Evolution and balanced businesses

i'm typing this in AbiWord on a Mac. Think about that for a moment and why i do this. i personally don't want to support any business/government that is exploitative, monopolizing, materialistic, commercial (in the sense of ego-aggrandizing advertisement), or unbalanced. If we look at the American government as a business, we see it's all five. True, only the American government with its resources and occasional bent toward the individual/consumer, could create/support such a vast, complex, and wonderful thing as the internet (Americans did not invent the internet but they by far - are its strongest supporter). So thank you America for supporting the internet (even essentially evil institutions can do good;) .. A long time ago (in my lifetime) as i had mentioned previously, i attended a Mennonite fellowship at Michigan State. We met in the basement of the university chapel. (That was the extent of our 'clout' but it was comfortable for us.) So even though the university could not officially support Christians, they allowed us use of facilities to a minimal degree. Some of us refused to buy postage stamps at that time because it was rumored that money went directly to US military budget (i don't doubt this but if every time you use a postage stamp, are you really supporting the US military? Ask the Mennonites and US government). How did they send mail? At that time, there was no internet so they had to use other services (such as UPS etc) .. So it should be no wonder whatsoever why i use AbiWord on a Mac: i refuse to support Microsoft's monopoly. Even though my version of AbiWord continually crashed on my Windows netbook, i still refused to bend: there's always a way. You can use Linux or Mac and there's plenty of FREE stuff available for download: last night i downloaded FileZilla (an FTP program) and Gimp (an image manipulation program). And the creators are not in the business of 'getting richer' (like Microsoft and Bill Gates); they're essentially good 'underdogs' who provide quality things on principle. You're free to donate to the efforts but it's not required. If i had steady employment, i would support all three (AbiWord, FileZilla, and Gimp). i played around with Gimp last night and it's quite wonderful for a free program .. All this discussion of good underdogs (not like Satan - he's an 'underdog' but evil to the core), free alternative programs and operating systems, and unbalanced businesses does not really identify (like i have before) the positive qualities we're looking for. What is a balanced business? As i've discussed previously, the economic model of the co-op is viable, feasible, doable, practical, sustainable, and should be encouraged as frequently as possible. When you have a choice to buy a product/service, don't just support the underdog, do research on the competing companies to see what kind of value structure they support (every company has a value structure - even if it's unpublished). i'm not talking about being so neurotic to obsess about every little thing like toothpaste (though the quality of that's important). i'm talking about major financial decisions: house construction, car/truck, computer, and which school your children attend. If we continually support (even indirectly by complacency) monopolies like Microsoft, we will Always be at their mercy. They can choose any pricing structure they want, they can choose which portions are accessible (currently, Windows is quite secret), and they define the maintenance/novelty schedule (when new versions come out; how long they'll support certain versions like Windows 98 - an exceptionally stable version (that didn't crap out every other minute)). It's rumored Windows was actually based on Mac-windows and Explorer on Netscape so when we use Windows, we not only support a demonic-monopoly, we support concept theft. i know no one can own a patent on the 'windows' paradigm (in computing), but you'd be surprised what Microsoft tries to protect as proprietary .. So next time you think about buying a computer, think about Linux or Mac please .. Okay, enough about computing .. One of my recent essays was about Iam University (only later did i find out there's already an online university by that name but who cares - they can't own the name of God). Besides, i don't believe they're a co-op. 'My' Iam University (if we can ever get it together) will have the economic structure of a co-op (please read the founding statement if you're curious). So even if we 'never get it together' (get support and donations), the charter is important because it shows you What's Possible. If a university can be a co-op (i have no doubts whatsoever that a university properly administered can), what else can be? The answer's obviously: Everything! The co-op principle can be used in food (i've seen this in action on three continents), education, creative endeavors such as writing, and really only limited by your imagination. Another way to describe a co-op is 'worker owned'. It's common knowledge that if more factories were worker owned, they'd have a tendency to shut down less often. Of course, modernization and product line must always be continually re-evaluated for relevancy to market demands, but this is an administration issue. Co-ops, properly run, can be viable competitive organizations. Look at the financial version of the co-op: credit unions - who can say they don't like credit unions? Generally speaking, they're more objective about consumer loans, more consumer friendly, and consumer owned! What better example of a co-op is there? So everywhere we look, we can find successful examples of co-ops. When they Fail, it's always out of human greed (such as when the US government bailed out the savings-and-loans because of bad investment strategies). So it's not a failure of the business model, it's basically a failure of human character. We chose 'bad' administrators or did not have investment strategies sustainably defined. And in the end, the consumer paid for bad decisions: our tax monies basically lined the pockets of clever investors (the ones who bet against the savings-and-loan investors). We f___ed ourselves on that one majorly.

If you got bored above, your attention should perk up at my discussion of evolution. i've neglected this topic for far too long. Bobbie, my 2010 census employee and fundamentalist Christian good friend, insists Earth was created around 7000 years ago. So was the rest of creation (including the cosmos). They had successfully 'brainwashed' their intelligent teen son to believe similarly. They're convinced Adam and Eve had perfect DNA and it's getting degraded by cosmic radiation and toxic chemicals. Actually, what they don't know is DNA has some self-repair mechanisms for low level radiation. They also ignore the fact light from Andromeda galaxy is over one million years old. Why would God create such an absurd universe? (If indeed everything is only 7000 years old.) Bobbie, her pastor husband, and their brilliant son are unfortunately deluded by Christian dogma. Some Christian groups rabidly adhere to the 7000 year creation concept much like Standard Model adherents do. They're the same ones who insist we're on the verge of Biblical Apocalypse and we must prepare for immanent doom. Soon people will start disappearing and there will be a great worldwide tribulation and so on.. i'm sorry to say Bobbie (and friends), this is not only Insane, it's Satanically inspired. Only Satan would wish us into self-destruction as she envisions. No God (that i know) would wish that on humanity. So you should not wonder at my take on evolution .. Since i believe in God and that She basically engineered our universe, my view of evolution is as a guided process. Evolution, by itself (as i previously stated), has no agenda - only adaptation to selective pressures. To evolve a proto-eye (for instance) requires conscious design, so does a nervous system and brain; there's no random force in the universe that would create an eye, spine, and brain from random chemicals and no DNA. Just as the dinosaurs were wiped out (likely by a huge meteor) and all that's left are basically birds (among them delicious chickens - just think about that .. and note how Stupid chickens are! i've observed them here in the village quite frequently). Birds are Lucky they can fly (that's truly a gift from God). It's probably a 'compensatory' gift (making up for the decimation of dinosaurs). You see, God is NOT cruel - She even has compassion for dinosaurs .. So you can see none of this discussion is 'spewing out of my asshole' (forgive the coarseness); many of my 'friends' have attacked me over the years but aas any one of my consistent readers knows, if anything, i'm consistent.

i'm sure my 'friends' think of me as "the cool insane guy" who's so consistent and logical in his way of thinking - it's Extremely difficult to find any hole in my logic. You wanna know why? What do i keep saying? It's not my logic - it's God's .. If physicists (and my American family) could just get off their damn high horses for just one second, they'd realize everything i say in these essays has some value. Everything. These present a balanced holistic way of looking at things. And what is that but a God-like perspective. It's something i've prayed for my entire life (it's not something that happens overnight) .. My relationship with NowPublic and Scribd has been 'mutually exploitative' and must end soon .. i realize it takes advertising dollars to support both and both are required by me to 'get the word out' but .. In essence, both companies are 'making money' from God's inspirations. That's not right. i'm forced to 'put an end to it' soon. i've made a conscious-conscientious decision to stop publishing on these two domains. i'm not happy about it but i'm not happy about the fact we're still using money .. As we spend the next 100 years (in my estimation) transitioning from a money based economy (one truly based on exploitation and greed) to one based on Meaning, i must be patient (with my son, American family, and humanity) with their reluctance to embrace Trust and Respect. But i have faith we Will. i have Faith We will.