Ethanol Scam: Political Boondoggle

Rolling Stone is not the height of American journalism, but I’ll take justification that I’m not crazy wherever I can get it. Kudos to them for use of the word boondoggle. I posted my rant against ethanol on July 20th, beating out Rolling Stone by 4 days. Blatant plagiarism, and I am currently considering my options vis-a-vis legal action. Being highly knowledgeable about the subject, I noticed several liberties taken by the writer. Nothing that was outright dishonest, but perhaps over-simplified. It’s easy to forget how much is hidden under the surface with any complex subject.

Following is a few bits and pieces of the RS article and, I can only imagine, my own commentary. “This is not just hype — it’s dangerous, delusional bullshit.” Certainly my type of journalism.

Robert Kiyosaki: Pathological Hack

This is one of the tangential issues I came across while researching multi-level marketing schemes. Kiyosaki’s name came up a handful of times as one of the authors whose books are typically a part of the Amway “system”. His name sounded vaguely familiar and I assumed that he was just some motivational donkey promoting style over substance. Kiyosaki seems to support the MLM business model, but it was pointed out that he is really just a chameleon telling people whatever they want to hear. He either assumes his audience is too stupid to realize he’s spouting nonsense, or he is too self-deluded to realize his own inanity.

It turns out Kiyosaki is the author of the very popular book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad“. Multiple people have recommended this book to me, claiming it contained good investing advice. It’s not surprising that MLM scams/cults embrace his books. He has an intense hatred for education and even wrote a book titled “If You Want to Be Rich & Happy: Don’t Go to School”. Cults don’t like their members educated, much like motivational speakers masquerading as real-estate gurus such as Kiyosaki. Education and bothersome things like “the truth” tend to reduce their profits.

Spending Habits Since Blog Inception

First Post: July 17th
Current Date: July 28th

POT: ‘RISK IN ONE JOINT’ …

Drudge headlines always get me riled up. Developing . . .

A UK government-funded study has found that “a single joint of cannabis raises the risk of schizophrenia by more than 40 per cent.” I tend to distrust any study that plays up the negative effects of illegal drugs, especially when that study is funded by the government. Researchers are not beyond finding what they’re supposed to, and they’re supposed to find reasons to keep the War on Drugs intact – even in the UK. A claim like this deserves some more research on my end.

Here’s some disclosure: I’m not a big fan of marijuana. I have smoked in the past and at times enjoyed it, and other times not. I no longer smoke frequently, but when I do I tend to get self-critical and embarrassed about things I have done recently (and have no reason to be embarrassed about). Not incredibly enjoyable, and I’ve never enjoyed being in social situations while high. I have no love for those who “have to” smoke before doing anything, after doing anything, and generally use it as a default. Which is strange, because the two people I know who smoke the most don’t fall into this category for me, because they don’t smoke before and after activities… they smoke all the time. It’s the difference between a “stoner” and being Bob Marley, but I don’t know how to explain so I’ll leave it at that.

Amway/Quixtar: Now Officially a Cult

[This is a follow-up to my original Amway/Quixtar MLM writeup "Selling Broken Dreams"]

I’d like to think I’m nearing the tail end of my MLM research binge (mini-obsession) that has consumed the better part of a week. Every word I read leaves me sick to my stomach after realizing just how widespread the Amway/Quixtar evil is. Despite going into this binge with a clear bias, I was willing to consider arguments as to why my bias was wrong. I thought accusations of Amquix (a preferred internet term among “haters”) being a cult had to be overblown, and necessarily limited to very small pockets to whatever extent they were true. I learned that AMO’s (Amway Motivational Organizations, now AQMO’s) – large groups formed by various high-ranking distributors/IBO’s to sell business “tools” – were responsible for the “bad stuff” but that the corporation had nothing to do with it. Amquix was still a horrible business opportunity, but it wasn’t a cult.

Then I find out that the Amquix corporation has been aware of these abuses for at least 24 years (as documented) and probably longer. Whatever small steps they took over the years to combat them, they eventually gave up and gave in. Now Amquix owners are directly tied into the AQMO’s, continuing to profit from them as they always have. Cult leaders make good cult followers who are very loyal to Amway products. It’s very easy for owners of a privately held company to look the other way as their highest ranking distributors siphon off hundreds of millions of dollars from their downlines through the sale of cult indoctrination tools as long as it guarantees product sales. This one guy Dexter Yager, who is probably the most insane man to currently walk the Earth, is the biggest cult offender. How has Amquix sanctioned him? By routinely giving him ever-increasing “largest ever in Amquix history” bonus checks. Watch this video of Yager giving a speech. This is at a BUSINESS CONVENTION. People probably shelled out $500 because they were repeatedly told that using the tools and going to conventions was the only way they could build their businesses. Now they have to listen to this lunatic ramble. What exactly is the business lesson?

The Land of Will!

Quixtar inspirational advertisement selling nothing but hope and platitudes. Anyone else get an American Beauty vibe?

Parody of that ad. “For every dream, there’s a powerful pimp whoring that dream.”

I read every comment on those two videos as part of my “research”. They are quite telling, and very disturbing.

Invest in Transcendence

[Back without popular demand. I stand by my predictions, except I am shaky on McCain being the next president. At the time, I assumed a Republican would win yet again (Democrats were.. are?.. in complete disarray), and McCain felt like a front-runner.]

Step into my lab and lets take a whirl around some of the more obscure and bizarre areas of my research. There’s a lot of ground to cover, so don’t be alarmed by sudden forks in consciousness; it comes with the territory. Over here we have Terrance McKenna’s Novelty Theory, which states that time is a fractal wave of increasing novelty – newness, increasing complexity, and dynamic change. McKenna’s data is derived from the King Wen sequence of the I Ching that shows, when mapped, moments of increasing and decreasing novelty in the world. Crackpot enough? Well novelty increases exponentially despite temporary setbacks, and it is set to culminate on December 21, 2012. At this limit of infinite novelty, “anything and everything conceivable to the human imagination will occur simultaneously.” Sign me up for some of that. How the code to explain novelty over time is trapped in the I Ching has stumped far greater mathematicians than I, but the argument makes sense intuitively: the world is going to end soon. Now it’s real easy to get down on the harbinger of the apocalypse; “Oh, you see that line behind you stretching a million men long across the breadth of human history? Yeah, they got here first, and I’m still alive… *jazz hands*.” Just who were these cult leaders and non-prophet organizations? How do I know that their projections were subject to the same rigorous inspection and methodology behind mine? I’m classically trained in apocryphal apocalyptic analysis. They didn’t even have universities in the Paleolithic period. Oh, if only there was some independent verification of the importance of 2012…

Amway/Quixtar: Selling Broken Dreams

A couple days ago a friend recruited me to join an MLM (multi-level marketing) opportunity. I assumed that’s what it was after the initial phone call Sunday, and it was obvious after the meet-up Monday. A manic 12-hour research session later (9:30pm-9:30am) and I identified the company, the business model, and the reality of the opportunity vs. what was sold to me. I learned a whole lot about MLM organizations, their supporters, and their critics.

No research is done without collateral damage. Did you know that Lyndon LaRouche supporters are a cult? That’s a seriously interesting read if you, like me, are seeing LaRouche booths popping up with increasing frequency. And if you like cults and conspiracy theorists/criminals/presidential candidates.

We can fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Freedom! Flush that stinking job! Your future is just one click away . . .

Race & Ethnicity, Pt. 2: Culture & Stereotypes

It’s impossible to personally audit one’s own underlying/subconscious racial prejudices without attacking the problem head-on. Wikipedia says that “stereotypes are ideas held about members of particular groups, based primarily on membership in that group.” That’s the first problem – I don’t know any people who view stereotypes as truths that apply to all members of the subject group. Most people understand that they are generalizations, I hope. Some argue that all stereotypes – positive or negative – are bad. If I argue that members of Group X are more likely to engage in behavior A or hold belief B than members of Group Y – and it’s evidently true – is that a problem? Where is the guidebook on which differences to celebrate and which to ignore? How can you understand the root causes of culture-oriented behavior without identifying and acknowledging the existence of these stereotypes?

Are Asian people bad drivers? I’ve certainly been stuck behind Asian drivers going 25mph in a 50mph zone – a practice I consider more dangerous than all but the most reckless forms of speeding. I’ve witnessed Asian drivers showing an extreme lack of awareness while on the road. Who else plays the game where you witness a bonehead driving move and then guess race/gender before pulling up alongside the offending car to check? I’ve gotten pretty good at it. Or have I? Problem with stereotypes, and human cognition in general, is that we tend to remember those things that validate our beliefs and ignore/conveniently forget that which does not. Maybe I’m no good at the guessing game, but I’ve convinced myself I am.

Race & Ethnicity, Pt. 1: IQ

Edit – 8/3/07: I highly suggest reading this first.

Edit – 7/25/07:

I don’t like anything I wrote in this blog. Walking on eggshells to avoid saying something offensive, and in the end saying nothing. There’s this argument privately raging between academics and others who have a stake in the issue of race & intelligence, with both sides hijacking what is already highly imperfect science (psychometrics) to serve ideology. What’s the difference between white supremacists who skew scientific data to “prove” their beliefs in a highly selective fashion, and a hack like Stephen J. Gould doing the same thing to fit his ideology? There is one difference: nobody expects honesty from self-proclaimed racists, but they do from academics.

Nobody can truly claim to have answers in this field because it’s impossible to identify and adjust for all factors. Only racist groups want there to be data showing a difference in intelligence on racial/ethnic lines. A rare truth in the issue is that nobody can unequivocally state there is not a difference. This doesn’t mean that there is, only that it cannot be stated with certainty that there is not. Even saying that just sounds horribly racist. Which is what appeals to me, I suppose – the utter disregard for the most basic of PC principles.

It all comes back to “why does it matter?” I want to say it holds some importance in understanding how the world works, and maybe it does. For the most part, I just enjoy the passion in which people attack one another and the multiple levels of deception employed by each side.

End edit, gibberish following…

P.S. Read Truex’s comment. He thinks all Jews are usurious moneylenders. Ha ha ha.