Monday, January 31, 2011

Why Is Hawaii Always the Last to Know?

In hot, sunny (tropical) climates -- like Hawaii, Haiti, the Middle East, Africa, what has greatest value and utility, is shade, because with it, one can conduct industry, manufacturing and creativity, rather than spend all one's energy and day, just trying to get out of the direct sunlight, and trying to stay cool.

Obviously, there are whole industries that could be pioneered in this field, to benefit at least half of the world's population, most living in poverty for this reason -- instead of merely importing the existing and mostly obsolete technologies that obviously don't work so well -- in Hawaii, as well as everywhere else that doesn't create these optimal operating conditions, that further enable productive thought, activities and capacities.

That's why I suggested that the best idea for Honolulu (Hawaii), was to create an infrastructure of shade, with which, most people could then comfortably and enjoyably walk, bike, or just hang out, in these public areas -- and not have to get into the latest version of air-conditioning comfort (The Rail), that these promoters want to market to a population desperately wanting something they can't quite figure out what.

The ancient manner of creating shade was to grow trees -- which requires soil, water, and horticultural know-how to do it right, so that it doesn't also destroy one's foundation, so that everybody then decides to cut down all the trees. The modern, best way to create shade is through mesh netting, that can be suspended at a modest cost, and even attached to existing structures -- like street lamp posts. It is already used for those purposes, as temporary structures during summers in the temperate climates, with great success, to create an immediate amphitheater, banquet area, whatever. It is an open-air structure made of fabric -- which allow the cool winds in, while allowing body heat and odor out -- which creates an optimal environment for doing most things, even in war. The military has developed a lot of expertise in creating such environments -- anywhere on earth.

That's why a suggestion that tents and other fabric structures are ideal for Hawaii for homes, classrooms. parties, athletic events, is not being low-rent and backward, as your leaders think coming out of their own poverty experiences, but are actually today's state-of-the-art, high tech solutions that they reject -- in favor of the traditional high-cost, high-maintenance solutions like air conditioning structures that are poorly designed for these purposes, and are unus able without air conditioning, lighting, etc.

Not only could fabric structures be used alone, but if used over regular buildings, prevent those buildings from ever being touched by the heat of the sun at all -- which of course, absorbs that heat. Such netting is usually made out of recycled plastic bottles.

Finally, when the need for more ventilation is required, ionic fans, are actually superior to air conditioning because it feels like air conditioning -- at the cost of running a fan, and ionization freshens and deodorizes the air, which is a big culprit in any gathering of people in a poorly ventilated room.

But one has a difficult time getting people in Hawaii to listen to genuinely new ideas and being the first to adopt them, because with their conformist indoctrination (education), they think they have to do what everybody else does, even when there might be a better way of doing things -- because then, they'd have to be thinking for themselves, and actually be the first to know, rather than always the last.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Is Taxing Pensions Fair?

You have to tax all income equally -- and not that some people are entitled not to be taxed ever again, particularly since they are making more than the median income -- which should be the great equalizer.

Those would be the pensions taxed in this proposal, just as Social Security is when a person makes more than the median income. That means, they are in the upper half of income recipients -- rather than the poverty and disadvantage they are claiming. In fact, in order to get those more than median pensions, they would have had to receive more than median salaries while they worked -- for a substantial advantage.

And because they had those higher than median incomes, they had the luxury of buying real estate, stocks, whatever else, to generate even further income and advantage, than those making less than the median income.

In fact, one of the ways to solve the Social Security imbalance is to pay every person the same payment in retirement -- while taxing all their earned income without a cap, as has been proposed, because those people earning high incomes, have a chance to sock away a substantial portion of their incomes for their retirement -- and if they don't, they are then entitled only to what everybody else receives. That would be the fair and equitable way to do it -- as well as with the Medicare, universal health coverage. It should be at the minimal base level for all.

The problem with the Obama plan, is that they want to force people who are healthy enough never to see a doctor, to be forced to buy medical insurance to subsidize the Cadillac plans of the unions -- who abuse the system as much as possible, by taking all the sick leave they can, and abuse their health so they can maximize their health care benefits -- even if that means destroying their own health.

So society is rewarding dysfunction and failure, over health and intelligent decisions and behaviors, especially causing the overprivileged, to claim that they are the underprivileged. That is why there is so much confusion and corruption in Hawaii -- because people cannot distinguish these things rightly, and think the left is right, and up is down, and same sex is the only way to go.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Who Owns the Truth (Facts)

People who have no idea what they are talking about, are fond of (pro)claiming that every idea is as good as any other -- and just because they say it, makes it so, and there is no higher authority.

Nowhere is that more true than in the field of education and instruction -- because such teachers don't do their own thinking and research, but merely teach what they have been told to propagate -- because they don't know any better, and could never tell the difference, because that is not their job, but merely following the directives of so-called authorities.

That is authoritarianism and not authority. The classic example used to be the bureaucratic tyranny of the physical education (PE) instructor, who could make people do any number of insane things -- because they said so, and they were the authorities in charge, and could punish them with even further outrageous demands, no matter how unreasonable and insensible. But now that manner and methods, have spread to most instruction (education) -- which is recognized by only a few (but the most perceptive and aware), as the indoctrination (brainwashing) it is -- moving further into the mainstream because those who claim to know better, don't, and are actually the least qualified and capable of exercising such judgment, and so become one's worst enemy rather than a reliable source of information.

But that is obviously not lost by increasingly many people who have awakened to question such authorities because they prefer discovering the truth of any matter for themselves, and realize the necessity to do so, in the new world of increasing alternatives and information. This development is not unlike the movement out of the medieval age of similar totalitarian authority and information control, to the new age of challenge that could be proved by experience and experimentation that is always a challenge to the old information hierarchies that are mostly represented by the education institutions, and what is increasingly referred to as the old media institutions and their ways of expertly (professionally) manipulating public opinion.

For this, they are most easily identified by their insistence that what they say, are the "facts," and everyone else can merely express their "opinions," because they "own" the truth, and those are the facts.

And thus their readers argue endlessly and pointlessly that their side is "right" and morally superior, while never questioning, how they came to know what they do as the truth, because they never questioned the premises by which they arrived at their conclusions -- but are insistent and certain, that they are "right."

How do you know what you think you know?

Sunday, January 09, 2011

The Sad State of Hawaii

Teachers who don't want to teach, should feel free to do whatever else they want to do -- but not while being paid as "teachers," or in any other capacity as "public service" employees.

It used to widely be joked, "That those who can, do; those who can't teach; and of course, those who can't teach, become "educational administrators." But the real joke now is that they can't ALL be educational administrators.

Somebody actually has to do something in Hawaii (government), and everybody can't just stand around and "supervise," and note dutifully, "the job can't be done, and especially for what you pay me to do it." And so, all the money goes to pay people doing nothing, and there is no money left to hire people who really want to do the jobs -- and can do it, because all the money is reserved for those government workers, who don't want to work.

So everything gets worse -- especially the schools and the education system, which should be the highest representation of the state of Hawaii -- but has become symbolic of its ills, that people merely want to get more for doing less, and ultimately, something for nothing. Of course such a society is unsustainable and doomed -- which is not unprecedented in the history of the world. In fact, societies that continue to succeed and move ever higher, are the exceptions, and some, will even return to the great glory they once inspired -- after centuries of absence because they followed the wrong path, but re-emerged, because they reclaimed and restored the right one.

But for a society to just do as little as possible until they finally do nothing, and then subvert everybody else who wants to do something, is social suicide -- and rightfully, all those who can still see and understand that, leave for greater sanity elsewhere.

People quickly forget, that the reason there was a clamor for the Republican Linda Lingle, was that nothing made any sense anymore, and nobody was accountable for anything, and in desperation, looked to a different kind of leader, who once having restored sanity, the people thought it was now forevermore -- and quickly reverted back to their old ways -- of thinking that everyone could simply have more, without anybody having to actually produce it.

It was thought, that it would just come from the people everywhere else in the world (federal) actually producing the food, clothing and shelter, and not that they should ever have to do anything for themselves anymore. Instead, they "taught" through their institutions (schools), that one was actually a fool to think that way, because everybody else would simply let them do all the work -- while they supervised, ridiculed, and got the most pay, for doing as little as possible -- but being first in line, for all the benefits.

That was what it meant to be "smart" and "educated" -- to be utterly worthless and incapable of doing anything, and of course, being able to tell the difference anymore.