To study the Way is to study the self.  To study the self is to forget the self.  To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.

Dogen Zengi (1200-1253)

DANGEROUS IDEAS

We were having a discussion about ideologies recently, on someone else’s page – and it got me thinking. I am a total individualist, do not subscribe to anybody’s ideology of politics or religion, I don’t belong to any group of any kind, and I reserve the right to change my views and actions as the world unfolds around me. The good thing about thinking as a group is – sometimes like-minded people can get things done in the world (good or evil). The worst thing is being so rigid in your beliefs that you have zero ability to compromise, even in the smallest details, be open to learning new things, or listen to others’ opinions. Which is more dangerous to society?

JUST SHOOT ME

Today’s Miami shooting report: Police officer shoots man dead after suspect bites his finger; 2 dead after a shootout on I-95; police gun down 3 teenage robbery suspects. But fact is - unless police are involved, or more than 2-3 people are killed, shootings are so ubiquitous - they rarely make the news. It’s not about Miami’s murder rate (we don’t even make the top 20, nationwide); but just the sheer number of shootings, surely somewhat due to Florida’s incredibly slack-ass gun laws. In the past four years, there were 647 shootings just in Miami’s inner city, average of 3 per week. I’m not sure anyone would notice a terror attack in Overtown unless these towel-heads really step it up. Before you hit Miami, mo-fos, listen up, we ain’t shook: WE SHOOT BACK!!!

THE 'BRO'

If women can flaunt their breasts, squeezing them together, pushing them right up into everyone's face, until they're almost popping out of their tank tops, revealing everything right up to the edge of a nipple - why is it wrong for men to display their junk?  I think I’ll invent a new style of pants where men show off their balls with push-up underwire “bros”.  The testicles will peek out through a hole in the pants, so you almost see the penis, but not quite (quite the delicious tease, right?).  I think this new under-garment, which I’ll call “wonder-wear” will be super appropriate not only for the club scene, but also worn with a nice suit.  Oh, and women will be chastised for staring at them, or regarding the guy rocking this look as a "membo".

CHILLAX!
Anybody ever tell you to “calm down”? If so, I think it’s 99% likely that you are a female. Why? Because girls and women are always criticized (by both sexes, it must be pointed out) for talking straight, telling it like is, or even becoming angry. And I say, sometimes non-violent anger can be liberating. Telling someone what you really think, if done diplomatically and professionally, shouldn’t provoke the response, “just calm down”. Men, on the other hand, are encouraged to be up front, and to get pissed off about things. Some people even respect a guy who takes a punch at someone he disagrees with. As long as it’s another guy. I’m not advocating for fist fights, I just don’t understand why if a guy punches a woman, 100% of people think he’s a cad. Women, after all, can’t defend ourselves, in a verbal or physical fight. Well, at least shouldn’t, because if we do, we will be ordered to “calm down”. Or as in Trump’s case, wonder out loud whether the woman is menstruating or not. Surely, it couldn’t just be someone doing her job or defending a personal opinion. What do most women do to avoid the “bitch label”? Come on, you’ve seen it. They internalize, painfully, to the point of letting the stress make them ill. They take out their frustrations in other ways, sometimes destructive ones, instead of engaging an offensive person directly. They lamely apologize (“I’m sorry, but I disagree.”). It’s all based on one thing: Fear. Fear of blowing a relationship, of losing a job, whatever. But most significantly – it’s a fear of not being liked. I say – BITCHES UNITE! Listen to your internal council telling you what’s right, and act on it. If you “lose” someone or something, the extreme upside is an end to fear. Call that person in your life right now who recently told you to “calm down” – and calmly tell them to fuck off.

Popapalooza

Don’t get me wrong, I think the Pope is a nice old fellow.  Whether he’s worth hundreds of millions of US taxpayer dollars, to facilitate his visiting and lecturing us on Catholic initiatives that we already knew about – well I’m not sure about that.  I found his speech to the congress especially useless.  Since he shares views with both Democrats and Republicans,  he represents a one-man gridlock.  Pro-immigration and prison reform, acknowledging climate change, support for poor and middle class people (democrats).  Yet at the same time anti-gay, anti-women, 100% against divorce and birth control (republicans).   Is this really a unifying voice – or just a sweet but confused old grandpa who likes to kiss babies?  One thing’s for sure, he puts a more positive face on the Catholic church – which has recently been exposed as a decadent, pedophile-enabling old boy’s club.  Most modern Catholics admit, they are more “Cathnostic” than committed. 

Simple Ideas

Simple ideas to fix our economy that will never take place in the U.S.:
1) Close all tax loopholes and disallow hiding money in offshore accounts in other countries. Force corporations to prove that they can't find workers in the U.S. who can perform the millions of jobs they currently send overseas. 
2) Everyone and every business pays the same percentage tax on income. Even if just 10%, we would have twice the $ necessary to run the country, no matter which idiot is elected, including infrastructure, health care, Social Security, Medicare - it would all be solved. Not to mention the billions we would save on running the convoluted, unfair IRS system that nobody understands.
3) Raise the minimum wage to $20/hour. Otherwise pay everyone what they are actually worth (including C.E.O.'s), regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.

The results:
1) The middle class miraculously re-appears.
2) The marketplace rights itself, as more people work at decent jobs and are able to pay for a reasonable cost of living again; maybe even thrive. Infrastructure, health care, education improve.
3) Billionaires are pissed because they can't buy a new $200 million yacht every year. 

Next: how to solve global warming. Just kidding - we're leaving that for our grandkids to figure out.