Traveler

Thank you for your input. I keep a journal, and I have many handwritten items – but they are not public – there is a good chance they never will be. I doubt anyone could understand them anyway. When I was working for a corporation, there was a secretary assigned to me to scrub my memos, manuscripts and tech descriptions. I prefer talking to people over any other form of communication. Tech today makes this even more reliable and consistent than the written word. A long time ago when I was a student, I had an argument with a English teacher over the written word and verbal communication. I bet her my grade that I could speak a simple sentence following all the laws of the English language that she could not write. It was the only A I ever got in an English class. There is one advantage in the written word (text) – especially the electronic written word. This advantage shows up quite profoundly on this forum. I can transfer my thoughts to text concerning a matter. I can then review that text and change it where I realize I have not communicated very well. I can also seek powers beyond my own (prayer) to assist me as to what is included in the text. Like our general authorities – I prepare a text for when I am assigned to speak at church. I will deviate if prompted to do so in the speaking moment. I doubt I can solve any of your concerns about how things are going in these last days – but if I could have any input – I would say to try not to be too concerned about things that will not matter 10,000 years from now and find as much enjoyment as you can in each moment you have. I am impressed that you are willing to communicate as best you can with your friends. The Traveler

I would submit that the entire difference is in your making of it so. For a dyslexic person like myself, I would not be able to communicate without the wonder of spellcheck and some grammar assistance. You and I could be very good and trusted friends but never pen pals in this mortal existence. The Traveler

It is my opinion that one of the few and primary reasons for government is to use the force and power of law to teach, incentivize and propagate morals that sustain beneficial, peaceful, just and cohesive relationships between individuals that are otherwise selfishly diverse. I would also argue that for any society to guarantee survival beyond a single generation; that heterosexual family relationships must be incentivized and promoted. I believe that it is as important to promote what is called traditional families as it is to discourage murder. The Traveler

There is a profound scripture that addresses diversity given in the Book of Mormon. It is provided by Moroni in the last book the last chapter (Moroni 10). It is his final words spoken from the dust of a divinely guided civilization gone corrupt. Many LDS concentrate just on the first part of that chapter. It is my opinion that the bulk of that chapter is even more important. Not so much for the literal content as for the spiritual insight into the oneness (ehad) of G-d and why the term and title of G-d denotes both a plural or diverse that is singular in purpose denoting why the divine and divine works are many, diverse and yet critically focused. The Traveler

There is a story about a cowboy that after weeks riding the range and herding cattle – took a vacation to the big city and walked into a bar. The locals began to laugh at his funny looking pants. The cowboy looked at his audience and smiled – “These are not pants but what we call chaps. They protect our pants from being ripped by brush and our legs from being scratched while we are out riding the range herding cattle. The locals then asked about his funny hat that was unlike their baseball caps worn backwards. Again, the cowboy smiled – “This is a cowboy hat that keeps the sun out of our eyes and off our faces and nick, so we don’t get sunburned while we are out all day riding the range herding cattle. Then one local noticed his tennis shoes and asked why would a cowboy wear tennis shoes? The cowboy looked at the local sternly and said – “We wear tennis shoes so you can tell that we are not truck drivers. The Traveler

We live in changing times. But many changes are not benefiting our country very much. Now that Trump has taken office what are the expectations? First off – I did not expect Trump to win – especially the popular vote. I did not expect that even in deep blue regions that he would make headway with the public. I am concerned that either our hope or our fear clouds our expectations. Here are some of my thoughts – what are yours? First expectation: The calm before the storm. I am somewhat dumbfounded that so many in the media and political landscape that accused Trump of worse than Hitler type of desire to destroy our freedoms and liberties are going to slither off softly into the night. Some may have a come to Jesus moment but I suspect that the worse of what is coming will be more like an ambush. Kind of a guerrilla warfare deflection kind of thing with lots of plausible deniability. Second expectation: Bureaucratic rebellion. The largest concentration of federal bureaucrats are in Washington DC, and they voted in numbers over 90% against Trump. This troubles me. Our government bureaucracy is way too politically minded, one sided and connected. Nothing can be implemented in government without bureaucrats. I speculate that a government shutdown is both possible and likely from within rebellion of bureaucrats. I would compare our bureaucrats to vampires addicted to sucking the nation’s life blood. They are hidden in the dark, powerful and intrenched. Third expectation: Diversity. I am not sure that there is enough common ground to overcome the diversity that is crescendo ling. The more we concentrate on our diversity the less we realize our common ground and what we can and should accomplish together. I am concerned that the hatred of Trump and those the vote or support him is greater than the love of country and hope to work together for possible common interest. When much of the nation thinks that best people are sad and worse people are happy with the election – Something has to give. In geological terms we call such a giving a tectonic shift. Tectonic shifts tend to cause a lot of damage. The Traveler

It has been a very long time since I was in the military. My comments will reflect my assessment and experience in the military. In our military it was rare that anyone had morals to exceed a range bull. The most common ailments in the military were std’s. Many think women are physically unfit for combat – my view is that the rigors of combat tend to focus many men on women in such a way that I believe women spending much time on the front lines would likely render most women unable to be married. I do not know how better to say it. Historically after a war time battle, women were not treated very well – regardless of which side they supported. I think women can be in combat – just not in the same squads, patrols or companies as the men in combat. I think they could be in special units with unique rolls – but it would kind of be like the NFL – a lady perhaps could be a kicker but not a physical match for men in physical combat. This assumes the men in such special units are at the top 10% or better, of the men in regular combat. In short, I think women can be in combat rolls as long as the women combat rolls are not the same as the men combat rolls. I would also say something about who is qualified to be the Secretary of the military. I believe that such an individual should be a former military individual but not a person involved previously from the industrial side of the military industrial complex. I think it is okay for a person from the military to work for the industrial side of things after they leave the military – but I do not want anyone that has made money selling bullets to the military taking on a position of influence over the military. It has been a while since we have not had someone from the industrial side of things that I think some in politicians may think the Secretary of the Military may not be qualified unless they are tied to and have stake in profiting from war from the industrial side of things. I think the opposite. As a side note - because I worked for the DOD I should never be considered for the Secretary of the Military. There is an obvious conflict of interest. The Traveler

I have never liked handguns (pistols). I prefer rifles. My favorite is the .270 Winchester for its flat trajectory. If I were to select something for protection it would be a 12-guage shotgun with a detachable box magazine for faster reloading. The Traveler

Whenever a light is turned on all the cockroaches will scurry into the shadows to hide. The Traveler

Recently I was talking to a friend about the election. His wife, a licensed therapist, stopped our discussion and said that she does not allow political discussions in her home – because such discussions cause disharmony and arguments. As a side note – she is not a liberal – I would classify her as somewhat nonpolitical but most of her family, including her husband, are big time Rush Limbaugh conservative. Being the kind of person I am (curious – among other things) I asked for her personal opinion. If two people have different opinions, concerns and issues it is your professional opinion that they avoid any real or serious communications? I did not get an answer. I do not think she likes me very much, but I was thanked by her husband. As much as we may claim or give homage to freedom of speech – I think that we all have a limit to speech we are willing to tolerate in our presents. I have voiced on several occasions that I am willing to listen to anyone’s opinions (and jokes) as long as vulgar language and references are not used. There are some limits to free speech – a good discussion limits certain things or should I say has guiding principles that should not be violated. I am convinced that when someone crosses the threshold of anger, they are no longer capable of adding anything of value to whatever the conversation is. The Traveler

Do you have a scriptural reference for this? I can resist anything but temptation. The Traveler

This assumes that life is like a river that flows consistently towards the ocean. The problem is that there are constant changes in the ebbs and flows of life. I am aware that there are many individuals that indulge in various substances (including coffee of various energy drinks) and other seeming “harmless” drugs. Then comes a time of increased difficulty or trial where life goes off the rails when something beyond “normal” is needed and something is obviously overused. It could be anything from sugar to something vaped or even the release of something natural like anger or sorrow. Dependency is relative and excuses are easy. I bring this up because many think that expectations in the Church are too “judgmental” in keeping the commandments. Wars are seldom won with one battle. One battle may turn the tides but there are two principles of righteousness (defining righteousness as loyalty to G-d and covenants). First is faith in Jesus Christ and the second is repentance. Sometimes (for me it is daily) our faith manifest itself in something other than Christ and we need to reevaluate ourselves and repent. I will be honest my friend @Phoenix_person – I do not know how atheists or agnostics navigate life and what they are working to accomplish – especially when our live experience is obviously coming to an end. Sometimes it may not be our life but the life of someone we hold dear. The Traveler

This seems to me to be a spectrum, and you have chosen two elements that are far apart - the difference is easy to differentiate. The problem is where is the line in the spectrum that definitely separates the two concepts. The Traveler

When I was working with the DOD it became apparent to me that until something is classified Top Secret or higher – it really does not mean anything of much importance. I determined that I did not want to be involved in anything above Top Secret. I eventually determined that I did not want to work with the government bureaucracy. Thank you for stomaching whatever it is you are doing – sorry but I do not envy at all your predicament. The Traveler

There is a slight difference between an addict and user - even in their ability to cooperate. I did not want to get into all the nuances because I am not an expert, nor do I believe there is enough expertise on this forum. My point is that there is very little trust that can be applied to those involved which requires that such must be completely isolated both from trust or contributing to the problem. Not exactly true - it is true that there are elements within our government that are working outside of the protocol of law. I will provide two such displays of such elements. The first involves the coverup and lack of transparency of the current Whitehouse administration to a drug stash that was discovered there. The second also involves the current democratic party (and many of the rank-and-file hard core party members and citizens) and their refusal to support and enforce the current border and immigration laws – which primarily benefits the drug cartels (human traffickers). Both regarding what comes into our country and what is exported illegally. Obviously, the cost for such criminal behavior is considered negligible, including monetarily, politically (power) and socially (bendably) compared to the realized rewards. There are two kinds of politicians (both parties) that I see. One type, that I support, are sort of like Trump, Ragan and Eisenhower (strange that they all were republicans – do you know of any such democratic presidents? maybe Carter). They will run for one particular office for a limited time, but it is obvious that elected political office is not their occupation of choice. The others are lifelong professional party politicians. I do not trust any lifelong politicians – it appears you do not so much either. The proof of necessary militarization is China that tried to end the intrusion of drugs for 200 years. It was not until the militarization of Communism that they succeeded. Obviously, the militarization of government for even a single issue is scary. It is interesting that you picked the return of the Messiah as the only workable option because that seems to be inconsistent with the persona you display. This causes me to wonder if there are elements of your character you hide even from yourself. It seem obvious to me that we know how to win a war but that we have (since Korea) failed (with many things) in ignoring our constitution, especially in how we engage in war activities. Even our HIPPA law concerning drug use by criminals is too political to allow transparency to understand how drugs are affecting our society (mass shootings for example). It also seems obvious to me that both with the so-called war on drugs and the Great Society – that political power is more relevant than protecting our citizens. There needs to be a significant change It is my personal belief that our discussions on this topic ought to be proof enough of secret societies in control of our government. And this is another brick in the structure that demonstrates Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of G-d. We may agree on a lot more than I have anticipated. The Traveler

One of the things I worry about concerning the democrats in general is that they had no objection in supporting candidates that they had no part in selecting democratically. That they are so tied to blindly following their party elites or blind hatred of the other party that despite all the accomplishments of Trump (like the Abraham Accords) they could not see that their party choice was worse (like bringing the country to the precipice of nuclear war.) Trump has his faults but most of the country realized he was better than the democrat party offering. The Traveler

Exactly, this is why the entire cartel organization and those that sympathize, help and support them must be dealt with as enemy combatants of war. There is too much profit in the enterprise such that if it is not dealt with completely (similar to the gadianton robbers in the Book of Mormon) they will wage war themselves. We learn from scripture that such organizations thrive where money and power are valued more than human life. Treating cartel members and supporters as war time enemy combatants is the only way to deal with them. Nothing else has shown to be effective. The Traveler

You have taken my words out of context – you left out the context that it is only those drug addicts that refuse to cooperate. These are those that rather than helping are the means and solders through which the enemy engages in a proxy war. And in a time of war, such are traders. Addicts that will not cooperate cannot and will not be healed by force. I think you will find that Jesus (as well as His Father) do not tolerate traders in open rebellion. History has proven that until we are willing to deal decisively with traders, we will fail in our efforts to deal with drugs. You are also missing an important point here as well. The collateral damage you reference is the collateral damage of the drug cartels and those that align with cartels. I am very concerned that you intend to blame that collateral damage on the victims. There is a term for what you have done here, and it is called gaslighting. If we are ever able to deal with the drug problem - we must be willing to hold those responsible for the damage of their crimes. The Traveler

History does tell us (teaches us) things – some things history teaches and tells us is not what we wish to discover. I will first give some history to create the background. It all started in the late 13th century when Marco Polo spend a little over a decade and a half living in the emperor’s court in China. Suddenly the powers of Europe wanted to open up trade with China. And trade they did. But there was a problem; China did not want anything that Europe had to trade – with the exceptions of gold and silver. Over the next two centuries the wealth of Europe’s gold and silver was drained significantly. That is until the Americas was discovered with gold and silver aplenty to plunder. There is a lot of criticism of Europe’s plunder of the Americas – so I will skip that. All we need to know at this point is that the plunder was necessary for Europe to survive intact. By the 18th century (1700’s) China was once again depleting Europe’s gold and silver reserves. To survive Europe came up with a plan that involved creating a drug cartel to introduce heroin (opium) to China to retrieve the gold and silver lost to China. A 20-family coalition was organized under the political protection of Europe. By the 19th century one of the families developed a strong tie into the newly formed United States of America. Everything was working as planned except China was suffering unbelievable drug addictions leading to political, economic and social destruction of China. This became know in China as the opium wars and the 100 years of shame. China attempted every possible means to stop the drug trade and finely attacked the drug cartel and their island operation that was refining and importing the drugs. Europe and the USA responded with full military might and defeated China’s military that was lost in age old military traditions. As punishment for China’s rebellion against the drug cartel, Hong Kong and the Island of Tiawan was taken from China. Within a few years the Quin dynasty collapsed, and the former China superpower fell into chaos. It was not until the rise of Communism in China that the drug problem was solved and remains solved to this day. It is my personal opinion that the draconian methods of dealing with the drug trade is why China has become such a dominate force in current world politics and why so much support is maintained for that government by its people despite the strong authoritarian methods. No one even comes close to what China will level as punishment for dealing or using drugs. The other side of that coin is that China has effectively no street crime and virtually no random violent crimes. Dealing drugs in China is defined by how much drugs are in your possession or if you provide drugs to someone else, and you can be put to death for dealing in drugs. Using drugs results in years of drug free incarceration. In addition, family members will not be able to hold responsible well-paying jobs, and this family connection reaches parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It is impossible to get a lawyer willing to defend you. If you are accused your best defense is to admit guilt and through yourself to the mercy of the government – and everybody knows it. Two things. One is that you will not get fair treatment and two, no one is going to help or support you. Any support – even visiting you in jail will be very bad for them. China was destroyed by drugs – I do not think it bothers China one bit to contribute to our current drug problem. Obviously, all our current methods have not worked and do not work. I think there are only 3 real options left. First, we can continue any, some or all the current policies that do not work until we are destroyed as a country. Second, we can wait for the second coming of the Messiah that will likely solve the problem by destroying all the drug users that will not or cannot quit and dealers (including the entire cartel organizations.) Three, we can declare an actual war on drugs – executing (by the authority of military courts – not civilian courts) drug dealers as traders (including drug users and sympathizers that refuse to cooperate) with our country’s efforts and targeting, with our military any foreign facilities used by the cartels until all members of the cartels (foreign and domestic) surrender and end their evasive and hostile operations. One note concerning option 3 is that there will likely be innocent collateral damage, as there always has been with war. The Traveler

The aluminum and steel manufacturing has been demolished in the USA just in my lifetime. We export raw materials to import aluminum and steel products. Science has improved a great deal in manufacturing, but this country is overregulated. For example, we have not allowed a single new petroleum refinery in the USA in over 5 decades. Really? You think that Harris's work ethic, morals and intelligence surpasses Trump’s? I will grant you that Trump has a problem with morals even though it is yet to be proven in a court of law despite what was ruled in New York. I would like to see any real estate appraisal use by any banking interest based exclusively on previous tax appraisals. For the forum’s information – last year I sold a real estate company – and yes I paid a fortune in cap gains. The Traveler

I have done extensive work over my lifetime in the silicon fabrication industry, auto industry, paper industry, electronics, medals industry, appliance industry, farm equipment manufacturing, heavy equipment manufacturing, aircraft manufacturing and food processing industry. With few exceptions (like the Sagana steering gear manufacturing facility for the auto industry) most parts are manufactured in foreign countries with assembly in the USA to circumvent tariffs. I also am aware that 40 to 50 years ago the top engineers in foreign industrial countries were educated in US colleges. Currently only the bottom engineers in the same foreign industrial countries are educated in US collages. What is even more sad is that those bottom foreign students from foreign industrial countries are outperforming the top students in the USA – especially those from Asia. I am aware that China has difficulty with modern manufacturing tolerances that degrade the longevity of their products – but they are improving. I am confident that if current trends continue that within a decade China’s products will outperform comparable US products. The Traveler

I would submit that a tariff does no more to a county’s economy (causes increases in costs of goods) than an equivalent local corporate tax. Why then, would @Phoenix_person support increasing the highest corporate tax in the first and second world country economies but then is opposed to targeted tariffs that are hardly half the local corporate tax? The Traveler

It is interesting to note your posts and opinions. I do not want to give the impression that I am picking on you as much as picking your brain. If you do not want to engage in conversation to give detail explanations for your opinions – it is okay with me. I consider myself an expert in supply chain operations from my background in industrial automation and robotics. I have had serious encounters with trade unions in manufacturing because of my expertise in robotics. It is important to listen and understand points of view in supply side operations. I also recently returned from a visit to China. China has a collective view to trade that is very different than the collective view here in the USA. For example, the average work day in China is a 12 hour day and 6 day work week. That amounts to a 72 hour work week compared to our 40 hour work week. In addition their annual pay is about 1/3 there compared to our annual pay here for comparable skills. So what is happening? Obviously, exactly what you would think. Just about every major manufacturing company in the USA has moved manufacturing to China. The workers are skilled, they work longer hours and get paid less. Initially this was a great idea because we could save money for manufactured goods. This is good for the economy – RIGHT? It sure is in the short term. But there is a trend. There is a great deal of engineering research and development (design) that goes into manufacturing. Logistically this engineering works best if located close to manufacturing for logical feedback to engineering and upgrading manufacturing with engineered methods. So, the engineering eventually gets moved to Chian as well. Soon it is realized that management works best at location. Nothing is left of the process outside of the investment. This is why the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer and the middle class is shrinking in the USA. There is something else that happens. Money earned and spent locally circulates and multiplies. All this is simple economics 101 that even an engineer like myself can easily understand. Having our manufacturing done remotely will, in the long term, destroy our economy and not just put our manufacturing workers out of work – but our engineers and managers as well. The USA had an abundance of natural resources. If we utilize the natural resources at our disposal, build manufacturing; then the engineering and management will naturally follow. But we also need to incentivize a work force (make living on government dole unpopular), maintain a competitive manufacturing environment and keep government from creating unnecessary economic and social burdens in the workplace. I will be honest – I do not like Trump’s narcissism and certain morals. But it has been decades without anyone in politics with the intent and intelligence to push strong economic principles in our political landscape. Not only do we need to drastically alter the parameters of our elected officials but we also need to radically change the mindset of our bureaucracy. Even though Trump has a “your fired” mentality – I do not think even that is enough to stem the tide of corruption and greed so deeply entrenched in our government and corporate structure. We will how much our work ethic, morals and intelligence can overcome our current greed and personal lusts for in the moment induvial passions can take place – so we can value that which stabilizes society – like sustainable family values. The Traveler

I read and enjoy your posts. If I ever get to Australia again – I ought to look you up. I greatly appreciate your point of view. For myself, I view everything through the lens of logic. Even faith, I see as an exercise of logic. For example, I find the teaching of Christ to be pure logic. Having faith in Christ is the most logical approach to meaning of the universe’s existence I have encountered. You are correct, I believe we learn a lot about methods from the outcome. What is the outcome of G-d’s Plan of Salvation? I believe it is the power for each individual to determine their own eternal destiny. In our restored scripture this is known as “Agency”. Thus, agency is not just a choice, but it is the power to make our choice our reality. I see the atonement (kippur) as the most integral part of the Plan of Salvation. The common denominators or our mortal existence is: To experience an physical body, experience death (of both kinds), experience a redemption from our corruption because of the fall and the resurrection. I see the atonement as the means to make all this possible. This process gives us the knowledge of the difference between good and evil – death being the outcome of evil and redemption and resurrection being the outcome of good. With the knowledge of good and evil and having agency we are able to stand before G-d – being gifted the atonement by Christ make our chosen destiny the reality of our eternity. One other thought – I personally find the notion of submitting to G-d’s will somewhat ambiguous. How can we submit ourselves to G-d’s will without knowing for sure what G-d’s will is? I was taught by my father that there are two elements of success. The first is to learn discipline. The second is to learn to love discipline more than the success that discipline brings. The Traveler

Some of my thoughts about abortion. As far as we know scientifically there is no other intelligent life in this universe like human life is here on earth. For sure intelligent life as we know it is the rarest possibility of anything in this universe. Life, especially intelligent life in more important than what any one individual wants to do with their body. If an intelligent female does not want to get pregnant and have a baby – I believe that there is sufficient science (excluding abortions) for a reasonably thinking female to do so. She can engage in activities to her pleasure and science has provided the means for her to prevent pregnancy. It is my understanding that the science of preventing pregnancies is both safer and less expensive than abortions. I do not understand why prevention is not more recognized and pushed by the hard-core feminists. It is obvious to me that prevention preserves the rights and well being of women better than abortions. I would say something about those that have been involved in abortions and some of those in opposition to abortions. Aborting the unborn is not murder and does not require the rigors of repentance that murder does. Those that have been involved can repent and be forgiven without the controls that govern murders. Abortion is a sin but not near the indication of evil that many would impose against it. Obviously, abortion is worse (at least in my mind) than a priesthood holder not wearing a white shirt to Sabbath worship, never-the-less the Saints of G-d are required to forgive those that participate in abortion – especially if they are making efforts to repent. The Traveler