I missed a lot of the opportunities to make my nest plusher at this point.  But in truth, the things that I might have had that others call their own are the things that are in play right now.

Sorry Folks

I am just kinda tapped out, nothing here...stay calm...move along.

Saturday's Important Stuff

Guy Fawkes Porter BJCP Style and Style Guidelines 12-B Porter, Robust Porter Min OG: 1.048 Max OG: 1.065    Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 60    Min Clr: 22 Max Clr: 42  Color in SRM, Lovibond Recipe Specifics Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00 Total Grain (Lbs): 12.00       Anticipated OG: 1.064 Plato: 15.58 Anticipated SRM: 25.5         Anticipated IBU: 43.3       Brewhouse Efficiency: 75  %    Wort Boil Time: 60  Minutes    Pre-Boil Amounts Evaporation Rate: 15.00  Percent Per Hour    Pre-Boil Wort Size: 5.88  Gal    Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.054  SG 13.35 Plato Formulas Used Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used. Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points. Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg % Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis. Color Formula Used: Morey Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 % Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 % Grain/Extract/Sugar % Amount Name Origin Potential SRM 12.5 1.50 lbs.  Crystal 80L    1.033 80 4.2 0.50 lbs.  Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350 83.3 10.00 lbs.  Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2 Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon. Hops Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time 0.50 oz.  Willamette Pellet 14.70 33.9 60 min 0.50 oz.  Cascade Pellet 5.75 6.8 30 min 0.50 oz.  Cascade Pellet 5.75 2.7 10 min Extras Amount Name Type Time 0.25 Oz  Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil) Yeast Mine Own Yeast...Fermentis and Nottingham mixed and passaged a couple of times Water Profile Profile:    Profile known for:    Calcium(Ca): 0.0 ppm Magnesium(Mg): 0.0 ppm Sodium(Na): 0.0 ppm Sulfate(SO4): 0.0 ppm Chloride(Cl): 0.0 ppm biCarbonate(HCO3): 0.0 ppm pH: 0.00 Mash Schedule Mash Type: Single Step    Grain Lbs: 12.00    Water Qts: 24.00 Before Additional Infusions Water Gal: 6.00 Before Additional Infusions Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 2.00 Before Additional Infusions Rest Temp Time Saccharification Rest: 148 120 Min Mash-out Rest: 0 0 Min Sparge: 0 0 Min Total Mash Volume Gal: 6.96 - Dough-In Infusion Only All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

Saturday Night Fare

Cuz I really miss the 80's & 90's

Can't think of much too saay

Mostly, it is getting stale.  I am sick of the ongoing and hyperventilating crises and the end of the western world as diligently documented by the doomers and others.

I am not so intellectually puerile as to start listening to mainstream media.

I am completely aware of the government and differing political parties takes on the issue and feel that they are all fantastically full of shit.

I think that this weekend, I will do laundry, clean house, brew beer and play World of Warcraft and pay no attention to the nonsense surrounding me.

See Y'll Monday, nothing this weekend unless something tickles my funny bone.

Don't take it too seriously

The occupation movement is serving its purpose.  It is a starter, not a finisher.

OK, I'm fat, so what?

Again Kunstler pisses me off.

When I go out in America, I see fat people and skinny people both.  When I was in Germany during the last six months of my time in the Army, I got to meet a bunch of fat folks there too.  When I went up to Sweden, there were fat people there as well.

Kunstler is a prick sometimes.  He is a prophet of peak oil doom whose carbon footprint involves so much jet travel that he could personally power a small town for a year.  He decries the shallowness of American suburbia, then goes out and wades in the shallows of personal appearance.

But he is the same as everyone else in America.  Content in their own righteousness and ability to see the motes in other's eyes.  Like all of us, he is a hypocrite.

But I have a question to ask him.  Who maintains the greater sins against his fellow man.  A man who uses the equivalent of fifteen or twenty years of my children's inheritance jetting about the world preaching sustainable energy use, or a underemployed, poorly educated serf with a fondness for Whoppers.