Childlessness at Record High in U.S.

A June 2010 PEW report said that more women are remaining childless.

"A new study from the Pew Research Center shows that childlessness is at a record high in America. One in five women aged 40 to 44 reported that they've never had children. Meanwhile, just 41 percent of Americans say having children is necessary to a good marriage, compared to 65 percent in 1990."

"The likelihood that a woman without a high school diploma will be childless after 40 has increased 66 percent since 1994."

I just noticed an obituary of a 79 year old acquaintance that had three children. What is interesting is he only had one grandchild. In previous generations an old man would have had numerous grandchildren. I have 6 grandchildren. My father had 10. My grandfather had 20.

The world demographics are definitely changing, and so will the male female roles. Will the populations of the world shrink to a fraction of its current 6.5 billion people? I think it will.

The changing lifestyles of women means men will have more competition for value. As women gain political and economic power it does not bode well for men.

I'm not omniscient, but I predict women will become more aggressive as they enter the competitive work place and take on positions of power. Men have a challenge of living a life in the future that brings fulfillment and happiness.

On the other hand, men may adapt well to the changing female roles. Men may be happier as a domestic stay at home instead of the past duties of responsibility for being a provider and protector. Let the women deal with those roles while struggling in the competitive work place.

If men will not be valuable to women in the future as they have been in the past I think men will adapt to their changing roles. They will become more self centered and do things for themselves since they will not have to do things for women and children.

Men may become domesticated house pets for the aggressive women. She will come home from a stressful day at work and her house pet will wag his tail and make her happy, if she has a passive dog. If she has a Pit Bull, she will come home and take him to a fighting class.

Charles Tolleson

Gen. Stanley McChrystal Resigns

Gen. Stanley McChrystal's interview in Rolling Stone Magazine in 2010 caused him to get fired. In the interview Gen. McChrystal criticized the President and his staff. This is and old act in an old play called Power. This play has been playing all over the world for thousands of years.

Gen McChrystal is a warrior who has probably killed or ordered people killed. He has sycophants at his feet each day as he is chauffeured in a private car and flown in his personal plane.

The perks of a general in no way compare to the perks of the President. However, I can imagine Gen McChrystal thinking of all he has achieved, while demeaning the President as one who has never done anything except be a community organizer.

I'm glad the U.S. military has to answer to civilians. If they did not we would have had a military coup a long time ago. The founders organized the government this way. They knew the lure of power could cause more revolutions.

The founders did not want a standing army that would create the possibility of a military coup. The founders just wanted a voluntary stay at home militia. Instead, we have a military nation within our republic. This military nation grows stronger each day.

When the economy goes in the tank and there are a series of successful terrorist attacks you will see fear in the people and they will yearn for a strong leader. That's how the age old play about Power plays over and over, again and again. When the people's fears grow rampant they will call for Gen McChrystal to restore order and provide them with safety so they can go back to living and practicing the seven deadly sins.

President Eisenhower said in his farewell address to beware of the Military Industrial Complex. The MIC is so powerful President Eisenhower could not say that in his inaugural address. Had he done so he would not have won a second term. Had he said so in his first campaign he would never have become the 34th President of the United States.

Cassius: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings" (the fault dear Brutus lies not in our stars or our fate or destiny but in ourselves that we have become underlings or subordinates to Caesar), (Line 139, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Act One).

Charles Tolleson

The bad economy gives the military recruitment a lift

The bad economy gives a boost to the military recruitment. The military pay is more than twice the pay rates of 1960, adjusted for inflation. In 1960 there was a draft in place so the U.S. Foreign Legion did not have to pay as much to fight their foreign wars.

The recent downturn in the U.S. economy has made it difficult for some men to find good jobs. A man with a family will do desperate things to provide for his family.

I noticed this in a news story about a U.S. soldier that was killed in Afghanistan in June 2010. What caught my eye was the age and rank of the deceased soldier. He was 31 years old and only a Private. Either he just joined the army or he was recently demoted.

As it turns out he was the father of three and he had just joined the U.S. Foreign Legion. He joined for the pay and benefits. He said he wanted to provide for his family.

The G.I. Bill will provide education for his widow and or children.

The point is that soldiers become soldiers for reasons other than duty, honor and county.

Charles Tolleson

Sacramento County sheriff still tallying cost of 3-day standoff

Sacramento County sheriff still tallying cost of 3-day standoff

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Published: Thursday, Jun. 17, 2010

The value of saving the life of a 16-month-old boy can't easily be quantified. The financial cost, though, is more concrete.
Sacramento County sheriff's officials estimate they spent more than $100,000 in overtime costs to handle last week's high-stress standoff in which an armed, mentally ill man held a toddler hostage inside an Arden Way apartment for 56 hours. http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/17/2828610/sacramento-county-sheriff-still.html#ixzz0rDxQoREl

The overtime cost for county deputies is $100,000. What was their regular pay at this time? For 56 hours of overtime pay that comes to around $1785 dollars per hour. If there were 3 deputies in front of the house and 3 behind that would be 6 deputies per 8 hour shift. At $1785 per hour that meant the 6 deputies were earning $14,280 total for their shift, or about $297 dollars per hour!

Not wonder we read reports of how much more money government employees make than the private sector employees. I’m sure there were those whose overtime pay goes a long way towards their retirement pay if they are in their last years.

Those brave men and women who say they are here to protect us had to take administrative leave because of the stress. "Since the dramatic conclusion, the 25 deputies stationed in the "hot zone" – inside the apartment complex – have been on paid administrative leave, officials said. Deputies backfilling their jobs are being paid overtime, contributing to the $100,000 price tag."

I suspect Dog the Bounty Hunter could have done the job for a lot less.

Charles Tolleson June 18, 2010

Are Women Superior to Men

A June 8, 2010 online video of a national magazine asks, are girls superior to boys. I won't name the magazine. Media organizations do these ancient silly elementary school yard debates to increase viewership to sell ads.

It also asks is the new economy better managed by girls. Based on the choices and privileges females have in this society and economy I would say that girls are superior. Boys have built an economy, and government, that is better suited for girls than boys. The laws in divorce, child custody, domestic violence, all favor women. Women are benefiting more from this collective, not individual society, than men. Men are not treated equal to women in a court of law. A woman's weakness is her strength in a court of law. A man's strength is his weakness in a court of law.

If we went back to a society of 1800 that had no electricity,automobiles, hydraulics, birth control pill, running water, factory robots, etc., you would see men having more value than they do today. You would also see women having more value then, than now, to produce children to help on the farm and to care for the elderly.

I think the realization that men have developed a society filled with technology that may have made men unnecessary is somewhat liberating for men. Most men are taught that they have responsibility, as President Obama reminds us on Fathers Day.

But men are realizing they don't have the authority to go with the responsibility. Responsibility without authority makes men slaves.

Now that women are going to rule the world, responsibility will fall on their shoulders, along with the authority they already have, right? Don't count on women ever accepting responsibility when things go bad. Have you ever heard a woman accept responsibility for her own unhappiness? She will blame her unhappiness on a man, or men.

Before men built this society of technological wonders women who did not get married and have children were known as spinsters, or old maids, and ended up in dead end jobs. Now those women who choose to be spinsters are serving on the U.S. Supreme Court or other high positions in government,

When men start their WOE program, Withdrawal Of Enthusiasm, women will wail and moan even more about how difficult it is to find a good man, a euphemism for finding a good servant. Today there are more girls than boys graduating from college. Boys have learned it is a girl's country. Government rules favor girls in competition. Boys are starting their WOE program. Boys ask, why struggle and earn more when it will only be taken from him by the State and divorce courts? What girls want girls get. What girls don't want, boys get.

To determine which gender is more valuable you have to remove all government involvement in the relationships between men and women. If there were no civil rights act or marriage and divorce laws the free market would decide which gender has the strongest bargaining position. But, as long as we are deciding the value of a gender to society based on the ballot box, laws governing behavior and private contracts, then we will only know which gender has the most political power, not the most value.

One thing we forget is supply and demand. In an over populated society women are needed less to reproduce the population. In a dwindling society women may be needed more to produce more babies.

The same can be said about the supply of men in a time of war. If the world was all at peace then there would be less need for males.

Which gender is more valuable to you? Try to imagine you are alone on an island and can choose one person to share the island with. Would you pick someone of your own gender or someone of the opposite gender?

Even if you pick someone based on their value, value usually translates into power between individuals. All relationships are about power. The person who can live alone has more power over the person who cannot.

If women are superior to men why do they need so much help from the governments?

If women are superior to men why did they not write the Declaration of Independence?

If women are superior to men why aren't there more women in congress than men?

If women are superior to men why do female defendants in court often claim they were under the control of a man?

I believe the future gender wars will disappear as artificial intelligences and bio engineering change humans. With artificial intelligences and bio engineering changes in the future it will be necessary to go to a zoo or museum to see someone that looks like we look today. When we all become hermaphrodites the gender conflicts will be over. Until then, look for more feminizing of America.

"Let us be grateful to people who
make us happy, they are the charming
gardeners who make our souls blossom." ~Marcel Proust

No road is long with good company. ~Turkish Proverb

Charles Tolleson

Illinois Parenting Class for Divorce

If you are parents of children under 18 and want to get a divorce in Illinois, the State has decided you need counseling and will require you to spend 4 hours being counseled. Costs to each of you will be $75 for the course. I'm sure the Illinois Psychological Association lobbied hard for these customers who are forced to buy the counseling service.

Why does the State have to be a party to your marriage? Marriage is a contract between two individuals. Why do people go to the State and ask permission by buying a marriage license? Maybe couples should just get married by "jumping over a broom."

The State welfare laws and child support laws have made marriage unnecessary for a woman to have a man help support her and her children. A woman can have children out of wedlock and still be taken care of by the State or the State will force the father to pay child support and become a visitor to his children. Now with parenting laws the State is interfering more and is simply trying to do all things for all people. When two people get married the State is a third member to the marriage. No wonder fewer people are getting married. "From 1970 through 2008, the US marriage rate has declined from 76.5 to 37.4 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women."

If the State is going to support single moms the State should require all of the single moms to attend parenting classes. As long as the State requires young people to attend the government schools the State should require all high school students to attend parenting classes.

Another reason for the decline in marriage is technology that has allowed more women to avoid pregnancy. The birth rate in the U.S. has declined by 50% during the past century. Since technology now allows women to avoid pregnancy, women have time to pursue careers. With many more careers than were available in years past, women do not need to be married for economic support.

Charles Tolleson, Married Once, Divorced Once

Drone Aircraft

A retired U.S. Marine Colonel sent me an email that's been around since 2007. The email lists several U.S. Military drone aircraft. In the email the Colonel had some remarks attributed, without a source, to a Colonel Chris Chambliss, Commander of the 432nd (UAS)Wing at Creech AFB. "All of the Air Force's unmanned drones are now operated from Creech Air Force Base, 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas at Indian Springs. They used to run out of Nellis AFB and now have their own Wing at Creech AFB"
Some of his, Col Chambliss, comments: "It's the most deadly remote controlled plane in the world. Pilots fly it like a teenager playing a video game. Airmen at Creech AFB can control the Predator drone and the second generation Reaper anywhere in the world. "At least since 2001, Predator's have been airborne 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, primarily over Iraq and Afghanistan . There has never been a time when we haven't." The unmanned program is so successful it's now under the command of the Air Force. "We are going to increase the number of combat air patrols that we fly with it and the number of hours astronomically," Col. Chambliss said. This year the Predator drone will fly 75,000 hours -- up 20-percent from last year."

I did a search and found an article at Wired Magazine. The title is, "Flight of the Extreme UAVs, From Smallest to Deadliest" by David Hambling, October 10, 2007.

The adjectives given to name the drones were; Most Famous, Deadliest, Widest Range, Stealthiest, Most Welcome, Highest, Toughest, Most Modular, and Most Local. Those were the names given to our drones. The name given to the enemy drone, a single small suicide drone used by Hezbollah, is "Most Alarming." Most Alarming! It has not killed anyone. Notice the age old use of terms to describe our side as virtuous and the enemy as threatening and evil.

I wonder what terms the enemy uses to describe the U.S. drones that kill their innocent women and children?

“Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feeling?” Bertrand Russell

Charles Tolleson

U.S. Navy's New F35C

Lockheed Martin's U.S. Navy version of the F35C just made its first test flight. It is so advanced that no nation can compete with it.

Lockheed Martin's press release reads like a war lovers dream.

What I noticed in the press release was how many different congressional districts must have people from those districts working on the airplane.

"The F-35 program has about 900 suppliers in 43 states, and directly and indirectly employs more than 130,000 people."

900 suppliers in 43 states! Suppliers in 43 states mean 86 U.S. Senators will have constituents wanting the program to continue. Why so many and in 86% of the states? The defense industry has learned to spread out their suppliers into many different congressional districts for political power. These suppliers lobby their congressional people to make sure the funding keeps on coming, whether the products of war are needed or not. You can't go wrong with your investment portfolio if you own a diversified group of defense stocks. A nation gripped in fear will always want more "defensive" war materials. Imagine how many billions people are willing to spend on sophisticated systems to fight a rag tag group of people who hate our foreign policies.

We could prevent war by inviting all countries to be members of NATO, or by having disputes between countries settled in an international court of law. The desire for war is stronger than the desire to prohibit war. Think of all the jobs that would be lost in the military defense nation if there was no threat of war. Without war, how could humans satisfy their sadistic cravings?

"War is A Racket" Major General Smedley Butler, 1881-1940

Charles Tolleson

Black Women See Fewer Black Men

The New York Times had an article on June 4, 2010 titled "Black Women See Fewer Black Men at the Altar"

The Pew Research Center disclosed the number of interracial marriages has increased enormously during the past few years. One can only marvel at this considering that State governments used to make interracial marriage illegal. Imagine the State preventing voluntary contracts between individuals!! All of those people who supported these laws believed in the power of the State.

There have been many discussions about the plight of black women unable to find a "good" black man. What does the definition of "good" mean? I suspect a woman who wants a "good" man wants a good servant.

The discussions and essays on the plight of black women left out one good reason so many black women are unmarried. Black women have the highest rate of obesity of any other demographic. Four out of five black women are overweight. If black women wanted to be married they would make themselves more appealing. Most men do not want to make love to an obese woman. If men preferred obese women then the sexy tabloids and pole dancers would be filled with obese women,

Black women, and other women, no longer need to be married. The State is their provider and protector. Since they do not need a man they can wait and wait for a "good" man.

For centuries under slavery black women were the head of the families. Black male slaves were used for breeding. Black male salves were sold as a single individual while black females were sold with their children. Black women did not need black men for care and support because the slave owner took care of them. After slavery the black women had to compromise with black men for their care and support and the cohesiveness of black families grew for the next 100 years until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which gave black women a position of aristocracy where they could sue others, and be cared for by the Federal Government, the same as the previous slave owners cared for the black women and her children. The only difference now is at the ballot box black woman can talk back to their master.

I'm sure somewhere there are humanitarians with a plan to correct the "unfairness" black women face. Their plan will likely have something like the Selective Service System that requires men to register for the draft. From this registry some men will be selected to marry a black woman for a term of two years.

If black women had been more desirable than white women, Europe and North America would be black instead of white.

The number of interracial marriages is a good thing. It will help mitigate our differences and bring some social peace.

It is difficult for a society of two religions to survive peacefully. With many religions a society will be more peaceful than with just two. The same for races in a society. If a society has only two races they will vie for power and blame. If there are many races it is difficult to blame one race against the other for one's unhappiness.

“A civilized society is one which tolerates eccentricity to the point of doubtful sanity." Robert Frost

Charles Tolleson

North Korea Sinking of South Korea's Ship

The U.S. Department of Defense has admitted that the U.S. Navy was in the area off North Korea when the North Koreans sank a South Korean ship.

Associated Press
June 05, 2010
WASHINGTON — The night a torpedo-armed North Korean submarine allegedly sank a South Korean patrol ship, the U.S. and South Korea were engaged in joint anti-submarine warfare exercises just 75 miles away, military officials told The Associated Press.

The blast that sank the Cheonan, the worst South Korean military disaster since the 1950-53 Korean War, showed how impoverished nations such as North Korea can still inflict heavy casualties on far better equipped and trained forces, even those backed by the might of the U.S. military.

This sounds like the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 where the U.S. was again involved in provoking another small country, North Vietnam, by going into her waters. As a result of that American action, millions died.

Why does the U.S. have to invade the disputed waters of these small countries thousands of miles from the U.S. coasts? What would Americans do if some enemy was carrying on navy military exercises off our coasts? Hysteria, fear, and anger come to mind. I suppose the only answer to why America goes into the waters and struts her military power off the coasts of small countries like Iran and North Korea is, a super bully needs someone to pick on.

Charles Tolleson

New Health Care Act Will Ration Treatments

The Health Care Act signed into law in 2010 by President Obama will end up rationing treatments.

The respected Journal of American Medical Association, JAMA, has started programing the American public for future rationing of treatment by a series of articles about how "Less is More." JAMA's argument is that too much treatment is prescribed that is unnecessary. The reason of course is when a third party pays for a service that service will be used more. Imagine if a third party paid for a new car. Everyone would be driving a new car, and the cost of new cars would go much higher than the real market cost.

I agree that we have too much treatment when there are alternative treatments. Obesity causes diabetes and heart problems that require enormous expenses. Simply requiring patients to be less than 20% overweight before any insurance would pay for treatment for certain diseases would go a long way toward improving the health of Americans.

Update June 28, 2010. A yahoo news story today was about overtreatment when people are in their final days. The title, "American are treated, and overtreated, to death". This is the prepration stage to deny treatments that might prolong a life for a few months.

Charles Tolleson