"One ton tomata, I was a one ton tomaaaaay - taaa. One ton tomaaaaaata, I was a one ton tomaaataaaaaa...
...Duh..."
Oh, excuuuuuse me! I was singing one of those Mexican songs I love so much.
I was just thinking, maybe it wasn't such a good idea for 'Murica to let Meheeeeko off the hook at the end of the Mexican-American War. BTW, since we won, shouldn't it have been called the "American-Mexican War?" Just askin...'
Anyhoo, we decided to just take the area north of the Border they called "Aztlan." That's Meheeekan for "North of the Area The Gringos Claim as Their Border, but we all know it really isn't." Actually, it could probably mean something else, but who knows? The area we "settled" for following the War stretched all the way to San Francisco, east through UT and NV and downward through a chunk of OK and all the way to Brownsville, Tex-assss.
Come to think of it, we could have just let them have San Francisco and wound up with a whole lot less trouble! One of San Fran Nan's ancestors could have wound up as Speaker of the CA Assembly. But hey, we could still carve it out even at this late date. Maybe we could offer it to some (un)friendly socialist country. Like China, say. Hey Trump, build The Wall around San Fran! Have to think about that one for awhile...
Back to the rant. Since we kicked their collective arses, we could have just annexed Meheeeeko. And they would have probably been better off it we had. We all know Meheeeeko is owned and operated by about 500 old-line, gazillionaire patrician families, who've run this place into the ground for generations. The rest of their poor people have little choice but to hire a coyote and make their way to The Promised Land! And the folks who run that Country do everything they can to help them in that quest! They even print maps to their "new country" and give them out to the "migrants" as they prepare to wade across the Rio Grande. True. Look it up.
Just remember, the poor are Meheeeeko's Number. One. Export! Before oil! Before Volkswagens! Before tortillas! The Poor! And they're damned good at it!
If they don't have to feed them and we do, they win...
If you look at your handy Atlas, you'll find that Meheeeko claims 113,000,000 people; except about 25,000,000 or 40,000,000 of them have already moved here. I'd guess that number includes all their very, very poor, and all their very, very rich. Try and get a table at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hilton; you'll likely find the tables all taken by expat Meheeeekano "royalty."
Anyway, there's still time left. The economic "migrants" we call illegal aliens want in, and we're having to beat them off with a stick to keep them out. If you take a hard look at Lost Angeles you'll get an idea what their idea of their "promised land" looks like. And it's not pretty.
Did you ever wonder why these "migrants" want to turn the place they "go" into the place they "left?" We know that's true or the newly-welcomed "migrants" wouldn't be waving Meheeeekan and Guatemalan and Nicaraguan and El Salvadorean flags whenever the opportunity presents.
So I suggest we just give it to them. Just pack up and head south, to the area they're so anxious to leave. Think of it. Meheeeeeeko has about 4,000 miles of pristine shoreline. Surf and sand and sun and waves. And little else.
Up and down the Baja, plus the Mainland. 4,000 miles. Can you imagine how many luxury hotels we could build on 4,000 miles of tony beaches? So, let's start all over. And once we've begun to work our magic, again, I suggest we then build The Wall on that side of the Border to keep them out.
Of Meheeeeeeko.
Just an idea. Whaddaya think?
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Monday, November 26, 2018
"Pre-Existing Conditions"
So I was gonna' rant..er..write about the hundreds of invaders from Somewhere South of the Border who did their dead-level best to storm past our San Ysidro International Border crossing yesterday. Yup, as predicted, and promised, a reported 500 or so of those reeeely nice folks apparently grew tired of waiting to begin their American Dream. So they decided to break in. Without invitation or permission. They mobbed the Border, throwing rocks and bottles at our guards, hoping to rush past them and get to their new jobs as nannies and lawn care experts for the Stars in Hollyweird.
And our Border Protection forces responded by leveling pepper spray and tear gas their way. Those of a Liberal persuasion were aghast, somehow forgetting that their hero B. Hussein Obama did the same thing back in 2013. The gassing seemed to work, at least for now, as they were returned to Meheeeeko post-haste.
Not knowing how to think about this occurrence, I immediately checked with the MainStreamMedia and CNN/MSNBC/NPR/PBS, but they told me it was nothing to worry about. Just a few mommies and their hungry little children looking for a better life. No caravan, no criminals. So, feeling much better about the whole thing, I'll now return to my original subject for discussion. Here goes...
Let's say for a moment you own a house. Many do. A really nice house. One you've insured against fire, and theft, and all sorts of other potential hazards. Everything except meteor strikes. So you sleep well at night, knowing you're protected against nearly everything to the amount of loss you insured yourself against.
And then let's say a meteor hits your house tomorrow. And completely destroys it. Nothing left. Yuuuuge hole in the ground. So, you call your State Farm representative and ask that he/she/it (gotta' remember California by adding the "it," you know) add "destruction due to meteor strike" to your policy, and then backdate it to the day before yesterday.
Ummm, what?
Of course, the State Farm folks didn't factor meteor strikes into the premiums they agreed to charge you and you agreed to pay. They only charged you for the risk associated with the potential losses I mentioned earlier. So, your insurance company politely tells you to pound sand and you then file for bankruptcy.
Feces happens.
Now let's overlay this situation on healthcare. You're well. No health problems. No history that would indicate to a health insurance company you represent any extraordinary risk. So they "rate" you according to that reality. And then they place you into a "pool" of like prospective clients, each presenting the same basic risk of loss to the company. Whether that pool consists of 1,000 applicants, or 10,000, or perhaps 100,000, all represent the same relative risk profile to the insuror. And remember...
...When you purchase insurance, you're betting the company that what you're insuring against will happen; they're betting it won't.
But what if you then contract cancer or some other debilitating and uber-expensive ailment? You might find extreme difficulty in finding coverage, and then only at a much, much higher premium. And you might find this to be unfair. But life isn't fair. And nobody said it would be. Except for one Mr. Obama who told you he'd make Obamacare available, and somebody else would pay for it, and to hell with the insurance companies and their egregious profits.
But what Mr. Obama apparently didn't know, or knew but chose to hide from the 'Murican people (would he do that?), was that insurance companies cannot stay in business unless they can assess their risks and then apply dollar premiums that match that level of risk. These insurors hire what's called "actuaries," who are sort of like uber-mathematicians, whose job it is to determine that risk.
They also work for casinos. They're the ones that determine the payouts on your slot machines, and the very same ones that make sure you lose.
But what if the plan all along was to weight down the insurance companies with unknown and unwanted risk, which could, and likely would, put them all out of business? And then, Praise the Lord, the Good Ol' Gummint would be there, $Billions in hand, to step in and provide "Medicare for All." Or, that's what they call it. In truth, it would be "Medicare for None." It would be socialized, "single-payor" medicine, and that's not the preferred model if quality care is desired.
If you don't believe me, look up the statistics regarding Canadians who are right now laying in hospital beds across our Fruited Plain. In 2016 fully 15% of Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital admissions hailed from Canada. Hmmm.
But freebie healthcare can sure be attractive to those without it due to some pre-existing condition. And certain weenie smarmy blow-dried politicians will be happy to promise it to you.
Just vote for them in advance...
And our Border Protection forces responded by leveling pepper spray and tear gas their way. Those of a Liberal persuasion were aghast, somehow forgetting that their hero B. Hussein Obama did the same thing back in 2013. The gassing seemed to work, at least for now, as they were returned to Meheeeeko post-haste.
Not knowing how to think about this occurrence, I immediately checked with the MainStreamMedia and CNN/MSNBC/NPR/PBS, but they told me it was nothing to worry about. Just a few mommies and their hungry little children looking for a better life. No caravan, no criminals. So, feeling much better about the whole thing, I'll now return to my original subject for discussion. Here goes...
Let's say for a moment you own a house. Many do. A really nice house. One you've insured against fire, and theft, and all sorts of other potential hazards. Everything except meteor strikes. So you sleep well at night, knowing you're protected against nearly everything to the amount of loss you insured yourself against.
And then let's say a meteor hits your house tomorrow. And completely destroys it. Nothing left. Yuuuuge hole in the ground. So, you call your State Farm representative and ask that he/she/it (gotta' remember California by adding the "it," you know) add "destruction due to meteor strike" to your policy, and then backdate it to the day before yesterday.
Ummm, what?
Of course, the State Farm folks didn't factor meteor strikes into the premiums they agreed to charge you and you agreed to pay. They only charged you for the risk associated with the potential losses I mentioned earlier. So, your insurance company politely tells you to pound sand and you then file for bankruptcy.
Feces happens.
Now let's overlay this situation on healthcare. You're well. No health problems. No history that would indicate to a health insurance company you represent any extraordinary risk. So they "rate" you according to that reality. And then they place you into a "pool" of like prospective clients, each presenting the same basic risk of loss to the company. Whether that pool consists of 1,000 applicants, or 10,000, or perhaps 100,000, all represent the same relative risk profile to the insuror. And remember...
...When you purchase insurance, you're betting the company that what you're insuring against will happen; they're betting it won't.
But what if you then contract cancer or some other debilitating and uber-expensive ailment? You might find extreme difficulty in finding coverage, and then only at a much, much higher premium. And you might find this to be unfair. But life isn't fair. And nobody said it would be. Except for one Mr. Obama who told you he'd make Obamacare available, and somebody else would pay for it, and to hell with the insurance companies and their egregious profits.
But what Mr. Obama apparently didn't know, or knew but chose to hide from the 'Murican people (would he do that?), was that insurance companies cannot stay in business unless they can assess their risks and then apply dollar premiums that match that level of risk. These insurors hire what's called "actuaries," who are sort of like uber-mathematicians, whose job it is to determine that risk.
They also work for casinos. They're the ones that determine the payouts on your slot machines, and the very same ones that make sure you lose.
But what if the plan all along was to weight down the insurance companies with unknown and unwanted risk, which could, and likely would, put them all out of business? And then, Praise the Lord, the Good Ol' Gummint would be there, $Billions in hand, to step in and provide "Medicare for All." Or, that's what they call it. In truth, it would be "Medicare for None." It would be socialized, "single-payor" medicine, and that's not the preferred model if quality care is desired.
If you don't believe me, look up the statistics regarding Canadians who are right now laying in hospital beds across our Fruited Plain. In 2016 fully 15% of Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital admissions hailed from Canada. Hmmm.
But freebie healthcare can sure be attractive to those without it due to some pre-existing condition. And certain weenie smarmy blow-dried politicians will be happy to promise it to you.
Just vote for them in advance...
Thursday, November 15, 2018
A Few Words To Live By...
The level of political discourse in our Great Country has never been at a lower ebb.
That old "my friends on the other side of the aisle," has somehow morphed into, "that old sexual pervert pedophile rapist burglar thief who cheats on his taxes and has the temerity to run against me, a patriot, for public office, simply must be taken out and horsewhipped."
People are screaming at each other. They are hounding folks out of restaurants and airports. They are literally going nuts over anything and everything! This has simply got to stop. And in an effort to provide just a bit of a calming influence to the roiling waters, I'd like to pass along a saying given me to by an old Sunday School teacher friend:
"There's enough bad in the best of us, and good in the worst of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us."
So, The Chuckmeister passes this along to any of those out there in InternetLand who might be planning to act in a manner unbefitting a good neighbor and fellow American.
Please don't. It's not nice.
There. I've fixed that problem. What's next?
That old "my friends on the other side of the aisle," has somehow morphed into, "that old sexual pervert pedophile rapist burglar thief who cheats on his taxes and has the temerity to run against me, a patriot, for public office, simply must be taken out and horsewhipped."
People are screaming at each other. They are hounding folks out of restaurants and airports. They are literally going nuts over anything and everything! This has simply got to stop. And in an effort to provide just a bit of a calming influence to the roiling waters, I'd like to pass along a saying given me to by an old Sunday School teacher friend:
"There's enough bad in the best of us, and good in the worst of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us."
So, The Chuckmeister passes this along to any of those out there in InternetLand who might be planning to act in a manner unbefitting a good neighbor and fellow American.
Please don't. It's not nice.
There. I've fixed that problem. What's next?
Monday, November 12, 2018
A Very Special Day...
November 12th. A very special day, to my way of thinking.
It's both my birthday, which is, ummm, pretty important to me, and it's Veterans Day, which is much more important. To me and to everyone. And I'd like to weigh in on both...
First, my birthday. Three Score and Fifteen, I've attained. A minor miracle! I was a professional pool player for a time, you see, so I've backed out of more pool halls than most people have walked into. Backed out of, as in, to try and keep body and soul together. So growing more "seasoned" is quite an accomplishment. One that permitted me to serve my country in uniform, get an education, meet my life partner, generate a fair-sized brood of fine daughters, and to hug my grand kids often.
Big Time Stuff.
But it's also Veterans Day. I was fortunate enough to serve in the Army back during that Vietnam "unpleasantness." I didn't think the word "fortunate" applied back then, but I certainly do now. Simply stated, it made me both a man and grew me up Right Now! And I can tell you that the gigantic melting pot of mostly young males that it forced to live and work and fight and sometimes die together, changed the very fabric of our society for a generation.
First because Blacks and Whites and Asians and Indians and everyone else got along just fine together, thank you. That's because the guy on your left or your right just might just save your life someday. Or you his. So skin color somehow lost its cache, if you know what I mean.
And second because it rekindled the same sense of patriotism that had been rampant across America immediately following WWII. Pride in Country. In the Flag. In the Declaration and the Constitution and our Military and our First Responders. Hot dogs and apple pie and picnics and parades and all that.
A sense of patriotism I'm afraid we've since lost.
And we lost it the day we stopped the draft. The day we stopped forcing hundreds of thousands of young men of all color and background and economic circumstance and geographic location to sign up for the draft, no excuses, is the same day patriotism started to atrophy. And maybe die.
Discontinuing the "homogenization" of our young men via conscription, generation after generation, I offer, is discontinuing the Patriotism Generator our Country needs to continue to flourish. I take nothing away from the qualifications or ability or desire or talent - or even intellect - that our current Professional Military brings to the job. It's far, far better than were our two-year warriors of the time. But our society is worse off for the exchange.
Less than 1% of our population has served in uniform. Far less. That means that the current generation which is calling the shots...has never been shot at. Figuratively speaking. And thus, has no skin in the game. No sense of having bought and paid for one's birthright. No sense of having paid a price for the unbelievable privilege of being born in the most miraculous place on Earth. We won the Population Lottery, we did. And paying a price for value received is now somehow passe.
I offer those who haven't served, or at least fear serving, can't quite imagine what it really means to sign a blank check made out to the American People for an amount up to and including one's life. Can you?
So if you see a Vet today, or any day, please thank them. For you, for me, for your kids, and for everyone. Without the sacrifices they made, and the patriots before them, we'd likely be speaking a different language...
It's both my birthday, which is, ummm, pretty important to me, and it's Veterans Day, which is much more important. To me and to everyone. And I'd like to weigh in on both...
First, my birthday. Three Score and Fifteen, I've attained. A minor miracle! I was a professional pool player for a time, you see, so I've backed out of more pool halls than most people have walked into. Backed out of, as in, to try and keep body and soul together. So growing more "seasoned" is quite an accomplishment. One that permitted me to serve my country in uniform, get an education, meet my life partner, generate a fair-sized brood of fine daughters, and to hug my grand kids often.
Big Time Stuff.
But it's also Veterans Day. I was fortunate enough to serve in the Army back during that Vietnam "unpleasantness." I didn't think the word "fortunate" applied back then, but I certainly do now. Simply stated, it made me both a man and grew me up Right Now! And I can tell you that the gigantic melting pot of mostly young males that it forced to live and work and fight and sometimes die together, changed the very fabric of our society for a generation.
First because Blacks and Whites and Asians and Indians and everyone else got along just fine together, thank you. That's because the guy on your left or your right just might just save your life someday. Or you his. So skin color somehow lost its cache, if you know what I mean.
And second because it rekindled the same sense of patriotism that had been rampant across America immediately following WWII. Pride in Country. In the Flag. In the Declaration and the Constitution and our Military and our First Responders. Hot dogs and apple pie and picnics and parades and all that.
A sense of patriotism I'm afraid we've since lost.
And we lost it the day we stopped the draft. The day we stopped forcing hundreds of thousands of young men of all color and background and economic circumstance and geographic location to sign up for the draft, no excuses, is the same day patriotism started to atrophy. And maybe die.
Discontinuing the "homogenization" of our young men via conscription, generation after generation, I offer, is discontinuing the Patriotism Generator our Country needs to continue to flourish. I take nothing away from the qualifications or ability or desire or talent - or even intellect - that our current Professional Military brings to the job. It's far, far better than were our two-year warriors of the time. But our society is worse off for the exchange.
Less than 1% of our population has served in uniform. Far less. That means that the current generation which is calling the shots...has never been shot at. Figuratively speaking. And thus, has no skin in the game. No sense of having bought and paid for one's birthright. No sense of having paid a price for the unbelievable privilege of being born in the most miraculous place on Earth. We won the Population Lottery, we did. And paying a price for value received is now somehow passe.
I offer those who haven't served, or at least fear serving, can't quite imagine what it really means to sign a blank check made out to the American People for an amount up to and including one's life. Can you?
So if you see a Vet today, or any day, please thank them. For you, for me, for your kids, and for everyone. Without the sacrifices they made, and the patriots before them, we'd likely be speaking a different language...
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
"The D.C. Attorney's Full Employment Act of 2018"...
So the Election's over. And I, for one, am both happy and sad; happy it's finally done and I can stop seeing those interminable, inexorable and nauseating TV campaign commercials, and sad because it's over and my free entertainment has ended until 2220.
You see, old folks like me without enough to do enjoy early dining specials and freebie political entertainment. And now they'll continue with the BOGOs for din-din, plus the added enjoyment of seeing the flurry of subpoenas flying all around Washington, D.C. The Dems took back the House, you see. And that means they will now have all the power they need to launch all sorts of neato little investigations into the POTUS and all his suspected nefarious activities.
They'll try their best to obtain his tax returns. He will say "no," claiming it to be an intrusion into his Constitutional rights to privacy. They will subpoena. He will tell them to pound sand. It will go to the Higher Courts, including the Supremes, quite possibly, which could take a couple of years and $Millions in legal fees and about 7,000 hours of discussion and debate on the cable news channels.
They will also try to tie his increased personal wealth since becoming POTUS, if any, which is doubtful, to Russian diplomats lodging and breaking bread and quaffing vodka at his hotels. That would be a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, if proven, an arcane, almost never utilized law from the 18th Century which forbids the POTUS from taking bribes or other payments from foreign gummints. Which he hasn't done. But that won't stop them. They are all wound up and ready to go with their impending onslaught of Donald J. Trump.
And they will do so, with a vigah! Just like they did when George W. lost the House in his second term and San Fran Nan Pelosi and her minions turned loose their hounds. Karl Rove just reported that the White House Legal Team needed to double in size back then to deal with all the static.
Sooooooooooooo, I hereby offer up that yesterday's events should surely result in nearly every lawyer who can fog a mirror anywhere near our Federal City will be employed full time on one side of this or the other to do battle; at $500 an hour. Up. Which we'll pay for. Now don't you feel better about divided government?
I call it the "Attorney's Full Employment Act of 2018."
If you're a D.C. lawyer and you don't yet drive a BMW, just wait; you will before the sun sets on 2019. Life will be grand for those Legal Eagles as we wind our way through myriad summons and subpoenas and lawsuits and hearings.
Not so grand for us, but reeeeely grand for them!
You see, old folks like me without enough to do enjoy early dining specials and freebie political entertainment. And now they'll continue with the BOGOs for din-din, plus the added enjoyment of seeing the flurry of subpoenas flying all around Washington, D.C. The Dems took back the House, you see. And that means they will now have all the power they need to launch all sorts of neato little investigations into the POTUS and all his suspected nefarious activities.
They'll try their best to obtain his tax returns. He will say "no," claiming it to be an intrusion into his Constitutional rights to privacy. They will subpoena. He will tell them to pound sand. It will go to the Higher Courts, including the Supremes, quite possibly, which could take a couple of years and $Millions in legal fees and about 7,000 hours of discussion and debate on the cable news channels.
They will also try to tie his increased personal wealth since becoming POTUS, if any, which is doubtful, to Russian diplomats lodging and breaking bread and quaffing vodka at his hotels. That would be a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, if proven, an arcane, almost never utilized law from the 18th Century which forbids the POTUS from taking bribes or other payments from foreign gummints. Which he hasn't done. But that won't stop them. They are all wound up and ready to go with their impending onslaught of Donald J. Trump.
And they will do so, with a vigah! Just like they did when George W. lost the House in his second term and San Fran Nan Pelosi and her minions turned loose their hounds. Karl Rove just reported that the White House Legal Team needed to double in size back then to deal with all the static.
Sooooooooooooo, I hereby offer up that yesterday's events should surely result in nearly every lawyer who can fog a mirror anywhere near our Federal City will be employed full time on one side of this or the other to do battle; at $500 an hour. Up. Which we'll pay for. Now don't you feel better about divided government?
I call it the "Attorney's Full Employment Act of 2018."
If you're a D.C. lawyer and you don't yet drive a BMW, just wait; you will before the sun sets on 2019. Life will be grand for those Legal Eagles as we wind our way through myriad summons and subpoenas and lawsuits and hearings.
Not so grand for us, but reeeeely grand for them!
Saturday, November 3, 2018
"Enlightened Self-Interest"
Perhaps it might prove helpful for those who are a bit historically challenged to look back in time for some help from across the sea.
One Alexis de Toqueville, the famous French economist, was a huge fan of America! So much so that he toured the new America in the early 19th Century. He was so enamoured with what he saw beginning to blossom across The Pond that he made it the centerpiece of his economic theory. He studied the effects of groups banding together for their mutual benefit. And when they do, his studies showed, they benefited both individually and collectively.
Well, duh!
In his book, "Democracy in America," circa 1835, published more than half a century after the signing of our Declaration of Independence, de Touqueville put forth the concept of "Enlightened Self-Interest." And this simple realization has subsequently come to form the basis for Capitalism as an economic theory.
And in America, an economic fact. People work harder and smarter and faster and better and more diligently when they're working for, or to the benefit of, themselves.
Well, duh!
As a graduate economist, I find it both amusing and terrifying that seemingly half our population wants to dump Capitalism and embrace socialism.
You tell them that socialism doesn't work, has never worked, and will never work, and it's met with a big yawn. You refer them to Venezuela, one of the richest countries on Earth as it relates to natural resources, and its population is now eating their zoo animals. From the Top Ten in overall economies of the early part of the last century to eating their pets. All due to their embracing socialism; promise everything, deliver nothing.
Why do I bring this up at this particular point? Election Day is but a couple of days away.
And those who are beginning to buy into some politician's promise to redistribute somebody else's wealth to them in exchange for their vote should consider a few factoids:
- 75% of all America's jobs come thanks to the creation of small business. And those businesses would not have been formed without the profit motive. And thank God for it!
- More than half of America's population owns stocks individually or via a retirement plan. And those stocks only go up if the companies they invested in make a profit.
- And oh yeah, de Touqueville cautioned us that Rome's democracy went down in flames after just a bit more than 200 years. Our democracy (Representative Republic) is a bit more than 200 years old. He stated that we're toast when the politicians learn they can use our tax money to buy our votes.
Oh yeah, they already learned that. What do you get with a nearly $One Trillion Dollar stimulus program?
"I guess those shovel-ready jobs weren't so shovel ready after all!"
- Barack Obama, 2011
One Alexis de Toqueville, the famous French economist, was a huge fan of America! So much so that he toured the new America in the early 19th Century. He was so enamoured with what he saw beginning to blossom across The Pond that he made it the centerpiece of his economic theory. He studied the effects of groups banding together for their mutual benefit. And when they do, his studies showed, they benefited both individually and collectively.
Well, duh!
In his book, "Democracy in America," circa 1835, published more than half a century after the signing of our Declaration of Independence, de Touqueville put forth the concept of "Enlightened Self-Interest." And this simple realization has subsequently come to form the basis for Capitalism as an economic theory.
And in America, an economic fact. People work harder and smarter and faster and better and more diligently when they're working for, or to the benefit of, themselves.
Well, duh!
As a graduate economist, I find it both amusing and terrifying that seemingly half our population wants to dump Capitalism and embrace socialism.
You tell them that socialism doesn't work, has never worked, and will never work, and it's met with a big yawn. You refer them to Venezuela, one of the richest countries on Earth as it relates to natural resources, and its population is now eating their zoo animals. From the Top Ten in overall economies of the early part of the last century to eating their pets. All due to their embracing socialism; promise everything, deliver nothing.
Why do I bring this up at this particular point? Election Day is but a couple of days away.
And those who are beginning to buy into some politician's promise to redistribute somebody else's wealth to them in exchange for their vote should consider a few factoids:
- 75% of all America's jobs come thanks to the creation of small business. And those businesses would not have been formed without the profit motive. And thank God for it!
- More than half of America's population owns stocks individually or via a retirement plan. And those stocks only go up if the companies they invested in make a profit.
- And oh yeah, de Touqueville cautioned us that Rome's democracy went down in flames after just a bit more than 200 years. Our democracy (Representative Republic) is a bit more than 200 years old. He stated that we're toast when the politicians learn they can use our tax money to buy our votes.
Oh yeah, they already learned that. What do you get with a nearly $One Trillion Dollar stimulus program?
"I guess those shovel-ready jobs weren't so shovel ready after all!"
- Barack Obama, 2011
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Big Game Hunting, and Why You Should Care.
Are you among those who are totally, completely against Big Game Hunting? You know, hopping on a plane, heading off to the Dark Continent and bagging an elephant or rhino or Cape Buffalo? That's Big Game.
Oh yeah, there's Medium Game, and Small Game. But for the purposes of this essay, to all but members of PETA, who wish the animals were in charge (they are in Sacramento!), we'll confine our attention to Africa and the Big Five: Elephant, Black Rhinoceros, Lion, Cape Buffalo and Hyena. Just kidding. The fifth is the much-admired spotted leopard. And it's become a cottage industry to be adamantly against hunting such beautiful and rare and majestic beasts.
I know, I know. Most people are dead-set against this form of hunting. Or even hunting in general. I get it. But there's another side of the equation that should be considered. The economic impact of big game hunting on Africa is so amazingly yuuuuuge it's almost difficult to imagine.
Example: An 18-day hunt to bag just one elephant can cost $150,000 or more! That princely sum covers the cost of preparation, weaponry, travel, the license (roughly $25,000), the Trophy Fee (upwards of $25,000!), the PH (Professional Hunter), the safari crew (as many as 20 local bearers at $375 - $450/day, each!), and all the food and gear necessary for a movable hunt. And if you don't run across one in the given time, tough! You lose! Africa - and the elephants - win.
Let's put it this way: A full-blown African hunt for 3 of the Big 5 can cost from $186,000 - $287,000! That's some serious money!
Buuuuuuut, if you are so lucky as to bring down an elephant, then the real fun begins. The tusks will be taken, along with one or two feet (wastebaskets!), plus the tail, and maybe the head if the hunter is so loaded down with cash that he feels the need to spread a lot more of it around.
These parts and pieces will be shipped off to the local taxidermist for him to work his magic. That'll cost another $5 - $20,000 or so. The rest of the carcass will just disappear as several hundred local villagers swarm it! They'll turn it into a pile of bones within one-half hour. Not a shred of protein will remain once they've performed their magic.
And that magic is likely all the food their village will have as least for at least the next month. Hunting feeds Africa. Africa cannot afford to feed Africa, but hunting can. And does. And without it, many (more) tribesmen and villagers in Africa would starve to death.
Many did in the aftermath of the Cecil the Lion fiasco. The dentist who shot this old lion was immediately excoriated, lost his practice, went bankrupt and his wife left him. And that was on top of the yuuuuuge fee he paid for the license to shoot the animal. Which, by the way, Africa would not let him bring home.
Didn't hear about that, did you?
I guess this could be filed under "be careful for what you want, you might get it."
But following this PR nightmare, lion hunts were immediately cancelled. Along with elephant, rhino, Cape Buffalo and Greater Kudu hunts. And two notable things occurred in the aftermath: Villagers starved, and if they weren't starving, they were being eaten by the lions whose numbers had swelled following Cecil's death. More than 200 extra, unwanted and unneeded lions were counted in the two years following Cecil. And those lions were not concerned about Political Correctness. Or, it should be noted, in staying within the confines of their Game Preserve.
PH's, paid by the Government, were turned loose to cull the lion herd. They did. It was a wholesale killing to bring the lion herd down to a level that was sustainable, within their Game Preserve, without being a danger to the locals. This is called Game Management, and the key to effective Game Management is legal hunting.
No different than what we do here in 'Murica. Deer tags are offered each fall depending upon the herd size and the need to keep it under control. Game Management. Annual hunting fees bring in the much-needed revenue necessary to deal with overpopulation. And they do. Deal with it...
So, I'd like to offer up another in a series of The Chuckmeister's little Words to Live By: Screwing around with something that's working is almost never a good idea.
And that proves doubly true if you're a villager trying to outrun a hungry lion...
Oh yeah, there's Medium Game, and Small Game. But for the purposes of this essay, to all but members of PETA, who wish the animals were in charge (they are in Sacramento!), we'll confine our attention to Africa and the Big Five: Elephant, Black Rhinoceros, Lion, Cape Buffalo and Hyena. Just kidding. The fifth is the much-admired spotted leopard. And it's become a cottage industry to be adamantly against hunting such beautiful and rare and majestic beasts.
I know, I know. Most people are dead-set against this form of hunting. Or even hunting in general. I get it. But there's another side of the equation that should be considered. The economic impact of big game hunting on Africa is so amazingly yuuuuuge it's almost difficult to imagine.
Example: An 18-day hunt to bag just one elephant can cost $150,000 or more! That princely sum covers the cost of preparation, weaponry, travel, the license (roughly $25,000), the Trophy Fee (upwards of $25,000!), the PH (Professional Hunter), the safari crew (as many as 20 local bearers at $375 - $450/day, each!), and all the food and gear necessary for a movable hunt. And if you don't run across one in the given time, tough! You lose! Africa - and the elephants - win.
Let's put it this way: A full-blown African hunt for 3 of the Big 5 can cost from $186,000 - $287,000! That's some serious money!
Buuuuuuut, if you are so lucky as to bring down an elephant, then the real fun begins. The tusks will be taken, along with one or two feet (wastebaskets!), plus the tail, and maybe the head if the hunter is so loaded down with cash that he feels the need to spread a lot more of it around.
These parts and pieces will be shipped off to the local taxidermist for him to work his magic. That'll cost another $5 - $20,000 or so. The rest of the carcass will just disappear as several hundred local villagers swarm it! They'll turn it into a pile of bones within one-half hour. Not a shred of protein will remain once they've performed their magic.
And that magic is likely all the food their village will have as least for at least the next month. Hunting feeds Africa. Africa cannot afford to feed Africa, but hunting can. And does. And without it, many (more) tribesmen and villagers in Africa would starve to death.
Many did in the aftermath of the Cecil the Lion fiasco. The dentist who shot this old lion was immediately excoriated, lost his practice, went bankrupt and his wife left him. And that was on top of the yuuuuuge fee he paid for the license to shoot the animal. Which, by the way, Africa would not let him bring home.
Didn't hear about that, did you?
I guess this could be filed under "be careful for what you want, you might get it."
But following this PR nightmare, lion hunts were immediately cancelled. Along with elephant, rhino, Cape Buffalo and Greater Kudu hunts. And two notable things occurred in the aftermath: Villagers starved, and if they weren't starving, they were being eaten by the lions whose numbers had swelled following Cecil's death. More than 200 extra, unwanted and unneeded lions were counted in the two years following Cecil. And those lions were not concerned about Political Correctness. Or, it should be noted, in staying within the confines of their Game Preserve.
PH's, paid by the Government, were turned loose to cull the lion herd. They did. It was a wholesale killing to bring the lion herd down to a level that was sustainable, within their Game Preserve, without being a danger to the locals. This is called Game Management, and the key to effective Game Management is legal hunting.
No different than what we do here in 'Murica. Deer tags are offered each fall depending upon the herd size and the need to keep it under control. Game Management. Annual hunting fees bring in the much-needed revenue necessary to deal with overpopulation. And they do. Deal with it...
So, I'd like to offer up another in a series of The Chuckmeister's little Words to Live By: Screwing around with something that's working is almost never a good idea.
And that proves doubly true if you're a villager trying to outrun a hungry lion...
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