whiskers_w

Thanks. Stay tuned.

Don't Be Fooled by The Inflation Strategy We are taught from early on that more is better. The more we have of anything, the better off we are. More may, in fact, be better, but we have to be careful how we define more. Sometimes more is actually less. Take the case of gold. Today, it is at or near a "record high" in terms of its value against the dollar. People are scurrying to "invest" in gold with the hope and anticipation that it will go up even higher. At first this seems like good investment strategy, because gold is certain to become more expensive over the long and short haul. This is because, since President Richard M. Nixon released the dollar from its marriage to gold, the bottom has fallen out. Since that fateful day in 1971, we have seen the dollar lose 96.2% of its buying power. What was a dollar in 1971 is now 3.8 cents, when compared to gold. Many economists are trying to justify or rationalize this by indexing supply the supplies of dollars and gold to explain the situation in some sort of technical terms that are neither here nor there. The truth is that gold is complete in and of itself. Nothing can be added to or subtracted from an ounce of gold. Either it is or it isn't. That holds true for both the ounce and the gold. If it IS an ounce of gold, that ounce has been the same since time immemorial. As such, gold can neither increase nor decrease in value, in and of itself. Even its relative rarity or scarcity cannot really affect its intrinsic value. Therefore, when it was fixed to the dollar at the rate of first $20.67 in 1933, and subsequently at $35.00 per ounce, that relationship became a standard, like an inch or a pound. It should never have been adjusted in value according to supply or any other factor. Why? Because an ounce of gold placed in a vault on October 17, 1934 is exactly the same ounce of gold we would find if we decided to open the vault today. Nothing could have been added to or subtracted from it. The problem is that Americans have been taught to want more, as a way of life. This is not a bad thing, but the way we actually wind up with more may be less than good. First, let's recognize one simple truth. We don't need a whole lot of technical jargon and theory to explain it away, either. It is what it is, and what it is is simple: WHENEVER SOMETHING INCREASES IN VALUE WITH NO VALUE BEING ADDED TO IT, THE ENTIRE INCREASE IN VALUE IS INFLATION. Read it again so you can help get yourself out of denial. Any other explanation is hogwash. Inflation, and inflation alone is responsible for the increases in the price of gold, and if it goes "higher" it will only mean more inflation. Period. The same goes for your house, which is where this story was headed in the first place. Remember: WHENEVER SOMETHING INCREASES IN VALUE WITH NO VALUE BEING ADDED TO IT, THE ENTIRE INCREASE IN VALUE IS INFLATION. Now lets look at the housing market, and specifically at home prices. How on earth could a house in Englewood, NJ, purchased in 1955 for $11,500 be "worth" $375,000 in 2006? The house is virtually the same except it has been maintained fairly well during the 51 years of its existence. Nothing added. Just maintained. Same number of 2x4s, shingles, windows, doors, electrical outlets, and everything else. WINDOW air conditioners. Everything the same. Why the increase, then? Don't lie to yourself or anyone else... You already know why. INFLATION. That house is a testimonial to a failed conservative policy -one of many such failed policies that threaten the very fiber of the existence of the United States of America. The result of this policy has been the demise of the dollar. Since 1933, when the dollar bought an ounce of gold for t $20.67, 99% of the value has slipped from the dollar. And, even worse than that, conservatives have secretly relied upon The Inflation Strategy to create fictitious wealth in this country. In the process, they have converted the almighty dollar to mere monopoly money status. What is The Inflation Strategy, and why was it adopted? The purpose of The Inflation Strategy was to create fictitious wealth. The purpose of creating false wealth was to maintain the status quo after the passage of Brown -vs- Board of Education. "All deliberate speed" had moved just slowly enough up until Dr. Martin Luther King and his contemporaries began to demand equality more forcefully during the mid -to late 1960's. Lyndon Johnson had signed several bills into law, granting more and greater access to America for blacks than conservatives were willing to concede. After Johnson, Nixon came into office representing himself in part as a Goldwater Republican, one who patterned himself after Barry Goldwater, the father of modern conservatism. Goldwater was dead set against integration, with the proof being that his state (Arizona) was the last to adopt Dr. King's birthday as a holiday. News articles from the era will dispel any attempts to revise Mr. Goldwater into something other than what he was... But the issue of integration was seen as a threat to the stability of the country by many arch conservatives in that era. After the debacle in the South, which exposed the racist underbelly of this nation in a most disturbing way, new strategies had to be invented to uphold the racist status quo. Hurling the word "*BLEEP*" around, lynchings, and violent police confrontations would not go over big throughout the United States of the 1960s and '70s. The country did not have the stomach for such blatantly unjust and ugly events playing out on the news every night. So racism began to morph itself into classism. Two things happened, and inflation lent itself to the resulting situation almost perfectly. The first of these was Johnson's signing of equal housing legislation. This stroke of the pen gave blacks the right to better housing as a matter of law. This legislation was designed to bring about, or help bring about change in the housing stock in urban America, and it became the most effective tool for white flight we could have ever imagined. Metropolitan areas went from tall to sprawl almost overnight. The next thing that happened was affirmative action. Although passed into law in 1964 and reaffirmed in 1968, the real thrust of this program didn't begin to build any real momentum until the early 1970s. The timing couldn't have been better. The first wave of suburbs, built just after World War II, were beginning to show signs of age. The Inflation Strategy was born out of the need to keep building new homes as a means of maintaining a strong peacetime economy, as the public outcry to end the war in Vietnam reached a fever pitch. Equal housing laws helped make the case for The Inflation Strategy, and the mercurial rise of credit money in our society. Here's what happened: The idea of Polly going the the same school as Jayquan was repulisve to many whites. Openly citing race as a reason for resisting integration had become impossible to justify. A new barrier had to be created to replace race. The barrier had to appear to be race-neutral. At the same time the barrier had to effectively exclude blacks from certain communities, and thus the ommunities' schools. The Inflation Strategy was born. Blacks moved into aging suburbs, creating media attention, and stoking fear among whites who occupied those suburbs, originally. Whites began to realize they could "profit" from sales to blacks, who traditionally pay more for less than whites do. Inflation had created a 2-3x premium in the value of suburban homes, and were encouraged to use the proceeds to move into newer more elaborate and luxurious suburbs. Continued inflation made the new mortgages easier to repay, as they called for constant dollar amounts from month to month. Continued inflation has brought us here, where we are today. A day when $35.00 gets away with masquerading itself as $910.50! Mo layta.

Let me join the bandwagon. The fixes in this post have saved me from throwing my computer out of the window. Not only did it stabilize and reduce Firefox's use of memory on my computer, but it appears to have gotten rid of the main problem i have been having for several months. At least, I think it has. Thanks for that scoop. It has really been a life saver for my computer. I would like, however to get some feedback on the most persistent problem I have been having with this machine, in case the solutions presented here do NOT really impact it. The problem is so bad it appears to be spreading virally between computers, and therefore is an area of extreme concern. Here's what happens at least 10 times per day: The computer stops responding The hourglass replaces the arrow cursor The screen goes white The hard disk light comes on I can hear the hard disk doing something like its scanning or seeking The windows piano sound (for failure or something incomplete) chimes in An Unresponsive Script Error message pops up. Once the script stops the page contents become visible again That whole process takes about 6 minutes and usually ends with a change in my Gmail to a "newer version" Once all that ends, the computer functions normally until i either type something or open another window. Then the proccess repeats itself. It happens whether I am online or offline. Whether I am running internet explorer, firefox, or netscape, microsoft word 2007, excel, or any other office product, adobe illustrator, acrobar, or photoshop.... First, my wife's laptop was doing it. Hers is a vista machine with a P4 HT 3.0 2GB, with 100GB HD. I thought it was a flaw in Vista, but after about 2 months, whatever was wrong with hers started to affect mine. We are connected to a wireless network in the house with internet service provided by Comcast Cable. We have Comcast phone service on the network, as well as Vonage (4 lines). We use a double firewall on top of the built-in firewall in the Comcast modem. The worst thing is now, one of my business associates is having the same problem, as of Friday past (January 11th), and im worried that it could have been spread via gmail. Can somebody please tell me what this is and how to get it to stop.

There is a SERIOUS water crisis in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. These 3 states are on the verge of going to war over water in the next 2-3 years, if drought conditions continue to get worse. One answer, of course is to quit sh---ing in water. We need to find a waterless toilet system that zaps our wastes dry and disposes of it in the land some kind of way. This would help create more arable land, and do away with a source of pollution, while freeing up huge amounts of water now being wasted and flushed away. John Q. Plumber was a great man in his day. But I think John has outlived his usefulness...

The water as fuel concept is interesting. If the method of separating the hydrogen from water is one that actually works, it will be interesting to see how much water by volume is necessary to create sufficient hydrogen to take your vehicle out and bring it back home. Storing hydrogen in the form of water for chemical release is a very safe way to keep it, since water is non-volatile. The only mystery is the amount of hydrogen that can be extracted from the water. There is also an interesting possibility of extracting water from the steam that is the natural result of hydrogen combustion. Is there any ready data in laymens terms about the conversion rates of water into hydrogen under this method? Because if it comes out anywhere near the apparent volume of hydrogen in water, it appears that 10 gallons of water (roughly 86 lbs.) would be more than adequate. 20 lbs of hydrogen is a WHOLE lot of hydrogen in an uncompressed state, so some sort of safe compression technology would need to be employed -probably in a vacuum or near vacuum, or with an inert gas like argon or something to create the pressure for compression. Hydrogen is very volatile in its natural state, inviting itself to combine with oxygen, in order to become less volatile. But the trick is that the process of combining itself with oxygen is a danger to humans, and the property we have developed. It will tend to explode, no doubt. But you need not fear a nuclear explosion. Ambient or compressed hydrogen lacks the electron speed to force the fusion reaction it would require to create a thermonuclear reaction. Therefore, a thermonuclear explosion as the hydrogen bomb produces is out of the question. But, the next best thing, a fuel/air bomb of some type is highly possible with hydrogen as the fuel source. That said, there appears to be enough technology around to manage hydrogen. You can buy compressed hydrogen at any welding supply store. I have seen truckloads of compressed hydrogen on the interstate highway system, so its volatility is able to be controlled. The best proof of this is the space shuttle, which is launched using liquid (compressed) hydrogen, and its single launch failure was due to a problem with its SOLID rocket boosters. So hydrogen is relatively safe, when handles properly. The idea of using hydrogen generated from water as a fuel source is certailny worth looking into. I am just going to have to try the experiment mentioned in the link. If it works, my family can save a few dollars a day. Not bad. Oh, BTW, I saw a guy driving a water powered (so he said) chevy truck around Atlanta, GA about a month ago. I didn't get a chance to talk to him because he was going too fast. But his truck had water-powered written all over it, along with a web link. I wrote it down, but can't remember where it is right now. If I find it, I will post it here. Could really be on to something... Let's see.

Other than the quote thing, this topic is either too hot to discuss, or nobody cares when cops kill young black people who are unarmed and going about their daily lives like anyone else.... whether they are a little "troubled" or not.

Almost had me there... ha ha ha

NYC COPS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN This is something that disturbs me deeply. The NYC Police Department regularly shoots and kills black boys, teens, and men. This is something that has got to stop. Period. Aside from being extremely provocative, wanton violence against black people who are going about their daily lives in a peaceful manner is shameful. What really gets me is New York City is off the radar in terms of cities with violent crime. Its low murder rate is a tribute and testimonial to the fact that handguns are illegal in NYC. In fact, the murder rate in NYC is so low that the city didn't make the top 100 cities, despite the fact that it is the largest city in the nation. This is a disturbing disparity, because NYC leads the FREE WORLD in police shootings. And in almost every case, they justify killing people in the streets because the cops "thought the victim was reaching for a gun". Why, in such a peaceful city, are the police so trigger-happy? Why, where guns are the scarcest of any major city do the police feel so threatened? Why are the police so disrespectful and blatantly hostile to the black community? Out of half a million stop and frisk incidents last year, 90% were people of color, and 85% of those were black. More than 10,000 incidents of excessive force, and almost 20,000 incidents of disrespectful behavior resulted from these encounters. I think the NYPD is projecting, in psychological terms. They are attributing their behavior to the people they are dealing with. They are projecting the hatred THEY would display to a police department that hates them onto the people in the black community they patrol with utter disdain. With that hatred always on their minds, they react with anticipation that it will be returned from every corner, every person, young or old, with equal or greater force. So they are always ready with the guns. Always feeling threatened, and justified in responding with deadly violent force, they think they are hated as much as they hate. But, apparently the hatred isn't returned. Apparently they are the lead haters, because they are shot at FAR LESS FREQUENTLY than they shoot, and are killed many, many times less frequently than they kill. Something is wrong with this picture. The world's most violent police department patrols and terrorizes one of the United States' most peaceful cities. I think in that regard the NYPD comes dangerously close to meeting the definition of a terrorist organization. See for yourself. The following is quoted from wikepedia.com: Whenever an organization blatantly and regularly uses violence as its main tool in the community, in the eyes of that community it is functioning as a terrorist organization. When, year after year, the same violent episodes take place without an official response in terms of policy revision, the City of New York, and the State of New York border upon state sponsored terrorism. When the Governor and Mayor back the NYPD's repeated klillings of unarmed black civilians, as much as I like both gentlemen, I have to call it as I see it. The situation is very close to the Department of Homeland Security's definition of State Sponsored Terrorism. And it needs to be corrected. There is no reason why the NYPD cannot upgrade its professionalism. The NYPD has no reason to be known as the nation's least professional police organization. It does a disservice to the many good and highly dedicated police officers who wear NYPD blue to continue along this path unchecked. Rude, crude, abusive and violent police officers should all be immediately dismissed, and replaced with courteous professionals from Georgia or South Carolina or somewhere where professionalism and courtesy is the order of the day. It's ironic that in the South, where the history of racism is well documented, the police agencies are more courteous and professional than the city of New York, which passes itself off as the melting pot. It's a national disgrace. A disgrace that doesn't have to exist. The question is: Is America willing to protect black people? If every year, the black police officers in Atlanta or Birmingham, or Jackson repeatedly shoot and kill unarmed white youths, what would be the repurcussions? What would the average American be calling for? Why are so many decent people so quiet about the NYC situation? Are you bound by fear (terrorism) or hatred? Hmmmmmmmmmm.... I wonder. Oh yeah... Let's see what Brotha Bill and Soostah Op have to say about this sh..! NOTE: Learn more about how terrorism is defined at: Wikepedia: Definition of Terrorism Notice from BuffaloHELP: Correct usage of QUOTE tag is strongly encouraged.

Anwii, my man... Let me let you in on a secret. I won't stoop as low as you have. I will refer to you as anwii and only anwii. I think you should learn a little more before you spew your hatred and name-calling (im so white i'm right no matter what) routine on me. Listen to you speaking from a position that displays your ignorance and racism as blatantly as the Empire State Building stands above NYC. Bill and Oprah would love you because you validate the invalid. You judge me without knowing anything at all about me. And you do it with such loose prose it's laughable. I ain't mad atcha. But dawg.... don't tread where you don't know the turf. DOG told a lie about how he came to use the word. Point blank. I exposed that lie and you come with some crap about your knowledge of the black experience and, how you spent a few days in Africa with the tribesmen. You're kidding, right? Dog called a woman a *BLEEP*, and that is not how we use the term. He was acting like he was a brotha behind closed doors talking to his own kind, and slipped in public (like I might do). But that's pure crap! He made the remarks with the full racial connotation. Don't try to spin it any other way, dawg. Face the truth and learn from it. We don't call women n---a! I am in my 50's and i have a black man the whole time. And I speak from an experience you cannot imagine. I realize that you are too right to know anything. And I kinda feel sorry for you. I came up in the ghetto and was raised with morals and manners. I dont do the name calling thing, and I dont try to judge a person I dont know a thing about. But you, I guess you consider yourself to be morally upright and correct, so you don't need to be respectful or display any manners. Another secret: Being racist doesn't automatically make an individual a bad person. There are many racists who have no idea they are what they are. They think because they can smile and speak to people of other groups that they are free of racism. But, that's not what makes a person a racist. Racism and racial hatred are not the same thing. Racism is comes with the exercise of power in a racially-specific way. Power is the operative word. Racial hatred is you spewing your crap about niglets and stuff. Advanced racial hatred code is only racial hatred in disguise. Racism, on the other hand is the U.S. sentencing commission with its dual standards on cocaine possession and trafficking. It's the Jena 6, or the cops in NYC killing young black people every month. You? You could be a major player in the racism game. Or you could just be a hate-filled pawn who only knows how to try to degrade people when you disagree with them. But maybe you should check yourself deep inside about the racism thing. The fact that you had to call someone who threw something at you by his race instead of his name, anwii, might be a clue. What do you think? Me? I don't know enough about you to say... Maybe you can rejoice with Bill about the kid getting shot in NYC yesterday because he dropped a hairbrush. Bill was at least right about that. Black kids DO get shot for petty offenses. And I bet you that brothER won't raise a finger against it. But there are a bunch of brothas on the streets and in the courts and in DC today to protest it. And you're right about the kid thing. Peace.

Yo. Only the er form is degrading. The a form is inappropriate when used by whites because like you mentioned, its difficult to separate from the er version. Any white person who uses it is treading on thin ice. But blacks have the right to flip the script and convert a hateful thing into a loving thing any time. Understand?

Hey. Are there any social networking platform developers here at Trap 17? Man, I need some developers to work with me on a mammoth project that will be very lucrative once we get it up and running. I need some expertise that I can buy for a percentage of the project. Are there any takers? If so hit me up right here, and I will link you to more info and direct contact with me.Holla.

Spoken like a true gentleman. Also, we must keep terrorism in perspective. Over the past 35 years, since the 1972 Olympics, about 45,000 people have been killed worldwide by so-called terrorism. Most of these have been in India. Cancer, in the U.S. alone kills more than twice that many people each year. The money spent by the U.S. Government in the name of fighting terrorism is like spending a million dollars to have a hangnail cut off. A complete waste of resources for so small a problem. Better and more just economic foreign policies would eliminate terrorism for 1/10 the cost. And instead of having enemies in the Middle East, we would likely have loyal trading partners and allies. I think some Americans just have to have someone to hate.

How about if WE stopped mistreating them, stealing from them, lying on them, trying to control them, depriving them of their own natural resources, and things of that nature. Suppose we really learned to live and let live. Suppose we became the nobles we profess to be instead of violent animal-minded laggards whose only strength is in a willingness and ability to kill people in order to get our way. What about that? Nukes in the face of a real and unjustified threat may be a deterrent, but when we are 90% wrong.... God is watching. No matter what we call Him. He sees through our ruses and lies. Wake up young man, and be a man. Live and let live. It actually works.

Isn't it important to network? I mean, isn't that the reason for going to say, Harvard, Yale, or Stanford? The connections? After all, if classroom instruction is all there is to college, college is on its way out for sure. The interaction and networking is what people are paying those high-*bottom* prices for. Otherwise it makes no sense to go.

Yo, Odomike, When you think about it, a lot of people will be willing to marry robots in the future. That's because in a few years it will become more and more difficult to distinguish between humans and robots. Already, people are having artificial limbs attached that mimic the movements of real limbs. There are sex machines that mimic human sexuality. And, of course, people are always adding some false new feature to their bodies. Add this together and you can see where we're headed. Humans mating with robots, and perhaps more dangerously, robots mating with robots. It's the new world order. I can see it now. War, famine, pestilence, and ice (from global warming) wipes out the human population. Only the richest amongst us will survive, because they can buy protection from each of these conditions. Once the few rich people with enough foresight to plan effectively are left to this barren planet, they will begin manufacturing robots en masse. Robots will be needed because they will be capable of surviving the harsh conditions the earth will present to future generations, yet they will not require organic feedstock, nor contribute to the daily wastes generated by humans. Robots will ease the human drain on the earth's resources, and men will "employ" them to help rebuild the atmosphere, and restore the planet to rejuvenated habitability. As a side, robots will be empowered with the ability to procreate. Sex for pleasure and reproduction will become important tasks for robots, who will be replacements for humans in more ways than we can imagine. In the future, there will be no gender. People will become artificially-intelligent, self-replicating, omni-sexual, bio-electronic, semi-digital, being units, capable of having emotional relationships of a personal and sexual nature. Love, reduced to buying presents and jewelery, will be expressed more fully and rewardingly than ever before. The human race will cease to exist, and the semi-digital being units that replace us will live longer, more eco-friendly lives. They will all be willing slaves to the insanely rich people who will derive from us. And they will love the life they live. Don't be mad. Just take it for what it is: Progress.

WHEN IT COMES TO (RACIST) DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER, DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! Yo. I use the so-called "N-Word" in MY daily life. I'm one of those brothas that Bill Cosby and Oprah despise because I use the word without shame. I use it as an affectionate term or an all-descriptive term that is interchangeable with the word "man". This is the common affectionate or all-inclusive use of the word in the 'hood, or, truthfully, throughout black life. I use the form of the word that is spelled with an "A" at the end, and not the form that ends in "ER". And, although both words are sound-alikes, that is where the similarity ends. They are defined at opposite ends of the spectrum, and in completely different contexts. The English language is full of homonyms -words that sound alike but differ radically in their meanings and usages. There is the word "for", which sounds a lot like "four", and "fore". Every educated person can differentiate between these sound-alikes by the context in which they are used. There is no need for further description of either of those three words other than their context. Bill Cosby has a PhD, and Oprah is a stickler for education, so there is no doubt even THEY can appreciate the English language's ability to form differing contextual meanings (and spellings) for words that sound almost exactly alike. There is no similarity between the word *BLEEP* and the word *BLEEP*. Different context. Different spelling. Different meaning. The words are homonyms just like do and due or steel and steal, or even kill and kill. Context defines the word in each case, and neither of the homonyms mentioned here are ever confused with their sound-alikes. BUT... In the case of Dog "the Bounty Hunter" Chapman's rant, his use of the N-word is in the context of the "ER" version. And this is what exposes him as a liar about his intent in the use of the word. N---er is a term of hatred. It is always used in that context, and in Dog's case, the context is obvious, despite his disclaimer to the contrary during the rant. Despite the fact that his pronunciation of the word is vividly b]"-er"[/b], he has claimed that his use of the term stemmed from his stint in prison. He is claiming that having been around blacks in prison, who use the word extensively in conversations with each other has led to his extensive and daily use of the word, too. This claim is awfully close to the same claim Don Imus originally made, in his slip of the tongue, but far worse. Imus used his terms in a distasteful but non-hateful manner. He made a mistake in judgement about how that would go over with the darker set. But Dog's case is different. There is hatred in Dog's voice when he says "some *BLEEP*in' *BLEEP*". I recognize that tone because it never comes from someone who has love or respect for black folks in general. He's using it in the classic all-inclusive-term-of hatred-for-blacks context. The tone is the first giveaway. But his lie about the reason he uses the term so frequently -that it rubbed off in prison- will only fly with white folks who don't know anything about black life. That lie is the biggest giveaway. Why??? Because a n---a is a man. Period. Black people who use the term use it exclusively to describe a man. Even a white man. But NEVER a woman. "Yo. Did you see that n---a in that fly red Ferrari?" "Yeah. He shocked me 'cause he was a light-skinned dude, and I thought he was a white n---a." Or.. "Dianne came over last night with a new n---a." This is the ghetto context of the term. Generic for man. As a term of endearment: "Freddie! My n---a! Where the heck you been?" If the word rubbed off in prison, its correct usage would have as well. It didn't so don't buy that lie. He called a woman a *BLEEP*. Point blank. Only people who hate black people use that word in that context. And, in that contextm it is what it is. Hateful speech. He can apologize or whatever, and he should be forgiven if he is really about mending his racist ways. But that lame, out of context, lying excuse should be taken for what it is. *BLEEP*!

Thanks 4 the scoop, dawg. I get it. Finally. All we have to do is put it on our daily calendars. Set aside 10-15 minutes each day to drop in and leave a few lines. Vent. Sling a few words of wisdom or issue a challenge or cry out for help. Be me. Do me. Get points. Keep up my hosting numbers. Then break camp until next time. Easy stuff. Holla.

The fact that there are so many topics listed and discussed here on Trap 17, to me is a good thing. Period. It means people are being themselves and expressing themselves in a variety of ways. We are getting into the full range of human interests in the modern world, here. Well... almost, anyway. We have the option of answering existing posts or creating new topics. That is my favorite part of the entire experience. Its what makes the experience a good one.Today its one thing and later today another. There is a wide range of perspective on most issues, which allows us to ingest diverse opinion and thought. And most of the posts are very well written, so Trap 17 is not like other blogs which often degenerate into havens for ignorant haters. There is very little hate to be found here, which again is a good thing. Trappers are a bunch of thinkers who can express themselves eloquently over a wide range of thought. There can never be too many topics as far as I'm concerned because there can never be too many people. Whenever people are expressing themselves and communicating on a broad range of issues, the human race is making progress. God, however we each choose to refer to him, is happy with us in this setting, using words instead of bullets or missiles to bolster our ideas and ideals. Trappers are practicing fundamental humanism. Expressing themselves peacefully, with dignity and respect. What could be better than that?I look forward to the day when there are 6 billion topics here along with gillions of sub-topics, representing each one of us and the myriad of topics we each have swirling around inside our minds. All laid out nicely, clearly, for the rest of us to engage, challenge, comprehend, and support. I wont be here then, for sure, since tha day is a few years away, but hopefully the Trap will hasten it a bit...

When it comes to editing software for music, the best product hands down is Fruity Loops, or FL Studio XXL. It is literally a recording studio in a box, if you buy the boxed version. You can donload a demo with limited functionality at http://www.image-line.com/flstudio/. There you can also download the documentation and learn about how this powerful program is threatening to take over the digital audio workstation (DAW) market. With FL Studio, you can go from the basic sound track or drum beat to a professionally mastered and finished product, including your vocals and any instruments you know how to play. The program is powerful enough using the right computer to record multiple tracks at the same time, although I wouldn't recommend doing it that way. The best thing about programs like this is that they let you isolate instruments and voices in the mix at any point from recording to mixdown. Mixdown is when you have recorded several "tracks", and are mixing them together into a two track final mix for mastering and conversion to "playable" formats such as CD or MP3. Isolating voices makes recording simpler, because a mistake by one artist at any point does not affect the performances of any other artist or voice in the mix. Every instrument and vocal is a "voice" in the mix, by the way. The next best thing about programs like this is that they are totally nonlinear, No rewinding. Just point and click, and you are at any point in the timeline. This is a very important time saving feature. Next is automation. You cannot imagine how convenient automation is until you learn how to use it. The best DAWs are fully automated whenever the user wants them to be. They remember every setting in the mixer, all the effects settings, buses and sub mixes, EQs pans, and other important features of every envelope in the mixer. This is vital for consistent mixes and speed in setting up a session. You can start or stop anywhere in the creation process, and pick right back up where you left off, the next time you initiate a session. FL Studio, has become the star in the DAW arena. The program offers the most bang for the buck with all of its integrated features, ease of use, documentation, and support. It can help you accomplish a lot in a little bit of time, with quality that is totally pro level at all times. Projects created and recorded on FL Studio are professional in every way, giving absolutely no hint whatsoever that they were created in a garage or basement, as opposed to a $100 per hour professional studio with Neve or SSL Boards. The huge variety of VST plug-ins that are available today just enhance your ability to turn out high quality songs every time using FL Studio. Now, having said all that, please do not think that because you have FL Studio, you will instantly be capable of making great music. I don't want to misinform or mislead you. You have to be a good musician to make good music. Period. If you are like me, a mediocre musician, your music will sound good but still sound mediocre at the same time. Take it from me. Practice makes improvement, and another good thing about DAWs like FL Studio is that they allow you to chart your progress over time. Noting is better than opening up one of your early projects after a few months on the console, and hearing how bad you were, compared to the more accomplished musician you have become. DAWs are no joke.

Now, son, let me remind you of one thing that may help you understand the difference between Vietnam and Iraq. When we were involved in Vietnam, the war dragged on against the will of the people for so long the public was totally frustrated. When the troops returned, people were merely glad to see the end of the conflict, and literally FORGOT to offer the returning troops their thanks, in part because the government had persisted in keeping the troops over there AGAINST the will of the people. This caused frustration, and in their frustration, the people overlooked the troops. This was an unfortunate consequence of bad policy. The lesson to be learned from this is to force the government to abandon bad policy early. Part of this responsibility rests with the troops themselves. They must be honest with themselves and their families about their mission and performance. We all recognize that they are ALL ORDERED to go over there to fight for their country. They are ordered to carry out the mission policy makers have carved out for them. Even though they are there under ORDERS, they have to make sure that the mission stays intact. They have to be responsible to report deviations from that mission, and side missions that they observe being implemented that appear to conflict with the original mission. They must, therefore keep their families and superiors informed. They have to be patriotic to the original stated mission, and staunchly vigilant against deviations, by pointing out to superiors and families alike that the mission is being undermined by such actions. They have to be patriotic on two fronts, which is usually easier said than done, but vital to any successful mission. Especially over the long term. It's only mutiny when the orders are legitimate. In fact, as has been so often demonstrated, troops have a duty to disobey illegal orders. This is something that helps eliminate frustration with the mission by the folks back home. If soldiers are involved in illegal torture and other unjust and / or criminal acts that make a mockery of the values they are supposed to be fighting to protect, they have no reason to expect hero's welcomes. Heroes display courage under fire and courage on the battle field. Courage is courage. Of course, its usually difficult to summon up courage, which is why the military and the nation rewards it with honor. However, there is also courage in the face of courts martial, courage to say no to illegal deviations from American values or deviations from the stated mission. It is a soldier's duty to question orders that in his mind are incompatible with either his values or the stated mission. Courageous soldiers force their superiors to stay within the mission, and cowardly soldiers just go along blindly. Victory erases cowardice for a while. But when victory is short-lived, cowardice is long lived... Hopefully our troops in Iraq can summon up the courage to expedite the will of the people, and return home as heroes. I look forward to that day. Don't you?

After a long hiatus, Nappy Roots is finally back on the scene. They are preparing to release their latest album project on their own label, Innerstate Records, being distributed by Universal Music Group,s Fontana Division. This long-awaited project is as nappy as anything the group has ever done. In fact, some critics have labeled it their best works. Go to https://myspace.com/browserand take a listen. Then, save your money because the group has a surprise in store for you that will revolutionize the music industry as we know it. If you are a music lover, this will make you happier than anything you can imagine. But first, buy the album. Then you will be among the first to know the details. Check out the singles "Good Day" and "Dreamin". Dreamin is being offered to help with the relief effort for Katrina victims in the U.S, Gulf Coast. As you may well know, much of the area is still devastated, giving the appearance that the hurricane was yesterday, so Nappy Roots has decided to donate the proceeds from all downloads of the single, plus their royalties from airplay to the relief effort. Goto http://www.ingrooves.com/ and download Dreamin' during the holiday season, and help get some relief to the Gulf. Tell your friends and family to do the same. Say help is on the way, and make sure u r speaking the truth. Many people are left with nothing and little hope. Let's make 2008 a better year than 2007 was. Help Nappy Roots help people in the Gulf.Enjoy the album, and remember to always Keep It Nappy![deleted attachment] Notice from jlhaslip: mp3 dwnloads are not allowed due to Copyright issues.Unless you can supply the rights to the mp3, it will not be allowed on the Xisto.

Every once in a while a ray of hope shines through the clouds of cynicism and despair. Sometimes, when it seems to good to be true, its true. And when that's the case, its very very good. The hosting IS as promised. And, that's a good thing!

People should always ask questions of themselves and the society they live in. That is your duty, and a safeguard against tyranny. History is replete with examples of tyrants bolstered by silence and fear embedded in the people they lead. Tyrants committing heinous acts against their fellow man. Unfortunately, greed and selfishness are very powerful human qualities. Left unchecked, they can lead to mass destruction of the environment and the human intellect. Fight tyranny with questions. Demand answers. Stick together. Be free!

What do we know about ourselves, when it comes to race in America? We have never really had an open and constructive discussion of race in America. I say this because we leave out the majority of Americans whenever we have this discussion in any form. This in itself is a racist act, and each and every one of us who resides within the confines of the United States is in some way guilty. We define ourselves as "Americans". We claim a continent as our national identity, even though we make up a minority of Americans, when the truth is told. This is because Mexicans, Bolivians, Argentinians, Jamaicans, Hondurans, Canadians, and everyone else from the land mass and islands between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are ALL Americans. There are more than a billion and a half Americans, the principal language spoken in America is Spanish, and the overwhelming racial characteristic is Native American (Indian, as we originally referred to them). THEY are less important than WE are There is no legitimate argument against this. It is what it is. But for most of us, this is a subject that we either ignore, or were never taught to consider. Calling ourselves Americans to the exclusion of the people of the rest of the Americas would be like Germans referring to themselves as Europeans, to the exclusion of the British, French, Italians, Swedes, and the rest of the people of the continent. No German would dare do that, out of respect for the rest of Europe. Yet we, USAers do it with impunity and total disrespect for the rest of the people on the continent(s) of America. There is only one continent that is itself a country, and it is so racist and wrongly named that I will not mention it here. The point is that racism starts with lies, disrespect and disregard for other people. It says the other people, whomever they are, are less than I am or WE are. The next thing is that WE insist upon defining everyone else. THEY can have no self-identity. Any attempt by a people to identify themselves outside or in contradiction to OUR definition of them is seen as hostile to our "interests". Next, THEY have no right to own, possess, or extract wealth from their own God-given lands. America is the best example of this. Take your pick as to "which" part of America you choose to examine. In every case, the land was taken from the original owners by naked aggression, and spread amongst the "conquerers" as a spoil of victory. Again, it is what it is. We worked for what we have Next, is the idea that we, as neither the actual conquerors, nor takers, nor enslavers (in the case of slavery, which we will deal with later) owe no apology, as the descendants of the conquerors to the descendants of the the conquered. Whatever that injustice was back then, it's not an issue now, we reason. That was then, and this is now. I worked for what I have. We worked for what we have. We lie to ourselves and the world, because everyone knows, whether they admit it or not, that more was taken... more was given, than could possibly have been worked for. It was O.J... Everybody knows that At the same time we claim to be a nation of laws, with liberty and justice for all. All? My grandma used to say if you tell a lie long enough, you will start to believe it youself. Liberty and justice for all is one of the biggest lies ever told. It ranks up there with money doesn't grow on trees. It's something we are conditioned to say without ever questioning it or holding it up to the light of truth. We SAY it but we don't LIVE it. We impose it when it suits us and totally ignore it when it doesn't. Tell the truth: If O.J. Simpson was white, and the gloves were obviously 3 sizes too small, the trial would have had trouble lasting 15 seconds after that fact was revealed. Today, we are right despite the obvious, because there is more to the story than we care to admit, so we spin the story away from the truth. We love to be lied to because it keeps us in power. The murderer wore the gloves. It was O.J. Everybody knows that! End of story. NO apologies The Jena 6 is yet another story where lies work for US and against THEM. Never mind the hate crime, the inciteful act of stringing a noose from a shade tree in Louisiana. That isn't important. It was just a prank. Never mind that coming to school with a gun is a federal offense. Never mind that threatening to use a gun against a human being is a crime in every jurisdiction in the U.S. Never mind that taking a gun away from a person who threatens you with it, either verbally or by his actions, is an act of self-defense. Especially when the threatener is a person of color. But, conveniently, we spin the subject away from those felonious acts, onto the beating that followed. Getting your butt whipped instead of killed for threatening a person with a gun is what we all know is: getting off lighty. Whether WE admit it or not. But, WE don't have to admit or apologize for anything. We're (rhymes with right)! We decide... What do we know about ourselves when it comes to race in America? We know a lot more than we're willing to discuss. That's for sure. We know that when we get right down to it, we throw "liberty and justice for all" out the window, and stand on what got us here in the first place: WE take what we want from whomever WE choose to. WE decide how much to slant the playing field in our favor then call it level. WE decide who "all" we include in the word "all", because WE can do it like that. After all, might makes right! When the lies, disregard, and disrespect end, racism will die. Until then, it is what it is.

WIRELESS IS HOT!!! I use the wireless internet as you have described it almost exclusively. My network is encrypted on two levels, and to the best of my knowledge it is difficult for unauthorized users to obtain access. The network is very fast, since it is connected to a third generation cable router for access to the web. I think our speeds are up to 27 Mbps for downloads, and 11 Mbps for uploads. We also have encryption at the router, which requires an hexadecimal key, which we change regularly for added security. I load the key into a further-encrypted dongle that I use to set permissions for access by the other computers on the network. The network has issues for some reason on mondays, when it gets its signals crossed with the wireless telephones in the house and office. Whenever the phone rings on Mondays, it knocks the wireless network out until after the phone conversation is concluded. On those days, until i get an answer from Linksys, I have to suffer through the issue. But once Tuesday rolls around, the service is flawless. For the money, convenience, speed, and security, I think the wireless setup is a tremendous value. Certainly far more useful than dialup. Hackers may be able to crack the encryption Ihave, since it is just a basic safeguard, but what I have on my computer, for the most part, is only valuable to me. No government secrets, patents, trade secrets, high level financial information, credit card numbers, development projects, weapon systems, or anything that really needs guarding, so I feel reasonably secure about my SOHO network. There is really no comparison between dialup and wireless in terms of speed, stability, and cost-effectiveness. Try it. I think you will agree, Remote....