What Are The Odds??

What's wrong with this picture...

It's one thing for a Democratic presidential candidate to dominate a Democratic city like Philadelphia, but check out this head-spinning figure: In 59 voting divisions in the city, Mitt Romney received not one vote. Zero. Zilch.

Most big cities are politically homogeneous, with 75 percent to 80 percent of voters identifying as Democrats. Cities are not only bursting with Democrats: They are easier to organize than rural areas where people live far apart from one another.

Was there not one contrary voter in those 59 divisions, where unofficial vote tallies had President Obama outscoring Romney by a combined 19,605 to 0?!?

Where's Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder (famed, but deceased, Las Vegas odds-maker) when we need him? Taking a leisurely (16+yrs)  dirt-nap! I would be interesting in knowing exactly what the odds would be against such a thing happening. The term "mathematically impossible" has been used by some, which is a vague, factually inconclusive statement. I'd like to see a mathematically verifiable number... like 1:1,000,000, or 1:1,000,000,000. "Where's the BEEF?"
My apologies to Wm. Shakespeare, but... "There's something rotten in Philadelphia!"
PA! If you're gonna f-around with the election numbers...

FGS, you could at least 

 make the numbers believable!

Whose Hand Is Really at the Helm of Our Ship of State?

I tend not to offhandedly discount any reports of "behind the scenes" manipulations of our national or global destinies.
There are families in the world with very strong sociopolitical bonds that go back centuries.
There are individuals in the world with enough money to "buy" anything - even those things that are supposedly without price.
There are those who, lacking personal money or family connections to power, ingratiate themselves to those who do have access to both.
There are secret, semi-secret, and not-so-secret societies with political ambitions and goals, among which are:
The Freemasons - The Freemasons (or simply "Masons") are probably the best known of the, nonetheless, "secret societies". They are considered a "secret society" because their ceremonies are closed to non-members, and therefore very little factual information is known outside of the fraternity. There have been suggestions that the Masons are also related to/in collusion with the Illuminati (the very existence of which is highly questionable), and the modern day remnants of the Knights Templar (also highly questionable).
The Bilderberg Group - Founded in 1954, the Bilderbergs operate under a similar veil of mystery, which has made it the subject of countless conspiracy theories and criticisms. Since it's founding, it has convened every year as an exclusive, invitation-only conference of various world leaders, captains of industry, and media moguls. It's membership amkeup is quite similar to...
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) - With a current membership of almost 4,700 various world leaders, captains of industry, celebrities, and media moguls, the CFR is more of what I consider a "semi-secret society". Most of us are familiar with the name, but very few of us really have any idea what they actually do, and what their goals may be beyond those stated (Angelina Jolie is a member, which makes me wonder just how seriously the CFR should be taken). The David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's think tank—is composed of more than eighty full-time and adjunct fellows who cover the major regions and significant issues shaping today's international agenda.
The Trilateral Commission - The Commission was originally created in 1973 (although there were rumors about it in the early 1960's) by David Rockefeller to bring together leaders within the private sector to discuss issues of global concern at a time when communication and cooperation between Europe, North America, and Asia were lacking (David Rockefeller seems to have his fingers in more than one international "pie").
The United Nations - We are all familiar with the U.N., whose apparent (but undocumented) goal seems to be world domination, and the creation of the fabled "One World Government". The U.N. is one of the "not-so-secret" societies, controlled (numerically) by international governments which are NOT full Democratic Republics (roughly 170 of 192 participants are not). We know who composes the U.N., and where they are headquartered

The "bottom line" is that if there are/were truly "secret societies", how would they be known to us? If they are known, then they are by definition not secret. What we actually have are "closed societies" within our common society. These are organizations (groups) of people with like interests who have chosen to have their membership restricted to certain individuals, and their rituals and objectives kept behind closed doors. There's nothing illegal about any of that... but, such attitudes do create an atmosphere of suspicion among the multitudes of outsiders. Suspicion of others isn't a criminal act either. A closed society (or social organization) can be found in your town without much effort. Some rituals of some churches, are known only to a select number of "worthies"within that church. Some social clubs have restrictions based upon the sex of prospective members. Some businesses actually get away with "sex discrimination" ("Curves" comes immediately to mind) - try that with a Gold's Gym. Fraternal organizations were originally for "Men Only",

fraternal: brotherhood; of or denoting an organization or order for people, esp. men, that have common interests or beliefs.

a restriction which has been (for the most-part) broken down by SCOTUS in the last half-century. Then we have Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. There's also the Billionaire's Club, whose primary membership requirement is stated in it's name (and no, I am not a member). Masonic Lodges have a well-deserved reputation for extreme protection of their rituals. It doesn't make them bad people, it just makes those who are curious more curious.

And the list goes on and on. There is a conspiracy theory for everybody, every organization, and every political inclination. The difficulty is in sorting out "the wheat from the chaff"... and there is a LOT more chaff than wheat. One of the most insidious organizations in the United States is not a "secret society", but rather, an appointed committee.

The Electoral College - which can negate the popular vote, thereby rendering the voting process worthless. The rationale for the EC was sound in the 18th century:

"There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of Negroes. The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to the fewest objections."

There was also the problem of inadequate means of effective and timely communication between delivering candidate (and party) positions to the general population at that time in our history. There were no telephones, TVs or other means of rapid mass communications - not even the Pony Express. Verifiable news traveled slowly, while rumors raced through the states. A populace that was mainly ignorant of the facts surrounding an election could - quite reasonably - be expected to make a totally uninformed decision that would not be beneficial to the country's well-being. However, there are no longer any "Negroes" or (involuntary) "slaves". Those terms have been replaced with "Black Americans" and "Democrats" (). IMHO, as times and technology have changed, so has the need for the EC. This antiquated vestige of the 18th century is no longer justified, as any group that can override the expressed will of the people in a free society is unjustified. (However... such an act would require a Constitutional Amendment, inasmuch as the EC is enshrined within our Constitution.) But, I digress...

Who - that did not have at least some shared interests - would want to belong to any of these closed societies? Probably not many folks, but the air of secrecy provides many people with a natural desire (one which we call curiosity) to "peek inside". I have accepted the fact that there may be "Kingmakers" in the world today - as was Richard Neville (7th Earl of Warwick) during the "Wars of the Roses". The fact that something is not commonplace does not mean that it doesn't exist. What can we do about secret societies? Nothing. Do they exist? Yes. Do some of them have unfathomable power? Perhaps. Will they be behind the impending Zombie Apocalypse? Yeah, right. Now, just TRY to not think about this!

Just What We Need - Another New Cabinet-level Position

There is an article online declaring that Obama - if he secures a second term - will appoint a Secretary of Business. "President Barack Obama signaled if he wins a second term he would appoint a Secretary of Business to oversee newly-consolidated government agencies, including the Small Business Administration."

Now, isn't that just what we need in these hard economic times? Yet another level of highly paid, government bureaucracy for our small (and large) business owners to have to wade through! Increased government supervision, more government regulations, and more potential pitfalls with which the business community must struggle .

Large corporations retain people whose job is to insure compliance where it is unavoidable, and to legally (in a technical sense) avoid compliance wherever they find loopholes. On the other hand, the small business owners - at the "Mom and Pop" level - cannot afford, and do not generally have, such people available on their staff.

The Obama administration has done nothing to benefit small business... absolutely nothing. Instead the government continues to generate more laws, rules and regulations for them to wade through (much like slogging through the Everglades while trying to avoid being bitten by anything that can end your life). Small business doesn't generate enough disposable income to support politicians at the level to which they have become accustomed, and in response, the government does nothing to assist or protect them.

We have enough "Secretaries" (and far too many overreaching Czars) of this and that already. Adding more does not benefit the American people, it is simply a payback for political support. The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments — the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General. Several of these positions - and their departments - could be eliminated, and nobody would even notice they were gone.

What has Agriculture done to earn its keep? It has allowed Monsanto to market genetically modified seeds... which KILL competing seeds in and around that farm, and (reportedly) taint the soil so that only Monsanto seeds will grow there.
Education? They come up with ideas such as "No Child Left Behind", without considering that there are some children who are "genetically wired" (or are simply unmotivated) to move forward with their peers. Every day we are dropping further behind in the areas of mathematics and science. What does the Department of Education do to correct this? Instead of demanding effective teaching, we lower the standards for a passing grade! This approach insures only that we are well on the way to a generation of "educated idiots". They worry too much about the "egos" of children, and too little about their internalization of the knowledge and tools they need to succeed in life. 
Energy? Established in 1977 to "reduce our dependency upon foreign oil", the DOE has yet once to fulfill its charter - in 35 years! Our dependence upon foreign oil has increased dramatically in those 35 years - even with outrageous prices at the pump! We have, in the Bakken:  "A conservative estimate of oil in place in the Bakken is 300 billion bbl, but it is locked in low permeability rock. Continental Resources Inc. places the quantity of recoverable oil in the US Bakken at as much as 24. billion bbl. It is projected, that at our current rate of consumption, we have 250-300 years of oil underground - more than all of the OPEC nations combined!" Yet our government won't permit us to fully tap this readily available resource. Instead they continue to import the majority of our oil needs, while wasting our tax dollars on political grants for "clean/alternative energy sources". Yet every attempt to meet the requirement for generating clean energy has failed (Solyndra being the best known).
Health and Human Services? I don't see where they have done anything except make acquiring those services more difficult. Get rid of the upper echelon, and make the Secretary (a typical do-nothing Cabinet-level position) a directorship outside of the Cabinet, and save us $53,000p/a on each Cabinet Secretary replaced.
Homeland Security? If the DHS truly cared about homeland security, our borders would be secure. I agree that we need a single point to which ALL security agencies are responsible. If for no other reason than to eliminate the "territoriality" and sense of "ownership" that these agencies appear to have, and are therefore reluctant to share with other security agencies. Such attitudes distort the all-important "big picture", and result in documented tragedies - such as 9/11/01 and 9/11/12. I would suggest we eliminate "Homeland Security" in its entirety, and have all security agencies report to the National Security Agency. That responsibility is certainly implied in the name.
Housing and Urban Development? I have no idea how that agency has benefited either the housing market or the development of urban resources. Housing costs continue to rise almost weekly, and urban blight is rampant.
Labor? The Department of Labor consists of 26 subordinate "Bureaus" and "Offices", including the Bureau of Labor Statistics - which houses the National Labor Review Board. The NLRB is supposed to contain five members, with no more than three of the same party. The NLRB is currently stacked with Democrat Union supporters, which doesn't exactly make it's decisions "impartial". No more than TWO members from the same party would require that a third party (or non-affiliated) representative be included as a tie-breaker.
Treasury? Secretary Tim Geithner - himself a tax dodger, should have gotten a "No Confidence" vote from the Senate. How can we be expected to have any faith in that kind of leadership?

How are these government "servants" compensated? Lavishly... as shown in the following "Executive (Pay) Schedule":
Level I (below) - Each of these "Departments" has multiple subordinate "Bureaus of" and "Offices of" and "Agencies" under it's control.
Level II - The term "Deputy Secretaries" (as used below) is correct, as this function is always one of multiples, when there should be only one "Deputy Secretary" (the person who takes charge when the boss is on vacation, takes a sick day, etc.) beneath THE "Secretary".
Level III - "Under Secretaries"? Okay... but double their responsibilities - thereby eliminating 50% of them - and reduce their pay by 30%.
Level IV - "Assistant Secretaries", etc. See Level 3 for recommendations. "Boards and commissions" should be unpaid (volunteer/appointed) service, with compensation only for travel expenses and the mid-day meal (not to exceed $25 per day) incurred.
Level V - See Level 3 for recommendations, plus reduce their pay by 40%. Members of boards, commissions should be unpaid (volunteer/ appointed) service, with compensation only for travel expenses and the mid-day meal (not to exceed $20 per day) incurred.
 

Executive Schedule
Level 1: Cabinet-level officials	$196,700
Level II: Deputy secretaries of departments, secretaries of military departments, & heads of major agencies	$177,000
Level III: Under secretaries of departments & heads of middle level agencies	$162,900
Level IV: Assistant secretaries & general counsels of departments, heads of minor agencies, members of certain boards & commissions	$153,200
Level V: Administrators, commissioners, directors, & members of boards, commissions, or units of agencies	$143,500

We MUST DEMAND that our government rein in it's spending, and get our deficit(s) under control! U.S. goods and services trade with China totaled $539 billion in 2011. Exports totaled $129 billion; Imports totaled $411 billion, for a deficit of 3.14:1. Put into dollars, that's a deficit of $282B in China's favor. Whoever in the USTR's Office of China Affairs, is responsible for managing the horrific formulation and implementation of U.S. trade policy for China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Mongolia, should be FIRED! Our National Debt increases at the rate of approximately $162,500,000 per hour, 24 hours per day! That's $2,708,333.33 per minute or, $45,138.89 per second!

The Obama administration has increased our National Debt by almost $6T. We (as a nation) are in a money hole so deep, it will take several generations to recover - IF even then. Remember that on your way to the voting booth, and then cast your vote for AMERICA!