Seattle Newspaper for the People by the People

Author

Jeff Jacobs - page 14

Jeff Jacobs has 232 articles published.

Molding The Perfect American Citizen

I find it incredibly interesting how American citizens are molded from a young age.  How and why they stand for or against a certain topic then calculating why they believe that based on history or their early environment.  We all our products of our environment.  A simple example is Christianity in America.  Surveys suggest that roughly 92% of Americans identify themselves with the religion.  Every once in a while I will ask one if their family growing up was religious (not always).  Then I ask do they think they would be a Christian if they were born in another country where a different type of religion was more popular such as Buddhism in Cambodia (95%) … they of course say no and that they would still be Christians.  The reality is that our environment plays a huge impact of what we are.  We all start out as products of our genes, food and growth is provided by our environment, experience is learned through events, parents help guide us, then opportunities for decisions.  Some we have control over and others we don’t.  We all are hardwired with certain things like fight or flight.

I was talking with a guy and some of his friends I met at the Ram Restaurant recently.  He has given up on American and has made the decision to leave it all behind and move to Ecuador.  I found the topic interesting because I personally have considered doing a “World Tour” myself.  However, he was done with it here and made the decision already.  He wasn’t going for a few months – he was going forever.  Upon hearing the plans his friends asked him, “what about the stability of the country?” He replied, “you mean the stability of a country whose banks don’t do horrible loans or invest is derivatives?  “You mean the stability of a country where the general population has the courage to march in the streets to make a change or throw out all the corrupt officials out of office?”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little on the inside because he was exactly right.  In America, our citizens have been molded to believe in staying inside political boundaries “protest zones/areas”.  Most Americans through complacency are cowards to political activism.  To make a real change we are to believe that your vote really matters and emailing their Senator several times a year can help.  In America, marching down the street in a large crowd is viewed by many uncivilized and even unpatriotic.

The example above about protesting is just one of many topics Americans think differently about.  It’s concerning how much power the media has on all of us.  It reaches into all our homes and pursueds the young or old through the years.  There isn’t a king, pope, or general who can even compare to the few dozen who control the information and ultimately we make decisions on.  So many American do not even see it.  They completely fail to realize that they are being manipulated.

For many years now I have been educating myself of what other countries think of Americans.  Some countries are good, however, most are bad.  We are viewed as egotistical, flag worshipers, greedy, thinking the US is the center of the World, vain, & loud.  Many view us as being to over the top with our own nationalism (we are the best talk).  I can’t blame them this is what we hear all the time.  There is a constant voice in the media that we are the best.  “America The Beautiful” type.

Why are we so committed to believe this type of media or perfect citizenship.  Is it our environment or we simply don’t know better because that is all we hear and know.  The truth is many do believe and will continue that hardcore commitment in believing we are the very best.  Even though when compared to others countries we simply are not.  Our education system is ranked at the bottom, our leaders are corrupt, we have lost our status of a Wold Leader by many.  What about our freedom?  Gay marriage is not allowed, drinking age is higher than many countries, drugs are viewed as a crime where other countries have monetized it and using it to help people medically.  We owe more money then money we have in circulation available, our culture is a blend of everyone else’s so we don’t have the best as its a mash up, we have no real plan to spend less,  and finally all politicians are bribed and bent to their opinions based on who has paid them.

So are you molded to be the perfect American citizen?

You might be interested in

Initiative Measure No. 1240 – Against

At this time I’m against Initiative Measure No. 1240.  Our schools are constantly needing more money now and obviously can’t manage what we have in place so I can’t imagine them digging any deeper into a hole with charter schools.  I do support the idea of the charter school system and perhaps would support it in the future.  At this time, however, better management, reviews, and oversight is needed in our current public schools to see where the over spending is happening and how improvements can be made.  Our public schools today are constantly complaining about lack of funding (I blame it on spending), however, with the money they are getting now through enrollment – it would be passed to the charter schools making it even more difficult.  It’s a very messy situation and the main reason I can’t support it at this time is because our current system (financial for schools) needs to be examined and repaired first.

Initiative Measure No. 1240.

“This measure would authorize up to forty publicly-funded charter schools open to all students, operated through approved, nonreligious, nonprofit organizations, with government oversight; and modify certain laws applicable to them as public schools. “

As I do support the idea of charter schools and would most likely support it down the road, due to to the current situation of public school system I can’t support this initiative at this time.  We need to root out the problems with our current system first.

You might be interested in

Initiative Measure No. 1185 – Supported

I’m tired of the constant and steady (and sneaky) raises in my taxes.  It’s always the same story each time and it goes a little like this “we’re broke” or “the recession is hurting us” or perhaps “they keep cutting our funding”.  It’s troubling especially with all the revenue being generated from every sector.  The revenue being generated is at it’s highest!  I believe the problem is with the spending and management and it each department needs to become completely transparent with line item spending.  Until that happens I will never be for raising taxes.

I believe most people would support raising taxes if they knew where each dollar was going.  They wouldn’t have a problem supporting their schools or the local fire department, however, without honesty and complete transparency, the public will not support it because they know it’s due to wasteful spending internally.

Initiative Measure No. 1185

Initiative Measure No. 1185 is already the law but will be expiring soon.  Your vote supporting it renews the law making it more difficult to raise taxes on all of us.  Your vote for Initiative Measure No. 1185 “would restate existing statutory requirements that legislative actions raising taxes must be approved by two-thirds legislative majorities or receive voter approval, and that new or increased fees require majority legislative approval.”

Just two years ago, 64% of voters approved this measure.  I stand with them to re-instate this measure for many years to come.  Don’t raise my taxes unless you come to me with a plan and full transparency (line item spending) for your department/program.  We then can make a decision if its useful or useless.

You might be interested in

Unemployment Rate A Broken System

The numbers for unemployment came out today for September and it just so happened to decrease to 7.8%.  I’m not here today to call the calculations a little suspect due to the timing of Obama’s re-election and the next debate, however, you can find a lot of people online pointing fingers and calling it bull.

I just wanted to write this up to give you a better insight into these unemployment numbers and tell you why the system is broken.  First the system is used to give you encouragement.  It’s development in nature and technical aspects are pieced together to make America look really good.  Well lets just give the system the benefit of doubt and say these numbers provided (7.8%) of Americans are unemployed.  So if these numbers are right they are saying less than 1 in 10 are unemployed.  Seriously – u believe that?  That just sounds ridiculously low.  I am confident I could claim 20% (2 out of 10) in my group of friends for sure right now.  Think about 10 people you know and see if that makes sense to you.

Second and most importantly, the system doesn’t count “discouraged workers” which they say is 802,000 people.  “Discourage workers” are defined as people not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them.  First problem here is for a big system like ours in America there is no way to track who is “Discouraged” or not discouraged.  No one calls you after you’re fired or let go to know your personal situation.  They don’t know if you’re looking handing our resumes or not.  There is no way to track (unless they are getting unemployment checks – A LOT don’t bother with that hassle) who is sending resumes or who have given up 100%.  It’s all just based on make believe info when it comes to “discouraged workers”.  If I’m out of work how do they know that I’m trying hard to find a new job or not – They can’t and I shouldn’t be labeled a “discouraged worker” (not in the unemployment calculations) because I can’t find work.

The 7.8% does not include the “discouraged workers”.  So if I’m working at McDonald’s and I’m let go, don’t file for unemployment, I’m now discouraged.  Geez that is just about everyone who loses a job whether they are filed or let go. These people are not calculated into the 7.8% figure.  If they say we only have have 802,000 “discourage workers” who just gave up that they know of – then realistically there must be millions and millions.

To fix this the system needs to add everyone into one pool except underage, state disabled, never had a job, and retirees.  That, however, will never happen.  If it did Americas unemployment rate would be around 20% or more!

That my friends is why the unemployment rates are completely false, not accurate, and completely broken.

 

You might be interested in

Photo Of The Obamacare Law. That is a lot of pages!

Obamacare Information

Starting in 2014, Obamacare is a requirement of every American citizen.  Some individuals will get Obamacare through their jobs and

Senator Maria Cantwell

Senator Maria Cantwell

I recently wrote to our Senator Maria Cantwell regarding raising the debt ceiling and the nations over spending habits.  Here is

Seattle Police Twitter Transparency

It’s official the Seattle Police Department will become more transparent.  They introduced “Tweet By Beat” and I must say it’s an amazing step in the right direction.  The program was started last week and gives the the ability to interact with the community better.  It allows the public to get a better idea of what is happening day by day.  Say there is a shooter or robber in your block – now you have a way of knowing and can lock the place up.  Right now they have 51 neighborhood twitter accounts being updated and running wild.  They even automated the process so it’s hands free for staff.

It’s to bad it took so much pressure from the public and the DOJ to make the Seattle this happen but none the less it’s an amazing step forward by the City, the Dept, and Seattle Police Chief John Diaz.

Here is a screen shot to give you an example of what it looks like: 
(or sign-up if wanted)

Now if we can only get more agencies across the nation to be more transparent like this. It would be a great way to keep everyone informed about tasks and program spending by line item.  Proceedural items could be discussed faster and loser programs would be notice faster so they could be eliminated before going broke.

I’m so proud of the Seattle Police Department for taking this step they did a fantastic job.

You might be interested in

Madonna Concert In Seattle

The icon Madonna will be in Seattle tonight (Oct 3rd) at Key Arena.  It’s a sold out concert but tickets are available if you look around on the Internet.  You better bring the cash though as ticket prices are very high.  I saw a few suite tickets for $300 each minimum.

Born Aug. 16, 1958 as Madonna Louise Ciccone she has sold more than 300 million records across the World.  She is the top selling female artist of all time.  That record even stands with the Guinness World Records. Madonna was born in Bay City, Michigan and moved to NYC for actually modern dance, however, the music thing worked out better.  Her first album was released in 1983.

Key Arena is a great venue for music.  I love the personal feel of it because it’s much smaller than Century Link for example.

 

You might be interested in

Seattle Landlords Got A New Boss

If you’re a homeowner and decide to rent your home down the road, you just got a new boss.  That new boss is the City Of Seattle.  City Council is expect to pass legislation that would require landlords to get their rentals inspected.  They will need to register with the city (pay their fees) and hire a private home inspector to go through their rentals for repairs.  The scarcity of the bill that pushing it through is the inspection of mold and safety issues.  However, we all know it’s a way for the city to build up more revenue.  Lots of money is changing hands with this bill.  You have the city fees (old and all future rentals all pay registration fees).  You have the repair fees and I assure you that private home inspectors will happen to find every little change that needs to happen (it’s in their best interest financially).  Then you have the sales tax revenue generated on those “must have” rental repairs they fill are necessary.  The City Council says it’s not about the money… it’s about the safety.  Sounds like legal corruption to me personally.

The bill is backed by the Tenants Union of Washington.  We all know anything to do with Unions is about the money so we know their agenda. On their website they claim this bill is “the closest we have ever come in over twenty years in the fight for healthy homes for all in Seattle.” I guess they think money grows on trees.  They say they fight for “healthy and safe homes”.  They forgot to add at the dime of everyone else or by any way possible.

As a rental owner, the way the program works is pretty shady. First you must register with the city.  If you don’t register you’ll pay a fine.  It’s going to be monitored through your utility bills.  You then need to pay an inspector to come out from a private company whose sole purpose is to find problems with your rental.  Maybe it’s code violations, maybe its water damage, maybe you didn’t mow the lawn, maybe your roof could leak over the winter. Who knows really.  It could be nothing but most likely thousands of dollars depending on how much the private inspector needs the money or if his car payment is late that month.  After that is done, you need to get the repairs fixed and if you’re late doing that it’s going to cost you a $150 PER DAY fine.

I have seen this game played in several businesses now and it always leads to the same conclusion.  The owner is at the mercy of the City.  They’re always holding a carrot in front of your nose just to make sure you are aware of who is the real boss here.  It’s a power trip when it comes to licenses and they are always looking over your shoulder.  Typically the people telling you how to do things are people who have no experience, never been in your field, and think they know better then you how to run your business (or rental).  That is the reality and how this game is played.  It will also be how this new program is going to work.

The sad thing about this bill, the Seattle City Council, and the government is that they think they need and must “help” everyone.  Business owners, landlords, drivers, etc just want to be left alone.  Nobody (read all the comments on the Seattle times or news tribune about this bill) likes being told what to do or how to do it better by someone who has never done it themselves.  I know the only thing I want from the Government is to be left alone.  Just quite trying to “help” me.  It’s easy to pass bills like this because most people will never be financially sound enough to have a rental, probably are broke or near it most months, feel bad, or just don’t care about about others because it doesn’t and never will effect them.  I compare it to the 1% paying for everyone else.  It’s great for elections also….Why would the majority 99% care about the rich paying a little extra to help everyone else.  Sad but true.

Regarding this new legislation. I understand there are many slumlords out there.  Compared to the masses of landlords that number is low, however (like %10).  I guess we need the 90% to be burdened and pay the city extra and support the inspectors businesses just to fix the bad 10%?  Do you think renters are stupid and won’t leave if they don’t have heat or see mold where their kids play?  Seriously! We have laws about rental and tenants already in place to handle bad landlords and these situations.  You got mold in your rental and you didn’t see it when you did the initial walk through the rental, MOVE OUT, it’s unsafe and you have that right by law already.  The heating doesn’t work? MOVE OUT you’re all ready protected by law.  Good landlords don’t need to pay all the fees and have all the worries by these new bosses who know it all.  Yet they should pay the price also?  Registration fees each year and private inspectors looking to make money for their own business are not going to come out and work for free you know.

Another item to consider is that many rentals are supported income for the elderly.  They paid off and worked hard for an extra home/rental many years ago and the failed programs like social security don’t provide enough to live on. They are no bad landlords they are just getting by with the property taxes, insurance, and higher costs of home ownership. Again, if their rentals are not safe to live in, then by law the tenant can move out.  These laws are already in place to protect people. We don’t need to be hurting the elderly financially – they’re struggling enough and worked damn hard to have an extra rental.  In addition, these homes or rentals are 50 years old – you know how much it’s going to cost them to get repairs by their new inspector bosses. Some new doors with locks will cost more than what they’ll make the whole month in rent.  This program just causes more harm than good.  It’s way worse than anything a robber could do to them an alley somewhere.

It appears many of the Seattle news agencies have reported on this.  The comments from people are ALL negative and don’t support it.  Most describe it as I do above with Government getting bigger and continuing “helping” everyone to fill their pockets because they can’t manage a city financially.  Do they really have to try to “help” with everything and everyone all the time.  It’ seems like everything is “helped” someway by the Government now.  Everyone is expecting a helping hand, living rent free in luxury apartments, health care, cell phones etc the list goes on and on.

You have to understand there are many angles not discussed here such as pushing out the old who purchased 50 years ago for the new apartment luxury condos.  They bill causes more damage to the 90% of people who worked hard and paid the price to have that rental/s only to get a new boss to come in and bankrupt them (or force them to sell) because they simply don’t have the money for all the “must repair or fined” repairs that the inspector thinks the elderly in retirement really has.

This is a horrible bill and I don’t believe it’s really been examined fully to move forward into law. We already have laws in place we don’t need to have more bosses in our lives who think they know it all and dangling the carrot over our heads.  Just back off and let people live how they want too.  Perhaps they can experience the little bit of freedom that is left in this country.

You might be interested in

Seattle Weekly Deal

We are bringing the deal to you this week and Wow this is a pretty amazing deal.  Brought to you by Graveyardmall.com.

The Deal:

You get 9 Pairs of Women’s branded sunglasses.  Individually they sell between $10 – $29 each but you’re getting 9 pairs of them.  Just in time to enjoy the last few weeks of the sunshine in Seattle.  All are UVA and UVB protected.

$149.00 $13.99 + $1.99 s/h

You can read and order the Seattle deal RIGHT HERE.

**This Seattle deal won’t last long maybe only today or just a few days.

——————————

**Do you want to be featured on the “Seattle Deal Of The Week”…. Then Contact Us. There is no cost to be featured.

 

You might be interested in

Seattle Deal Of The Week!

Everyone once in a while we have to break the rules so this week we’re listed two deals.  The first

Seattle Deal Of The Week

To provide something unique and beneficial just to our newspaper visitors, we are implementing a new program called our “Seattle

Seattle 5 Day Weather Forecast

Summer has passed us by and we are heading fast into colder mornings.  Today looks like it will be the best day of the week.  Later in the day we could hit 75!  We already have the blue skies and the sun is shinning here in Seattle.

Enjoy the week.

Top Chef Seattle Season 10

The Bravo series Top Chef Season 10 is in Seattle.  It’s scheduled to be premiered on Bravo November 7th at 7pm (10pm Eastern).  The headliner judge of the show will be Wolfgang Puck.  I must say Seattle seems like a great location for food.  We have so much available in the Pacific Northwest.  From schools, talent, creativity, seafood, etc Seattle’s food scene is truly amazing.  Very limited information has been released about the premiere so we will all have to wait and experience it together.  It would be nice to know who if any armature Seattle chefs will be on the show.

Here is a Wolfgang Puck on the Ellen Show cooking a pizza.

You might be interested in

1 … 12 13 14 15 16 … 24
Go to Top