The Decline Of America

Manginas Now Accepting Wives' Last Names And "MENgagement Rings!"

2012-02-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

If your man pops the question this Valentine’s Day, or if you’re one of the 2 million people who will get hitched this year, listen up– some of the traditonal aspects of marriage are starting to change.
First we told you how a growing number of men starting to wear “mangagement rings” (male engagement rings.) Now we’ve learned there’s a new trend on the rise: Men in the US are taking their wife’s last name, or hyphenating it with their own.

Taking the Name Change Plunge
Mark Tyler is “man enough” to admit to GalTime that he actually did all of the above. Mark wore a mangagement ring during his engagement, and soon after he and his bride Carol Tyler got married last January, Mark took his wife’s last name. He started the ceremony as Mark Harper and ended it as Mark Tyler. The minister even announced, “Here come the Tylers” as they made their way down the aisle.

Mark says he’s proud. “Shortly before the wedding I decided to make the change. She (Carol) was stunned. Actually, she asked me to reconsider, that it was cool with her for me not to change. But I told her it was too late, and then she said GREAT!”

The couple started talking about it before they got married and decided it was important they both have the same last name so their children would as well. According to Mark, Carol said, “If we all have the same last name, why can’t it be mine?”

She said it as a joke, but I told her that I’d think about it seriously. So I did. And then I found myself in the position of the typical female. Hyphenate? Too bulky. Keep my name? But then we’d have different family names. Take her name? Yowww. Big blow to the male ego.”

In the end Mark says he thought about Carol’s career. “She is well established in her career and I am not. Our plan is for her to be the primary breadwinner and me to be the primary parent. So, “Carol Tyler” is a well established professional while “Carol Harper” is who? I don’t have the same dynamic going from Harper to Tyler.”

Gayle Brandeis and her husband did the name swap for the same reasons when they got married: Kids and career. “It is a second marriage for both of us. I had kept my name with my first marriage as well, and my kids from my first marriage have long hyphenated last names. I was pregnant when my current husband and I married, and we liked the idea of everyone in the family having the same last name. I had already established myself as an author with my name, and he felt no particular loyalty to his father’s last name, so now my hudband is a Brandeis, as is our son.”

How Many Are Doing The Reverse Name Swap?
The Centers for Disease Control and the Social Security Administration says it doesn’t track these types of name swaps. But an up and coming company called Hitchswitch, which offers newlyweds “a one stop shopping name changing service for a fee” has some interesting numbers.

CEO Jake Wolff says they’ve helped about two thousand couples change their names since June 2011– and 5 percent of those clients have been men. Out of that five percent about three percent of men take their wife’s last name and the remaining two percent create a hybrid or hyphenate their last name.
Jake says he’s seeing this trend increase. “Even though Q1 of 2012 has just started, we have seen an increase in the number of males taking a hybrid name.”

Turning in the Man Card?

Jake polled his male name changing clients for GalTime on why they went against the name grain and they all told him, “They felt weird taking their spouse’s name not because they had anything against using the name of their wife, but because they felt they would be “de-masculized” (is that even a word?!), and teased (seriously) by their friends and family who heard that the groom took the name of their wife. Most of our clients fall in the 22 to 35 age range, so I guess the grooms still had some angst.”

Mark says when he told people about his untraditional name change a majority of the responses were actually negative. “As for the man card issue, I get it. I guess that in many ways I have turned in my man card. Of course, I treat the whole man card thing as a joke in the first place. It’s a satirical term that, to me, describes a physically grown man who has the mind and interests of an adolescent.”

Happily Ever After
The Tylers and the Brandeis’ all report they’re still very happy with their choices. Their kids have the same last name, and all is well in nameville. Mark gushes, “I’m so proud to be a Tyler. My wife absolutely rocks and our family is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Jake Brandeis sums it all up quite nicely from his informal customer poll of men who handed in their man card with class. “The grooms told me that they did this because the couple was starting a new life together, and their new name was their new identity. They saw it as a great compromise.”

MRA CALL TO ACTION: Email A Letter To Your Federal Senator And Representative

2012-02-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

For all you so-called "Men's Rights Activists" out there who have yet to email your Senator or Congressional Representative, the below letter is a template you can use, modify, edit, and email. If you do nothing else, you should be periodically doing this. I'll soon give an example of what you should write to your State-level Senators and Representatives who are sometimes more active in passing anti-male laws.

Below are are the websites that can direct you to the email portal of your members of Congress:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Dear Senator or Representative (Fill in the Blank):

I am a registered voter of the ##th Congressional District of (Your State). I write this letter as an appeal for your support in stemming the tide of discrimination against men, and repealing anti-male legislation which is often passed under the guise of feminist or "women's rights" legislation.

While on the surface, any legislation that prevents discrimination or undue hardship towards women is positive. However, much of this legislation has created unfairness, undue hardship, and discrimination against men.

For example, the VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) discriminates against men by not permitting shelter funding for male victims of abuse, and for presuming that only women can be victims.

The IMBRA (International Marriage Brokers Regulation Act) which treats all American men seeking US visas for their foreign fiancees and spouses as if they were criminals, and it requires their personal information be passed to the foreign individuals (women) out of more concern for them then the American sponsor (men).

More and more affluent and taxpaying men are choosing to emigrate away from the USA due to the suffocating effect that feminist-inspired legislation has exacted upon men in the USA. There is a plethora of men's rights advocate groups on the internet that are growing due to these types of laws that create more injustice than they seek to prevent.

Our appeal is for you to more closely scrutinize all new "women's rights" legislation for language that would be discriminatory towards men. Second, please support all efforts to modify the discriminatory language in current federal laws like VAWA and IMBRA.

Two additional issues worthy of change would be to require females also to register for the Selective Service, and to require women to serve in combat arms occupations in the US military. Women currently receive pay and promotions at the same rate as men in the US military, yet they are not required to shoulder the same burdens that men shoulder. Equal pay for equal work is a goal we wish to see actually achieved in more than just lip-service.

Falling rates of marriage, male academic underachievement, and discriminatory treatment of men vis a vis women in the criminal justice system are rife in this society. If the opinions of American men with whom I correspond are any indication, we are in the verge of seeing men checking out of this society and emigrating with their votes and tax dollars in increasing measure.

American men are becoming more and more cognizant of the legislators working towards fairness between men and women, and of those who blindly support feminist-pressured legislation to the detriment of men. We ask that you be among the first we can identify as hospitable to fairness between the sexes. We hope that you, and several others, can lead the vanguard against anti-male legislative agendas and bring about gender equilibrium in this society.

Many thanks for listening to our concerns. For more information on men's rights, please avail yourself of the below:
http://www.avoiceformen.com/

http://www.the-spearhead.com/

http://antimisandry.com/articles/#axzz1lf0OCs7n

http://thedeclineofmyamerica.blogspot.com/

Best regards,

(Your Name)

Fluency In Another Language Is Now Bad Politics in America!

2012-01-13T18:16:00.000-08:00

ORLANDO, Fla. — Newt Gingrich, parlez-vous français?
In a sign that the spat between Mr. Gingrich and Mitt Romney is definitely on the low road, the Gingrich campaign posted a Web ad on Thursday mocking Mr. Romney for, among other deviations from conservative orthodoxy, speaking French.

The minute-long ad, “The French Connection,’’ includes a cheesy bistro accordion tune and juxtaposes Mr. Romney welcoming the world to the Salt Lake City Olympics in French – “Je m’appelle Mitt Romney’’ – with a clip of the French-speaking John Kerry, whose knowledge of the tongue of Molière was used to stamp him as elitist during his failed bid for the presidency in 2004.

“Just like John Kerry, he speaks French, too,’’ the ad says of Mr. Romney, who spent 30 months in France as a young Mormon missionary.

Now comes intriguing circumstantial evidence that Mr. Gingrich, too, may have better than a tourist’s knowledge of French. He often tells campaign crowds of living in France as a teenager, when his Army father, Robert Gingrich, was stationed near Orléans. A visit to the World War I battlefield of Verdun awakened him to the seriousness of world events and made him aspire to public office, he says.
Mr. Gingrich attended an American school. But an article by Agence France-Presse quoted a biographer, Mel Steely, as saying that the teenage Newton “had enough French to survive.’’

Mr. Gingrich went on to earn a Ph.D. in history from Tulane, writing his dissertation titled “Belgian Education Policy in the Congo 1945-1960.” Belgium, of course, is a French-speaking country, as were its African colonies. Many of the sources Mr. Gingrich cited in the thesis were in French. He either read the language well at the time or paid someone a small fortune to translate them.

A spokesman for Mr. Gingrich did not immediately respond to a request for edification. But as Mr. Romney might put it, touché.

This example of "Violence Against Women" is an OUTRAGE!

2012-01-11T16:01:00.000-08:00

Although I believe it took place in Brazil, the dearth of feminist outcry is very telling indeed.....

The Decline of the American Empire

2012-01-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

Below is an interesting take on the decline of America from Al Jazeera English. It is about 47 minutes long, and its worth viewing.

The decline of the American empire - Empire - Al Jazeera English

The Emasculated American Man: Part 1

2012-01-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

The extent of feminist brainwashing in the is astounding. Take a look at the lengths these college young men went to pander to women on campus. It is shameful. The commentary of the post-narration is right on point.

The General Ignorance of Everyday Americans

2012-01-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why we are declining as a great nation? Watch this footage and know why....

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Unmitigated Misandry

2011-12-26T11:23:00.000-08:00

I know I run the risk of being excoriated for admitting that I even viewed this movie, but I often view pop culture females in action in an effort to "Know Thy Enemy."

Nothing could have prepared me for the movie "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." I saw it because I recall several men reading that book in the past and I wanted to see what all the hype was about.

The movie is basically a feminist manifesto on steroids. Three of the four principle male characters were either rapists, killers, or both. The forth male character was the one "good" man who was still deeply flawed due to infidelity issues.

The entire premise of the movie was Lisbeth Salander's (pictured at right) victimization at the hands of men and her lashing out to torture them, and kill them in furtherance of solving a mystery. Of course she was depicted as extremely intelligent, far more so than all the male experts that previously failed.

So, finally white America now has its "The Color Purple" epic that teaches young women that men are morally inferior so whatever you do to them is justified.

Per the Wikipedia account below, I was surprised to learn that the author of that book is a man who died in 2004:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (original title in Swedish: Män som hatar kvinnor – "Men Who Hate Women") is an award-winning crime novel by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. It is the first book in the trilogy known as the "Millennium series".
At his death in November 2004, Larsson left the three unpublished novels that make up the trilogy. They became posthumous best-sellers in several European countries as well as in the United States.^[1] Larsson witnessed the gang rape of a young girl when he was 15. He never forgave himself for failing to help the girl, whose name was Lisbeth – like the young main character of his books, herself a rape victim, which inspired the theme of sexual violence against women in his books.

May he burn in hell for making that movie.......

American Exceptionalism Has Become American Deceptionalism

2011-12-04T11:12:00.000-08:00

By Paul Rosenberg

From the dawn of the colonial era, long before they even had a national identity, Americans have always felt they had a special role in the world, though the exact nature of American exceptionalism has always been a matter of some dispute.
Many have taken it to be a special religious destiny, but Alexis de Tocqueville, the first to consider it systematically, affirmed the exact opposite: "a thousand special causes ... have singularly concurred to fix the mind of the American upon purely practical objects." Ironically enough, the exact term "American exceptionalism" was first used by Joseph Stalin, in order to reject it. And yet, for 70 years American exceptionalism has been most prominently and consistently associated with imperialism ("benevolent", of course!), via the phrase "the American Century". It was coined by Time-Life publisher Henry Luce in February, 1941, 10 months before Japan's Pearl Harbour attack drew the US into World War II. The history of Luce's coinage provides a depth of resonance for a recent twist: a not uncommon, but particularly telling juxtaposition of four Time magazine covers from around the world this week.

In three editions - Europe, Asia and South Pacific - Time magazine's visually hot, tumultuous cover featured a gasmask-protected Egyptian protester, upraised fist overhead with a chaotic street background behind. The headline: "Revolution Redux". Not so in the exceptional American edition. There, the visually cool, wanna-be New Yorker-ish cover was a text-dominated cartoon against a light gray background: "Why Anxiety is Good For You." Clearly, Time is whistling past the graveyard. As mostly Democratic mayors clamp down hard on Occupy Wall Street outposts across the land, it's obvious that the US' political class is having none of it. They do not believe that anxiety is good for them and they are doing their darnedest to keep a lid on things. Agitated citizens out in the streets are bad enough. Pictures of agitated citizens are simply too much.
Once upon a time, those pictures coming from a Third World dictatorship in a (hopefully) democratic transition would have been comfortably distant, even reassuring - exotic, other, subsumed in history, striving to become more like us, the transcendent ones at the "end of history." That, after all, was part of the message of Luce's "American Century". But nowadays, everyone knows that the differences between Zuccotti Park and Tahrir Square are increasingly less significant than their similarities. They are matters of degree more than kind. There is no such place as "outside of history" anymore. Those making history know it, and those fighting history know it just as well.

Democratic mayors to the 99 per cent
In the US, the message from the mayors is simple: You've made your point. Now go to your room and shut up. We've got a lawn to keep up, and you've spoiled it. America's "grown-ups" as the political class likes to think of itself, have never had much patience when it comes to the "children", as its mere citizens are known. And yet, America's democratic revolutionary origins are at the very centre of a radically different vision of what American exceptionalism is all about.

The situation in Los Angeles is particularly exemplary. Although city officials welcomed Occupy LA at first, for weeks on end Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and others have been saying it's time to leave. Villaraigosa - like Obama - is a former progressive organiser turned neo-liberal politician. He was a teacher's union organiser when I first met him in the 1980s, as part of a progressive precinct network aimed at getting disaffected progressive voters to the pols.

Also within the coalition's core was the LA National Lawyers Guild's executive director. When Villaraigosa first took office in 2006, his first big battle was against the teacher's union he used to work for. He took them on with the backing of billionaire real estate developer and education "reformer" Eli Broad. Five years later, as he faces off against Occupy LA, the current NLG executive director, James Lafferty, is one of his major opponents.

With no sense of irony, Villaraigosa thought Thanksgiving weekend was the perfect time for an eviction. "It's clear that this mayor cares more about dead grass than a dead economy," Lafferty responded at an Occupy LA press conference. "The 99 per cent that have been thrown out of their homes, jobless, without proper healthcare and all the rest seem to be less important to him than that lawn."

America's exceptional democracy
As indicated above, the idea of American exceptionalism was always a contested one. But it's hard to deny that the New World in general was seen as a land of opportunity, and the American colonies were the place where the most opportunity was seen for people to actually settle in significant numbers. Yet, the way most people managed to get to this new land of opportunity and freedom was through indentured servitude, and when that failed to provide enough labour, the African slave trade was "Plan B".
The land itself came courtesy of the earliest stages of America's centuries-long series of genocidal wars. And when the American Revolution came, it was lead in large part by slaveholder advocates of freedom - men like Washington, Jefferson and Patrick Henry, whose influence only expanded as the new nation was established.

Although their primary arguments were grounded in universalist appeals, the actual rights-holding subjects of their political system were a relatively tiny minority of well-to-do white males. The promise of rights-based liberal democracy was intoxicating to all, but forbidden to most. Equality was for gentlemen only. And yet, those excluded would not be denied. Scattered state and local battles coalesced into a national abolitionist movement by the 1830s, which in turn spawned a women's rights movement in the 1840s.

In Europe, the US example spawned the French and Polish revolutions, followed by more than a century of struggles in which the example of the US' existence powerfully transformed the Old World in combination with Europe's own internal modernising forces.
And even though the United States itself embarked on an imperialist course sparked by the Spanish-American War in 1898, its example as the first anti-colonial revolutionary regime inspired colonial revolutionaries as well. It was no accident that Ho Chi Minh approached Woodrow Wilson for his support at Versailles after World War I, before turning to communism as his second choice in seeking to rid his country of French colonialism.

From exceptionalism to deceptionalism
But the US had a hard time keeping up with itself, or with the world that it helped create. The European welfare state was a direct response to popular demands for a better, more just, less arbitrary life, demands that were sparked in part by the very existence of the US as an alternative.
As the US itself became more like Europe - more industrialised, more urbanised, less composed of small farmers and more composed of urban workers - the resistance to learning from European advances became increasingly irrational, and at odds with American pragmatism. Our political system lagged behind as well, lacking the fluidity and inventiveness that made parliamentary systems the dominant form of democracy elsewhere around the world.

This perverse refusal to learn from others who have been inspired by us in the political realm is strikingly at odds with Americans' grassroots improvisatory traditions. From food to music to everything in between, Americans have always adopted diverse influences, mixed them together and made them their own, based on the sole criteria of what works. Yet, with far too few exceptions, we Americans have spectacularly failed to do this in the realms of economics and politics, where powerful elites have emerged to repeatedly stifle the US' spirit of ingenuity. Not only that, they have successfully blinded us as well. Under the growing influence of the 1 per cent, American exceptionalism has become American deceptionalism: a perverse refusal to see what others have done - often inspired by our own earlier examples - and use that knowledge to continue advancing ourselves.

The US' patch-work welfare state is the prime example of this dysfunction. But our lack of industrial policy is even more bizarre, given that we used to believe in it so. Indeed, the same could be said about the welfare state as well. Universal public education was an American idea - outside the South, of course - before catching on elsewhere around the globe. What's more, most of the US was homesteaded through a subsidised process of free or cheap land, supported by public infrastructure - or, in the case of railroads, publicly-subsidised infrastructure.

But when it came to an industrial welfare state, suddenly, everything changed. It's not so hard to understand why: the original industrial workforce was largely immigrant and culturally "other" - Irish at first, then central and southern European, predominantly Catholic or Jewish. It was not until the Great Depression pushed the US economy to the wall that we began to even partially catch up with Germany, which had created its welfare state half a century earlier. Even then, it took another 30 years for us to add universal health care, but only for senior citizens. The results of creating Medicare were dramatic: Within a decade, American seniors went from being the age-group with the highest poverty rate to the lowest. But that was nearly 50 years ago, 130 years after Germany established its universal healthcare system. Since then, conservative resistance to America's welfare state has stiffened dramatically. Cultural differences between whites of European descent are nothing compared differences with people of colour - which moved dramatic to the fore as legal segregation was finally being dismantled.

Welfare in the US
A 2001 paper from the Brookings Institute, "Why Doesn't the United States Have a European-Style Welfare State?" found a direct correlation between welfare state spending and the size of minority populations - the more minorities, the lower the levels of spending. This held true both internationally (comparing more than 60 different countries) and nationally (comparing all 50 states). The paper did not argue that racial animosity was the sole reason for the US' fragmented and under-sized welfare state. It also cited the US' backwards political institutions - such as our lack of proportional representation - which in turn have roots in our history and geography. The report stated, "Racial animosity in the US makes redistribution to the poor, who are disproportionately black, unappealing to many voters. American political institutions limited the growth of a socialist party, and more generally limited the political power of the poor."

Among other things, the report offered comparisons across time, which showed the US lagging decades behind Europe throughout the 20th century. The size of subsidies and transfers in the US in 1970 was roughly the same as that in the European Union in 1937. US figures in 1998 roughly matched the EU in 1960.
While American conservatives have long been hysterical about the welfare state in the US, two major points need to be stressed.

First: German conservatives established the first comprehensive welfare state, under Chancellor Bismarck in the 1880s. Second, the American welfare state is the smallest and least comprehensive in the Western world. While American conservatives denounce the welfare state for supposedly strangling capitalism, Germany's welfare state has been crucial to its long-term prosperity, even as the US' incomplete welfare state has harmed us considerably. For example, without a national system, healthcare costs built into American cars were a crucial factor leading up to the bankruptcy crisis of 2009.

Nearly a half-century after Medicare, the US was finally ready to take a modest half-step forward toward expanding healthcare coverage. But President Obama's approach was so compromised, and so poorly argued that it's now opened the doorway for a massive reversal that could actually eliminate Medicare - a major decimation of the US' welfare state that would plunge millions of seniors into abject poverty, deprive them of healthcare and subject them to premature death.

Grand bargains
Obama is obsessed with trying to strike a series of "grand bargains" with conservatives, even though they keep rejecting him. As a consequence, he repeatedly begins his negotiations with positions that conservatives have supported in the past, hoping they will support those positions again. At the same time, he refrains from making energetic arguments for the liberal position.
As a result, his stimulus programme was roughly 40 per cent tax cuts (even though they're less effective in creating jobs than direct spending is) in a vain attempt to get Republican support. And when it came to health care, his approach was based on Republican proposals from the 1990s, developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation. It was the same foundation used by Mitt Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts. Obama never used the popularity, efficiency and overall success of Medicare to argue for a government-centered approach, either an immediate full-fledged socialisation, aka "Medicare for all", or a gradualist approach - a public option for those currently without private insurance. Indeed, Obama collaborated with conservative Democrats in the Senate - most notably Max Baucus - to silence those who advocated for these approaches. Medicare-for-all advocates were reduced to shouting from the audience and getting arrested, despite representing a substantial body of public opinion. Support for the more gradual public-option approach hovered around 60 per cent or more throughout the year-long legislative process. And yet, these proposals - tried and true in the rest of the industrialised world - could not even get a serious hearing.

Such is the power of American deceptionalism: No one else's experience in the world matters to the American political system. Less than two years after Obama's Republican healthcare plan passed, its very modesty is being used against it. Although it did involve considerable long-term cost reductions, it was nothing remotely close to reducing costs to full-fledged welfare state levels. For example, calculations by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research show that, for example, if we Americans could get our per-capita health-care costs down to the level of most central European nations, we would have a budget surplus of around 10 per cent in 2080, rather than the current projected deficit of over 40 per cent.
By ignoring the example of other countries, the American political class has spun itself off into an alternate reality in which nothing short of catastrophically bad choices remain. (The situation of global warming denialism is an instructive parallel, in which facts have become entirely irrelevant.) And so, fuelled by an obsession with long-term deficits decades in the future, and ignoring the sky-high level of the unemployed, the US congress may well be about to drift toward abolishing Medicare as its so-called "solution".

Of course, Republicans like Congressman Paul Ryan, who originated the plan, won't come right out and say that. And neither will Democrats, now rumoured to be thinking of joining them in search of yet another "grand bargain". Ryan and company say they want to "save" Medicare by replacing it with a voucher system. As one wag put it, it's like killing my dog named Spot, and giving me a cat named Spot instead, then telling me you haven't killed Spot. But a variety of studies have stripped all the pretense away.

Most significantly, the vouchers ("premium support" in Orwellian Newspeak) would come nowhere near to paying the cost of health insurance for seniors, and the shortfall would only grow more severe over time. So instead of the government going broke, the people would. That's the anti-government Republican plan! But at least the plan would keep the private insurance companies making money hand over fist as they deny you coverage. And since they're private companies, that counts as a win, according to the rules of American deceptionalism. Even if there is no real competition involved, and Adam Smith would have a heart attack if he saw what was being done in his name.

I've concentrated here on healthcare as a key welfare state component. But the same pattern of delusionary grand bargaining can be seen wherever you care to look. Consider "education reform". "America's schools are failing!" we're told. We have to privatise, voucherise, give parents more choice - that alone can save us.
But none of this is supported by evidence, certainly not the evidence of other countries, whose systems are more centralised and less privatised than those of the United States. The US accounts of nearly half of military spending worldwide. The only folks whose overspending ever came close to us was the Soviet Union, and we sure didn't learn anything from them. On the drug war? Don't even think of thinking about it!

The list could be extended indefinitely. There is not a single area in which Republicans won't condemn anything foreign just for being foreign (unless, for some reason they like it, the way Michele Bachmann likes Chinese slave labour). And there's not a single area where Democrats won't be defensive about thinking outside the box that Republicans have put them in.

If all this leaves you feeling anxious, relax. After all, as Time will tell you, "Anxiety is good for you!"

Paul Rosenberg is the Senior Editor of Random Lengths News

Lucy Finally Gets Hers!

2011-11-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

<p>&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;fff</p>Remember the character Lucy of Peanuts (Charlie Brown) fame? She was the feminist-archetype of the domineering and abusive female that was coming into vogue back in the 60's and 70's.

This clip is what we all have been waiting for. I was so delighted that I watched it over and over again!

Wall Street Protest Is Pure Hypocricy In Action

2011-10-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

This photo says it all about the "Occupy Wall Street" hypocrisy. They organize themselves on Facebook, record everything on their Apple iPhones, relax for coffee at Starbucks, make lunch runs at McDonald's, and buy more protest supplies at OfficeMax, yet they protest against the evils of corporate America. Will someone please give them a clue?

Violent Anti-Male McDonald's Incident

2011-10-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

This incident is making waves accross the blogoshphere. View it and see what you think. Was the male employee justified or was he in the wrong. All things considered, he was legally justified in my view. You might disagree.....

Murderer Amanda Knox Will Walk Free Due To The Proverbial "Pussy Pass."

2011-10-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

This just in.... Amanda Knox has been released from custody. The so-called "pussy pass" triumphed in her case even.

If Ms. Knox really were innocent, I would hail this decision. However, her efforts to lie and change her story around with police indicate consciousness of guilt. Worse still was her trying to place blame on an African businessman who was later cleared of any wrong-doing. As I understand it, her release was less a commentary on her innocence, and more a commentary on shoddy police work.

So there you have it. Amanda Knox will soon be in the USA, on all the talk shows, and mulling her multi-million dollar book and movie deals.

At the end of the day, a criminal is a criminal and she will slip up in due time. Maybe she and Casey Anthony should do a reality show together!

Men Maimed By Women In America.

2011-10-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

This video illustrates what it has come to in the USA between men, women and the law. It is not to be missed.

Princess Miserable and the Great American Bitch Machine

2011-09-09T00:23:00.000-07:00

Paul Elam from A Voice For Men is in rare form in this video. This is one of the big problems we face in the society today. Take a listen and learn.....

Observations of American Society From A Recent Returnee

2011-09-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

As some might be aware, I was not living in the US for 8 straight years. I have recently returned to spend the next year and I've taken note of some things are quite different:

Positive changes:

-The younger generation of females (25 and below) seems to be rejecting the feminist hatred of the previous generation. This is encouraging, but we are not out of the woods. They still enjoy and partake in female social privilege, but they are less aggressive about it.

-People seem a bit less materialistic than before. This is surely due to the recessionary economy and it needs to translate into a higher regard for knowledge, experience, and relationships with family/friends. We are not there yet.

-There seems to be more ethnic tolerance than ever before. Tolerance does not equate with affinity mind you, but there is a a greater ease with people who are different in most cases. It is yet to be seen whether this is just a more covert hostility or genuine capitulation to changing demographics.

Negative changes:

-There is larger paranoia about men in the US. I was talking with an attractive bartender and a decent-looking bar patron in Baton Rouge. We were chatting about travel and at one point the bartender remarked that she would love to travel more but she would never travel alone since it is so dangerous out there. The patron agreed with her and remarked that she never leaves the hotel unless her boyfriend is along. I believe this paranoia is self-imposed and derives from the guilt of female privilege in America. In other countries, women 10 times hotter than these two walk the streets alone at night even in areas considered high crime.

-There is a foolish arrogance in American men like never before. Coming off as confidant even in the face of ignorance is very prevalent. Think back to the government officials who balked that a 9/11 scenario could ever happen in the US, or the fools that believe the US is the greatest country in the world for virtually everything, or the dolts that believed our economy will never flounder in crisis because we are in the USA.

-Women here are more fat and unattractive as ever. Hard economic times contributes to a decrease in a population's beauty due to poorer dietary habits and less favorable living conditions. I am aghast at how decent-looking men resort to such unsightly creatures in the US now.

-There are far more immigrants in the landscape than ever before. High-end places that were once WASP and Jewish are now largely Asian, Indian, and White now. On the lower end, there are far more people of third-world origin all around. While this might be a negative in the larger sense, it may be a blessing in disguise as third world nations are the least feminist. This may be the last hope for overcoming feminist orthodoxy in America!

-Crude informality is the norm now. It is rare for young people to have common courtesy and respect for elders in the US. Everything is informal and nothing is sacred nowadays. These flash mobs and wilding youths in Philadelphia will be a recurring and spreading phenomenon as the children of wayward children are coming of age.

-Before we used to rail against the entitlement mentality of females. Now males exhibit this mentality to a lesser degree. This is most obvious in the area of employment. Young people walk around pining for employment, but they refuse to take a job that is "beneath them." If you are unemployed, there is no job that is beneath you, none. For this reason, the unemployment rate remains high at 9%. People are seeking the job that they think they deserve, not the job that they need. This will change when things get worse however.

-There is also a greater overall lack of sophistication of the US population regarding politics and economics. Most Americans do not know what the Federal Reserve does. Most Americans do not know what the President's role in the economy is, yet a President is elected or re-elected almost solely on the state of the economy. A President can certainly not "create jobs" other than hiring more federal employees. A President CAN assist Congress in creating an economic environment for jobs to be created, but he cannot "create jobs" like most Americans expect. If the unemployment rate dips 5% during the next year, it will not have been because of the President's creating jobs.

-Foreigners are beating native-born Americans at their own game. The children of many immigrant groups are developing financial, educational, and social savvy that our children are failing to develop due to their inability to delay gratification. Look at the freshmen classes of our Ivy League institutions. They are increasingly immigrant, and more power to them.

Conclusion: The world is passing by the US before our eyes. Our people are poorly educated or trained, our children child care castoffs, and our adults are resting in the laurels of former American preeminence. Change is inevitable in a society, especially one a fluid as the US. Simply willing your way to remain at the top without the requisite effort is a prescription for failure as a society. We are failing.

Barbarosssa At His Best: The Post-feminism Man

2011-08-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

My man Barbarosssa is in rare form in this insightful video. This is not to be missed!

Girl Punches Boy In Face On "Jersey Shore." Yawn, No Big Deal....

2011-07-31T12:49:00.000-07:00

Most of us recall when Snooki of Jersey Shore fame, was punched in the face by a young man after she verbally abused him and called him ugly. There was a huge outcry, and Snooki became the new spokesperson for violence against women.

Well, today I viewed a rerun of Jersey Shore (I was bored) and I witnessed the girl Sammie punch her boyfriend Ronnie in the jaw. Where is the public outcry? Where is the domestic violence spot condemning that act? If I would not have witnessed it, I would not have known about it. Worse yet, the roommates run to console the girl because she sobbing and wants to leave the house. The condition of the boy's jaw is virtually ignored except for one other boy who consoles him.

Violence against men is acceptable is the message. Men don't matter as much as women and men cannot truly be abused because they are not women.

What a beautiful society we live in!

Reflections on the Impossibility of Government

2011-07-31T06:37:00.000-07:00

By Fred Reed - July 30, 2011

God it's wonderful—really diverting in a macabre sort of way, at least if you have a diseased sense of humor and enough Padre Kino red. Which I do. As I write the world's only delusional superflower, perennially in love with itself, navel-gazing as narcissistically as ever, ignorant, self-indulgent, gurbling like an insane relative in the attic and fondling electro-trinkets from Japan, is broke. Yes, we see a beautiful dive from the high board, two somersaults and a half-twist, into the Third World. And so richly deserved.

Congress, a collection of whores, con-men, and penny-ante sharpers from East Jesus, Nebraska, ponders the Great Question: Default now, and admit manfully to being the economic lepers everyone else already knows we are? Or raise the debt ceiling, keep spending like a spoiled Swarthmore sophomore with daddy's credit card, and collapse a bit later?

It's just lovely. The World’s Greatest Economy holding out the begging bowl to China. “Alms? Alms for the poor?” Maybe I don't have enough Padre Kino after all. Maybe there isn't enough.

On the lobotomy box, congressmen come and go, not talking of Michelangelo, like mayflies but without the brains, calling each other names. They seem to think that they are in an off-year election. I mean, it's only the future of the country. What, me worry? What if a huge cosmic flyswatter came down on Cap Hill and turned them into barely historical smears? How the hell do you start a cosmic flyswatter?

The Republicans want to protect the wars, the rich, and the military companies. The Democrats want to protect the entitlements. Well, ok, I guess killing Afghans matters more than feeding Granny in Spokane. Unless of course you are Granny. Who really cares? I mean, how many “defense” contracts does she have?

But actually the Dems have the best of the argument of national security. Entitlements are our friend. Welfare is the price we pay for not having the cities burn. Mailbox money is our protection, not gaudy aircraft carriers like the USS Thundertrinket, zooom-kerpow.

It's the Empire, stupid. You want spending cuts? Easy, if you don't want to rule the world for three more years before going down history's cloaca. Pull out of Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Japan, and NATO tomorrow. Pull out. Pull out. Coitus interruptus. Stop wasting precious engineering talent and non-existent money on pointless funsy weapons of no utility: the F35, the Airborne Laser.

Come to think of it, don't bother. It's too late. The only sensible answer is cheap Mexican red. The US really is poised to enter Central America. You know, continental drift. It can't be stopped. South Korea and Finland among others are far more advanced in their internets. Health care in America is first-priced and second-rate. The country is thirty-third in infant mortality. Schooling would be pathetic if we could raise it to that level, the universities largely farces. The Russians and Chinese have manned space programs; we don't. Industry flees Gringolandia or has fled. The great moiling gerbiltry out there hasn't figured it out. Wait.

I hear babbling about “the recovery.” Which recovery is that? There ain't none, boys and girls. There won't be one. We are not in a temporary recession or correction or what have you. We are going poor. The last dance just finished, and the band is leaving.

And it is self-inflicted. There is, I grant you, a pleasing monumentality about truly phenomenal stupidity. A certain brilliance is needed to be so witless. In this sense the American political system is a work of genius, relying on the principle of Sufficient Ditz-Rabbitry.

You don't need to fool all of the people all of the time. Enough of the people, enough of the time is entirely adequate. Lincoln knew this but, being a politician, didn't point it out. Here is the basis of what Americans believe to be a democracy. Curious: Mexicans know they have a corrupt government, but Americans don't. In the US, books are written about the scams and cons and rips practiced on the public. Few read them, though, and those who do already know what is in them. Enough of the people, enough of the time. If the talking heads on the blinking hamster-diverter don't talk about the swindles, the rubes never know.

The country is in fact ruled by the interlocking directorates of Wall Street, Washington, and the media, Triamese twins joined at the head and aimed at sucking money from the easily fleeced. We're not talking Senior Civics and the Federalist Papers. It's straight drain-the-dullards. And it works. Boy does it.

Can you name anything in America today that is not a disguised fraud? Credit cards are not a convenience, but a way of luring suckers into borrowing crippling amounts of money at usurious interest. The sub-prime circus was carefully designed to do just what it did. There's the student-loan racket, and Big Pharma: A tiny bottle of ophthalmic salt water from Bausch & Lomb, called Muro, costs $23 in Washington, and about $6 in Mexico. That's our government, fixing prices that weren't broken. Pure Third World.

I dunno. What's going to happen when what's left of the cream-flow dries up? Maybe it's the Padre Kino, but...in the last depression of '29, most of the country was rural or close. People, many of them, lived on farms, and didn't need much money.

Today most of the population is utterly dependent on remote mechanized farms winch are dependent on supplies of gasoline and chemicals and then on trucks to take the crop to cities that, if the foregoing chain broke down, could not possibly support themselves. The discovery that food doesn't really come from Safeway will astonish.

I guess I'm paranoid, and no real unrest and disruption could really occur. I guess. I mean, probably. I think. And that's a good thing, because with so many people dependent on entitlements, to the extent that they can't eat without them, and everything dependent on intricate systems that can't handle chaos—hooboy. Think: What happens to skyscrapers if there's no electricity for elevators?

I say invest in drug cartels. Some say gold, but you can't smoke gold. When times get bad people want booze, grass, crack, scag, crank, Oxys, and maybe shrooms for the more advanced. Investment is low, and governmental interference has proved minimal.

I hope I'm crazy. I'd better be.

A Man Is An Unmitigated Fool To Marry

2011-07-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

By now most are aware that Jennifer Lopez's and Mark Anthony's marriage is ending. Given the fact that Jennifer is a known kook when it comes to her love life, few men acknowledge the fact that marriage in general is a losing proposition.

In our current recessionary economy, why would a man want to take on a wife and kids to while most jobs teeter on the edge of insecurity? Why would a man want to sign up for a second full time job when most employed men already work more than any men in the world. Why would a man want to participate in the great "buying things" spree that is marriage so that he is a debt slave all of his life?

I know that there are many reasons for men to still willingly slide down the marriage road to ruin in spite of all the evidence staring them in the face.
Parents from a pre-feminist era are culprits that inculcate their sons with the marriage=success mentality.

Hollywood imagery is the next reason. Hollywood never shows the wife gaining weight and smelling up the bathroom after unloading a pile of bowel movement matter. Hollywood never shows the wife's bad breath, her hysterics, her spendthrift habits, or anything else but mythical bliss.

But the primary culprits are women themselves. Anyone with half a brain knows that when a man is in love or infatuated with a women, his normal logical thought process is suspended. Have you ever listened to the lyrics to "When A Man Loves A Woman?" It is women that bamboozle most men at their most vulnerable to their detriment.

It is high time for men to wake up to this marriage scam that dooms them to misery beyond reversal. On the other hand, the Mark Anthony's of the world are superb examples to the younger men of what NOT to do.

Coming Soon: Straight Pride Parade

2011-07-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

With homosexuality all the rage, it is now conceivable that homosexuality will become the new normal in a few generations. Take a look at this clip, the future of America:

The IMPERIAL SUICIDE of America

2011-07-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

By Bill Bonner

Now, what we see is the whole kit-and- kaboodle of life in the US giving way to desperation, delusion and an irresistible impulse to commit imperial suicide. The economy turns sour. The military becomes malignant. Households are corrupt, bankrupt and dependent. Even the churches sing their hallelujahs to Caesar now.

What's "imperial suicide?" It's what empires do. If no other empire arises to kill them...they kill themselves. China will probably eventually crush the US militarily. But that is far in the future. The US can't wait. It lets the zombies run wild.

At home, Congress debates a "debt ceiling" measure, as if it made any difference. They've raised the ceiling 93 times since they first imposed a debt ceiling 94 years ago. What are the odds that they will hold the line this time?

Zilch. Instead, they'll continue borrowing and spending until the nation goes broke. Count on it.

The US economy was a free-market success story for a hundred years...from the end of the US War Between the States to the end of the Vietnam War. It was the richest, fastest-growing, most innovative, most competitive, and most admired economy in the world. But then, in 1971, Richard Nixon replaced a more-or-less solid dollar, vaguely backed by gold, with a pure paper dollar, backed by nothing but the good intentions of government employees.

As the money went, so went the nation. Our friend and colleague Byron King opines:
The problem with the US over the last 40 or 50 years is that there's too much free money...

We raise three generations of population who are untied from the basics of monetary education - millions of minds poisoned by Economics 101 in universities across the land. "Elastic currency," courtesy of the Fed.

Media & political classes are no smarter than the dummies who walk the land, so they make policy based on "free" money from the Fed... Deficits don't matter.

Currency circulates and inflates the general price levels... People learn to live with it. Even make a virtue of it, doing things like "buy as much house as you can afford; the market will rise and you'll make money." That kind of idiocy.

There's all this excess currency sloshing around the economy, leading to people doing stupid things like drugs, too much alcohol, divorce (Cherchez les femmes), food (obesity), theft, etc...

"Wars cost much silver," wrote Sun Tzu. [Lack of money] kept a lot of nations out of a lot of trouble over the years. Not any more. Who needs silver when you can just print up bricks of paper cash and fly it over to Iraq and such.

Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term American Exceptionalism... yep, we're exceptional. That's for sure. More prisoners in jail than anywhere else. We fight longer wars than anyone else...and don't win. We give more welfare to more idle people than anywhere else on earth...and we're proud of it.

There's so much money that we don't know how to say no. No limits. Just raise the debt ceiling...spend until you can't spend any more. Then spend some more.

Well, there are no limits until there are limits. Per Ayn Rand... "You can avoid reality. But you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."

In the space of 40 years the US lost its winning ways. Real, hourly wages stopped growing in 1973. Stock prices, in real terms, peaked out in '99...about the same time that real, per capita private sector growth came to a halt. The number of full time jobs topped out about two years later...and housing hit its peak in 2007.

Abroad, US armed forces continue to squander the most magnificent advantage that a military has ever had. The Pentagon spends 7 times as much as the next biggest spender. And it doesn't even have a worthy opponent. Where does it get the money? It borrows from the Chinese!

And what does it do with all that money? It engages in pointless, blood sucking zombie wars. Its three current engagements alone are expected to cost $4 trillion, according to the latest independent estimates - about as much as its trade deficit over the last 10 years.

Ask your neighbors. What strategic advantage does the US gain from fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya? They will have no good answer. Probably some claptrap about 'fighting terrorism' is the best they will be able to do; that's what they were told on TV.

A 94-year-old retired Army colonel came over to our house for the 4th of July festivities. A Silver Star winner in WWII, veteran of the Korean War too...we asked what he thought of the Pentagon's strategy in North Africa and the Middle East.

"I am disgusted," he replied. "Those guys just don't know what they're doing. We have no business getting involved in these things...especially in Libya. They're just traps. I have arguments about it when I go into the VA hospital. The young guys - you know, they're in their '80s - are in favor of these wars. Wave the flag. Rah rah...let's go in and do the job. Teach them a lesson... That sort of thing.

"But real war is not a football game. And nobody learns anything...except not to do it again."

Who - with the exception of a 94-year-old veteran - objects to squandering the national treasure, blood and honor on these wars? Almost no one. Why not? Because they've all drunk deeply from the intoxicating cup of imperial power. An ordinary nation fights wars to protect itself. An empire fights wars because that is what an empire does. And it continues fighting until it finally beats itself.

Why didn't Rome pull back its troops from the Rhine or Anatolia or North Africa...in order to protect its homeland from the barbarians? Why didn't Alexander retire to Macedonia, while he still had breath? Why didn't the Germans retreat to the banks of the Oder when they still had the means to resist the Soviet onslaught?

Why doesn't the US bring home its troops, cut its spending, balance its budget and protect its future? Ha...ha...you know the answer. Because the system has been taken over by zombies...people who want to see the spending continue, no matter what the cost. Zombie wars. Zombie social spending. And zombie finance.

And every time we look at it, we see more evidence. California, the West Coast Greece, is going broke. Any guess why?

Happy Independence Day

2011-07-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

Here is my 4th of July message for the informed among us.....

Conscious Mangina Movement

2011-06-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

As comic relief from the issues discussed here, I put it to you the following video of "Conscious Manhood." Please know that it is done in humor or you might just burst a blood vessel.

Keep an ear attentive for the "thicket of wonders" comment, the best part.

America’s WASP Rot

2011-06-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

By Henry Allen, Published: June 17

I know why America is falling into a cataclysm of debt and can’t get out.

I know because I’ve seen the cataclysm before on a smaller but no less poignant scale while growing up in New England. A Boston friend calls it WASP rot: a squalor of doom and debt that prompts the best sort of people to spit sarcasms at each other during cocktail hour, to weep and rage the way Congress is doing as the debt limit looms on Aug. 2. Of course, losing a summer house isn’t losing a war or America defaulting on its debts. Yet to me, at least, the feeling is oddly the same. I worry that America is becoming a character in a story by John Cheever or F. Scott Fitzgerald.

My ancestors arrived early in North America, founded towns, fought at Bunker Hill, built railroads and cornered markets. But that day was long done when I was growing up. We were not unusual — in so many families, the money had been made, the money had been spent.

What made these families exceptional, the way America is exceptional, is that they believed that standards had to be maintained at all costs, a moral obligation, even though there never seemed to be much difference between the material and the moral. Houses in the right neighborhoods, alumni donations and keeping one’s word all seemed to have the same value.

As John Kennedy said in 1961, quoting John Winthrop’s speech to the Puritans aboard the Arbella: “We must always consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill — the eyes of all people are upon us.” To maintain the city, he’d say later, we had to “pay any price, bear any burden.”

If the trust fund played out or Aunt Cornelia turned out to be broke when she died, the rotting WASPs believed they had no choice but to bear the burden of borrowing to maintain their place in the world.

There was nothing wildly luxurious in their spending, no polo ponies or pearls, just the obligatory private schools, Bloody Mary brunches at the Inn, station wagons with yachting flags, silver wedding presents, lots of dogs, the whiskey. They borrowed from banks and relatives to keep the city shining. They borrowed against their houses. They sold Aunt Cornelia’s breakfront. They ignored bills and they despaired.

Imagine a cocktail hour.

“I hate living like this,” says a wife — we’ll call her Martha. She rattles the ice in her glass.

“Do we have any choice?” asks her husband — we’ll call him George. “Do you really want to pull Ted out of Dartmouth? Do you want to move into an apartment?”

“I could get a job,” Martha says. “I could manage a bookstore, like when you met me. It’s odd — we were poorer then, but we seemed so much richer.”

“We didn’t have money, but we did have a future,” says George. “Freshen up that drink for you?”

The conversation usually goes this way: proposals for impossible cuts in spending are met by equally impossible refusals to make them. Slash Medicare? Stop saving oppressed foreigners from tyranny? Raise taxes? The rock and the hard place. It’s a question of standards.

“We have to face the facts,” says Martha.

“I’m so goddam sick of the facts,” says George.

“If your brother would come to his senses, we could sell Seely’s Cove,” Martha says, referring to a summer house with porches and a mossy roof and photo albums from the days when men wore neckties as they sailed.

“We have to sell it or put a new roof on it, but Buell is happy just to let it molder,” George says. “He says keeping it in the family is a matter of principle.”

“You could call Tom about getting another loan from the bank. “

“We’re at the point where we’re just using loans to pay off other loans.”

This is what the American government is doing, too. Whether the problem is summer places or wars, sailboats or health care, the despair and folly feel the same. So does the decline in power and prestige, and the poignant denial of decline, prompted by the fear that if we don’t live and spend a certain way we’ll cease to be us — we’ll lose our place in the world.

Cheever writes: “Where had they lost their competence, their freedom, their greatness? Why should these good and gentle people . . . seem like the figures in a tragedy?”

It’s WASP rot. They drop out of the country club. The drinking eases the pain. They don’t pull Ted out of college; he quits and says he wants to be a chef. The daughter ends up living with a jazz musician who beats her.

It’s as if they, and the United States, have lost their luck.

As for America, magical ideas float through the media: Sell the gold in Fort Knox. Sell the federal government’s land to the Chinese. Maybe the Wampanoag Indians could turn the city upon a hill into a casino resort.

The troops may come home, not because of casualties or futility but because they cost too much. We might have to impoverish the old and ignore the poor and sick, not on the principle that we’re creating welfare dependency but because they cost too much. How sad. How vulgar.

I know the ending of George and Martha’s story, but I won’t depress you with it. I have no idea what will happen to America. It’s impossible to imagine Americans starving to death or the Chinese owning Yellowstone. Next thing, we’d be tossing the bodies of veterans into common graves, though this has already happened at Arlington National Cemetery.

Well-trained in situations like this, I try not to think about it, the goddam facts of it all. Freshen up that drink for you?

Henry Allen, who won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2000, was a Post editor and reporter for 39 years.

Why Do We Tolerate US Citizenship By Virtue Of Birth On US Soil?

2011-04-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

The US Constitution needs to be amended to remove the citizenship at birth clause. No country should permit the filth of the world to become citizens simply by virtue of birth on its soil.

Citizenship should be earned, and the peoples of the world should join our country only if they have something to offer in terms of educational attainment, wealth or occupational skills.

I don't care what caste, color, or creed you are from, but you should not be American just because your mother dropped her load here on our shores. What do you bring to the table here? If you are productive and pay taxes like the rest of us, good on you, but if you suck the social entitlement coffers dry and pollute our prisons, get the hell out!

And we have these true idiots who complain about the President's birth certificate? Birthers should be concerned about the trash of the world having their children here to solidify US citizenship for entire families!

That is the greatest failure of our Constitution and it has destroyed our society from within. I'm out, and good luck with this country as it deteriorates.

How Should Men Define Personal Success?

2011-04-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

The question came up on the Mancoat forum about redefining male success. We need to be careful about the term success, because it means different things for different people.

Ask yourself what would give you lifelong personal fulfillment. Are you at the point of personal fulfillment? If not, you are not a success just yet.

Personal fulfillment comes in many forms. Mother Theresa was personally fulfilled by living in poverty to help the less fortunate. Donald Trump is personally fulfilled by making successful business deals and appearing in the media. The hick from West Virginia is personally fulfilled by catching his dinner each night in the woods, and cooking it up on the wood stove.

The problem is that American culture, via Hollywood and Corporate advertising, put out the notion of success being the "American Dream" and most silly Americans bought into that. Many suffer from that mistake today.

What is success for me? Living abroad on a good salary, early retirement at age 50, and having serial relationships with women half my age. I don't need to be a millionaire, but money enables my success life so it is important. I don't want to be married, I don't need kids, and I don't buy into the nonsense that traps too many other men into wage slavery. In that sense, I'm a success too.

Success is a deeply personal assessment and don't let anyone determine for you what constitutes personal success for you.

Gerald Celente Tells It Like It Is!

2011-04-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

This is the most important commentary of the day. This is not to be missed. No wonder the Decline of America is picking up speed!

Must See Video: Barbara Kay On Femo-Fascism and Misandry

2011-01-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

Congresswoman Shot By Deranged Gunman. Judge Killed Too But He's A Man So Who Cares?

2011-01-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

This occurance is one of those times that makes me get off my duff and post again after several months. It is quite horrifiying to learn that a public servant has been shot while doing the people's work.

I do not know much about Congressman Giffords, but I do know this is not a good thing. The rhetoric of the Tea Party has claimed it first victim. Most of us remember Sarah Palin aluuding to "Second Amendment solutions, and "Reload." Well it likely played a role in the current anti-government environement we are seeing.

Another troubling aspect to this tragedy is the fact that United States Judge John Roll was killed in the incident yet, most of the press coverage and outpouring of concern is for Congresswoman Giffords even though she is still alive and expected to recover. Misandry is a difficult habit to break it seems.

Whatever the case, I wish a speedy recovery to all the injured and my condolences to the family of Judge Roll. Let's hope this does not encourage any copycat attacks because this nation can ill afford it.

Man Gatecrashes Ugly Feminist Rally

2010-09-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of how feminists use false allegations of violence to subjugate men with whom they do not agree.

This should be a lesson that free speech is but a legal fiction when it comes to a man versus a woman in the USA.

This is not an isolated incident, but it was caught on camera.

Americans Are Socially Disconnected From Each Other

2010-06-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

2010-05-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Still don't believe me? Well here is Bernard Chapin's take on the decline of America.

How to Destroy America

2010-05-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

Still don't believe me? Well here is Bernard Chapin's take on the decline of America.

America: The Grim Truth

2010-05-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

Looks like the word is getting out. Read this one young man's account of The Decline of America.

http://americathegrimtruth.wordpress.com/

Americans, I have some bad news for you:

You have the worst quality of life in the developed world – by a wide margin. If you had any idea of how people really lived in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many parts of Asia, you’d be rioting in the streets calling for a better life. In fact, the average Australian or Singaporean taxi driver has a much better standard of living than the typical American white-collar worker.

I know this because I am an American, and I escaped from the prison you call home.
I have lived all around the world, in wealthy countries and poor ones, and there is only one country I would never consider living in again: The United States of America. The mere thought of it fills me with dread.

Consider this: you are the only people in the developed world without a single-payer health system. Everyone in Western Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand has a single-payer system. If they get sick, they can devote all their energies to getting well. If you get sick, you have to battle two things at once: your illness and the fear of financial ruin. Millions of Americans go bankrupt every year due to medical bills, and tens of thousands die each year because they have no insurance or insufficient insurance. And don’t believe for a second that rot about America having the world’s best medical care or the shortest waiting lists: I’ve been to hospitals in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Singapore, and Thailand, and every one was better than the “good” hospital I used to go to back home. The waits were shorter, the facilities more comfortable, and the doctors just as good.

This is ironic, because you need a good health system more than anyone else in the world. Why? Because your lifestyle is almost designed to make you sick.

Let’s start with your diet: Much of the beef you eat has been exposed to fecal matter in processing. Your chicken is contaminated with salmonella. Your stock animals and poultry are pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics. In most other countries, the government would act to protect consumers from this sort of thing; in the United States, the government is bought off by industry to prevent any effective regulations or inspections. In a few years, the majority of all the produce for sale in the United States will be from genetically modified crops, thanks to the cozy relationship between Monsanto Corporation and the United States government. Worse still, due to the vast quantities of high-fructose corn syrup Americans consume, fully one-third of children born in the United States today will be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives.

Of course, it’s not just the food that’s killing you, it’s the drugs. If you show any sign of life when you’re young, they’ll put you on Ritalin. Then, when you get old enough to take a good look around, you’ll get depressed, so they’ll give you Prozac. If you’re a man, this will render you chemically impotent, so you’ll need Viagra to get it up. Meanwhile, your steady diet of trans-fat-laden food is guaranteed to give you high cholesterol, so you’ll get a prescription for Lipitor. Finally, at the end of the day, you’ll lay awake at night worrying about losing your health plan, so you’ll need Lunesta to go to sleep.

With a diet guaranteed to make you sick and a health system designed to make sure you stay that way, what you really need is a long vacation somewhere. Unfortunately, you probably can’t take one. I’ll let you in on little secret: if you go to the beaches of Thailand, the mountains of Nepal, or the coral reefs of Australia, you’ll probably be the only American in sight. And you’ll be surrounded crowds of happy Germans, French, Italians, Israelis, Scandinavians and wealthy Asians. Why? Because they’re paid well enough to afford to visit these places AND they can take vacations long enough to do so. Even if you could scrape together enough money to go to one of these incredible places, by the time you recovered from your jetlag, it would time to get on a plane and rush back to your job.

If you think I’m making this up, check the stats on average annual vacation days by country:
Finland: 44
Italy: 42
France: 39
Germany: 35
UK: 25
Japan: 18
USA: 12

The fact is, they work you like dogs in the United States. This should come as no surprise: the United States never got away from the plantation/sweat shop labor model and any real labor movement was brutally suppressed. Unless you happen to be a member of the ownership class, your options are pretty much limited to barely surviving on service-sector wages or playing musical chairs for a spot in a cubicle (a spot that will be outsourced to India next week anyway). The very best you can hope for is to get a professional degree and then milk the system for a slice of the middle-class pie. And even those who claw their way into the middle class are but one illness or job loss away from poverty. Your jobs aren’t secure. Your company has no loyalty to you. They’ll play you off against your coworkers for as long as it suits them, then they’ll get rid of you.

Of course, you don’t have any choice in the matter: the system is designed this way. In most countries in the developed world, higher education is either free or heavily subsidized; in the United States, a university degree can set you back over US$100,000. Thus, you enter the working world with a crushing debt. Forget about taking a year off to travel the world and find yourself – you’ve got to start working or watch your credit rating plummet.

If you’re “lucky,” you might even land a job good enough to qualify you for a home loan. And then you’ll spend half your working life just paying the interest on the loan – welcome to the world of American debt slavery. America has the illusion of great wealth because there’s a lot of “stuff” around, but who really owns it? In real terms, the average American is poorer than the poorest ghetto dweller in Manila, because at least they have no debts. If they want to pack up and leave, they can; if you want to leave, you can’t, because you’ve got debts to pay.

All this begs the question: Why would anyone put up with this? Ask any American and you’ll get the same answer: because America is the freest country on earth. If you believe this, I’ve got some more bad news for you: America is actually among the least free countries on earth. Your piss is tested, your emails and phone calls are monitored, your medical records are gathered, and you are never more than one stray comment away from writhing on the ground with two Taser prongs in your ass.

And that’s just physical freedom. Mentally, you are truly imprisoned. You don’t even know the degree to which you are tormented by fears of medical bankruptcy, job loss, homelessness and violent crime because you’ve never lived in a country where there is no need to worry about such things.

But it goes much deeper than mere surveillance and anxiety. The fact is, you are not free because your country has been taken over and occupied by another government. Fully 70% of your tax dollars go to the Pentagon, and the Pentagon is the real government of the United States. You are required under pain of death to pay taxes to this occupying government. If you’re from the less fortunate classes, you are also required to serve and die in their endless wars, or send your sons and daughters to do so. You have no choice in the matter: there is a socio-economic draft system in the United States that provides a steady stream of cannon fodder for the military.

If you call a life of surveillance, anxiety and ceaseless toil in the service of a government you didn’t elect “freedom,” then you and I have a very different idea of what that word means.
If there was some chance that the country could be changed, there might be reason for hope. But can you honestly look around and conclude that anything is going to change? Where would the change come from? The people? Take a good look at your compatriots: the working class in the United States has been brutally propagandized by jackals like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Members of the working class have been taught to lick the boots of their masters and then bend over for another kick in the ass. They’ve got these people so well trained that they’ll take up arms against the other half of the working class as soon as their masters give the word.

If the people cannot make a change, how about the media? Not a chance. From Fox News to the New York Times, the mass media in the United States is nothing but the public relations wing of the corporatocracy, primarily the military industrial complex. At least the citizens of the former Soviet Union knew that their news was bullshit. In America, you grow up thinking you’ve got a free media, which makes the propaganda doubly effective. If you don’t think American media is mere corporate propaganda, ask yourself the following question: have you ever heard a major American news outlet suggest that the country could fund a single-payer health system by cutting military spending?

If change can’t come from the people or the media, the only other potential source of change would be the politicians. Unfortunately, the American political process is among the most corrupt in the world. In every country on earth, one expects politicians to take bribes from the rich. But this generally happens in secret, behind the closed doors of their elite clubs. In the United States, this sort of political corruption is done in broad daylight, as part of legal, accepted, standard operating procedure. In the United States, they merely call these bribes campaign donations, political action committees and lobbyists. One can no more expect the politicians to change this system than one can expect a man to take an axe and chop his own legs out from underneath him.

No, the United States of America is not going to change for the better. The only change will be for the worse. And when I say worse, I mean much worse. As we speak, the economic system that sustained the country during the post-war years is collapsing. The United States maxed out its “credit card” sometime in 2008 and now its lenders, starting with China, are in the process of laying the foundations for a new monetary system to replace the Anglo-American “petro-dollar” system. As soon as there is a viable alternative to the US dollar, the greenback will sink like a stone.

While the United States was running up crushing levels of debt, it was also busy shipping its manufacturing jobs and white-collar jobs overseas, and letting its infrastructure fall to pieces. Meanwhile, Asian and European countries were investing in education, infrastructure and raw materials. Even if the United States tried to rebuild a real economy (as opposed to a service/financial economy) do think American workers would ever be able to compete with the workers of China or Europe? Have you ever seen a Japanese or German factory? Have you ever met a Singaporean or Chinese worker?

There are only two possible futures facing the United States, and neither one is pretty. The best case is a slow but orderly decline – essentially a continuation of what’s been happening for the last two decades. Wages will drop, unemployment will rise, Medicare and Social Security benefits will be slashed, the currency will decline in value, and the disparity of wealth will spiral out of control until the United States starts to resemble Mexico or the Philippines – tiny islands of wealth surrounded by great poverty (the country is already halfway there).
Equally likely is a sudden collapse, perhaps brought about by a rapid flight from the US dollar by creditor nations like China, Japan, Korea and the OPEC nations. A related possibility would be a default by the United States government on its vast debt. One look at the financial balance sheet of the US government should convince you how likely this is: governmental spending is skyrocketing and tax receipts are plummeting – something has to give. If either of these scenarios plays out, the resulting depression will make the present recession look like a walk in the park.

Whether the collapse is gradual or gut-wrenchingly sudden, the results will be chaos, civil strife and fascism. Let’s face it: the United States is like the former Yugoslavia – a collection of mutually antagonistic cultures united in name only. You’ve got your own version of the Taliban: right-wing Christian fundamentalists who actively loathe the idea of secular Constitutional government. You’ve got a vast intellectual underclass that has spent the last few decades soaking up Fox News and talk radio propaganda, eager to blame the collapse on Democrats, gays and immigrants. You’ve got a ruthless ownership class that will use all the means at its disposal to protect its wealth from the starving masses.

On top of all that you’ve got vast factory farms, sprawling suburbs and a truck-based shipping system, all of it entirely dependent on oil that is about to become completely unaffordable. And you’ve got guns. Lots of guns. In short: the United States is about to become a very unwholesome place to be.

Right now, the government is building fences and walls along its northern and southern borders. Right now, the government is working on a national ID system (soon to be fitted with biometric features). Right now, the government is building a surveillance state so extensive that they will be able to follow your every move, online, in the street and across borders. If you think this is just to protect you from “terrorists,” then you’re sadly mistaken. Once the shit really hits the fan, do you really think you’ll just be able to jump into the old station wagon, drive across the Canadian border and spend the rest of your days fishing and drinking Molson? No, the government is going to lock the place down. They don’t want their tax base escaping. They don’t want their “recruits” escaping. They don’t want YOU escaping.

I am not writing this to scare you. I write this to you as a friend. If you are able to read and understand what I’ve written here, then you are a member of a small minority in the United States. You are a minority in a country that has no place for you.

So what should you do? You should leave the United States of America.

If you’re young, you’ve got plenty of choices: you can teach English in the Middle East, Asia or Europe. Or you can go to university or graduate school abroad and start building skills that will qualify you for a work visa. If you’ve already got some real work skills, you can apply to emigrate to any number of countries as a skilled immigrant. If you are older and you’ve got some savings, you can retire to a place like Costa Rica or the Philippines. If you can’t qualify for a work, student or retirement visa, don’t let that stop you – travel on a tourist visa to a country that appeals to you and talk to the expats you meet there. Whatever you do, go speak to an immigration lawyer as soon as you can. Find out exactly how to get on a path that will lead to permanent residence and eventually citizenship in the country of your choice.
You will not be alone. There are millions of Americans just like me living outside the United States. Living lives much more fulfilling, peaceful, free and abundant than we ever could have attained back home. Some of us happened upon these lives by accident – we tried a year abroad and found that we liked it – others made a conscious decision to pack up and leave for good. You’ll find us in Canada, all over Europe, in many parts of Asia, in Australia and New Zealand, and in most other countries of the globe. Do we miss our friends and family? Yes. Do we occasionally miss aspects of our former country? Yes. Do we plan on ever living again in the United States? Never. And those of us with permanent residence or citizenship can sponsor family members from back home for long-term visas in our adopted countries.

In closing, I want to remind you of something: unless you are an American Indian or a descendant of slaves, at some point your ancestors chose to leave their homeland in search of a better life. They weren’t traitors and they weren’t bad people, they just wanted a better life for themselves and their families. Isn’t it time that you continue their journey?

Equality In The Workplace

2010-05-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

It is becoming abundantly clear that the feminist mantra of "Equality In The Workplace" is disingenuous at best. While no one disputes that women should be paid equally for equal work, and that sex discrimination should remain unlawful, the feminist notion of equality is not equal at all.

"Equality" in the feminist context means special deference and treatment. It means that women can still be spared the most undesirable or dangerous jobs due to chivalry, but still deserve each and every benefit due men. It means that women can expect to make mistakes and become disciplinary problems without accountability because men are fearful of being falsely accused of gender bias.

Equality in the workplace is a charade and everyone knows it. The laws even treat women more favorably in the workplace regarding issues of attire, absence for maternity, and for physical qualifications for law enforcement and fire fighters.

How about we all try to strive for equality? Women would find it more challenging than the status quo for sure, but it would go a long way towards making female employees more valuable and respected among their peers.

Some Truth Bombs For The Aspiring Expatriate

2010-05-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

From a fellow expat cohort!

TRUTH BOMB NUMBER 1: Western culture is in a state of decline. Men are treated more and more poorly there and it is very common for perfectly good, well intended, attractive guys to go months or YEARS without having sex or even having a girlfriend there. The society is in a stage of crisis, where birth rates and marriage are at critical lows and men and women simply aren't connecting normally anymore. It is my belief that excessive-wealth, over-independence, and the advanced form of post-feminism (appropriately nicknamed feminazism) we see in the west, and the disastrous affects these have had on male-female dynamics, is a huge factor in the serious issues of low birth rate, high singleness, and tendencies of serial relationships involving heart ache and meaningless sex ongoing in the West.

In a society where women do not need men and are not held accountable, then you have a crisis on your hands. Western women show no appreciation whatsoever for men, while men may pander and cater to a woman's every expectation and it can never be enough, creating these unhealthy and upside down relationship dynamics that end in failure anyway. And it is juts like we all say - being a nice and genuinely well intended guy (just sincerely connecting with woman with the underlying life goals of wanting to get married, respect and love your partner, maybe raise a family) in the west has the exact opposite of the result you would expect. Nice guys are typically considered pathetic or are reacted to with mistrust. It is insane. Your whole life of interacting with women makes no sense - you say something nice, it is a problem. You ask for a number, it is a problem. You tell a woman you are interested in her, you are a weirdo or pathetic.

TRUTH BOMB NUMBER 2: YOU DO NOT NEED "GAME" OUTSIDE OF THE WEST!!!!!" In the places I have been traveling, there is no need for it whatsoever and gorgeous, educated, sweet women have been approaching ME. Players can have their meaninglessness and debauchery and I'll see if I can find something genuine another way. In regards to game and what good it does ya when it is time to be genuine later in the relationship.... Game, especially in a well intended form when used by a nice guy who just wants to be monogamous, get married, etc... is a disaster. The whole concept is a trap, what you get out of it (heartache) is exactly the kind of energy you put into it.

In the past 6 weeks, I have made out with 2 women, had a few of dates, and pulled more numbers and emails than I can remember with NO game at all. I am not into womanizing at all but this has been a really life altering and eye opening experimental time out here as I just begin to unravel the damage and traumas and complexes of the US matrix.
Forget game, just follow through with your goals to move to a place where you don't need it.

TRUTH BOMB NUMBER 3: GET WHILE THE GETTING IS GOOD, because I have found out from some of the woman out here that men by the countless thousands in the US have figured this out. They have come to understand that they can not connect normally with American woman and that they have no value or desirability in relationships. I was told by a woman yesterday from the Mid East/Europe that she deleted her profile on a dating site within days of creating it because she was inundated with messages from AMERICAN men who want to come all the way to the middle east to meet a woman. THIS SHIT IS FOR REAL AND MILLIONS OF MEN FROM WESTERN COUNTRIES HAVE FIGURED IT OUT. As the world globalizes and westernizes and "feminazi"izes, the golden times we are in now will change. On the bright side, globalization is happening so much slower than you might think and I think we still have at least 30 good years to look forward to of American men finding good women outside of the US. Nevertheless, do not waste another day of your life, which is happening right now.

TRUTH BOMB NUMBER 4: YOU CAN MEET WOMEN AT RANDOM ON THE STREET OUT HERE! As soon as you leave North America, interactions with women become NORMAL. You do not need a dating site, a computer, copious alcohol, or a close mutual friend to meet a woman out here! Leave that shit at home, get your ass out of America, and just talk to them. Find a woman you have never seen or talked to before and act on the assumption that they like you and want to know you, and that they would just love to spend time with you and maybe even kiss you. Ask if they would like to go hiking. When they say yes, make normal conversation, don't worry a bit about what you say or ask, because out here, anything that seems normal and sane actually works (unlike in the US). Later, tell them you like them or that they are fun. Then ask if you can kiss them, or just do it when they are looking at your mouth (which they will do if they want to kiss you). It is easier than bread and butter and an average guy from the states can be doing that with a woman in Europe who would be a 10 and unapproachable in the US.

Get out of your American cocoon. Out here, you will be complemented and openly appreciated for being nice, not verbally abused or taken for granted. *****Out here, women will approach and even pursue you!!!!**** They will actually approach you and pursue you and even smile back at you when you smile at them!!! I have had this happen multiple times here. Your mind will be BLOWN trust me. When you tell them that YOU are not interested, they will express genuine appreciation for your honesty! When you go abroad, bring some resumes and some extra money, because trust me, you will not want to go back.

TRUTH BOMB 5: These women are not in it for your worthless American citizenship! Most of them wouldn't want to leave their family and friends! They just want to meet a nice guy, get married, have a family! It is NORMAL here to do just that and NORMAL to say that this is what you want to!!!! Not socially taboo like it is in the states. The states, where people look at you strange or say they want to focus on the their career or their emotionally rewarding hobbies (what they call "passions" in the US) HALLELUJAH. May I be forever done and freed with the broken American madness so help me GOD.

TRUTH BOMB NUMBER 6: Americans have a TERRIBLE reputation outside of the US, especially in almost all of Europe and the Middle East. When you meet people, many predictable and tiresome conversations will come up about stuff you have no interest in and had no involvement in, and that you may have even stood against yourself, usually involving past atrocities, recent occupations, and other deplorable things the US has done. There are some countries, I found out the hard way, that you are better off staying out of entirely, and I am not describing any of the topics that come up or the countries because I don't dare write about that stuff on the internet at all, I have a healthy respect (that means fear) of the unimaginably powerful government and military of the most spiritually ill nation on Earth. Do some research for yourself about which nations have been most adversely affected within the past 60 years and avoid them, because believe me, you WILL be confronted with it in your conversations and interactions with people. When you meet people who stereo type you, ignore them and drop them and move on. Life is too short to waste you energy on the wrong direction, do not give what is sacred to the dogs. Quality, not quantity. Go with the friends and women who do not go down that road in conversations.

Exception:
California has an incredible reputation, especially San Francisco (I have lived there). Ironic, because I consider it to be the sickest of all American cities and most dysfunctional socially..... the idea of committed monogamous relationships and strong family values and close families there is practically ridiculous.... it is like.... laughable. The cost of living is insane, and the homelessness, mental illness, and humanism in that city is happening on an epic scale like no where else on Earth.... if only these people out in the rest of the world with such romantic notions of it knew that.

Outside of America, you can easily have a meaningful and useful life and complete the pieces of the puzzle that are terribly absent in the US. There is tremendous unmet need. There are poor and starving and oppressed people who you can help, if you are the sort who feels drawn to do so (like myself). There are people by the billions who need to learn English from native speakers so they can participate in the global economy and society. There are women by the hundreds of millions who just want to meet a nice, thoughtful guy (those are rare out here, but a dime a dozen in America) and get married and have a family (and women will actually SAY that out here!!!!!!). You get to choose the kindest and most attractive one out of the many who are interested in you and do just that. Make friends, get involved in the community, learn the language, be patient and persistent, enjoy your life, and don't look back.

TRUTH BOMB NUMBER 7:Long distance relationships, which almost never work beyond the first 2 weeks in the states, are totally common here! Why? Because women are commitment minded and family oriented here. Accountability, commitment, and monogamy are ingrained in their psyche. On that note, you will be AMAZED at what is possible out here that would blow up in your face in the states. Anything sane and healthy and well intended that does not function or backfires in the states is totally normal and flowing here. Milk and honey is not in the US, it is flowing freely in other places that I will not mention because I am too selfish and greedy and I want it all for myself. Go out and find your own milk and honey like I am doing. Push the boundaries of what is feasible, you are entering into a whole different reality out here.

TRUTH BOMB NUMBER 8: A lot of expat guys seem to be about playing, chasing as many woman as possible, having as much sex as possible, hooking up a lot, etc... I say drop that awful stuff from your lives and drop it from this website! It is giving this website a bad name, giving all men who look abroad for relationships a bad name, and giving expats a bad name. Be in this for something good, or stay home and masturbate yourself. By using and hurting women, you are just making it harder for those of us who are out here to get married and live a good life, something that has become sooooo hard to do in America.

I say drop all such stuff and links and content it from this website! That kind of garbage is the reason I never signed up here 3+ years ago when I first discovered the site. With it the way it is now, the site attracts players and assholes and womanizers!!! All of the players will come, and the well intended guys will avoid it. This does a great disservice to the women out her,e the men like me who want to meet and marry one of them some day, and the website itself.

I just wanted to share what I have learned and I am just at the beginning of this journey. I don't have any more time for this site, I am living life now not asking other people how to live it. I suggest you all do the same.

Get your selves out of the US. Don't feel bad about the sorry condition of millions of American women who can not find a man because more and more of them have simply been forced to give up and look elsewhere. You spent 10 years or more trying to give them a chance, and believe me, you were probably giving and working 10X harder at it than these guys out here in the rest of the world ever have. You swam up stream and wasted your time there long enough. You'll be loved and appreciated out side of N America like you wouldn't imagine, just for being thoughtful and considerate of women. You'll be appreciated just for not having 2 or 3 girlfriends at the same time, something that is common for men to do out here, but would get you ostracized and blacklisted in any community in the states. You'll be appreciated just for caring about a woman's needs, or for caring if she has an orgasm in bed, things that men often do not give a shit about outside of the US. Your years of programing in the states, which is totally unnoticed and unappreciated by women there, will make you the nicest and most popular man alive in any city that you go to outside of the US, and believe me , out here, that kindness and thoughtfulness and respect counts a lot and take you far in life out here. Yes, women have priced themselves out of the market in the US, and not just in regards to money, but in regards to matters of the spirit. There is no amount of kindness or thoughtfulness that is enough in the states. You'll still be a "loser" to most of them, and still not up to their standards, which have gone into outer space.

Some day, a kind-hearted, positive and well intended guy from the US will read this and he will think "Who is this angry, crazy bastard and what is his problem?" Well, I'll tell you who he is..... I founded and ran a non-profit in the US doing 100% volunteer work and connecting people in the community. I am into volunteering with kids, elderly, and for the environment, and I am very into climbing, mountaineering, yoga, dancing, guitar, and running/hiking. That means I am Athletic, with a very nice muscular build, fit, and happen to be good looking. I eat well, don't drink, smoke, or use drugs, and I do good things in my daily life. I am sincere and I do good and bear good fruit and yet I am still saying all of these things I have said here - That America is messed up when it comes to men and women connecting.

I want you, whoever the reader is, to do this because guess what: These women need nice men, the world needs children, and you deserve a NORMAL life.
That's why I am here (in Asia at the moment) and that is why I am writing this post. Get off your asses and do something for yourself and may God have grace and mercy for the American woman, who believe me, is finding harder now than we men are especially now that millions of American men are dating or marrying woman from other nations.

What One Wise Young Man Has To Say

2010-05-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

American Female Stupidity

2010-03-14T08:42:00.001-07:00

This video is a window into the devoid state of intellect from which many suffer.

Behold, a future American mother and wife.......

How To Rebuild the American Economy

2010-03-13T09:58:00.000-08:00

So here we are folks. The US is at an economic crossroads; it can only go back to the former paradigm, or develop a new strategy for growth.

If we go back to expecting Americans to go shopping in a frenzy as in years past, we will sink again and perhaps lower than in the last 4 years.

So the best strategy for us to bolster employment, and grow for the next several decades is to build a manufacuring base for consumption by the Chinese consumer. China's growing middle class is still in the saving mode. Once disposable income becomes spendable, the vast population will be looking for products to buy in the same way Americans bought things during the last 10 years.

The federal government and the business community should be doing research and funding everything that leads to pandering to the Chinese consumer. American products already have a leg up status-wise, but we need to compete with Chinese companies to win over the swaths of people there ready to spend their money.

If we miss this opportunity, economic ruin will be just around the corner.

Oh, the Feminism topic ...

2010-03-12T10:32:00.001-08:00

This young lady is sharper intellectually than any American woman I've ever met.

Now do you understand why it's foreign women only for me?

"The Real Housewives" Spectacle

2010-03-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

Is it only me or is the series The Real Housewives Of.... a testament to the debased state of American women. Granted, this is reality TV which can be sometimes less real than scripted TV, but the obviously real cattiness, competitiveness, backstabbing and aggression is a window into a growing reality (no pun intended).

This series follows several cliques of spoiled, over the hill, spendthrifts from Atlanta, New York, and California. Each city series shows American women at their worst. There is no wonder why young men want nothing to do with marriage anymore.

When I was growing up, the sign of a lady was refinement and grace, not masculine aggression. That the casting people chose women in their thirties and forties was no accident. These are the women most ruined by the feminism of the 70's and 80's, but their antics are becoming more and more mainstream.

I encourage the readers of this blog to view some of these programs for educational reasons. It is very telling how these women spend their poor husbands money to soothe their aging egos.

More importantly, view the men and husbands in these programs. They are broken and defeated. Perhaps this is the biggest lesson the series offers.

When A Feminist Asks Why Men Need Advocacy........

2010-02-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Ask them if they've given any thought to:

-Why the death or disappearance of men are ignored but for women they are given high media attention so as to suggest women are more valuable than men. I could care less for some blonde who skanked her way to her death in Aruba, what about the men who "disappear" in Iraq and Afghanistan?

-Why women's health concerns like breast cancer are funded and given more attention than more devastating male health concerns like prostate cancer.

-Why sexual harassment against men by women is seen as "cute" or "lucky for the man."

-Why females are convicted by juries far less, and given less harsh sentences by judges than men.

-Why females do not have to register for the selective service.

-Why females are protected from serving in the "combat arms" (infantry, artillery, special forces) occupations of the military.

-Why women can falsely allege rape, abuse, or sexual harassment to gain sympathy in her circumstance and the male victim has his life or reputation destroyed.

-Why women can physically attack or abuse men and it be taken as a "you go girl" or a "he prolly did something" moment.

-Why alimony was created to destroy the economic necessity of husbands and encourage women to enrich themselves with divorce.

An American Celebrates Life....In Romania

2010-02-13T06:43:00.001-08:00

I was born in Los Angeles and lived the typical southern California suburban life of isolation. Being a child from divorced parents, I learned early on what America meant. Something always bothered me about the society in which I lived and where as when I was younger I couldn't quite define it, as I grew older it became more and more clear that modern American Society had an overlaying artificialness to it. I got the impression that I was living in some kind of experiment and that everything was temporary in nature and not intended to be lasting like the civilizations of the past.

I remember how I loved to watch Little House on the Prairie and feeling such an attraction to that family. I wondered why it was so different from what were claimed to be families all around me. Almost all kids at school came from divorced families and many were also victims of abuse. It seemed that most women with which I came into contact with growing up in America were hostile and belligerent and Southern California was probably the capital of alternative lifestyles and divorce and the traditional family life was viewed as the enemy. My only contact with traditional family values as a child growing up in America was again, Little House on the Prairie.

Observing these traits in society, I naturally began to associate America with them. America to me meant, divorce, abuse, fighting, neglect and above all, isolation. In fact, as I got older, I came to notice that the situation was more like a lack of society rather than a bad society. What do I mean? Well, first of all, there was no contact between people. There was no walking in the streets and no open markets and stores. People simply entered their cars from the garage attached to their house, opened the garage door and drove to the store or work and never came into contact with another human being. Where was society? What is the definition of society? I detected something very wrong with America and the endless uniformity and dullness of Southern Californian suburbs seemed to be the chief example of this fact. No matter how many times we visited the same grocery store, the employees there never would recognize us. Years would go by without a single word being exchange with a neighbor. My female teachers hated my mother. Even my cub scout troop was dissolved because one of the mothers sued after a fall in the snow on our first field trip. Every little girl who lived on my street was sexually abused and their stories horrified me. Between experiencing these things I also got to enjoy the constant fighting between my parents over child support checks and who's turn it was keep me on the week end. O how I longed for Little House on the Prairie where everybody worked together, went to church together and helped and supported each other through hardships, harvests and barn raising. This was the America I thought must have been just an invented myth.

Due to my mother's line of work, I was exposed to many emigrants from a wide variety of places such as Iran, Turkey, Armenia, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Argentina, Vietnam and India. There was something special about these people and I noticed it even as a child. What was it about them that attracted me? Why did they seem to be so content and hardworking? They seemed to benefit from a force or energy that I could see was totally lacking in the society in which I lived. What was it? The answer was FAMILY in the traditional sense. Though they were living in America like me, they had transferred their sense of family and society from their country and were still enjoying the benefits while being surrounded by the social misery. Somehow they lived unscathed in pockets of healthy family lives they themselves emitted. For me, happiness was being around these people and I would enjoy pretending that I was a part of their family as well. I would learn everything I could about their countries, cultures and foods and they would be so pleased to see my interest. The highlight of my childhood was when my mother would be invited to one of their homes for one of their holidays and I'd get to bask in the light of family life such as being seated at the dinner table together and listening to people actually talking to each other relating stories and experiences of the old country. I could see that the hardships and poverty they went through actually strengthened them and was the source of their great work ethic and family values.

I remember one girl from Romania who worked with my mother. She had swam across the Danube to escape from communism and tyranny and somehow made it to America. She came with just the shirt on her back and immediately started working with house cleaning and taking night classes in English. Her strong faith in God and her exceptional morals and ethics allowed her to flourish and reap the benefit of the opportunities in America. The same opportunities that Americans seemed to be unable to benefit from. Could a lack of traditional family values and morals be a factor? Why was it that emigrants always seemed to find success while native born Americans drowned in debt and misery?

She worked hard and worked her way up to becoming a manager. Eventually she got a degree and opened her own business. Only after years of work and after the fall of communism did she go back to Romania and get married to a Romanian man then returned.

Seeing her wonderful value as a beautiful, feminine and traditional women, I fell in love with Romania and wanted to get to know as much as possible about this country. Something about modern American women repulsed me and I absolutely refused to have a girlfriend or anything to do with them while in high school. Based on my experience as child growing up in America, I could not separate divorce with the American women. The two things seemed to go hand in hand. I remember making the concrete decision as a teenager that I would never marry a girl from a divorced family and that I had to marry a foreign girl no matter what. I started corresponding with girls as pen pals from Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Russia. There were no proms, dances or parties for me. I was attracted to everything that was traditional, religious and moral. Though it was sometimes lonely, I knew I was holding out for something of value and meaning. One girl in Romania particularly caught my attention by her femininity, shyness and goodness and we wrote to each other for two years. After two years of junior college, I decided to go to Romania to meet her in person and she was everything I imagined. We were married after spending six months as a guest of her family. I was 20 and she was 18 and we were both virgins. Sixteen years later, we're still married and have a beautiful family.

We did eventually come back to America where she, independently of my own opinion, noticed the same flaws in American society as I. She didn't like it and couldn't quite adjust to it. Living several years in California refusing to go into debt and fall into the "American Trap", we lived very simply but never flourished. As I grew in knowledge and understanding, I could see the writing on the wall that the American system was not sustainable. I could see that economic collapse was inevitable and soon all the debt, credit cards, stock market casinos, leases, and housing speculation would all come crashing down. The wars pretty much sealed the fate of America and I knew that we could not continue to be a part of it and incur the consequences of a system we never supported. I did not want my children growing up in such a system nor did I want them to reap what American foreign policy would shortly bring to the homeland. I could just sense that something dark was coming and on August 11, 2001 we moved to Romania.

We bought a beautiful apartment in downtown Bucharest for $19,000, bought a used car for $300 and a fertile piece of land with a peasant house fifty kilometers outside of Bucharest for $15,000 and now live completely debt free. How many Americans live debt free? The taxes on our house is about $30!! In the city we live in a normal urban setting where there is contact with other people in the streets, the markets and the people in stores know us personally and greet us. We're on friendly terms with our neighbors and visit each other. We have very efficient public transportation in the form of subways, trams and buses. We have our children's school right next door and have one of the biggest public parks and youth centers within walking distance. The Christian religion is taught in the public schools and our children are taken to church for communion. A priest comes to teach them about morals and ethics. There is even a civics class where the children learn the value of honesty, altruism, helping the needy, forgiveness and overall good social ethics. I can detect no dark or perverse agendas being forced on our children and being an American, I logically would be a good judge of this.

On the land we have in the country; together with my wife's family, we grow all our own food. We have fruit trees, grape vines and a yearly garden that provides all the family's needs through the winter. Making preserves in jars basically makes us independent. Having chickens provides us with a steady supply of natural eggs as well. The country house has its own deep well and so its independent of municipal water and the heating is wood burning. It's a great satisfaction for a product of an American suburb like myself to have gone back to a natural lifestyle with an intimate relationship with nature and the traditional way of life. Most of the villagers still go around with horse drawn wagons so in a way, I did eventually find my very own "Little House in the Prairie".

In closing, I'd like to encourage any Americans who are not satisfied with the society they live in to take the necessary courage and try moving to a place where they can find a simpler, more natural way of living, free of debt and free from the consequences of a diabolical foreign policy and a collapsing economy. It doesn't cost as much as you might think and it all starts with a dream. Hold your ideal in your mind at all times and eventually you will manifest this ideal in your own life. Never accept anything that does not reflect your ideal and it will never touch you. There is no utopia and every place has its own unique problems but never underestimate the power of your own ideas and dreams. The Kingdom is within you and you can live it in the place of your choosing. Spiritually speaking, we're all citizens of that Kingdom and we're all linked together in this shared principle of family, morals, Love, Truth and goodness. Simplicity is the key and the simpler you live your life, the more you will enjoy it. If you don't fear evil, you render it powerless against you and it disappears as darkness disappears when you turn on the light switch. Cultivate your spirituality and your ideal and you will find your very own promised land; your very own "Little House on the Prairie" no matter what you've been through. Now go find it!!

This piece is from the website SaveTheMales.ca

Russian "Scholar" Predicts Another US Civil War in 2010

2009-12-20T10:19:00.000-08:00

I will be the first to point out legitimate indications of the decline of America, but this is plain hogwash. Perhaps this is Russian wishful thinking.

There are problems in the US, yes. But this Russian claim that Americans will wholesale turn their guns on the government and each other is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Russia needs to be worried about Ingushstia, Dagastan, and other breakaway regions causing a civil war there. This takes the concept of projecting to a new international low.

What the Tiger Woods Debacle Shows Us.

2009-12-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

With all the media coverage of the Tiger Woods infidelity saga, one can only wonder why the most important aspect is ignored.

It is a forgone conclusion that Tiger was attacked in anger by his wife, Elin. When that fact is acknowledged (and it usually isn't), there is a denial of seriousness since the female attacked the male.

Saturday Night Live aired a skit depicting "Elin" wielding a golf club while intimidating Tiger with the threat of further violence.

Had the shoe been on the other foot, Tiger would be public enemy number one, there would be demands for his arrest, and he would be the recipient of death threats. But since the female is the aggressor, feminists and women play down the significance of the violence and they cackle with glee at the female putting the male in his place.

This double standard is particularly troublesome in the aftermath of the Rihanna incident. In it, Rihanna, the R&B singer goaded her former boyfriend and fellow R&B singer Chris Brown into a tussle where she ended up with a fat lib and bruises. Chris Brown's career is on life support, and Rihanna is being hailed as some courageous survivor even when she was the party that initiated the violence.

I can only hope that clear-thinking men and women can see the hypocrisy being displayed by our media and by feminists. Until female on male domestic violence is viewed with the same gravity as male on female, I think that all of us should dismiss the Rihanna episodes as insignificant.

Finally, Tiger Woods clearly does not love his wife if the allegations of infidelity are true. Elin is a former nanny who he ushered into a world of privilege. Her ice princess manner, and her violence towards him get a free pass in this society. So I say, dump your witch of a wife Tiger and continue to do what you need to do to find love and peace.

This Is Amanda Knox, A Cold-Blooded Murderer.

2009-11-21T07:19:00.001-08:00

Knox is the typical American female spoiled brat who now faces a life sentence for her role in the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher.

Knox sealed her own fate when she concocted several different versions of the what happened the night of Kercher's murder. Most disturbingly, Knox tried to implicate a local African business owner, Patrick Lumumba, of the crime but he was released after law enforcement officials cleared him and Knox's story changed.

This case is controversial because Knox is a relatively attractive, affluent, and white American female who is presumed to be innocent of such crimes by other Americans. Europe tends to be more realistic in their approach to judging women, and they tend to let the facts be their guide.

It is a forgone conclusion that Knox will be convicted and sent to prison for a long time. This case gives Men's Rights Advocate like me a sense of justice when American females get their due for heinous crimes that they may have gotten away with in the USA.

It also serves as notice to other American women that they cannot participate in crimes, implicate innocent people, change their stories and expect to be let off the hook like in the United States.

May the soul of Meredith Kercher rest in peace when Knox is finally locked away for good.

America Is An Over-Indebted, Profligate, Spoiled Nation In Decline

2009-11-13T03:47:00.000-08:00

You can't borrow your way out of a debt problem.

That's the key message from Charles Ortel of Newport Value Partners.

The U.S. and other developed countries have lost the discipline they once had and are now trying to borrow and spend their way out from under the mountains of debt they accumulated in recent years. In the process, they're prolonging the agony and moving closer to defaulting.

The U.S., at least, won't actually default, says Ortel, but as our situation worsens, the value of credit default swaps (insurance against default) should rise. So Ortel continues to recommend CDSs to his clients.

5-year credit default swaps on U.S. soverign debt currently trade for about 25 basis points (which means it costs $25K per $10M of notional value). How does that compare to other countries or states?

Japan = 72 bps
United Kingdom = 56 bps
Germany = 21 bps
California = 177 bps
New York = 85 bps

And as for the stock market?

No good news there. Ortel sees the DOW eventually heading back down to the 5,000-6,000 level, below the lows of earlier this year.

What will pull the nation out of this state of decline?

DISCIPLINE.

Instead of rewarding government workers with ever larger salary and benefits packages, we should fire whole swaths of them. Instead of borrowing more to spend on "stimulus," we should get out of the way and let the private sector do its thing.

In the meantime, about all investors can safely own is gold.

The "Ego Epidemic" of Modern Western Women

2009-11-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

Us women are more egocentric and narcissistic than we ever used to be, according to extensive research by two leading psychologists.

More of us have huge expectations of ourselves, our lives and everyone in them. We think the universe resolves around us, with a deluded sense of our own fabulousness, and believe we are cleverer, more talented and more attractive than we actually are.

We have trouble accepting criticism and extending empathy because we are so preoccupied with ourselves.

Am I making you angry by telling you this? It figures. Narcissistic or egotistical women do have an overwhelming sense of entitlement and arrogance.

Of course, I joke, but researchers say there is growing evidence of an epidemic of ego-itis everywhere.

Once a traditionally male syndrome, narcissism generally begins at home and in schools, where children are praised excessively, often spoiled rotten and given the relentless message that they are 'special'.

Psychology professors Jean Twenge and Keith Campbell analysed studies on 37,000 college students in 2006.

In a survey, 30 per cent of them said they believed they should get good grades simply for turning up.

And it's not just about how intelligent they think they are. In the workplace, in friendships, even in motherhood, the pervading culture seems to have become one of competitiveness, superiority and one-upmanship.

But the sphere in which the signs of self-obsession are perhaps most obvious, and the consequences most immediately felt, is the dating one.

In a recent magazine article, four women in their late 20s and 30s shared their thoughts about why they were still single. A 39-year-old beauty director claimed to be too independent for a relationship.

A 38-year-old music agent attributed her single status to the fact she was an alpha female - independent, feisty, strong-minded, high-achieving and intimidating.

She pointed out that she owned a gorgeous flat with gorgeous things in it, had a nice car, was a member of a fancy gym and wore designer dresses. 'I do what I like, when I like,' she said.

She'd been told, and appears to believe, that she's too successful and too well-educated for most men.

The third woman, a 30-year- old arts writer and curator, has been having too much fun to settle down.

Another, a 29-year-old, said she was too picky. She was looking for a guy who is (just) tall enough. And (just about) good-looking enough (but not too good-looking so that she'd play second fiddle).

He needs to be successful, solvent and driven. He must also be long on genuinely good jokes, with a decent sideline in bad ones that only she finds funny.

He needs to 'speak good restaurant', to have no special dietary requirements and to always be discerning without ever being fussy.

He needs to be clever without ever making her feel stupid. He needs to 'get' but not 'know' fashion...and so the list went on.

She concluded that she would rather eat wasps than share her Sunday with anyone who fails to measure up to her idea of Mr Perfect.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with having high expectations. But being delusional and having a totally unrealistic blueprint are an altogether different matter.

And they often go hand in hand with acute ego-itis. As Margot Medhurt knows only too well.

She is the founder of Yours Sincerely, an Edinburgh-based personal dating and introduction agency for professionals. She has almost 30 years' experience in the industry and has noticed a significant rise in this phenomenon in recent years.

'It used to be that most women who joined a dating agency had a pretty good idea of where they stood in the eligibility stakes,' she said. 'But in the past few years, I've noticed that there are a significant number of women who don't.

'They tend to be in their 30s, and there is a wide discrepancy between how they perceive themselves and how others see them.

'They are often very plain, but see themselves as being absolutely fabulous, exceptional people.

'They invariably reject every guy's profile I send them. But if a guy rejects their profile, there is all hell to pay. There is disbelief. They are really saying: "I'm so fabulous. How dare he turn me down?"

'In the past few years, I've noticed a real sense of entitlement among this small group of women. The idea that a guy might not find them as amazing as they find themselves doesn't enter their head.

'They often become indignant and angry towards me, demanding to know why a guy dared to turn them down. Most people simply accept the facts of the dating game: some people will find you attractive and others won't, in the same way that you'll be drawn to some but not others.

'These women, however, are unable to get their heads around the fact that the rest of the world might not share the distorted, inflated view they have of themselves.'

She said she had a eureka moment when she read a recent article about the rise in narcissism among women.

According to the American research, there has been a 67 per cent increase in it over the past two decades, mainly among women.

An estimated ten per cent of the population suffers from narcissism as a full-blown personality disorder.

The symptoms include: a grandiose sense of self-importance; the belief that he or she is special or unique and in some way better - either intellectually or physically - than others; a requirement for excessive admiration; a sense of entitlement, whether to fame, fortune, success and happiness or simply to special treatment; enviousness of others or a belief that others are envious of him or her; an inability to empathise; an inability to admit a mistake; and haughty behaviour or attitude.

What researchers have also identified, and are far more worried about, is what has been described as 'normal' narcissism - a cultural shift that has seen even non-narcissistic people seduced by the emphasis on material wealth, physical appearance and celebrity worship.

The researchers believe our culture brings out narcissistic behaviour in almost all of us.

They blame the internet (where 'fame' is a click away), reality television (where the lure of fame without talent is most prevalent), easy credit (which enables people to buy far beyond their ability to pay), celebrity worship, our highly consumerist, competitive and individualistic society, and a generation of indulgent parents who have raised their children to think they're special, amazing and perfect.

According to Twenge, this focus on self-admiration has caused a cultural flight from reality to the land of grandiose fantasy.

We have phony rich people (who actually have massive mortgages and piles of debt), phony beauty (via plastic surgery), phony celebrities (via reality TV and YouTube), phony genius students (with grade inflation) and phony friends (with the social networking explosion).

'I had noticed this trend, but wasn't really sure what it was all about,' says Margaret Medhurt.

'However, when I read that article and thought about the unrealistic expectations and sense of entitlement among some of the women, it really struck a chord.

'One of the cases that brought it home to me involved a 38-year-old businesswoman.

'I knew there were going to be problems right away. As soon as someone joins the agency, we get things moving very quickly - but this wasn't quick enough for this woman.

'She wanted a date immediately. The first man I sent her profile to declined an introduction and she was extremely cross. She couldn't accept it and she couldn't even be polite about it.

'In three weeks, three men turned her down. I explained that it takes time to meet someone but she just got angrier and angrier. She was demanding to know why these guys did this. I was trying to get the balance right - between being honest with her and being tactful.

'I think, ultimately, she had a very flawed perception of herself. And she almost couldn't bear that it was being challenged. It was as if she couldn't deal with the fact that some guys didn't think she was amazing - and she left.'

Men, traditionally regarded as the more self-centred of the species and the rogues of the mating game, are left scratching their heads and pondering Freud's famous question: what do women want?

David Baxter (not his real name) is a 40-year-old management consultant. Previously married for nine years, he joined a dating agency in the summer.

He says he's not perfect, but is told he's an eligible and pleasant guy with a lot to offer.

'I've had three successive dates recently with ladies in the late 30s to early 40s age bracket that have left me dumbfounded,' he said.

'I've never come across such massive egos, such arrogance and lack of basic courtesy.

'It was as if these particular dates were a forum for them to tell me how exceptional they were. One told me repeatedly how many young guys at the gym asked her out; another was very artificial.

'You sensed that they absolutely worshipped themselves, though none of them was drop-dead gorgeous or had amazing personalities, jobs or anything else to set them apart and elevate themselves into some superior position.

'I also thought it was quite telling that none of them had ever been married, engaged or had recently - or perhaps ever - been in a long-term relationship.

'I got the feeling that these women were living in a Sex And The City-inspired fantasy world. I also sensed that nobody would ever be good enough for them.

'They seem to be looking for something that doesn't exist: Mr Perfect, or perhaps some larger-than-life, dashingly handsome and unattainable character such as that portrayed by Mr Big. Nothing else will do.'

Despite his recent experience, David still considers himself lucky.

'I'm still positive about the whole thing, but I have friends who are not so optimistic and it's evident that encounters with these sort of women seriously erode their self-confidence, which is a real shame. There are a lot of genuine, decent guys out there who are getting a rough deal.'

Neil Hay is a 32-year-old former professional golfer-turned-financial consultant who lives on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

After taking some time out following the death of his mother, he joined a dating agency almost a year ago.

'It's made me terribly cynical, not just about the way women are, but also about what on earth it is that they are looking for in a guy,' he said.

'Of course, we all have standards and preferences. There's nothing wrong with that. But most of us are also realistic. We know that Cheryl Cole is out of our league.

'I had been hoping to meet someone who was quite nice-looking, with a good personality, someone to go for dinner and to the cinema and have a decent conversation with. But I'm left feeling that this isn't what women are looking for.

'It's as if they want to be swept off their feet right from the first date, as if they're waiting for someone like Brad Pitt or George Clooney. They're not interested in a regular, normal, decent guy. That's not good enough for them.

'I spent three hours on a date with one woman. I thought we got on brilliantly, but then she said she didn't want to meet again.

'This has happened a few times. It makes me think that if you don't live up to their perfect fantasy, then that's it. It's game over before you've even had any chance to begin to get to know each other.

'It does dent your confidence. I'm left thinking either that there's something wrong with me or that I'll just never be whatever it is that these women are looking for.

'I know there are a lot of single women who say things like they're too independent, too feisty, too confident or too successful for men. Or they claim that men are intimidated by strong, intelligent and independent women.

'But this is simply not the case. I think they just tell themselves this. It's a way of rationalising things. It's as if it's easier for them to believe their own myths than to face reality - that they are completely ordinary.'This brilliant article was penned by Lucy Taylor, accessible with this link.

Arab, Muslim Officer Shoots Innocent Soldiers

2009-11-06T02:23:00.000-08:00

The shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, is of Arab Jordanian descent.

When are we going to learn that just because someone is a US citizen does not mean he is "American" per se? This individual killed young soldiers because his core was Islamic extremism incompatible with his "American" charade.

When are we going to wake up? This is but the first of many instances like this I fear.

My heart goes out to the families and communities of the victims, and may the naivete of the United States finally subside to permit us to open our eyes.

American Mensa Reject: Typical American Woman

2009-11-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was having an intelligent discussion with a very perceptive young lady from Europe. This young lady was confused when an American female acquaintance of hers stated that she does not know if she wants to settle down and have children even though she has a nice boyfriend. The American's rationale was, "I'm only 32 years old!"

My friend who is all of 20 years old, is correct to be perplexed as such feminist-inspired thinking. The American female is deluded into thinking that 32 is young; in fact 32 is over the hill as far as clear-thinking men are concerned.

It takes a trip out of the US to listen to how others view American foolishness. This 32 year old, who is slightly overweight and quite plain-looking, needs to do her future children a favor by choosing to not have them at all. I shudder at the thought of what kind of mother she would be with such a deluded mentality.

The Myth of the Independent American Woman

2009-10-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

One of the most prevalent myths perpetuated by American women is that of the "independent woman."

In reality, American women, regardless of class and ethnicity, are greatly dependent on the resources of others. The route to female affluence in America is rarely due to their own financial accomplishments. Women usually ride the support train of their fathers, their husbands and their ex husbands. If we take a look at who financed the higher education of your average professional women, it is usually family and not self-financed. Then, when these high-achieving women decide to marry, they usually marry higher income men to further buttress their "declaration of independence" war chests.

Increasingly, these restless women initiate divorce when they feel enabled enough to cash out of the marriage and go it alone. Alimony and child support are enforced by the state to supplement the lifestyles of these women. Afterward, the women hold themselves up as independent when the path to their affluence was based on parasitic financial relationships with men; how ironic.

Feminism has made American women independent of the need for husbands, but their quasi-independence is predicated on wealth re-distribution of the family courts, and of the state entitlement systems.

American women are exploiters of male financial wherewithal. It starts in childhood and continues well into adulthood. What gets me is this delusion that they are self-made independent women when in fact they are leeches, spurred on by mass media and the consumption ethic of pop culture.

American men need to recognize this and protect the fruits of their labor accordingly.

Iran dumps US dollar for euro.

2009-10-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Arabian Business reports that the Iranian government and its President ordered the removal of the US dollar to be replaced by the Euro, which was introduced in 1999, in order to protect themselves from the crumbling United States economy and devaluing dollar.

The Euro will be the calculating factor of the Oil Stabilization Fund (OSF), which is a fund that is set up to help the Iranian economy against fluctuating oil prices. It is also set up to help both the public and private sectors with their currency needs by extending loans.

Iran's Central Bank deputy chief Reza Raei stated in December, according to Iran Daily, that the nation’s foreign exchange reserves were over $80 billion.
Since the inception of the Euro in 1999, it has gain popularity by many nations and businesses across the globe. Currently, there are more Euros than dollars in circulation. After it was introduced in 1999, Iraq, at the time having the second-largest oil reserves, traded its oil in Euros.

Venezuela has also pressured OPEC to abandon the US dollar, according to ADN Kronos.

The Coming Collapse of the Dollar, Part 1

2009-10-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

While I am by no means an economist, I do have enough common sense to know that the reckless spending and monetary policies being pursued will diminish the value to the US Dollar in short measure.

Prepare yourselves now by spreading your assets in other currencies like the Euro, and precious metals like gold and silver. If you are in cash, US interest rates may skyrocket so that's the silver lining for savers but who knows how much those savings gains will be worth relative to the lost dollar value.

The Coming Collapse of the Dollar, Part 2

2009-10-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

This is the second part for those so inclined....

Chicago Received No Votes From the Olympic Committee!

2009-10-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what the White House was thinking when they thought Chicago had a chance to land the next summer games. Rio got the nod and good on them. That is a world class city just brimming with appeal.

Chicago makes me yawn. The fact that President Obama, Oprah, and the PR team that bungled the presentation felt that Chicago is even in the same class as Rio, Tokyo, and and Madrid is a testament that the decline of America is lost in many American minds.

Congratulations Rio.

The Danger Of The "True Forced Loneliness" Movement

2009-09-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

When madman George Sodini went on a murderous rampage at a fitness center, many Americans were shocked at the motive. Sodini was a sexually frustrated, socially inept man whose pent-up anger blew over in the form of shooting innocent women. The concerning thing about Sodini is that he is not alone.

There is a movement called True Forced Loneliness (TFL) making the rounds on YouTube. The proponents of TFL claim that they are being forced to be lonely because of society's judgmental culture of high expectations in courtship. This, in turn, causes men to be left without mates.

There are many problems with this theory, but first, any look at a TFL proponent will yield instantaneous evidence as to why they are alone in the first place. Let's take Dwayne Holloway, the verbose spokesperson of TFL on YouTube. Dwayne is an articulate yet morbidly obese, and off-kilter man who is at a loss as to why women don't give him the time of day. When people point out the superficial reasons he falls short in the dating game, Dwayne is angrily adamant that his appearance "should not matter" in his search for mate.

Dwayne and the other TFL followers tend to exhibit fundamental misunderstandings (or dismissals) of human nature. But all that aside, the undercurrent of TFL is that violence, a la George Sodini, is the natural consequence of rejecting men who feel they should not be rejected. Therein lies the dangerous powderkeg of TFL.
If you peruse the TFL commentaries on the George Sodini murders, the recurring theme is that they "understand" why he did it. Even though they pepper their commentary with how they do not condone the murders (gee thanks), the sentiment is barely under the surface.

Moreover, I recently examined the TFL website and was shocked to discover a photo of the murdered Asia McGowan scrolling across the screen. McGowan was shot by a mentally disturbed YouTube personality, Anthony Powell, who grew distressed when McGowan did not reciprocate his feelings for her. Powell then shot himself. It was later discovered that Powell suffered from mental illness for many years.

The TFL crowd reveres Powell as a patron saint and they feature a video of McGowan in a thinly disguised warning masquerading as a "memorial" to her.

Folks, these guys are DANGEROUS. Expect to hear about this TFL thing in the news; and remember, you heard it here first.

Travel Abroad Advice for Aspiring Expats

2009-09-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

Anthony Bourdain, for all of his sarcasm, is a guy whose travel mode resembles my own. For all you guys who wish to spend a lot of time overseas exploring all that is not available in the USA, I hope this can prompt you into planning your first trip. Below is my travel advice that I posted on another forum recently. I hope you find it helpful:

Financial Considerations
Yes, your trip will cost some money so you should begin budgeting for travel, lodging, food, and entertainment. For you young men, you should save your money for a once a year or once every 2 years trip to a different country than you have been to before. Don't buy that new laptop, iPhone, or Blackberry. Safe the money for your exploratory trips!

For unmarried middle aged men, it is far easier for you to travel 4 times a year when you are single with no kids. Your savings and salaries are generally higher at that point in life.

Where Should You Travel
You should travel to the poorest countries that have the women you find most attractive. Even if your visit to that country ends up that you do not like that country, odds are a neighboring country to that one might suit you far better. For example, I thought I would like Bulgaria, but a visit there proved to be lackluster for me. I then took the 30 minute flight to neighboring Romania and had an absolute blast of a time!

If you stay in the capital cities first, you will find many people who speak English very well. Many of the smaller towns have English speakers in this age of the internet and cable TV programming from the US.

Strike up conversations with some hotel clerks, bartenders, waitresses, or others. Most people are very open to interacting with Americans since they likely never met one in person. These people can be valuable resources as to where to eat, stay, hang-out, and where to avoid.

Countries And Travel Plans To Avoid
My man from singleabroad.com summed it up when he wrote that you should avoid......

Pretty much all Western Europe, particularly London, Paris, Amsterdam, and other large cities.

Places that are heavily promoted in the West as vacation spots: Negril, Jamaica, Cancun, Cabo, Mexico, etc. At these places you are mostly going to meet American and European tourists and local prostitutes.

Avoid "resorts" and "cruises" ("expensive, rip off centers of cheesy boredom" is a good description I heard). "Singles cruises" and "singles trips" are the worst; you'll be spending time with spoiled aging American women looking for a quick lay or a "provider".

How You Should Dress
When traveling abroad, you should not even bring sneakers unless you like to jog regularly. Bring nice looking walking shoes that can go well with shorts in the day time, and with jeans and a blazer at night. Think Clarks or Rockport type shoes. Shoes bring the air of sophistication and women respond well to that. A cheap blazer with a t-shirt and jeans make you a possible rich man in the eyes of all the ladies. Save the oversized hip hop gear for back home or your little brother.

Don't wear rings and watches in the street at night. I do wear them but I put them on in the restroom after I arrive at clubs and bars, them remove them and place them in the blazer pockets when I leave. This deters crime and makes you less of a target for jealous local men.

Emergency Considerations
Leave most of your cash, most of your credit cards, and your passport in the hotel locked in a safe or in your luggage. If you are robbed, you don't want to be left without options for money. Only walk around with a copy of your passport on your person.

If you are sick, in trouble or you lose a passport, each US Embassy has an American Citizen Services section that will help you out with loans, temporary passport documents, or hospital/jail visits if it comes to that. Always have their number handy and register online with the State Department so they can assist you in a disaster by knowing you are in country: https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/

Your Most Likely Enemies Abroad
Be pleasant, but trust no one, especially men, in another country. Everyone will be curious, but curious about how to dupe you. Don't get into cars with new "friends," don't flash money around, and don't ever trust a cab driver. Always insist on the fare before the cab ride or they will pump up the price without a meter. Cab drivers are the WORST.

Women who are too friendly are likely prostitutes or opportunists. Never listen to their sob stories and loan them money. Most women who are interested in you from poor countries will offer to pay for some or all of drinks, dinner, et cetera. Don't be a dupe.

When The Travel Bug Bites
After a 1 to 3 trips to different regions, you will be a pro and you will crave the time when your next trip begins. When you get a taste of being treated as an equal human being, as attractive human being from pretty women, and as the man that you are, you will have been bitten by the bug!

If You Happen To Meet The Lady Of Your Dreams
You will likely meet women you would have never dreamed of in short measure. Don't lose your head. Try to meet a plan B, a plan C, et cetera. Don't propose and don't start planning to bring her to America. Make it clear from the start that you would rather settle down there and start a family with her. Whatever you do, do not marry! It is better to shack up with a lady, have kids and live happily ever after. Marriage impedes your ability to just cut and run if you ever need to do so.

The Goal
Initially you will simply be enjoying your adventure and new life experience. But your goal should be to find the place or places that you want to retire or live in (unmarried) with your young woman and any kids you might have with her. I know several men living with their women abroad who plan to do so till the very end. It's a great idea and one that I will embark upon at age 50 as soon as the pension kicks in!

Get planning and get going. There is more advice on the happierabroad.com forum from people like Winston Wu and Ladislav who legendary expat experts.

American Sickness Series: Anthropomorphism

2009-07-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

One sickness that afflicts Americans more and more, but is seldom written about is anthropomorphism, or the humanization of pets. My theory as to why Americans place human characteristics on their pets is for the lack of affection between men and women, and parents and children even.

Single women are most often guilty of engaging in anthropomorphism. We often hear of the spinster who fills her void of affections with cats. But I would submit that married women are often guilty of it as well. Loveless marriage in the US is no longer the exception, but the norm. Pets often serve the purpose of providing women the "unconditional love" that they cannot get from their spouses.

This is not to get men off of the hook. Many men look to their dogs as the buddies they lack in human form. Many men would not think of going hunting, fishing, or camping without their dog in tow.

If you travel to other regions of the world, one thing that is striking to an American is the physical affection that foreign parents lavish upon their children. Given all the hysteria surrounding pedophiles coupled with the Anglo-Western culture of personal space that pervades the US, there is no wonder why children turn to pets for being starved for affection. We now have the first generation of females who don't "date," but hook-up for brief encounters of sex or near sex. This isn't affection contrary to popular belief.

There is nothing innately wrong with affinity for pets and animals. But the extent to which Americans replace human closeness with closeness with animals is one other sign of the decline of America.

The sad thing is that far too many Americans, women mostly, react with more alarm at the death of an animal than at the death of a human. This is how bad the problem has gotten!

The American Myth of the Teen "Carefree Years"

2009-07-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

We've heard it all before. The cliche that adolescence and high school are the "carefree years." The proponents of this myth could not be more wrong.

The teenage years are the most fraught with embarrassment, humiliation, angst, and misery. These are the years when anorexia, bulimia, bullying, drugs, underage drinking, acne, sexual confusion, etc, are everyday struggles for teens.

As a forty-something who has been having the time of his life since age 30, I can attest that the most carefree I have ever been is the present.

Perhaps married people look at their tortured lives and refer back to their single days as carefree years. If that's the case, I pity them.

In more wise societies, the teen years are seen as preparatory years where hard work and toil lead to lives of prosperity and wealth. All but the most savvy Americans believe that to be the case for their children, and we have a generation of poorly prepared "millennials" ruining workplaces the country over as proof.

So reject that myth. Impress upon your children that these are the days of hard work and delayed gratification. As much as my parents got on my nerves about this, I see now they were correct.

Joe Biden's Contributions to the Decline of America

2009-07-04T10:45:00.001-07:00

On his surprise trip to Iraq during the July 4th weekend, VP Joe Biden mentioned that America is a refuge for immigrants, saying newcomers are the "lifeblood" of the country and that "there's always room for more."

Most Americans do not agree. As we see the legions of indigenous Latin American workers siphoning off wealth, how could we?

Illegal immigrants usually commit the federal crimes of Entry Without Inspection, Employment Without Authorization, and Tax Evasion. Moreover, most of their disposable income is sent back to their home country so the US does not even fully benefit from they buying power!

This brings me to another point about Biden. He recently announced the new White House adviser for violence against women, Lynn Rosenthal. Is he kidding! Violence against women, as a government initiative, presumes that men are not to be acknowledged as victims of violence at the hands of women. It is sexist and misandric and has no place in government.

Joe Biden enables anti-male government action and encourages immigration that we do not need. He needs to go!

The Decline Of The Central Intelligence Agency

2009-07-03T17:08:00.001-07:00

The CIA is one of those institutions that exists solely on the prestige of its former glory. If it were not for that, I believe the CIA would be dissolved in favor of some new, more effective intelligence apparatus.

In the 1960's and 70's, the war in Iraq would have been a laughable endeavor. Back then, covert action was the option of choice. The CIA would train, equip, and fund dissident movements within hostile nations and wait for the opportunity to exploit coups d'etats. All this would take place with the US having clean hands.

The recent civil strife in Iran is but the latest lost opportunity to assist legitimate and friendly dissident movements by way of covert action. The CIA is too transparent anymore and its clandestine service is incompetent.

North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and all the other enemy regimes can all rest assured that they are safe with the current CIA running our clandestine affairs.

American Female Recklessness Abroad

2009-06-30T15:46:00.001-07:00

Since American females are handled with great deference in the US, many are harmed or even killed when the venture abroad.

Take Natalie Holloway to the right. Her social conditioning failed to give her pause at the thought of boozing and picking up one night stands in Aruba. As most of us know, she is presumed to be dead.

To the left is Sara Kuszak who was killed while jogging in crime ridden Puerto Rico. She obviously was oblivious to the risks of jogging on a foreign milieu.

Feminism teaches women that they can do it all, and chivalry teaches them to believe it. Outside of the US, the rules are different. Tragedies like this are avoidable, but they will persist for some time given the naive mentality of feminism-infected girls abroad.

Women's Selfishness Often Harms Animals

2009-06-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

American women often pontificate about how much they "love" animals and want to do everything they can to protect them; yeah right.

These women who profess to love animals, in my experience, simply wish to satiate their need for warmth and physical contact and to "feel important."

I once befriended an outdoorsy girl who approached every animal to feed it caress it and "experience" it. I explained to her that feeding and establishing contact with wild animals is to the animals' detriment since it erodes the natural fear for humans and therefore subjects the animals to risky encounters with other humans later on. She, of course reacted with hostility and shouted she "wanted to do it."

What this taught me is that these animal lovers only love animals to the extent that it suits them, not the animals. This is typical American female ego-centrism.

Leave the animals alone and appreciate them from afar or at a petting zoo! You are doing them no favors.

This Is Why I Cannot Relate To American Women

2009-06-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

This woman's stupidity is clear. I find that most American women I encounter or find attractive are not far off from this. I would never want a woman of this nature to rear any children!

You Need To Take Some Viagra!

2009-06-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

What is behind the Viagra craze in America? I believe it is unattractive American women who feel no obligation to keep themselves attractive to men, that's what!

The irony is that women typically blame men for "erectile dysfunction," but it is women themselves who tend to be so repulsive that many men are not sexually aroused by them.

Since America does not hold women accountable for this (or for most other things for that matter) the myth about the male need for Viagra will persist.

Men sexually respond to attractive women, period. If you are a women who has a man with erectile dysfunction, I put it to you that a younger, thinner, more attractive woman would instantly cure him of this "ailment."

Would You Trust This Arrogant Nerd's Financial Advice?

2009-06-13T01:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we Americans can allow our financial better judgment to be suspended by clever marketing, polished wall street analysts, and the seductive power of CNBC, CNNf, etc. It was not enough to endure the dot.com bubble from 1995-2001. Oh no, Americans listened to the same pinheads tell them to stay fully invested for the long term, and to diversify their portfolios over a wide variety of stock classes.

Those who fell for this nonsense are now paying the price for their misplaced trust.

I removed the greater portion of my stock holdings in 2007 in reaction to the felling of market overvalue. My reaction was private as I did not want to subject myself to the jeers of my peers. I have been vindicated, no doubt, by the market drop of 2008-2009.

The myth of "diversifying" over a wide variety of stock classes is not diversification AT ALL. I fell for this scam back in the late 1990's but then noticed that all stocks (even international ones) were highly correlated in trend. No variety of stock classes would have saved anyone in the current downturn!

My point of this piece is to urge you to spread your assets between US dollars in a reputable US credit union (not a bank); a Euro cash account in a country like Switzerland, Germany, or France; the US stock market (10 to 25 percent according to your time horizen); a municipal bond fund; and precious metals like gold and silver (via ETFs like GLD or SLV). This is the diversification.

I do believe we all should be dollar cost averaging into the US stock market at the present time, but we should be doing it moderately and with the intention to continue over the next several years.

US stocks will correct again and again. When the doom and gloom are heavy on CNBC, that is the time to take chunks of your wealth and bottom feed an S&P 500 or Wilshire 4500 fund. This is called contrarian investing and you will reap great rewards if you can purchase cheap shares when the pessimism is high.

Resist the nerds who want to be fully invested at all times so their fees can still be generated from your holdings. They are out for their interests, not yours. You've been warned.

The Depraved American Woman

2009-06-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

This week will mark my temporary return to the United States after six years abroad. I actually look forward to several things: seeing my family, tasting my favorite dining fare, PBS, and the anonymity of being on my home turf.

I do not, however, look forward to having to interact with the contemporary American woman. I will make nice when I am ordering at Starbucks, or when I am on a commuter train, or when I am forced to interact in any way shape or form. But my experiences with women in "Developing Europe" have unearthed a disturbing truth, that American women are my enemy. Sure there are a few nice, classy, and kind-hearted American women, but they, as a group, are a menace to the souls of good American men. Feminism has ruined them to the point where they cannot think logically, and they always primed to expect both deference and equality, (with equality actually being preference in practice.)

I will, however, enjoy how the recession is exposing American women for what they are, parasitic, materialistic bores who inevitably undergo metamorphosis into the worthless hags who proclaim that "50 is the new 30." Yeah right!

I do want to mention that I advocate no physical harm to American women (unless in the name of justified self defense), but I do wish American men would collectively wise up and consider how American women act against their interests.

"Some" Americans Abroad

2009-06-06T07:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had some American redneck approach me as if we are buddies. Apparently someone tipped him off that I too am an American.

What never ceases to amaze me overseas is that the same type of American who would have nothing to do with me in the US, suddenly behaves like a kindred spirit overseas. Not a chance! I don't gravitate toward rednecks in the states and I won't do it abroad. Sure, there is something to be said for seeing a fellow American in a faraway land. But don't come off like we are old buds when in the states we would consider each other a virtual menace.

Might I be a little harsh to a redneck's overture of friendliness? Perhaps, but consistency is a virtue that I respect. Furthermore, I have often sensed the underlying class tensions in my interactions with people of this ilk, friendly overtures notwithstanding.

So if you see me in another country. Don't come up to chat unless you would be inclined to do the same in the US!

Newest Fashion Accessory: Black Babies!

2009-05-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Apparently, little toy doggies like Paris Hilton's chihuahua did not quite do the trick. The newest fad in Hollywood is to tote around a black baby!
Black babies give their owners instant credibility with the left wing human rights types, and they are virtual badges of social consciousness.

Angelina Jolie noticed a spike in her speaking requests after choosing her black baby. So much so, that Madonna embarked on her quest to select just the right black baby for her to be seen carrying around.

Adopting children who might otherwise have dim prospects for a future is a noble undertaking. But I fear that this fad will come and go like all the rest.

But not if Bruno has anything to do with it!

American Misandry To A Foreign Visitor

2009-05-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

This is one Frenchman's discovery of America's tyranny of feminism and misandry. Behold....

The Legal Means To Defeating Anti-Male Bias

2009-04-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

New York Times Debate on Marriage: Join the Fray!

2009-04-11T05:42:00.000-07:00

The New York Times is perhaps the most widely read news publication in the world. Recently they published an article and readers' debate entitled Husbands, Wives and Hard Times.

This is an opportunity for all who reject the advisability of marriage to voice your opinion on the men forgoing marriage and how it is a fraud on the American man and his well being. My contribution is as follows:

Marriage is slowly dying in America and the west. What is killing it? Feminism-infected courts that steal wealth from formerly unsuspecting men, rip children from fathers, and presume women are in the right even when they are in the wrong.

Women legally initiate the vast majority of divorces; I've seen figures as high as 60 to 70 percent of divorces being initiated by women.

I have stayed unmarried and I have a bevy of loving young women who I care about. Marriage is drudgery and a bore. The only people who advocate marriage are wealth seeking women and religious zealots.

If a man must marry, and he should not, he should choose a wife from a traditional culture where wifely duties and practices are held in high esteem and not denigrated.

To hell with American marriage!

Follow this link and add your two cents too.

Evidence of the Decline of My America

2009-04-04T05:36:00.000-07:00

When things like this become mainstream, we are in big trouble......

What Is Behind the Meltdown of Asian American Men?

2009-04-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

The Korean Virgina Tech gunman, the Filipino recently arrested by the FBI for racist death threats, and now, Jiverly Voong, opened fire on an Immigration Service Center in upstate NY. This is just the latest in a string of incidents where Asian men have unleashed murderous wrath on innocent people.

Let me begin by saying this is not an anti-Asian American rant. In fact, I acknowledge that the vast majority of Asian American men are hard-working, law-abiding, and upstanding citizens. But what is afoot here? I believe that some Asian men increasingly view this society as unjust and unfair to them who try to do all the right things.

Men's rights advocate, Winston Wu, is legendary for his diatribes against the social isolation to which American society relegates all but a few Asian men. They are expected to live up to unrealistic "positive" stereotypes, shunned by most America women as poorly endowed, and left on the sidelines unless they are needed for calculus advice or engineering services.

While none of the above justifies lashing out in violence, I believe the plight of Asian male isolation is at the root of this trend.

To my Asian brothers, the "American Dream" that your parents spoke so highly of is an illusion meant to dupe us into consumerism and wage slavery. The American women that reject you despite your years of hard work and upright living are not women as much as they are feminists. Do not resort to violence and suicide to air your grievances. Move abroad, remain unmarried, seek foreign women who would love you in ways and for reasons American women could never love you.

We all feel what you guys feel too, but violence will only serve to punish innocent people and vilify the legions of good men among you.

Constructively take charge of your life. Move abroad and free yourself of the delusion of America being the best that life has to offer.

The Return of the Blue Collar Man

2009-04-03T11:28:00.001-07:00

Several years ago, there was a book called The Millionaire Next Door. This book detailed the characteristics of typical American self-made millionaires. Perhaps the most surprising contribution of the book was the revelation that blue collar people who own their own businesses are disproportionately represented among self-made millionaires.

That fact is counter intuitive for several reasons. Most glaringly, the entertainment media has long promoted the white collar man as the better and more affluent. Hollywood movies, and promotion of university education at all costs fueled this thinking.

Stigma grew around the blue collar trades and blue collar tradesmen from the recent immigrant waves took over and enriched themselves and their families.

This recession will whittle away at the stigma of blue collar work. I think this is a great opportunity for young American men to rediscover the rewards of mastering a trade.

Get your hands dirty guys and make yourselves rich!

Might The Madoff Swindle Hold A Silver Lining For Jewish People?

2009-03-15T02:48:00.000-07:00

Bernard Madoff was recently carted off to jail after pleading guilty. This man has likely breathed his last breath as a free man. It is hard to imagine any positives coming out of this 50 billion dollar scam, but I think there may be one to consider.

The Madoff scheme was a classic, if not gargantuan, affinity fraud scam where the perpetrator seeks out members of his own group to target. Affinity fraudsters bank on the presumption that one would not defraud or cheat his own. I have seen African American churches sponsor "black reparations tax credits," I have seen Christian churches sponsor "gifting pyramid scams," and I could go on and on.

The difference in the Madoff fraud was the scale, duration, and most importantly the sophistication of the victim pool. Madoff did not just target Jewish Americans, he targeted the most affluent, educated, and discriminating ones. Many of these former heirs, tycoons, and moguls have lost everything and they must start anew to build their lives.

"So where's the silver lining," you might be asking. We have all heard the stereotypes of Jews conspirators working toward world domination and Jewish supremacy. Reasonable people reject these notions but often lack the evidence to refute such nonsense, Madoff solves that problem.

Madoff largely victimized many of the most socially prominent and successful Jews. These people were high-achieving, decent people who were intent on no more than securing their futures and providing for their families. They don't have any special means to rescue them. They don't have any collective "Zionist" agenda. They don't have some inborn inclination to subjugate gentiles.

These people are victims in devastating measure and they have my compassion as they try to get on with their lives. I read about a 90 year old man, who now has to bag groceries to eek out a living. There is no Jewish conspiracy coming to his rescue.

So the next time you hear any blather about Jews controlling this or that for the benefit of the Zionist banking conspiracies, let the troglodytes know who the Madoff victims were and how they suffered in the wake of Madoff's discovered mess.

American Things I Just Don't Get

2009-02-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

The following concepts in Americana perplex me:

American Idol: Sadistic show meant to spark ridicule and scorn while rewarding a lucky few.

Birkenstocks: The absolute most ugly footwear ever made. Why would one ever want to be seen in public with them on?

Super Size fast food: Does anyone really need a pound of fries and a huge greasy triple burger for a meal of one sitting?

Oprah Winfrey: She is a cult figure now who uses her show to further feminist orthodoxy.

Tattoos: These are for narcissistic and short-term thinking people. Most regret getting them after a few months.

Lack of Geographical Knowledge: We seem to think that only the USA matters in the world. Learn where the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Falklands, and the Azores are for crying out loud!

The Marriage Strike Misnomer

2009-02-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

Many in the men's rights movement have embraced the term "Marriage Strike" to describe American men's increased refusal to be duped into an arrangement that is socially, legally, and financially against their self-interests.

But the term is not a good one. A strike implies a refusal to work or perform for want of improved conditions. Implicit in the concept of strike is personal sacrifice on the part of the strikers who agree to do without the benefits of thing they are striking against. This is the fatal flaw of the term marriage strike.

American men are not sacrificing anything by forgoing marriage, although some think they are. To reject marriage is to insulate yourself from state-sponsored wealth transfer, lower standards of living due to higher expenses, and social emasculation due to women having more comparative power in a marriage.

Some cite the benefits of marriage to be companionship, sex, and the ability to raise children. All of these can be had as a bachelor, potentially in better quality. Marriage dooms you to an aging, waist-growing, individual female. Being unmarried permits you the freedom to seek sex and companionship from any woman you choose while having the resources to attract them.

I do concede that children ought to be raised with a mother and father present, but one can still do this in a live-in partnership arrangement without the oppressive collar of marriage around one's neck. Men can also choose to adopt or take in foster children if the feel the pangs of paternal instinct. So don't feel compelled to marry just because you want to have children.

Words have power, and the words marriage strike imply to women that wives are valuable when they are actually a detriment. It is better to calmly and passively proclaim that you choose to be a free, affluent, and happy real man unfazed by the beneficial marriage myth.

It's The Lack of Confidence, Stupid!

2009-02-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching one of those weekend pundit shows with the 4 talking heads debating whether the economy needs a robust "stimulus plan" or more tax cuts. Folks, I think we are in trouble more than we realize when these so-called cognitive elites still don't get it.

People are not spending disposable income you idiots! Trillion dollar new spending from the federal government may employ a fraction of the unemployed (to include some illegals aliens), and a tax cut may enable a fraction more to save more, but neither of those strategies solve the core problem of getting people to spend, spend, spend.

Our elected officials are still in an intellectual holding pattern as to what to do. Perhaps years of decisions based on special interests created this mess.

The economy will turn around when there is more good news, and the doom and gloom reports decrease. Americans are terrified, and they are undoing years of stupid consumption. Eventually, the savings floodgates will gradually open and consumer spending will increase with the renewed prosperity. But until then, the beltway's insistence on arguing about supporting special interests under the guise of fixing the economy will only prolong our current malaise.

Just Lose Your Job? Just Eliminate Your Family, That's All!

2009-01-29T02:58:00.000-08:00

The news media is buzzing about Ervin Antonio Lupoe of Los Angeles. Ervin and his wife were recently fired from their jobs due to forgery and low level fraud to secure child care benefits. So what does Ervin do? He shoots his wife, 5 children and himself.

How about getting a new job Ervin? I know finding a new one is tough in this economy, but most of us would rather scrub toilets all day than murder our families to spare them hardship.

As the economic downturn continues, we will likely see more and more bizarre incidents of this nature. Difficult times have a tendancy to bring out either the best or the worst in us. Ervin Lupoe obviously was lacking in former.

Children CANNOT Grow Up To Become Anything They Want!

2009-01-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

We've all heard the cliche before. Parents instilling the belief in their kids that they can become anything in life that they want. Barack Obama's rise to the Presidency has renewed the life of this nonsense.

Out self-esteem child rearing ethos goes too far here. Kids grow up thinking that desire is all that is necessary to become what they want. No concept of toil, struggle, failure, perseverance, skill-development, etc. is ever talked about.

Each successful American in all endeavors has to work at their craft with obsessive dedication to become great at it. No matter how badly I might want to become a physician, I will not unless I completely rededicate myself to the field. In all likelihood, I would not attain status a a physician because my desire to do what it takes to become one is wholly different than my desire be one.

This realization is what we are denying our children. I hope our youth begin to understand that if they dedicate as much effort to academics and personal development as they to video games and social networking, they would be poised to accomplish incredible goals.

I fear that youth in the developing nations have a devastating advantage over our youth in that there is an urgency and a hunger that are lacking in American kids. I fear this is the old irony of prosperity wherein comfort creates complacency. This current generation of young people is the first to be less affluent and successful than their parents' generation. American would do well to reverse this trend; let's start with the lessons we are teaching our impressionable children.

The Obama Presidency Begins

2009-01-20T09:03:00.001-08:00

Today Barack Obama embarks upon the office of the Presidency. I too feel a measure of pride that an American of African descent overcame all obstacles to reach the pinnacle of power. But, I cannot help but wonder if this would have been possible under normal, non-crisis circumstances.

Most Americans realize that Obama was the brightest, most talented individual to run for the office this past year. And it is for that reason, that pragmatism overrode ethnocentrism to permit Obama to win.

For sure, some bigots, rednecks, racists, and extremists voted for Obama. Their prospects, 401k's, jobs, etc. plunged with the economy as they did for mainstream Americans.

So I too wish Obama well. I hope that he is so successful, that this blog will no longer be necessary. I do remain a pessimist however, but we shall see.....

How Will History View George W. Bush?

2009-01-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

George W. Bush is highly unfashionable at the moment. Barack Obama stands to be inaugurated as the first President of African descent in just a few short days. Bush is therefore a lame duck, whipping boy as all the anxiety and uncertainty of the country and of the world is conveniently attributed to him.

However, his out of favor status stands to rise significantly if a terrorist attack occurs during Obama's presidential watch. Bush, if nothing else, is seen as uncompromisingly tough on terrorism and his redeeming value is largely that he prevented another attack after 9/11.

Another attack in the US is a question of when and not if. Whether it occurs sooner rather than later, the Bush II hard line against terror will be the national mood as soon as it does. This will ultimately be the vindication of the Bush II presidency.

Bush was not a particularly good President due largely to his over reliance on hawks Cheyney and Rumsfeld. But the American people is a forgetful one historically-speaking, and presidencies are remembered for their defining moments rather than their policy flaws.

I bid farewell to President Bush with respect because I believe he attempted to make the right decisions. He is a decent man at his core, and those concerned about his legacy need only wait for the tide of opinion to turn.

Expat Field Report: Singapore

2009-01-15T04:09:00.000-08:00

This week I'm visiting Singapore. What strikes me first is the modernity and development of this place. These are people that take pride in their small country and it shows.

The most striking difference is the Singaporean women. Most are thin, cheerful, courteous gems that are all too hospitable to the obvious foreigner that is me. I see a few American women walking around as if they are in the wrong galaxy. They are rushed, frumpy, sour-faced, and all but ignored by the local men.

American women tend to believe the Hollywood hype, that they are among the most desirable women in the world. This is a media-perpetuated myth. In actuality, they are among the most reviled and ridiculed yet they would not know it.

Thank you Singapore for showing me society that is dignified, educated, and respect-worthy. I will enjoy the remainder of my stay for sure.

Why Do Married Men Try To Bamboozle Bachelors Into Marrying?

2009-01-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

Why is it that married guys always try to convince us of why it's so great to be married? None of them can muster any persuasive specifics as to why it's so great, but they just seem to say so out of social programming. I pressed one of my married attorney friends on why it's so great, and he finally came up with, "Being married keeps me out of trouble, single guys get into trouble." I thought it was horrible that that's all he could come up with.

My theory is that married guys are like the fools who fall for the multi-level marketing schemes. Those schemes depend on recruiting new members, but only a precious few are successful participants. Most participants will break their necks to try to convince you to go to a new participant seminar. When they hear a "no," it just illustrates their own foolish decision. The eventual sucker that agrees to be a new participant validates the decision of the former, even though it was a bad one.

Married guys are like that too. To admit that marriage is a bore and a financial drain is too painful and too hurtful to acknowledge, so they come at you with how great it is to be married but are never able to articulate exactly why.

I think it was Fred Reed who said that any young man contemplating marriage should be made to spend 15 minutes in an empty room imagining his future wife 10 years older and 20 pounds heavier. If he still wishes to get married after that image, he should marry.

Fred Reed is right. Women are only temporarily beautiful. Marriage is the universal scam that baits the man into legal obligation to the woman, then switches with aging and the diminishing of female beauty. Married men struggle to come to terms with why they made the marriage decision based on the lunacy of short term attraction.

Just as children tend to lose interest in the little cute puppy dogs when they get older, so do men when their "oh so wonderful" sweetie-pies age less than gracefully.

Married men, if you are so "happy" being married, leave us independent men alone so we can pursue our interests as we darn well please. A rich man never has to convince another to become rich because the value of being rich is self-evident.

Immigration Reform Or Death!

2009-01-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

Few can dispute that current immigration policy is outdated and undermining to the national interest. Yes, small practical improvements have been made after 9/11, as we are more thoroughly screening and identifying our international visitors with state of the art technology. However, there has been a negligent lack of attention paid to our Immigration and Nationality Act. The current law reflects the needs of a bygone era. Part of the reason for the lack of reform is a persistent national fear of being branded elitist, fascist, and exclusionary. But the bigger reason involves a lack of realization that there can exist an immigration policy that reflects both American ideals of fairness as well as the national interests of the United States.

To understand American immigration policy, it must be clear that official permission to come into the United States comes on the form of a United States visa. The two chief types of visas are the immigrant visa, issued to those seeking permanent resident status, and the non-immigrant visa, issued to those seeking to temporary visitor status. Although these two types of visas are different in purpose and scope, they both have profound impacts upon the nature of our society.

Immigrant visas are currently issued under the three major categories of professional capability, family unification, and national-origin diversity. Historically, these three categories have benefited America by welcoming legions of honest and productive immigrants of from many backgrounds and persuasions. However, today’s immigration needs are vastly different from those of the time period when the Immigration and Nationality Act was written. We are, without a doubt, a most pluralistic and diverse country which has been seasoned with an international richness envied the world over.

However, enough is enough. Our national character is now sufficiently broad and diverse that we have the wherewithal to be most choosy with regard to whom we grant immigrant status. I submit that American immigration policy be changed to reflect entirely need-based criteria. The family unification and diversity categories have lived fruitful and beneficial lives, but they should now be curtailed if not ended outright. Who could be against a policy that welcomes sorely needed physicians, teachers, nurses, physicists, linguists as well as farm hands, factory workers, and menial labor workers; we need them all. Regardless of national origin, race or religion, so long as they fulfill needs of the American labor market, we need them all.

As for the non-immigrant visas, current American policy grants temporary visitor status to those who can demonstrate they don’t plan to permanently stay in the United States. This policy is sound in concept but poor in administration as many “temporary visitors” immediately seek to adjust their temporary status to immigrant status once they reach the United States. They do this because the Immigration and Nationality Act explicitly permits them to do so. This provision of law should be abrogated in all but the most emergent of circumstances. Since each of these temporary visitors was required to demonstrate an intention to not remain in the US, status adjustment flies in the face of the initial weeding mechanism for temporary visitors. In case you’ve ever wondered why hundreds of people line up each day outside Citizenship and Immigration Services offices (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service), many of them are seeking to adjust their temporary visitor status to immigrant status. Most of these temporary visitors are indeed denied permission to adjust to immigrant status, but according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an estimated 40 percent of the 10 million illegal alien residents in the United States, entered our borders with legitimate temporary visitor visas. Who can blame them given the naive permissiveness of our current law?

That immigration reform is considered a mantra of bigots, fascists and right-wing ideologues is understandable. European demagogues have injected the issue with so much political venom, its very mention gives ordinary people slight pause. Unfortunately, this perception renders it a complex issue to confront. Such is all the more reason American policymakers should take a bold leadership role in formulating a new immigration policy that reflects the present-day national interest. Perhaps then, the rest of the developed world might have the political courage to follow suit without fear of being characterized by the dreaded X word, xenophobia.

How the Marriage Industry Undermines The American Marriage

2009-01-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

Is marriage an outmoded concept too deeply-rooted in custom and tradition to abandon? More and more are beginning to subscribe to this point of view, yet few have the courage to admit it. The reasons are far more superficial than we might suspect.

It is common knowledge that the state of the modern marriage languishes in crisis. People of marrying age are pondering whether there is anything of lasting value to be gained from marriage. What has been traditionally considered a rite of passage to which all respectable people aspired, is increasingly being viewed with cynicism and apprehension. As recent as one generation ago, young people espoused (no pun intended) more healthy and realistic expectations from marriage. Often it was intertwined with one’s sense of duty to faith, family, and community. While esoteric pockets of that mentality do still exist, most are now likely to consider marriage something to be experienced until it is no longer enjoyable. What led to this socially corrosive perception? A virtual "marriage industrial complex" of contradictory interests figures prominently in the explanation.

The marriage industry encompasses the far-reaching interplay of marketing, pop- culture, and relaxed divorce laws. Specifically, it is the ubiquitous hodge-podge of bridal fashions, wedding consultants, event catering, venue rental, attorneys’ fees for pre-nuptial contracts, attorneys’ fees for divorce representation, the housing industry, etc. To make matters worse, mass media perpetuates the myth of forever marital bliss. The forces of this industry result in vicious cycles that powerfully induce individuals to marry only to pull them apart in the end. Often, the victims are so compelled by the marriage industry, they remain trapped where they repeat the same behavior again and again.

This seeds of this cyclic interplay are planted in childhood when impressionable, prepubescent children internalize the media fantasy of the huge wedding in an ultra-extravagant setting. Such ideas are reinforced with high school study of classic literature like that of Voltaire and Shakespeare, which are rife with clichés of living “happily ever after.”

Prom season marks the next significant industry milestone. Proms, among other things, serve as virtual dress rehearsals of a formal wedding event and they play a huge role in a young girl’s gauging of her desirability to the opposite sex. To not be asked to a prom can be viewed as an antecedent to spinsterhood. Though such notions are absurd, the pressures they create are surprisingly pervasive.

When the early twenties come around, the influence of peers walking down the isle takes hold. All of the sudden, young people feel the need to “keep up with the Jones’s” in regard to their personal lives. Consequently, premature marriage is a common occurrence in this age group. That the twenties is still a formative time for personal growth and discovery is seldom reason enough to resist the social pressure to tie the knot at that life juncture.

Inevitably, engaged couples experience varying degrees of cold feet, uncertainty, and fear about their engagements, but this is offset by family members and friends heaping congratulations, praise and words of encouragement. Engagement events, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and even wedding preparation get-togethers all reinforce the pressures to marry without critical reflection. To opt not marry after the engagement, would be to let down all those who harbored such high hopes. In the end, all the special attention obfuscates any pre-marital misgivings, and it gives rise to the belief that marrying must be the right thing to do.

The actual wedding ritual gives official family, community and often religious sanction to the coupling. Ornate ceremonies followed by festive eating, drinking, dancing top-off months of preparation and anticipation. However, after the wedding event ends, there sets in a sudden dose of reality. All of the family and friends depart and few seem to particularly care that you are a now a wedded couple. Many newlyweds maturely handle their new reality, but for others, the abrupt end to the excitement of pre-wedding life contributes to an emotional letdown.

Clearly, our society celebrates the concepts of courtship and wedding at the expense of actual marriage. How then do we counter this trend? We certainly can’t expect changes to come from the marriage industry which profits from this duplicity. But we can expect families, schools, religious institutions, and the media to focus attention less on the bliss of pre-marriage life and to prepare couples for the practical likelihoods of post-marriage life. If this were to occur, at least two things would likely come about. First, fewer might succumb to the compulsion to enter into poorly-conceived marriages. Second, those who still chose to take on the challenge of marriage might be able to expect and be better prepared for the trials and difficulties inherent to married life.

The Unacknowledged War Against Islamic-Fascism

2009-01-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

While the United States continues to spearhead the global fight against Islamic extremism in Iraq, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we have a poor understanding of our adversary. The popular misnomer of “the war against terrorism” is most indicative of this. Fighting terrorism fails to encompass much beyond thwarting suicide bombers, terrorist cells, and other operational elements. The shortcoming of this approach is that its focus is upon eradicating symptoms of the conflict and not its root causes. We are actually fighting more than terrorism. We are fighting for the continued prominence of western culture and its way of life. Accordingly, this is a war against Islamic-fascism.

Distinction should first be made between Islamic-fascism and Islam, a faith with motifs not necessarily incompatible with western ideals. But it is the fascist component of Islam that seeks to kill innocent people, bankrupt our institutions, and decimate our economies. Seething resentment of western affluence, cultural influence, and perceived nihilism have boiled over in the underdeveloped Middle East, and Islam has been the successful means through which violence against the west gained moral legitimacy.

So why have we failed to acknowledge our enemy as Islamic-fascism? Central to the reason is that Americans are traditionally loath to criticize concepts that cloak themselves under the fabric of religion. Freedom from religious persecution was one of the tenets upon which America was founded, and we take great pride in exhibiting religious tolerance even in the most difficult of circumstances. Most Americans would recoil at the thought of being accused of religious bigotry. Islamic-fascism exploits this sensibility to our detriment.

Despite all of our battle weariness, there is some cause for optimism. Several leadership figures of Al-Qaeda have been apprehended, a burgeoning democracy has taken shape in Iraq, and several major terrorist acts against the west have been thwarted. No less significant was Libya’s new spirit of cooperation. But in recent months, we seem to have come to a plateau of successes, due in part to the painstaking democratization processes taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan. While these two new democracies have shown signs of promise, their governments must prove to be quick studies or face futures of lingering instability.

A more prudent strategy might be for us to allow the natural power of exposure to western markets and freedoms to take hold. History tells us that democracy is not necessarily a “one size fits all” proposition as Africa and Latin America can attest, but its best chance for success is where it is permitted to develop in tandem with cultural westernization. It was not too long ago in the Soviet Union, China and elsewhere that anti-western vitriol was undermined by concepts like Coca-Cola, Levi’s, and MTV. While the Middle East faces perhaps the steepest of paths to westernization, the same formula should be given the opportunity to succeed there.

Some have maintained that our failure to win wholesale European support for the intervention in Iraq bodes ill for a successful resolution to this war. That pessimism is unfounded. While our European partners, some active and some inactive, are indeed integral to the prospects for this war’s success, this effort will be long enough in duration that there will be future opportunities for broader-based European involvement. Most of Europe is already engaged in containing the fomenting enclaves of Islamic-fascists within their own borders. The Madrid and London bombings were preludes a chess game of terrorist attacks. As time progresses, the threats posed by domestic threats will likely compel our inactive European partners to active partnership by contributing troops, intelligence, and nation-building support. Simply appealing to historical relationships in Europe is insufficient given the abstract nature of this enemy, but the more we can convince “Old Europe” how active participation is in their collective interest, the better.

This war against Islamic-fascism is likely to be our burden for some time, but if we are to succeed without, we need to muster the courage to clearly define our enemy, westernize their former sanctuaries, and better illustrate to recalcitrant allies the benefits of their tangible support. War invariably brings forth ebbs and flows of developments, but through a steadfast resolve akin to that which won us the cold war, we can succeed. We have no acceptable alternative.

How Hip Hop Destroys The Potential of Black Youth

2009-01-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

How Hip Hop Destroys the Potential of Black Youth

Hip hop has long been a bone of contention between younger and older blacks. Even Oprah Winfrey and Ice Cube are now in a highly publicized tangle over the genre. Yet, no one can deny that it has evolved into a compelling, multi-billion dollar, global industry. But what exactly is hip hop and why has it become such a commercial and cultural force around the world? It certainly is not simply some harmless fad that some claim it is, and its negative impact on young blacks can no longer be ignored.

Contrary to popular belief, hip hop is not just a style of music. It is actually the culture of poor inner-city life and the rallying cry of those unable to negotiate the nuances of the mainstream. It validates and glorifies formerly stigmatized characteristics of the lower class, in effect, preventing impetus for upward mobility.

The lyrics of hip hop music involve recurring themes of braggadocio and boastfulness to the extent that one can only wonder if it is overcompensation for inadequacy. Going beyond music, it also encompasses styles of dress, codes of behavior, and an overall defiance of social convention. It is this defiance of mainstream life that is at the root of underachievement in black youth. According to hip hop orthodoxy, for young blacks to be mainstream is for them to exhibit weakness, whiteness, and all that is the antithesis of hip hop.

Hip hop, as a culture, compels black youth to eschew the important concept of deferred gratification at perhaps the most formative juncture of their lives. The hip hop imperative is to accumulate flashy, overpriced, gaudy symbols of street success and to get it fast. When young men prance around with ostentatious items of “bling,” they advertise their worth and worthiness to the opposite sex. Materialism becomes the means to winning sexual conquests. Of course, young men can always earn sexual conquest the hard way, by cultivating one’s thug factor. Braided or dreadlocked hair, baggy clothing, ghetto diction, and street reputation can all serve to raise one’s thug factor.

Not to be outdone, young black women have a huge hand in the process. By sexually rewarding those young men most able to finance the materialism of hip hop, or those most endowed with the thug factor, the vicious and destructive lifestyle of hip hop is maintained. Knowing this, is there is any wonder why profit-driven crime has such a foothold in young inner–city life?

It is tragic that the hip hop imperative entrances young black students at a period when they should be mastering the scholarly basics. By eschewing their studies in favor of the “pimp and hustle,” important opportunities for self improvement are lost. By emulating convicted felons like 50 cent, 2 Pac, and Lil Kim, young blacks are laying the groundwork for their eventual failures in life.

More importantly, those talented black youth bright enough to realize the importance of preparing themselves for the future are too often demoralized and brow-beaten into hip hop conformity through peer pressure. Hip hop culture causes studious black students to be branded with accusations of “acting white” or not “keeping it real.” Even those who choose to pursue typical teenage employment are subject to ridicule since the hip hop imperative only respects earning money in a fast lucrative manner, regardless of legality. Consequently, preparedness for the competitive job market or higher education are squandered.

Sadly, when young blacks finally attempt to enter the mainstream job market, they are often devoid of the skills to obtain and maintain gainful employment. Because hip hop is frequently the cultural norm for inner-city young blacks, they see no harm in applying for a job with unsightly cornrows, baggy clothing, and less than industrious dispositions. Furthermore, those few who can muster the wherewithal to present themselves to employers in a professional manner are often not conversant enough in standard, grammatically correct English.

But what about the masses of white youth who are the primary consumers of hip hop? Why are they not adversely affected by hip hop as are black youth? For white youth, hip hop tends to serve simply as a medium for youth rebellion much like rock and roll did during the mid part of the 20^th century. Only rarely do the children of the white middle class take on hip hop as more than mere entertainment. That is they tend not to view hip hop as a way of life, or as a standard to be attained as in the case of many black youth.

However, there is a segment of poor white youth that is increasingly falling prey to the hip hop imperative, the “Eminem” element if you will. While still miniscule, there is evidence that the hip hop imperative has infected poor, white inner city enclaves like Bensonhurst, New York; Kensington, Philadelphia; or South Boston. As with other social ills in America, that which first afflicts black Americans, will eventually afflict the society as a whole in greater measure.

What about the global negative impact of hip hop? As mass media now reaches international audiences far and wide, it is no surprise that angry and underprivileged youth in Europe, Africa and Asia now have popular hip hop movements afoot. Let us not forget that hip hop culture was intertwined in last year’s violent rioting of black and Arab youth in France. Recall, if you will, how they dressed, how they conducted themselves, and the music they blasted while torching vehicles and property.

No less distressing is the growing notion that hip hop culture is tantamount to black culture. Forget about the rich cultural legacies of the Harlem Renaissance, Jazz, and the black middle class. None of that seems to matter anymore.

Let’s face it. Hip hop deadens the drive toward civility and legitimizes backwardness. It is high time that hip hop industry comes to terms with the social damage it perpetuates. If not, we can all count on yet another generation suffering from potential unrealized.

This insightful article is attributed to a guest writer at Project 21, a subgroup of the National Center For Public Policy Research.

Why Do American Women Believe Sarcasm Is A Good Thing?

2009-01-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

Sarcasm is a form of verbal passive-aggression. People engage in it for a variety of reasons, but I have noticed a disturbing trend over the last several years.

American women often seem to wear the fact that they are sarcastic like a badge of romantic honor. I've had girls tell me that they could not be with someone who could not handle their sarcasm, and that sarcasm is a positive attribute.

My theory is that Hollywood has warped young American women into this mindset. TV sitcom's are less and less about real comedy than they are about slapstick sarcasm. Not only is this a sad commentary about the influence of the media, but it also shows the degeneration of our culture due to mass media and pop culture.

For all of us who never liked Friends, we have yet another reason to switch when it pollutes our screens.

What Your Stocks Have to Return So You Can "Break Even."

2009-01-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

Think of the current bear market in these terms. If your stocks go down by the down figure, the up figure is what you need to see in order to "break even." This is scary as we approach the 50% decline.

If you are down by: You need to see a return of the following to break even:

Down 5% Up 5.27%
Down 10% Up 11.1%
Down 20% Up 25%
Down 30% Up 43%
Down 40% Up 67%
Down 50% Up 100%
Down 60% Up 150%
Down 70% Up 233%
Down 80% Up 400%
Down 90% Up 900%
Down 95% Up 2000%

Anything down over 50% could take YEARS to earn back(if ever), so protect your nest eggs!

On the other hand, this is a silver lining for the contrarian investor like myself. Regardless of what people have been saying about dollar cost averaging, it works in protracted bear markets like this one. This is the best opportunity to invest since I have been investing (since 1997). Think like a contrarian; profit like a contrarian!

America, Where Politeness Is Considered Weakness.

2009-01-10T18:46:00.000-08:00

I'm currently visiting Australia, and I spend a considerable amount of time in Europe. What strikes me most when visiting other countries is how politeness is still of social value. Yes, all countries have their share of rude troglodytes, but America seems to take it to a new level.

I believe the media plays a role in this behavior. All one has to do is see Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Neil Cavuto, or some other rambunctious host cutting off his or her guests, shouting platitudes. And by no means is this an affliction of conservative types. Just watch Gloria Allred, Al Sharpton, or some other leftist in action.

One thing I like about Obama, and I don't like several things about him, is that he is a polite, polished and well-spoken American who is respect worthy. Maybe he can bring the concept of interpersonal civility back to the country that I love, but left.

A Layman's View of What Went Wrong With Our Economy.

2009-01-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

I am not an economist, but I am versed enough in the discipline to gloat that I was correct back in the 1990's even. I know many will not agree with my version of what went wrong, but many others will.

The first blunder we made was our head-first foray into the global market frenzy. I was skeptical even when NAFTA was the flavor of the month. The open market model was a way for companies to sidestep manufacturing in the US in favor of using third world labor. Their gains were our losses. Now, the US produces very little and it has become a service based economy. Sure, labor unions have priced American laborers out of work, but the demise of the US Manufacturing sector was hastened by globalization.

Next, the US stock market has functioned as a promoted and regulated Ponzi scheme. The early in and out investors will and the late comers (usually the greater portion) lose money. The Fed manipulates interest rates to keep investment flowing, and the media (CNBC, Bloomberg, etc.) constantly cheer lead and promote stocks. I recall one anaylist touting AOL as a long term great investment due to the growth potential and the internet as a more important vehicle. Then the dot-com bubble burst and AOL was reduced to shreds a few months later.

Before the current market 40% downturn, I recall various financial pundits proclaiming how attractive "valuations" were for stocks. After the 40% drop they were still using that rationale to attract more stock investment. What they know deep down is that "valuations" mean nothing but a numerical correlation that is used to justify promoting more investment. Stock prices are more influenced by sentiment than valuation and no amount of value analysis will make stocks an attractive investment to spooked investors.

Finally, Americans and our industries became addicted to OPM (other people's money). OPM financed our McMansions, our 4 flat-screen TV's, our SUV's, and our yearly iPod model upgrades. Companies relied on bond issuances, and investors to finance their ventures. When recession comes to rear its head, we are at a loss to pay back OPM. That's what we face now.

What is the solution? I wish I knew, but I feel that we as a nation must expect job loss, economic uncertainty, and saving to be inevitable parts of our futures. I'm a fan of market forces fixing our problems, but market forces are undermined by bailouts, interest rate manipulations, cash infusions, and stimulus plans proposed by our government representatives. These are temporary measures that might provide short term relief, but long term consequences. I feel that the federal government just wants to prod Americans to buy, buy, buy, again just to get the juices of consumption flowing again. However, this is no resolution to the undiversified economic model we have grown into.

Adam Smith must be turning in his grave.

How "The American Dream" dupes men out of wealth

2009-01-01T16:32:00.000-08:00

A professor in law school once said that females control more personal wealth than males. I thought he was crazy, but he explained that since women outlive men, they inherit male money when men are at their richest. He's right.

This got me to thinking, since American women statistically initiate divorce more than men, and since most divorces are based in money issues, I theorize that young women marry then divorce men to get at their wealth. I don't think women consciously plan it that way, but that's obviously the effect sanctioned by our culture and our laws.

I also remember having a discussion with two random girls back in college. The subject came up about prenuptial agreements, when I stated that I would have one if I ever got married, these two girls went high and to the right. It went from a civil discussion, to a loud, accusatory discussion. In later years, I realized that these girls knew that access to male wealth was the real agenda behind American marriage, not love and family.

The "American Dream" is but a perpetuated myth serving as a means to dupe men into ceding wealth to females. Realize this and protect yourselves accordingly.

What the Housing Crash Can Teach Us About Marriage

2009-01-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

It's not news anymore. We all know that home foreclosures are skyrocketing and hundreds of thousands of Americans stand to lose their biggest "investment."

But take a step backward 2 to 4 years. I can recall the frantic push for universal housing ownership. I can recall ads and marketing blitzes telling renters that they too could likely afford a mortgage even if they thought they could not. I recall state and federal government campaigns to increase "minority" home ownership, especially among Blacks and Latinos.

Now what do we have? Now the press is saying that all these government-encouraged home purchases were ill-advised and irresponsibly financed by mortgage companies. A huge proportion of those Black and Latino home buyers are now losing their homes to foreclosure and the rate of home loss will multiply each year when their "alluringly low" adjustable mortgage rates adjust higher and higher.

So what does this have to do with marriage you ask? The lesson here is to ignore the corporate and government campaigns to encourage marriage. Corporations and government have an interest in marriage only to suit their own ends. Just as in the frantic rush to get everyone in a owned-homes against their best interest, corporate America and government wish to get you married just to flaunt growth statistics and reap marriage consumption profits (new homes, new cars, new furniture, etc) , and resultant tax benefits.

Smart men should never allow government to advise us in our personal lives. In the final analysis, millions of Americans will meet their financial ruin because of policy agenda "campaigns."

Do not let this be you; ignore the calls for men to marry or expect your financial house to be "foreclosed" and turned over to the Financial Bank of Ex-Wives.

Feminism has devolved into the most corrosive element of American life.

2009-01-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

I consider myself a reasonable person. I support equal pay for equal work, anti-sex discrimination laws, prosecution of violence against women, and all the other noble causes of equity feminism. However, as Professor Christina Hoff Summers describes, gender feminists (feminazis) have ridden the backs of legitimate equity feminists and our society is now forever thrown out of balance socially, legally, and otherwise.