GoodeStreet

During a recent trip to Boston we visited The Printing Office of Edes & Gill, where Gary Gregory has recreated an 18th century print shop located around a corner from Paul Revere's house. We bought a broadside reproduction of the Declaration of Independence as originally printed by John Gill on July 16, 1776.

Before diving into the main point I wish to make, caused by having read the Declaration of Independence once again, here's a trivia question.

What day did the Continental Congress declare independence from Britain?

Congratulate yourself if you said July 2, 1776, because that was the day members of the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Britain. John Adams even noted in a letter to a friend that July 2nd would be remembered in the annals of American history.

Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence began on June 11th, which was then edited by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. The fair copy ("original Rough draught") was then read to members of Congress on June 28th, who deliberated and modified the document further until the afternoon of July 4th. The final version of the document was dated July 4th, though it was not signed until August 2, 1776... and even then not all members had signed for various reasons.

"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccesful rebellions indeed generally establish the incroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions, as not to discourage them too much. It is a medecine necessary for the sound health of government." -  Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787

On the evening of July 4th, members of the Continental Congress voted to deliver the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Philadelphia printer John Dunlop, who produced what is believed to be around 200 copies which were then delivered to the 13 colonies. Nineteen versions of John Douglas' broadside, differing in layout, were reproduced by printers from Massachusetts to Georgia.

A new Declaration of Independence?

Reading the grievance section of the Declaration of Independence, I was struck by how easy it would be to replace a few specific terms and the result would be an indictment of our current government. Vestiges of the vision our Founding Fathers had for our Republic can be seen (imagined?) today, however, members of our three government branches have contorted the daily operation to the point that our government is no longer controlled by we, the people. While reading, Benjamin Franklin's retort came to mind when asked what the new government formed in July of 1776 would be: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

We didn't keep it. We lost our republic. It is gone.

We need an "Arab Spring" here to have any hope of getting it back. A revolt by citizens, not through the ballot box, but by whatever force is necessary. Oust every elected member of government simultaneously, banned from seeking office for the duration of their life. Remove every bureaucrat as well, with similar restrictions as with elected members - banned from government positions for life. We will accept members of the military into the insurrection provided they are "of us", the men and women who form the backbone of our military. Anybody of higher rank cannot be a part of our insurrection. No lobbyists and no PR flacks. No spokesman for any group or interest. No business lobbyists or owners or CEO's either. Nobody can join the revolution unless they represent only themselves as an individual citizen who does not use any financial or moral advantage they may possess.

Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem. Translated, "I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude." - Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787

Once the people of our old government are cleared out, rescind all laws except for the Constitution as it stands. Rebuild from there, with the needs of ordinary citizens in mind and for our general welfare as free individuals - to restore faith in American fairness and justice. A guiding principle for the path forward can be found in a letter by Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor in 1816: "And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."

I would join that kind of revolution.

"Every constitution, then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of nineteen years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right. It may be said, that the succeeding generation exercising, in fact, the power of repeal, this leaves them as free as if the constitution or law had been expressly limited to nineteen years only. In the first place, this objection admits the right, in proposing an equivalent. But the power of repeal is not an equivalent. It might be, indeed, if every form of government were so perfectly contrived, that the will of the majority could always be obtained, fairly and without impediment. But this is true of no form. The people cannot assemble themselves; their representation is unequal and vicious. Various checks are opposed to every legislative proposition. Factions get possession of the public councils, bribery corrupts them, personal interests lead them astray from the general interests of their constituents; and other impediments arise, so as to prove to every practical man, that a law of limited duration is much more manageable than one which needs a repeal." -Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789

Won't go on and on about the Respect Network. Right now the Respect Network is mostly a promise with usefulness still to come. But it is a promise worth pursuing. More can be learned from Doc Searles and Peter Vander Auwera.

Will just ask that you check it out. You can dig deep if you need to.

I signed up both Barb and I on the first day the network was available to the public, because I believe in the mission. Not selfishly for myself or Barb. For all of us.

Germany, Brazil and France have objected to the vacuum-everything tactics of the NSA. Why are our news organizations talking about NSA revelations far less than news organizations abroad, and their citizens? The best coverage of what the NSA is doing is found in the UK, Germany and France.

Many, and I fear most, of our representatives in Congress don't care about protecting our Constitutional rights. US news organizations care - if their reporters are targeted. So how do we contribute to, and vote for, our representatives who live in Germany, Brazil and France?

Also, ran across this tidbit published by the NY Times. Public perception of why Congress is unable to resist money from special interests has been that lobbyists roam the halls of Congress and the White House buying favors while checks accidentally fall out of lobbyist pockets. While that was likely the case, now the process has become a two way street even for lobbyists. 

Ever heard of tollbooths, milker bills, and double milker bills? I hadn't. Turns out those rascals in our government figured out how to grab donations by floating legislation they know has no chance of passing (only 5% of proposed legislation passes). Reformed lobbyist Jack Abramoff has wrote about how often lobbyists spend ducking calls from senators and congressmen, knowing the person calling is trying to raise funds for reelection campaigns. I never imagined that lobbyists actually spend more time fleeing calls from members of Congress than being anxious to talk with them.

Rampant crony capitalism in Washington D.C. guarantees there will never be a free market system in this country - even if you believe such a philosophy is best.

Residents of Kauai, one of our two homes away from home, the second being Manhattan, Kansas of all places, helped pass legislation which limits GMO experiments taking place on the island. It is a watered down version that Kauai Islanders didn't prefer, but of course, industry spokesmen rolled out their usual load of drivel.

"DuPont, which fought to defeat the bill, was disappointed it passed, and may sue to block its implementation, said spokesman Josh St. Peters. We believe it to be bad policy - and the kind of regulation that should remain at the state and federal level, where policy makers and agencies are already empowered with oversight of our industry, he said. We believe that the bill is not legally defensible and we continue to evaluate all of our business and legal options."

Yep. GMO proponents are pissed that control isn't being placed in Federal and State legislatures where they can easily buy approval for their costly to us and profitable for them methods. They don't like having to deal with people who will actually be harmed by their action. No way, no how, if they can possibly avoid it.

And then this: "But testifying at the hearing, BASF representative Kirby Kester said that passage of the bill was unwarranted because there is no evidence the companies are doing any harm. And prior to the meeting, Mark Phillipson, spokesman for Syngenta Hawaii, said the industry was committed to a safe environment. "We abide by high standards to create a safe environment for our workers, our neighbors and the community," Phillipson said."

Which is shorthand for: Coercing those renegade islanders, numbering in the thousands and who are difficult to identify even with NSA's help, cost more to eradicate and put up a tougher fight than those guys on the Hill "representing" the people.

The GMO industry would also prefer to hide behind the cloak of "prove we're doing harm", rather than having to prove they aren't doing harm (as regulations in the EU require for many industrial/medical settings).

The upshot is, to the GMO industry them islanders sure are a frisky bunch. And look every bit the part of being dyed in the wool eco-terrorists. Who would you trust more? A DuPont spokesman, or a rascal like...

A quick housekeeping note: My blog was hosted on Posterous, which was bought a year ago by Twitter and the inevitable happened. Posterous will shut down on April 30, 2013. Fortunately, nothing will change because this blog has been moved to Posthaven, except for those  who subscribe to this blog. I expect subscriptions (and a RSS feed, I hope) will be added reasonably soon, but until that happens you'll have to check in manually at this URL or watch for cross-posts to Facebook.

On a related note, I urge you to check out Posthaven (or Squarespace). Everybody should have a on-line space they can call their own. Preferably mapped to a custom URL, but is not absolutely necessary (that link is Barb's new personal URL). Posthaven is not only working to make it possible to have a place you call yours, but to also avoid the blog-shuffle that happens when a BigCo like Twitter decides your work needs to disappear.

I know choosing a paid service seems quaint in a world of free, but think about what free really means. You allow a company to sell you as their product, to companies who then use that information to sell more shit to you. I long ago swore off buying brand-name clothing as much as possible, simply because I didn't like my body being a billboard for an already hugely profitable company built on the backs of underpaid and mistreated workers - usually in third world countries. Yeah, I know. But their pay is soooo much better than they have ever been able to find. Think of that, the next time workers die in a building that collapses or burns to the ground, all so you can save ten bucks buying a t-shirt.

Doing much the same on-line makes sense to me. If you really want to see with your own eyes the mind-boggling amount of information companies collect from you on-line, of which only a tiny portion you know about, install a blocker like Ghostery in your browser. Ghostery isn't an ad-blocker. Instead, it monitors or rejects tracking that you can control. I originally set Ghostery to block every category it watches: advertising, analytics, beacons, privacy, and widgets. Many web sites became nearly unusable. Geez! I had no idea there was so much tracking embedded across the web. Downright scary when you see it in action live. So stick it to the man. Give Ghostery, or something like it, a try in your browser. Being anonymous when and where you want is not an act you should have to beg for.

Yeah, I know. Enough already. Am being preachy. Have just been feeling really outraged at seeing how often companies push people around, track them, cut 'em off, avoid paying taxes with every means possible and buy politicians (TED Talk video) to keep the cycle moving along, leaving us to pay for picking up the pieces. If you really want to learn a lot of what is going on in the world, check out Richard Stallman's site. He's a flaming liberal and a half, many characterize him as a communist, but don't let that be your go, no-go decision. Read what he points to, follow the links revealed, then make up your own mind about issues raised. You won't regret it.

So I'll wrap up with something nicer. A picture of Barb and her dad.

Though I've largely stopped "doing" photography (Barb has picked up that mantle) I continue to be amazed by what the camera in an iPhone and a few apps is capable of doing.

Let the camera snobs snivel all they want about what is pure and right. 

The people who don't know better and who don't listen to experts are doing freaking amazing stuff.

Take a peek: http://news.cnet.com/2300-17938_105-10013373.html

Then grab some apps and start shooting.

Don't forget to thumb your nose at photograhy experts.

Aftet all, it's your stuff you are creating.

<br>Noise to Signal Cartoon

I love and hate TED talks. An expert in a field gets 20 minutes to lovingly and interestingly talk about their craft, their world changing discoveries. I love it because the topics are so danged great. I hate it because it takes me an hour to watch a 20 minute show. The first 40 minutes are spent madly scribbling notes about what is said, writing down the turns of phrases (which are sooooo great) just right. Then, I spend 20 minutes watching it again, this time letting it wash uninterrupted over my brain and soul.

This TED talk is about vulnerability, and the power it has to forever change our life - if we let it. Here are a couple teaser quotes, without spoiling the ending (or should I say, the beginning you will experience.)

"Lean into the discomfort of the work."

"Vulnerability is the core of shame and fear in our struggle for worthiness, but it appears it is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love....."

Brene Brown studies human connection - our ability to empathize, belong, love. She also discards the usual approach, helping us to understand ourselves in a journey of discovery worth paying attention to.

I love finding web sites that are not only different (which is easy), but are different in a way that are well thought out. A nice contrast to the lot of me-too'm's (go ahead, run that baby through your spell check and watch it choke).

Found one that peaked my interest. A design firm. Hangs a web-cam from the ceiling in their office. Paints the "links" to the web site on the floor of the office, and maps the links to the live web image. Thus, links to learn more about the design firm and you can see that people actually work there.

Here are two screen grabs from different days and times.

Unusual, but with a specific purpose....... why.

Check it out for yourself, if you wish: Sagmeister.com.

For a quick peek into the twisted minds of designers, the Answers section.

So I'm within sight of finishing up my 2009 taxes.

Yep. 2009.

Right now it's less than a month until 2011. Almost Christmas. I say that in case some of you don't have a smartphone yet. Consider it a public service. Do they still make wall calendars? The ones without the naked women on them?

Barb is getting restless. "Almost done yet???????", she asks. Over and over with the same tone of voice. Frazzled. And frustrated. Well babe, I got a word for you, too. If your filing system wasn't so bizarre and haphazard I would have been done three fortnights ago. I misjudged the depth of your obtuseness. After 31 years together, I still screwed that one up. Should know better by now, but a guy can hope can't he? And speaking of hope, is there a chance he will get laid someday soon even though he is constantly mumbling critical thoughts about that crap you call organization?

My accountant has turned color.... literally. Yea, like those aliens you see in "B" movies. She has quit calling three times a day to remind me that I'm a few months late in turning my stuff in and is instead stalking the grocery store aisles, glaring at me with those freakish orange eyes that are surrounded by a shimmering blue-green body. I'm sorry I made you turn into a different color than the rest of us, but would you mind moving yourself over to inside the bank instead? I hardly visit there anymore (we have no money), and people are no longer shocked by what they see banks doing these days. You'll not look like such a misfit, and maybe by seeing you in such stark contrast to an irascible banker you'll regain your honor among the community that I helped you lose.

Which brings us back to the question I originally asked. Have you looked at store receipts lately? I hadn't. Just stuffed them in my pocket and put them in the tax file for later. My mistake. Because now I need to account for what we purchased for our business. And the receipt says I spent $79.95 to buy a "Psf bhrd trb".

I need a translator. Does anyone out there speak Merchant Receipt? Admittedly, I was always lousy at foreign languages but this specialized terminology really has me stumped. I have a bunch of receipts with similar looking stuff on them. I need my taxes done. But I need a Merchant Receipt linguist to help me finish the job. Hopefully one of you linguistic angels live in a place like Lake Oswego, near Portland, Oregon. I hear that when someone dials 911 from Lake Oswego, the call automatically gets routed to Nordstroms. Sounds like there must be more than a few Merchant Receipt linguists in a place like that. Can you be my saviour?

Fortunately, a few stores (very few!) also put the UPC number on the receipt. And how it was paid.

Ahhh. Perhaps, a scent trail. Oops. The credit card statements are equally as cryptic as the store receipt in hand, but the UPC number? Hey, I can look those up on-line! Yipee. Tedious, but doable. And the product is actually described there. Unlike the receipt that mysteriously doesn't have room for a product description but does have room for highlighting three store promotions, how to become "fans" of their social media sites, and where to go to fill out a ten minute survey about how the store is doing - for a dollar off on your next purchase.*

(* Transaction value must exceed 2 billion dollars.)

You may wonder why I'm not getting desperate or despondent over filing my taxes late. My accountant, before she turned color and went bizarr-o, was oh-so serious about this. She said, "The IRS audits late returns more than any other type." Guess what, Numeric Woman. I don't give a rat's ass. Bring it on, Mister Tax Man. We made nothing last year. N-o-t-h-i-n-g. We lost money. Spent a wad on starting Barb's new audiology practice. Spent some on development of my audiology software that I hope to sell. And our investments? While Wall Street made a "miraculous" recovery on our dime, my portfolio is still sitting at about the same spot it was in 1998! So what's the big deal if I get audited? The whole process would be a joke. A farce that rivals the best of Shakespeare. It wouldn't cost me a nickel. Just time and irritation.

I could get dinged for one thing, though. I bought a pencil and didn't classify it as an office expense, as it should be. Put it in the office furniture category instead. Hey, the way things went in 2009 that pencil was the entirety of our capital improvements. And I've been sitting on the sharp end of that danged pencil ever since. If that isn't what characterizes a piece of furniture, I don't know what is. And I'm going to depreciate that bugger out, to the fullest extent of the law. Three years worth of depreciation is in the bag. Maybe our businesses will be showing a profit by then. That would be more than nice.

Just one thing, though, Mister Tax Man. I need your help. Do you know what a "Psf bhrd trb" is? Barb and I may have another deduction there. To add to our loss. Can you be my saviour? Maybe then I'll be able to buy a 2011 calendar with pictures of naked women on it.

P.S. Just realized I should add a disclaimer. The photo atop the post is NOT meant to infer that Apple's receipts are bad. They aren't. They are actually among the easiest to decipher (except for months later when you need to know which generation product that was bought.... grrr). And another thing about the photo: I stole it on-line. Yep. Just like the people who grabbed it from Apple marketing and added a question mark to it. So whoever "owns" this version can sue me if you want, but it will be an exercise in pointlessness. I make no money, make nothing off this blog, and have no assets that a bankruptcy judge wouldn't protect. Someone with nothing to lose is a dangerous person. You can have my pencil, if you must.