Got to do some hiking this weekend with my sister. I'll upload a picture from the view when she sends them to me. I've been thinking a lot about things that are good for the spirit of people in my time in the hills here. Something about the mountain air always brings me back to life. Though, at the same time, I know being in this type of environment drives some people crazy. I was thinking about that and it really made me consider if there are people who just will never be able to understand one another because they simply cannot understand the simplest things that the other type of person enjoys. At the same time, I feel revitalized and ready to accept that there are things people will never understand about or agree with one another on; however, I do not believe that that is necessarily a bad thing. As long as you can acknowledge that you and the other who you cannot understand one another at least realize that and can manage to not interfere with one another, there is hope of peace.
That is my optimism. Sadly, I am also pessimistic, as I realize that there are those who want to control others to make them the same as they are. Tyranny is not guaranteed in life, but there are those with a tendency towards it. Likewise, there are those who embrace being tyrannized, so long as they feel that they can receive some benefit from it. As the airline shoe bomber led to shoes being removed before flights for everyone, a clear violation of privacy rights and the doctrine of warrants being required for search and seizure, some are willing to embrace the new normal that any tyranny will place onto them so long as they feel that it will provide them with some form of security. Life begets life, so those without the confidence and will to forego security for their natural rights will accept any means of ensuring the longevity of their own life, even their own enslavement.
There are people who view life in terms of slavery, so to use that metaphor, there is a choice for people to be slaves to either themselves or their society. The American experiment can be said to be a slavery to none other than yourself. You are fully responsible for your own life and must bare that burden fully, and are burden to your own will. Some prefer to defer this responsibility to the state. Therefore the state is responsible for them and in response the people are due to live by the will of that state. There are a few problems with this, as you can well imagine. If the state has the power over people, it will fall to all people in the land, and not just those who desire the states to be their guard, as the state has no way to distinguish between those who do and those who do not volunteer themselves to their tyranny, or to what degree each individual prefers to sacrifice their rights to the tyrannical. At the same time, no matter how passive the people are to any tyranny, there is always an underlying will of the individual, so there will always be a conflict of being burdened by not just one will, but 2, under a system of state power.
Anyhow, this isn't really a post about anything, I was just kinda thinking about these ideas and thought I'd get them out to you guys. Maybe I can do a deep dive into some of this stuff in an upcoming podcast. I'll keep you all posted.
I hope you've all had a great weekend, and I'll talk to you more later.
-James
Just thought I'd share this comment I was trying to comment on a Lotus Eaters video. Btw, ya'll should follow the Podcast of the Lotus Eaters if you aren't already. Great analysis and discussion
It's been a while since I've made a video, and this time with a locals exclusive. A cherry on top that I managed to fit within the size requirements. I like making shorter form content like this, considering my tendencies to ramble. Having content exclusive for my followers here is something I'll be working on doing more and more. I'll be creating more value here for my subscribers as well, with some subscriber exclusive content in the future. No timeline promises, cause I think we know how I get when I make a ton of promises (go hardcore for a week and then fall flat on my face unable to keep up with the sprint, lol).
Anyhow, let me know your thoughts and questions below. Have a great day everyone!
A direct upload! It turns out I recorded a video just short enough to meet the minimum upload offerings that locals offers to small communities like mine. That means you guys get this exclusively on locals!
I didn't sleep much last night, so I decided this was the perfect time to mull over my confused thoughts on how businesses are viewed from a legal perspective. Businesses are somewhat legal enigmas to me. Corporations are kinda treated as persons so that they can be double taxed, but have other protections, other types of businesses aren't treated the same way. They're able to consolidate power like governments, yet aren't subject to any form of limitations in regards to violating natural rights the same way the government is, despite being treated somewhat like persons they can still buy each other. It's just very odd to me from a principled, legal, and philosophical position.
Anyhow, my ramblings here are just that, ramblings. Still, I am curious what you all think of this topic. ...
The 2020 election is over, and the battle has just begun. What do I expect to come from the end of the election? Will the legal suits turn over anything for this election, or will they mean something for later down the line? I reflect on these questions and more in this discussion, and I also reflect on some final thoughts relevant to the Rise and Fall of Empire Series, that, thus far, being episodes 8 through 10 of the Construct Cast. Let me know your thoughts, and if you have any reflections of your own from this year's political cycle or other developments that you can't seem to get off your mind in the comments below.
In this episode of the Construct Cast, I discuss my analysis of Sir John Glubb's The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival, with an emphasis on my own consideration for what it would take to help an empire survive, or reboot. If immortality for an Empire is impossible, is rebirth impossible in the same way? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Editor's Note: Returning to the podcast versions of the Construct Cast, I want to catch our content up to the videos we have had released over the past month. I apologize for this getting away from me for a bit. With the rise in content production, I had allowed this to get away from me. We will be returning to audio podcast uploads of the Construct Cast as per our original regular schedule, at 12PM EST on the day of the original upload, going forward.
In this second Crossover podcast, we are once again recording with Kevin @Eng_Politics. His channel is a bastion of political thought and analysis from the perspective of a conservative engineer. Interested in diving deeper into my concept of Progressive Traditionalism and combating the concept with his own beliefs of what it means to be Conservative, we decided to put our definitions and beliefs to task in this crossover episode!
Be sure to check out Kevin's locals community here:
https://engineeringpolitics.locals.com/
And if you're more interested in the video version, here is a direct link:
https://engineeringpolitics.locals.com/post/235260/the-engineering-politics-podcast-30-conservatism-vs-progressive-traditionalism
So I just confirmed that, after a year off of the Keto diet, my Ulcerative Colitis (a type of IBS) is still not only in remission, but seemingly cured as if it never was there, including no more polyp growth.
This self-experiment has shown me that a prolonged period on Keto, about 2 years for me, was enough to create the long lasting effects to repair and cure my gastrointestinal system to complete recovery from what was supposed to be a lifelong, incurable illness. I still have a minor level proctitus at the exit, to put it in the least gross way I can think, but with the rest actually fully cured to where my new GI doctor asked if I was misdiagnosed originally is a major accomplishment.
For those seeking a source on how to get here like I did, I recommend following Thomas Delaur's YouTube channel for general inflammation control/healthy keto/ workout advice, only eat meat that is 100% Grass fed and pasture raised (including eggs), and drink a glass of Kefir at least once a week. Good ...
Controversial capitalist take, but I personally don't think stock ownership should give any power to the stockholders over business decisions. Buyouts and ownership should be separate from stock investment. How? There are various options to discuss. Why? Theoretically an investment firm could invest ownership stakes into every major investment firm over time and concentrate all of their investments to own controlling stakes across entire industries or even all publicly traded companies.
Actually, this isn't so theoretical if you look at BlackRock's partnerships with Vanguard and State Street. The three companies operate in virtual lockstep and theoretically wouldn't even need 51% collective ownership in the companies they invest in because any company with an array of other investors should have some theoretical minimum that they can guarantee will follow the leadership of these big 3 in most cases. I've seen estimates that they only need a collective 35% share to all but guarantee any ...
