The Zoo in Your Head

We all have a zoo in our heads: our brains. Inside lives a monkey, a mouse, and a snake. The monkey or primate brain is what we think of when we think of the brain. It’s the spongy stuff on top. The snake or reptile (sometimes called the R-complex), caps the central nervous system (the spinal cord). Everything in-between is the mouse or the mammalian brain.

The primate brain performs complex calculations such as dexterous motions, subtle distinctions of light and sound patters, symbolic language, in-depth planning, imagination, logical reductions of nested causes with multiple effects of varying potentials, temporal conjecture, and any number of exercises in reasoning that basically tells us to what to avoid in the pursuit of what we want. It’s the ultimate semaphore, the big, red stop-sign. When all the other brains tell you to go, this is the last chance to stop before hurdling the wall of sanity. Although this brain has access to the whole, it is often the first ignored. 

The mammalian brain forms our likes and dislikes. Intense emotions, social status, and egotistical aims are its wheelhouse. It is far too easy to spend far too much time secluded in the world of mammalian sensation. Yesteryear is trimmed with silver linings and gilded in gold; on the other hand, bloodcurdling hate has no better home. Soundbites construct the strings of cause and effect. Jealousy, intimacy, fun, affection, disgust, fraternity, jingoism, primitive justice, admiration, status, blind hope, and community are all examples of mammalian feelings. Minimal thought stirs deep emotion; attachment is key. Mammals make great friends and passionate enemies.

The mammal’s primary preoccupation lies within our social position, our rung on the ladder. One’s place in society influences one’s physical health both short term (how you feel about your boss’s frowning face) as well as long term (how are your ideas received, how are your choices respected, are you valued as a person and employee). The hormonal cocktail of social status soaks the brain in either a toxic sludge or a tonic elixir. How we see our place in the social hierarchy determines how fast we age, how often we get sick, and how well we sleep. This complex of neurons responsible for complex emotion and specific memory is present in all mammals, including dogs, cats, and even rats. They all have the same feelings as us. But not all are equipped with a large primate structure to mull them over in the language of thought, eventually ameliorating them with the wisdom of planning.   

The reptilian brain is the base. It’s the on switch. It keeps us digesting, breathing, and our hearts beating. It keeps us safe. It’s responsible for our reactions to fear, hate, and lust. It loves mindless ritual and endless calm. It is one big analog switch of arousal. It governs our two autonomic nervous systems: parasympathetic and sympathetic. They work in tandem. If one is on, the other is off. One regulates digestion; the other, stimulation. One is meant to be turned on most of the time; the other, only when the time comes. The parasympathetic system promotes homeostasis or the state of healthy repair; the sympathetic puts that process on hold in order to act now. Together, they handle the six Fs: friendship, fostering, food, fight, flight, and fornication. The reptile sees peace as a fortress. The distinction of friend from foe or food fills every encounter.

Two more brains exist, but not in your head; they are in your body. Massive bundles of neurons create a mosaic of intelligence throughout your heart and digestive tract. Heartache and gut-feelings are not just metaphors but the roots, supporting our tree of life. They can override the whole with a single beat of the heart or turn of the stomach as illness teaches us all. When they are not overshadowing our minds with absolute attention, they work mostly in secret along side the reptile to keep us vertical when awake and dreaming when horizontal.

Good Cop, Bad Cop, Black, and Blue

Black lives matter.

Blue lives matter.

All lives matter.

Really?

Blue lives are voluntary.

Black lives aren’t.

In light of the blue lives,

in light of the Dallas disaster,

(and future tragedies)

black lives still matter more.

Why?

Without access to recourse, redemption, and justice,

black lives continue to endure

the historic, systematic oppression

by a few bigoted, lawless, blue lives,

injuring all lives.

Although it feels like the country is coming unhinged, facts do not support the idea of an increasingly violent world. The statistical aggregate illustrates how black and blue lives have never matter more to each other than now. Fewer cops die violently on our streets than in past decades. Brown people of all lineages are better off in contemporary Western Culture. But it doesn’t feel this way and it shouldn’t.

Cellphone cameras have changed our point of view. Never before have we been able to witness the brutality perpetrated by ugly blue lives upon innocent black lives. The scene is not new, only the witness has changed. Imagine the images a Jim Crow era camera might’ve captured. What would a Ken Burns, in-depth documentary on a day in the life of a typical slave-catcher in the antebellum South look like? We are at the crossroads of their history and our future.

Through social-media and ready-access to recording devices, we are simply peering under the carpet at the buried secrets, constituting that infested, dusty, mess of fibrous complexity; what every Southern, black family of the 1800’s knew firsthand, now everyone understands to one degree or another. There is no doubt that the horror-show we see today is but the tip of a very old iceberg. White America is waking up to the digital images black America has endured for centuries. We can thank technology these memories no longer die with the victims.

One chooses to become a cop, a blue life. One can always remove the badge, hang up the gun, walk away, and no longer be a blue life. One cannot choose to walk away from a black life. One cannot say they’ve had enough and simply change their culture, their family, their skin, their history. The Dallas shooting is a metric, a point of measurement. After forty-eight hours where the President repeatedly stepped away from international business to comment on yet another unarmed black man killed by a cop, he again consoled the Nation as five officers were gunned-down. Testifying to just how little specific black lives matter to some blue lives, the repetitive images of these past few months became so unbearable as to radicalize a home-grown terrorist. The only difference between the act of this contemporary, semi-organize fanatic and the campaigns of the KKK (during Jim Crow) was instead of supporting the terrorism, blue lives became its target.

Justice is long overdue. The barbarity visited upon black lives by blue lives is a deep, festering, open wound only made worse by the incident in Dallas. One would be hard-pressed to pick a worse target for vigilante justice than the Dallas Police Department. Of all the police forces across this country, few work longer or harder to mend this wound than the DPD. Before it was “the right thing to do,” deescalation programs had been instituted with great effect. Officer involved shootings are down; they’re moving in the right direction, an example to be followed, not ambushed. When blue lives hold themselves to the highest standards of accountability, peace, and justice, they become valuable to black lives, all lives. Dallas is a dark irony, a cruel setback.

As long as all black lives do not matter to even a handful of blue lives, Dallas may not remain the most deadly end of blue lives in America any more than Orlando will keep its top spot. Authorities often say they have to be right one-hundred percent of the time while criminals only have to be right once. To understand the solution, let’s flip this. It only takes one bad cop to hurt ten-thousand good ones. As long as any department remains indifferent to a culture of silence, racism, and prejudice, bad cops will feel free to be themselves.

Why do so few lives smoke cigarettes in 2016 when so many smoked in 1966? Culture. We can try to profile and weed-out the outliers, the bad-apples, and play Wac-A-Mole. In that case, nothing really changes; somewhere in the country another black life will be taken by a blue life (increasingly caught on camera). The only way to fix this is to change the blue culture. Embrace the camera. Embrace deescalation. Embrace C.O.P. (Community Oriented Policing). Until blue culture changes and proudly joins the chant, “black lives matter!” the onerous remains with the blue lives, those with tacit immunity, those with options, those with legal authority, those with weapons, helicopters, robot-bombs, and tanks (do they really need tanks?).

The term ‘blue lives’ is misnomer. There’s no such thing. Blue is a job, a career. No one is born blue, well maybe in a blue family but that’s not the point. Just as with green lives, blue lives are the creation of society, something we deem necessary for peace and prosperity. Unless we discover a better alternative to law and order as a political concept, We the People can find a better way to do business. And again, thanks to science we are learning more and more about how to change and improve culture. With the will of the People, holding law-enforcement to “best practices” through continued protest and legislation, we can change our blue lives so drastically that it might become as likely for a smoker to book a non-smoking cruise as a bigot to join the force; without it being about ending the addition, it would simply be unbearable. And let us hope enough lives demand this before the next bad cop leaves all those good cops black and blue,

yet again.

Unconstitutional Action Vs Justice Garland

“The Senate shall advise and consent…”

Elections create change. When we change something, it’s not the same. The Senate has a Constitutional obligation to provide advice and consent when the President fulfills the duty of the Executive Office by proposing a Supreme Court Justice Nominee. There’s no mention of when they must act, only that they must act (that pesky legal term ‘shall’). The President nominates and the Senate votes. The coming election changes the Senate. Without a timely hearing and vote, Mitch sets precedent by intentionally violating his Constitutional directive to advise and consent. Mitch’s power over the Senate (his ability to violate the Constitution, AKA a high crime– in the vernacular, a crime from on-high) is a direct result of the very election (2014) he invalidates by requiring another (2016) before the Constitutional duty of the Senate is preformed, a duty he may not be privileged to oversee in his current capacity.

Why is hypocrisy not among the seven deadly sins? Remember Mitch, Karma’s a bitch.

The GOP’s in a self-destructive spiral. Their chaotic Presidential field illuminates their prejudice, stemming from a single, specific, point of view. Women, atheists, climate change, the LGBT community, minorities, inequality, immigrants, and everyone not like them are not only the “other” but the enemy. This narrow-minded, grossly inefficient, horribly costly, and ultimately unsustainable methodology holds on for dear life. This limbic, reptilian, devout culture faces extinction. The GOP is in denial over the death of a renowned standard-bearer, their late Supreme Court Justice.

After the elections, it’ll be no different. They’ll be angry. Then they’ll bargain. But depression and acceptance? Come on, this is the GOP. Not gonna’ happen. Their pathology is their inflexibility. They burrow like a tick, sucking the blood of the fat American– now infected with Rocky Mountain Fever. Replacing this Justice is about the future, about change and growth, adaptation and evolution– fundamental concepts they refuse to face. The GOP shatters because it will not budge– something it’s quite proud of.

“There are no atheists in foxholes.”

They love to say things like this. Elections illuminate the truth of how things work; we’re moving forward with or without them. When reason and humanity prevail, ignorance and bigotry loose value. They will find themselves in that foxhole and have yet another “coming to Jesus moment.” After Hillary’s elected, they’ll come-a-running because Obama stands by his nominee.

Will this Senate act Unconstitutionally?

Not likely.

So, I’ll warm to the idea of

Supreme Court Justice Garland.

Second Ammendment Myth: Busting the Line

Ultimately, what is the NRA peddling? Fear of the other. There is no ration reason anyone should have a weapon capable of mass-murder; there aren’t that many ‘others.’ Why a semi-automatic with tens of rounds per clip and not a small bomb? Does the method really mater? Where’s the line? The maverick, the self-contained, self-made man lies at the root of America's grotesque fascination with its past. No one is an island. What did you eat today? Did you slaughter that pig and collect those chicken's eggs? Society is about interactions. It’s human nature. Think about it. By definition, the purely independent man’s story is never heard, never known and therefore wasted. To function as a whole, individuals must care sufficiently for one another, at least on average.

We must consider the question of the line between that R in the NRA and the AK of this modern-day. What weapon is appropriate for anyone to wield? Is a taser sufficient? Should we treat this like drivers licenses with classifications? Just because there is no Constitutional Right for an individual to keep and bear arms doesn't mean guns should be removed from homes. Assault rifles, large caliber sniper rifles, explosive devices, etc. are examples of overkill. Creating well-regulated militias will allow passionate people to not only safely experience the dream of firing some of the most powerful weapons on Earth, currently beyond the reach of the common man, but will also support the common defense in a real way.

Is it the guns or the sick individuals responsible for all this tragedy? Fact: healthy people do not commit mass-murder. Fact: societies without guns do not suffer these events. It's both. Maybe the solution is both. Maybe we must allow the Citizenry to embrace weaponry to their liking but in a “well-regulated” manner. By opening up the concept of a militia, we can mix the satisfaction of blowing stuff up with the dream of being a hero, all while supporting the real heroes. By limiting the supply of deadly weapons like the AR15 and the AK47 to the military and these Constitutional militias, we drain the pool of deadly weapons, thereby forever limiting access to criminals. Eventually, remaining models will be far too expensive for casual use. Seriously, handguns and shotguns are more than enough to protect the average home; and pepper-spray is a sensible precaution for any outing. Fact: the Second Amendment is not about a well-armed populace.

That's what this is all about: arms are for armies and well-regulated militias. It's not about the government taking away one's ability to defend their property. It's about taking away that crazy couple's ability to kill a bunch of people, no matter what that phone might contain.

Tim, thanks for holding the line.

Second Amendment Myth: Constitutional Compromise

The NRA is the most successful lobby in history. But what's it all for? Moreover, is it possible to curve popular support for this radically unregulated industry by creating a new governmental program, capable of not only satisfying the populace but also exceeding their expectations? What changes might affect the breaking-news? In so many words, how can we slow things down? How can we compromise with honor?

Why do some Americans believe it's okay to live in the twenty-first century while sporting twentieth century equipment designed to kill people? One cannot own a SAW but it's okay that everyone can have the civilian-equivalent of the M16. Both are serious infantry weapons of war: arms. For now, the NRA's core issue is maintaining the sale of firearms, aka guns. But even they will not dispute the logic of denying an F-22 Raptor or a M60 to just anyone who can afford one.

For those who wish to fire a fully-automatic BAR, why not an M4 or an Abrams Tank? Here's a radical idea: let's simply give the crazies what they want; let's arm these 'freedom-fighters' with real weapons of war. How does that even make sense? A Constitutional compromise, aka well-regulated militias for everyone!

What if states create real militias with real guys and gals who are passionate about all this stuff? Imagine blasting a round from a real tank, triggering a battleship cannon, or even initiating the detonation of a large, remote bomb? Of course, only with government approval– background checked, tested proficient, and clearly labeled competent without mental compromise; like halfway joining the military (all the benefits, none of the commitment, but at a real cost).

Allowing the population formal training and regulated access to the toys of war fulfills the Founders' intent. Originally, the Second Amendment was established to create a defensive, engaged, capable, impenetrable, and vetted force of the People. Imagine if every Tom, Deshaun, Hernandez, and Fahad where invited to be trained, qualified, and allowed limited access to the experience of firing these fun-canons.

Real-life, down-to-earth, well-regulated militias help in two ways.

One: providing an outlet for all that pent-up, animal rage, stemming from the modern-day, sedentary lifestyle. Imagine the typical, human, engaged in a semi-productive, community/governmental-based activity while simultaneously venting accumulated, civilian stress via literal explosions and vigorous exercise. This will not only relieve America's waistline but focus and filter many volatile components of America's character. Think war-camps for adults; or, amazing weekends playing games with the coolest gear. All those 'enthusiasts' will explore their fantasies in new ways while sharpening their skills, experiencing discipline, mastering team communication, and feeling a sense of ownership for their freedom; in short, becoming better citizens.

Two: support for the real troops via pay to play. Want to shoot the big gun? Want to be a part-time hero? Want to bond with actual heroes? Instead of a years-long commitment to the National Guard, a minimum donation or fee to support the military assures these less-than-weekend warriors' fun not only pays for itself but also funds our Nation's defense directly, financially. Furthermore, participants will treasure their many memories of enjoying all the greatest guns America has to offer. Plus, they will have a deep and abiding knowledge that if their country every needs them to fire these weapons towards the invaders, they might actually do a good job– because after all, this won't be their first rodeo.

The Second Amendment Myth: But You Didn't Say I Couldn't

The question remains: what rights do we have when it comes to firearms?

Just because the Second Amendment doesn't implicitly protect an individual's right to posses a slingshot, does that mean we can't have a revolver or even an M60?

My father fought for justice and truth his whole life. He is the greatest example of a libertarian I know. He sacrificed his family, life, career, and spiritual future for what he felt was right. He believed in the rights of the individual. He believed that we didn't need a right to bear Arms. He was of the mindset that if the Constitution didn't expressly prohibit it, it was fair-game. To say he hated the Bill of Rights was an understatement. The very problem with the Bill of Rights is that by expressing them in writing, you limit them to what is written. He felt that all of us had every single right not expressly prohibited by the Constitution and to express any right was to limit that right to a convoluted definition. So according to my old man, unless legal decree or precedence limits the rights of an individual to possess an Abrams tank, one has the right to said vehicle, of course only in light of one being able to lawfully obtain one. And that's the rub.

Even in this current malaise of a Second-Amendment miscue, one does not have the right to an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) but one does have the right to an assault-rifle, endless ammo, body armor, and plenty of chemicals to make many bombs of many types. The threat isn't about the instrument but the degree. What level of access to what kinds of weaponry do we, as the People, want to prohibit and permit to whom and why? Do we want to live in a society like Australia where only the police are entrusted with weapons more deadly than a rifles? Are we ready to end this horrific violence and get real? Listen to Australia; they are a wonderful example of getting it right, right after the tragedy. They didn't wait for another. Of course, they didn't have the NRA to deal with either.

Why does the NRA fight this? Why else? Cash. It's pathetic. There is no Constitutional reason why hunters and sportsman cannot enjoy their tiny hand-cannons but the NRA makes their mint pretending the myth is under threat. Laws exist to regulate dangerous situations. Not everyone can simply build a skyscraper. There are permits and certifications required to erect a structure that might collapse on people. And as we regulate the privilege of driving a metal box at speeds and forces capable of creating significant destruction, guns will eventual be regulated to the point they no longer pose this crippling threat. Why? It's Constitutional. My old man constantly reiterated the language's clarity: Militias are a body of the State, not the definition of an individual. 

Second Amendment Myth: The Made Myth

No one hunts with a Ruger or a MAC-10. So what changed the NRA into this toxic advocate for increasing availability of the killing-wand? Manufacturing invaded this loose network of enthusiasts. Today, they insure access by the unwashed-masses to the weapons of mass-murder remains at an insane level. They have become a serious domestic threat to the US by reinforcing this common, Constitutional misconception. Their myth kills people, many suicidal. There is nothing wrong with the idea that not everyone can be entrusted to operate a car, let alone a Desert Eagle.

The Second Amendment is very short and difficult to understand. I had the privilege of a lawyer for a father who argued before a state supreme court. He helped me understand that the phrase, 'the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,' means States have the sovereign right to defend their land by creating a fighting-force, forged from the populace without interference from the Federal Government. So far, it doesn't appear any State's right to create said Militia has been infringed upon in any way, shape, or form. The National Guard expresses the State's right to a well-regulated Militia. As far as I can see, that particular institution is under no Constitutional threat.

My father taught me: the idea that the Founders intended access to military-style weapons by the Citizenry is ridiculous. Unless you're an active member of (let me say this again) the State's well-regulated Militia, the only thing the Founders had in mind was the basic idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (originally property, as in the right to own what you create). If you needed to hunt in order to eat and make a living, by all means, use the tool of the rifle. If you feel threatened, there are many measures short of a semi-automatic. One has the right to privacy and protection but one has no Constitutional Right to a Glock-19.

On the other hand, no on has a Constitutional Right to a Ferrari either but some of us have one because some of us can. So get over it. You, mister or lady American, have no Constitutional Right to a device, capable of launching a projectile beyond the speed of sound into any unsuspecting, darling, little girl anymore than anyone has the right to rip rubber in a fine machine. The Supreme Court has often got the big issues wrong before it gets them right. My father's words are clear: the myth of an individual’s Constitutional Right to bear Arms will fade with passing generations.

Second Amendment Myth: The Myth Maker

The individual right of the Second Amendment Myth spawns from a single, deadly, resourceful, political source: the river of funding that is the NRA. It has misconstrued the meaning by chopping off the first thirteen words, leaving the final fourteen,

'the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.'

Originally, the NRA (National Rifle Association) existed to raise awareness of gun safety and general sportsmanship among the common folk. It's not the NGA (Gun) or the NWA (Weapon) for a reason. We're talking rifles. It started with a bunch of concerned hunters. They'd teach some basic skills to the uneducated masses, tramping a noisy, messy path through their prized, pristine forests. The seed of their intention was the simple notion of not getting shot by some idiot, recklessly sporting their first rifle. The NRA was a grassroots, educational program sponsored by real people. Why was the NRA created? Because rifles are deadly in the hands of the ignorant.

They were once safety advocates; but now?

The most powerful industry lobby in the world;

they own the GOP;

they're a cooperation

with the proverbial finger on the trigger.

And they keep pulling it.

Ironically the hero of the GOP, Ronald Reagan, was a victim of this very instrument, lying at the base of this party's foundation. A member of the GOP cannot hold office without a favorable NRA rating. This lobby has twisted the fundamental right of self-preservation into the Constitutional Right of a Militia. People don't have the right to carry a gun because the NRA or the Second Amendment says so. People have the right to carry a gun because the States decide they will allow the Citizenry to arm themselves with guns because guns are an effective tool. But are they always useful? Statistically, they do more harm than good. It's hypocritical that pro-life people so often support death with such fervor. Fact: no Citizen has the right to bear Arms; Arms are for armies.

There is no Constitutional prohibition of acquiring the implements to protect one's family. The government's not coming for your guns. No one's saying you can't have an alarm-system or even a shotgun. The sacrosanct boarder of the household is a Constitutional Right. This amendment addresses the sacrosanct boarder of the State. But neither the NRA nor the individual has the right to decide AK-47s are on the list of approved weaponry; only States do. Why not a claymore or a sound-cannon? There's a line. As a society, we must face the limits of access. Surly, no one believes I have a the right to an Apache helicopter. We must answer the question: what is reasonable? Do we the People set terms or will we still stomach NRA profits leading our way? If the GOP cannot take the initiative to return the NRA to it's roots, eventually the rising death-toll will.

We will change.

The only remaining question:

How many of us must die to make it so?

Second Amendment Myth: The Myth

The Second Amendment:

'A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.'

Note: the CDC (Center for Disease Control) is legally barred from studying the effects of firearms upon the American population– really GOP? This means the US Government has no more idea of the mental health implications of gun violence than anyone else. There are no numbers. No one knows exactly how many people were shot dead last year in the US. There's no precise database, no standard– only estimates. Beyond working towards a day when the numbers are finally seen and studied, we have no other choice but to look outside of the US for clues.

“It's not access to guns; it's an issue of mental health.”

Every time I hear this, I cringe. It's both. Generally in countries with restrictive guns rights (at the very least on par with driving a car), gun-related mass-murder by the populace is not the daily occurrence it's becoming in the US. In modern societies with the most limited rights like Japan, these events are rare if ever. Australia is a wonderful example of how removing weapons of useless violence after one of these incidences drastically reduces these incidences. It is not about removing tools that happen to be guns but addressing access to weapons of mass-murder and mental health. How much of an arsenal does one require to protect one's self from lunatics?

Access to Arms by the US Citizenry as a Constitutional Right is a lie, in fact a very lucrative myth. Nowhere in the Constitution are individuals given the right have a gun. It is the right of the people (everyone in every State) that the States are given an implied directive to create a well regulated Militia (the words are capitalized for a reason; although this is not the ratified version of the amendment, it exists in the National Archives as the original version passed by Congress, handwritten by William Lambert). The Second Amendment gives this and only this Militia the right to keep and bear Arms because a well regulated body (and I'm going to hammer the point here: only the Militia is bestowed with the right to keep and bear Arms) is 'necessary to the security of a free State.'

And when it comes to regulation, 'regulated' is the third word of the amendment. Furthermore, the word 'gun' or 'rifle' or the phrase, 'just enough explosive to blow this tree-root apart,' cannot be found in any corner of the Constitution. Arms are strictly tools of war, created to defend the State from enemies, both foreign and domestic. The Second Amendment has nothing to do with Cousin Skeeter duck hunting with a hunting rifle. The Second Amendment is about securing a free State. Arms include everything from a knife to a Cruise missile. Just about everyone can have a knife but no one can have a Cruise missile. Missiles are for governments; States are governments with a Constitutional right to keep and bear Arms. The term 'Arms' clearly applies to States, not individuals like you and me.

Why does the Constitution create Militias? Think about it: they're the touchstone of American freedom. The Revolution was a bunch of independent, community-based actors coming together to win. When this document was written, America had no cash to finance a standing army. But we had skills and an effective model. We succeeded in the face of an overwhelming invasion by stitching together a cluster of militias into an effective army at a moments notice.

The Second Amendment's sole purpose insures a ready-force, willing to act in the face of an external threat to the freedom of any State; the only individual here is the State. This amendment does not provide citizens ready-access to an arsenal of mass-murder. Only the State's Militia has the right to these instruments of destruction. In truth, this amendment's brevity is matched only by its genius: it provided our newborn country with a relatively affordable, standing army, comprised of people like you and me, supplied, and trained by the State to bear these Arms for our collective security.   

$ Strategies: the Keep

I plug every hole I see but sometimes there are holes I cannot; so, I take the extreme measure of building a credit-keep: an impenetrable fortress of security, buried deep in my fortified city.

Credit-rating agencies are the keepers of the rivers of commerce; credit flows. By default, our credit is open. With the right information, signatures, verifications, and paperwork credit lines are established through these three agencies. What does Identity Theft really mean? Money. I define Identity Theft as the moment someone has convinced these agencies that they are me. If someone is slick enough to slide the right information past the right sentinels of commerce, these agencies will have no choice but to accept the debt on our behalf. The trick is to dismiss the guards and close the gate.

And there are many guards, many for-profit companies eager to provide the monitoring necessary to protect your open credit. For a monthly fee, they will scan the universe for intruders. But is this money well-spent? In a word, 'no.' You will pay these agencies to protect you from something that you can do much better for yourself at a minimal cost with a maximum benefit. For anyone willing to put a little effort into their financial health, credit-monitoring is a scam. How? Simple: a credit-lock.

Let me say that this solution is not for everyone, all of the time. That said, this solution is for anyone willing to fortify their credit. But it requires work and discipline. You must open and close your credit with planning and intention. It also costs money, not much but some. It's easy to use, and secures us against the greatest risk: unknown, unauthorized credit lines. The process is relatively simple. You sign up at each of the agencies. You request a lock on your credit, pay the fee, and create a password. Then, when you want to open your credit for some perspective creditor to view, you create a temporary lift of the lock and pay that same fee again. This means that if you want to open a new credit-card, buy a house, or a car, you will have to plan for it.

Although it takes effort, a credit-lock insures our exposure is vastly limited. Having to intentionally use our credit means we considered new lines more closely. I highly recommend it. Then again, if new lines of credit is critical to your long-term business strategy, maybe this isn't for you. In that case, you could do worse than to pay the right people to monitor your credit. But come on, if you're wealthy enough to be opening and closing accounts regularly, you've got people whose sole job is to take care of that. The effort it takes to live with a credit-lock is how the rest of us remain bulletproof.

Donald Chump Treasure

The basic question when it comes to 'The Donald' and his run is whether the Office fits. Please.

His candidacy has always been about the luxurious nature of his candidacy. His singular message encompasses many traditional GOP points of view, including the Putinesque strongman image of the 'Doer.' Doesn't matter the problem, he knows the guy. The Donald gets it done. For every question, he has no other answer: the Donald's a Doer. He loves everyone, everyone loves him, and he knows what's best. The shinny, golden, god-like level of the Chump's narcissism is not run-of-the-mill.

No, it's the best, most classy, luxurious, highest quality in Town. He sets the bar.

Although there would be no greater Democratic gift than his nomination, Donald's Treasure is for the GOP. His candidacy represents an opportunity to pivot. Over the next year, the bashing of the Chump's 19^th century's views will allow this party to redefine itself and finally join the 21^st century. The Donald raises many issues worth discussing: immigration, healthcare, women's rights, and the legitimacy of Obama's “official birth-certificate.” Okay, not the last one; that's more of an example of this pivot-point. The value of The Donald is the distance the GOP can run from him. This distance is directly proportional to their remaining relevance. Run Republicans run.

Why is he so popular right now? Because it's right now. Activists are the only ones engaged at this point and they love him. Let's hope more than the GOP candidates challenge his message. What would be really nice is if the other side seizes this opportunity for real dialogue. Then both sides can come together for a single purpose:

Pile-on the Chump!

May the truth of this Treasure be the moment the GOP has a real conversation with the American People.

Their failure insures their status as the inevitable third-party.

$ Strategies: The Fortified City of Wealth

The best financial defense is your effort: spend time; remain alert, proactive; monitor exposure. Keeping the avenues of commerce open while avoiding obstruction is a balancing act. As Sun-Tzu might say, 'though a general does not lose, it does not mean he wins.' Victory does not simply come from a good offense but requires a solid defense. Sun-Tzu warns the invader to consider the great cost when attacking a fortified city. Financially speaking, we can vastly limit our exposure and create that fortified city of wealth.

A simple example of a great defensive habit is to log-out. Why should I make the effort if the system will automatically deactivate access to my account after being idle for a specific interval? Fair point. For the most part, that protects most of us most of the time. If being secure most of the time is good enough for you, then why worry? For me, I'm concerned about those moments when automation fails. I close each secure session every time. The second a system is hacked sufficiently, all open accounts become targets. Anyone with the bad luck of being connected to a breached system's core runs the risk of exposure. During this time, the system's security will find it challenging to detect your absence when the hackers raid and manipulate your information. Because you did n

ot log-out, their activity appears as your activity. It takes so little effort to click the link. That's why it's there. Use it.

A tight ship does not leak. Any hard-copy with my personal data is stored or burned. Period. One thing we control is what comes out of our homes. We can toss our junk mail out; we can be lazy and fail to go through it. On the other hand, we can imagine the many pieces to the Identity Theft puzzle. Junk-mail constitutes a few. Credit-card offers are a prize, like a game-piece ready for play. Denying any single avenue makes theft difficult for thieves; denying all of them makes it impossible for anyone. I choose to burn; others prefer to shred. Ashes, when scattered, are not as easily reconstituted as bits of paper. Maybe some alien, quantum magic exist out there where spread ashes can be reincarnated. I guess I'll take my chances. What I am not willing to take a chance on is shredding.

Of course, large-scale shredding that is directly recycled is perfectly safe for industry. But it's different when it comes to my limited, personal information. I plug every hole I see.

$ Strategies: Powerful, Easy Passwords

If you ever suspect a favorite website has been hacked, run a malware and virus scan on the devices used to access the site, then change your password. For sites with financial accounts such as online banks, utilities, or credit cards, create unique passwords that are not used with any other type of site. If a hacker gets your password from a favorite shopping site, social media site, or even from work, they can't empty your checking account and clone your credit cards.

The creation of passwords is tricky and exhausting. Never: use the same password for everything, use birth-dates, sports jersey numbers, addresses, ID numbers, pet or family names, or use the word 'password.' And if a word appears on any of your social media platforms, don't use it. The challenge is to create one you can remember that isn't your last name followed by one, two, three. So what do you do? You can come up with lists of passwords, get a password generator, or try the key-and-lock approach.

This method breaks the password into two pieces. The first half is a standard password like BlueB04. The second half is related to the specific site. This could be the first letters of the site's address, the company name, or any other information relating to the account. In effect, a single password becomes many. Examples: BlueB04Costco, BlueB04SBUX, BlueB04XYZ123 … With financially significant sites like a bank, you could use a special code or pin between the two parts. Example FIN for financial would look like: BlueB04FINXYZ123 – the longer the password the better.

There is a different technique altogether. Instead of picking some absurd concept to encode on a keyboard like BlueB04, use the keyboard as a landscape and plot a pattern the same way most phones are opened. For example, a straight, horizontal line would be 'qwerty.' Your password becomes a simple, geographical pattern on the keyboard, like a little journey or dance your fingers play out in a specific way. Think of a picture-key. This method consists of circles, taps, and swipes over an image. Simply translate that to the keyboard. You start at a point and walk a predetermined path. This makes the password easy to remember, super-fast to enter, and can be quickly changed by simply starting with a new key but following the same shape.  

The ultimate strength of a password is its randomness. Personally, I use a combination of both techniques in three sections: first, a pattern; second, a standard; and third, a site-related. Example: qwertyBlueB04XYZ123. This tactic produces powerful, easily-managed passwords.

The Enemy's Flag Flies Over US Capitals

Why did the US Civil War happen? Simple: the power to make money; aka the right for the rich to stay rich despite the cost to humanity.

The institution of slavery created centuries of wealth for many of the world's governments. The practice is Biblical. But it becomes increasingly difficult to treat people as animals when they are increasing seen as human. The US was not the first nor the last to abolish this source of unethical labor. And like the Exodus, it came at a great cost to the nation resisting change. But unlike the ancient tale, the force facing the American Pharaoh named Jefferson Davis was a well-regulated army of soldiers supported by a diverse middle-class, not a mass of ragtag slaves lead by a psychic magician across the parted river into the empty desert under a watchful eye.

The American Civil War began over the establishment of California – a state free from slavery. The South felt boxed in. Without direct access to the Pacific, maximizing profits from their ill-gotten gains became untenable. With this irreplaceable export route blocked, they formed a new country and went to war for the right to exist; they had to protect the old-fashion way. Over the preceding decades of increasing restrictions to their business model and in light of the contemporary trend of world governments abandoning the practice altogether, the South saw the writing on the wall and like the Luddites raged against the machine of progress. 

The Confederate States of America was the attempt to create a foreign country within US boarders based on the institution of slavery. The Confederate Battle Flag symbolizes a foreign country's aggression upon this soil. What other enemy is favored with such an honor? Such logic requires zombie-like cognitive dissidence. How much longer will the enemy's flag fly over US capitals?

$ Strategies: A Worst Case Scenario

Identity theft is ugly. When it strikes, recovery takes a lot of work; but the injury never heals. Using a false identity for gain is not limited to the riches of bank accounts or credit cards. Criminals use our very online presence to create havoc. We all live with data-risk. We cannot protect ourselves one-hundred percent. It helps to accept this. It also helps if we know how to protect ourselves from the greatest risks. Then we can relax, knowing our exposure is limited.

As Sun-Tzu might say, 'a man who knows himself and his enemy may not win but cannot lose.' There are many avenues into our accounts. They exist for the benefit of our access. Being mindful of that process is important. Passwords, PINs, login names, security questions, smart phones, codes, and biometrics are just the beginning. The ability to separate the authentic from the usurper seems never ending. 3-D printed plastic fingers become keys to locks that cannot be reset – nature provides only one set of fingerprints. Even the complexity of biometrics are now in question. Though it may never be perfect and constantly struggles to keep up, security always improves. As it does, we are wise to take advantage of the technology to monitor and limit our exposure.

So, in this worse case scenario, what is the one thing we can do? The single most important behavior is involvement. Review statements. Check credit ratings. Intentionally limit the number of credit lines. Research an institution before opening a financially-related account. Follow best practices.

There are many things we must be aware of when we share our data online. Never open links in unsolicited emails (better yet, don't open them but report them as spam). Never send account numbers, PINs, or passwords via email or enter personal data into an unsecured site. Use only secure or encrypted sites. You'll know because the address line begins with https:// Limit the number of credit cards used online to one (if possible). For the most part, don't save credit card numbers in any digital format; enter them manually every time. And remember, managing each password is important.

The truly damaging identity theft happens when someone breaches the walls of our credit and is allowed to operate as if from within. From the importance of simple passwords to the ultimate tactic of impenetrable security, my next few post explore strategies to plug these holes.

$ Strategies: Credit Card Hygiene

Recently, I had the rare experience of losing my credit card after a visit to a certain colored box for a movie. This is the second time I've ever lost a card. Unlike the first, its absence eluded me. The bank called after someone turned it in at the branch, only a few hundred yards from this colored box. To my relief, the last charge was the movie. They invited me to retrieve the card. I declined.

I told the banker to destroy it. I would order another. Why? My father taught me to avoid even minor threats. Sure it's unlikely that whomever found my card copied the sixteen-digit account number and three-digit card number. Doesn't matter; I'll never have to know because I ordered a new card with a new set of digits. What's the benefit of retrieving the card? Convenience. The cost? Theft. What's the cost of getting a new card? Inconvenience. The benefit? Security. I will say this just once because I could say it at every point: financial security is the ship that keeps us afloat in society; you cannot be too careful with the integrity of its hull.

A few ideas about plastic:

Don't sign. Instead of signing the back of your card, write the words 'see ID.' Once it's a habit, it doesn't take any more time to produce your ID with your card when making purchases but it makes it difficult for criminals to access your credit, should they find a card that has yet to be reported lost.

Pay down, not off. Instead of paying off the card with the smallest balance, pay the minimum on all your cards except the one with the highest interest rate. With that card, pay it off or as much as you can as soon as possible. Carry the largest balance on the card with the lowest interest rate. And it goes without saying, never miss a payment or pay late – it's too expensive.

Pair your cards. Pair your cards to your costs. For example, use one card for gas and groceries; one for online purchases and reservations; another for large acquisitions; etc. Resist the urge to have an 'emergency card' that lies dormant; credit agencies do not look favorably upon them. Personal fiances suffer when too many credit lines are open at any given time but it is good to have enough active lines to pair different cards with different expenses. This not only helps with budgeting and flexibility but fraud. Credit-card companies like to see predictable buying habits. When something unpredictable happens, they are easier to work with and often the first to spot the fraud.

Credit-cards are the common, daily oil of our financial machine – the engine of the ship. If we don't pay attention, the fluid becomes grimy, gritty, dirty, useless, and then potentially dangerous if the engine heats up and breaks down – bankruptcy. But if we take a few extra moments each day to be mindful of this important yet mundane aspect, we keep the oil clean and the engine running smooth, getting us where we want to go.

$ Strategies: A Conservative Foundation

My personal financial history isn't terribly interesting. Things are steady as she goes. So, what's the secret? How did I survive the Great Recession? To understand that, we must understand the other great financial crisis. The Great Depression began when my father was a boy. It shaped his manhood. His financial hygiene was as impeccable as his legal briefs. I cared for my father until he passed in his mid-eighties. Those hard decades for this country were carried into his last days. Example: when he couldn't finish dinner, he'd collect the leftovers into used napkins. He stuffed the bundle into his pockets. Later when I found the stash and asked about it, he couldn't remember doing it. He spent the innocence of his adolescence toiling in the dust of the Depression. Those wicked years manifested scares in old age – a powerful point of view he imprinted upon me. In his honor, I will share this hard-earned perspective, reshaped for today.

Money is the power that drives modern man. Without it, one does not last long. Nature did not equipped our species with the intrinsic tools to live more than a few nights alone in the wilderness. We require supplies, shelter, and tools. Only the most accommodating environments provide any chance. Of course, those places are filled with much more capable predators than a soft human. Even pray pose a threat; if the lion doesn't get you, the stampeding herd of water-buffalo will.

Humans are born to live together. We need each other. We don't need money to survive but we have collectively accepted it as the medium of our lives. Therefore, money matters and makes us happy – to a point, about seventy-thousand dollars a year for the average household. After that, the reasons for making more money become increasingly narcissistic. Example: the CEO of a Seattle company recently took a huge pay-cut and raised the minimum wage to this magic number. It is a bold move to maximize productivity, retention, and innovation. Only time will tell if it works.

Personally, I see money as a rudimentary system of enslavement that rapes the Earth and turns a cold shoulder to the ninety-nine percent. It corrupts and retards progress. It shapes our preferences and loyalties. It treats the average human as a selfish child and punishes us as if necessity equals petty greed. It places blinders on our future and distracts our ability to be present in the moment. But it is a fact of life that must be faced. Hating the system does little to change it or survive it.

Most do not make seventy-thousand a year. Many in this world make less than two dollars a day. This means most of us will be happier, healthier people if we learn to maximize the value of our resources. Outside of making more money, there are ways to make more out of the money we do have. This series of posts discusses my father's insights; make use of those that apply.