Nice & Econ in BookThree: Flight Log 2016

(1) Islamic State has, to my knowledge, not taken responsibility for the Nice, France attacks. Yet. All experts are connecting the dots and… it looks very much to be an Islamic State attack… or at least inspired by Islamic State missives. Terrorist spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani released a statement in September 2014: “If you can kill a disbelieving American or European — especially the spiteful and filthy French — or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way, however it may be. Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him.”

You read that instruction… and you look at the Eid Attacks and the Bastille Day Attacks… and understand that other Muslims are also being killed in these attacks… it is easy to realize… this isn’t a Religious War that the West is caught up in… not exactly. This is bigger than that. This is a World War, but one where the enemy is not located inside a specific country.

Ultimately.... I am filled with both rage and helplessness. I so dearly wish we could eradicate the scourge that gave us Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Boko Haram, the Islamic State… it wouldn’t stop senseless killing… but it would go a long way towards securing the globe. And as deep as my rage is… there is a genuine sense of helplessness. Because there is so little I can do. And that is how it should be, in many ways. If I was capable of single handedly stopping this… then I should have done it by now. But it is difficult to see such things in the world and know there is nothing to be done.

(2)
In similar but very different:
This article is about the Parasite Economy. I typically try to stay Independent on all issues; I don’t simply adopt someone else’s thinking because I’d rather rely on my own research and ability to reason. But as I first opposed, then supported increases in the minimum wage… a very stark picture began to form. Despite the fact that Competition Economy is often what is discussed and portrayed by many Americans (especially in business) the truth of the American Economy is that it works best in Symbiotic Economy models. If I make 75 widgets for thirty cents; but nobody can buy them… the fact that I was able to make them cheaply doesn’t matter. Likewise, if I make 75 widgets for thirty cents; but everybody wants them… I can either charge $1.30 and make a dollar profit per widget… or I can increase my work force, thereby increasing my production and meet the demand while also increasing my profits. In other words… one reason I switched to “increase minimum wage”..............
The modern economy doesn’t give a shit about supply/demand. When demand goes up, supply remains limited so as to increase prices. When demand goes down, prices don’t shift (usually) to reflect the decreased demand. Further, while it makes sense to increase the wage of Working Class Americans who will often reinvest that wage into the economy through purchases; the money is being further and further concentrated into the Upper Class Americans who, consistently statistically, are less likely to reinvest that money into the economy through purchase or investment. In other words… Keynesian Economics, it seems, has been largely abandoned in the modern world.

Largely… every economist, politician, and even foreign media have been saying with increasing urgency.... the American Middle Class is quickly becoming endangered. And while this seems to be a rallying cry every election… the numbers suggest why. Since around the 1970s, there was a slow but steady decline in American Middle Class jobs and American Middle Income Wages. Through the 80s, the divide became larger; the decline in Middle Income Wages even began to outpace the decline in American Middle Class jobs. This trend continued until the Great Recession where it REALLY took a dive. So, ultimately… for almost 50 years Middle America has been getting beaten up economically. So, yes. While we have been hearing “The sky is falling for Middle America” for 50 years… it continues to remain true; and every year it becomes more true… more urgent. When upward mobility and “economic dynamism” are threatened; the country loses.

(3) All of that being said… I’ve been at work now for )_____( hours and I haven’t done much work. Good thing: While there IS work to do, now that I don’t have the impending jury trial; I’m not on a hangman’s noose about any of it. Bad Thing: I do still have a list of stuff I want to finish today… and yeah, some of it is still giant question marks on how to do it. And… everybody I ask keeps saying “Ask your boss.” Really? Do you think I wouldn’t have thought of that first, or on my own? I mean, for crying out loud… she called at 0945 today and asked me to describe the offices and building I work from… the building that has housed the last 3 county attorneys… because she was thinking about trying to get me a different office in the same building? Uhm… I just… I’m actually worried about the woman. I genuinely worry about her mind and her mental faculties. Maybe that makes me a dick but… even though she is out of here within the next 5 months… I worry about her mind.

Back to today’s personal oddities, I’m not sure what specific events effects what specific mood and feelings of motivation. Yesterday… I was sleepy, sure, but I got loads of work done and by the end of the day, considered the day to be a good one over all. But last night… went to bed at 10 p.m. despite Wife being very upset with me going to bed so “early.” Didn’t actually drift off until 11 or 11:30. Woke up at 2am with huge stomach pains and hit the head for thirty minutes. Went back to sleep around 3:15. Woke up to my First Alarm at 6:30… decided I was not rested enough to get up so went back to sleep. I was anticipating at least another 30 minutes of sleep, as I have Second Alarm at 7… but every ten minutes Wife would kick me…hard. When Second Alarm went off, she was getting back into bed after putting in ear plugs. She said, “I don’t know what irritates me more. Being woken up twice by your alarms or hearing you snore in between them!” Yeah… because the woman who hits the Snooze Alarm 26 times a morning has room to speak on that matter.

So… yeah. While yesterday, my day started with me being tired but picked up.... I’m curious to see how today goes. Well, I mean from this point. Because the morning sucked; but I also only got three cases filed before noon. So… with a 10 Piece To Do List… better move.