9.  Inconsistent foreign policy with respect to non-democratic and autocratic regimes. We trade and honor China, and yet Cuba is embargoed. We embargo Iran, even though they have (theoretically free) elections and arguably the most liberal human rights policies in the region, while supporting the authoritarian, non-democratic regimes of Saudi Arabia and others (where the hijackers of 9/11 originated, by the way).

8. The Constitution and our civilian justice system are designed to protect the rights of American citizens — not foreign national terrorists — who should unquestionably be classified as enemy combatants.  By giving some terrorists civilian trials, we are invalidating military tribunals, which exist to provide a legal process for terrorist enemy combatants.

7. We advocate around the world for transparent government that’s free of corruption, and where different parties have a voice in the lawmaking process. Yet, the Democrats are drafting monumental healthcare legislation behind closed doors in secret, and plain old bribery is rampant.  Include Republicans, let the cameras in, publish drafts of bills on the Internet, and let’s show the world we mean what we say.

6. Through the State Department, the World Bank, the WTO, and the IMF, we advocate (and mandate) responsible fiscal and monetary policy. Yet, America has totally unsustainable debt levels that we are only able to currently get away with because the dollar is the world’s primary reserve currency. Artificially low interest rates have had a significant role in creating huge asset bubbles that have threatened the collapse of the capitalist system.

5. Our law enforcement profiles everyday in support of justice, and sometimes innocent people are questioned in pursuit of justice.  Yet, political correctness inhibits the use of profiling in airports.  It’s just an observation that most people who support affirmative action also oppose profiling for security purposes,  even when hundreds and thousands of innocent lives are at stake. So, is profiling a good thing or a bad thing?

4. We believe in and promote the capabilities of the free market to produce world-changing innovation. Yet, the government is undermining, rather than supporting innovation, with its failing public education system, unnecessary meddling and high taxes. When the government intrudes into free markets, it creates unfair disparities and an unpredictable business environment that subverts sustainable and innovative business development. For instance, one year there are tax breaks for battery powered vehicles, and solar electricity installations, and the following year there are not. And, tax breaks for lithium ion gives battery tech an unfair advantage over hydrogen development, or other technologies, for instance. Also, billions of dollars will go to incumbent health information technology players that have archaic systems, which gives them an unfair advantage over smaller, less politically powerful upstarts that have superior solutions.  Government-assisted research and development should be directed to technologies that may be too risky for private investment, but would have a huge public benefit payoff if a breakthrough is achieved.

3. We expect emerging economies to have progressive environmental policy, when America and much of the West built their prosperity with zero regard for the environment. Republicans need to embrace their heritage as the party that founded the political environmental movement. Teddy Roosevelt established the national parks. And, Nixon established the cabinet-level Environmental Quality Council and the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Environmental Quality, which preceded the establishment of the EPA. Protecting the environment should not be a controversial issue, so let’s develop common sense solutions.  Clean air and water and resource preservation have universal benefits.

2. We say we don’t tolerate genocide, and yet allow it in Rwanda, Sudan and elsewhere.  We can defend freedom and protect the dignity of life, without dropping bombs and killing innocent lives by setting up safe zones. We should be willing to protect and preserve any person that wishes to have freedom and safety. That would be truly respecting the sanctity of life.

1. We need to admit that our values of freedom and equality are supreme, and this justifies a proactive foreign policy in support of our ideals. George Washington and the American Revolutionaries are heroes, even though their methods resembled “terrorist acts” in the eyes of the “Red Coat Marching in Formation Army” of Great Britain, because they were fighting for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Abraham Lincoln is a hero, even though he used violence to suppress an internal revolt (as Saddam Hussein and other dictators have done), because he stood for liberty and freedom for all. There is quite simply just war and non-just war.

The pace of technological change is accelerating and there is more reason for optimism now than at any point in history.  Within 100 years, the world will have ubiquitous and free energy, healthcare and education. Poverty will be wiped out, sickness and disease will be rare, and world peace will prevail.

A retrospective from 21-10.

By Matt Jaunich.

When a baby is born, he or she is allocated shares in an index fund of multinational equities, which pays monthly dividends, to support a modest lifestyle for life. These annuities, coupled with automated production, enable the pursuit of creative and innovative lives filled with meaning and significance. The arts are flourishing, and churches booming, as people seek meaning and face to face community in an age defined by virtual and intellibot (artificially intelligent bots) relationships. Life expectancy is now well beyond 150 quality years thanks to effective wellness promotion, the ability to manufacture human organs, and other tissue and genetic therapy breakthroughs achieved by the likes of Aubrey de Grey and Ray Kurzweil.

A major factor for wellness and longevity improvement was the shift to naturally derived products, materials and fibers from the toxic ingredients widely used in production during the past century, including poisonous chemicals used in food production, formaldehyde infused building products, synthetic and chemically treated carpeting, VOC paints, and fire retardant chemicals used in bedding. Natural and organic ingredients are also vital for a virtuous cradle to cradle product life-cycle, so production is a regenerative and not a destructive force (God’s Model was a major catalyst in enrolling more than a billion Christians worldwide in committing to this reality).

Landfills remain a vestige of the past century’s unsustainable industrial complex, and we are still working to cleanup waste disposal sites to prevent toxins from further poisoning ground water and wildlife ecosystems.  Many day-to-day supplies are simply manufactured on demand in home printing stations with materials that decompose and fertilize urban food structures.  And, Amazon’s VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) robotic delivery vehicles ensure the guaranteed delivery of other goods in under three hours anywhere within the continental United States.

The transformation to a clean energy economy did more than save consumers trillions of dollars, and have wellness and environmental benefits resulting from clean air and water. The primary funding source of Islamic terrorist extremists was cutoff, which paves the way for a new Marshall Plan for the broken Islamic World that had been ravaged by war and instability.  The “Safe and Free Zones,” with Vulture Defense biometric security systems, succeeded in providing a clear choice throughout the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan between economic prosperity, security and freedom, and subsisting under the tyrannical rule of terrorists, which nearly eliminates Islamic extremism.

Peace on earth prevails, as economic opportunity extends to everyone, and abundant fresh water (primarily from desalinization, which also conveniently counters the threat of rising oceans) and free energy (sourced from a mix of ambient air, sun, geo-thermal, wind and the ocean energies) curtails violent struggles over resources. The huge militaries of China and the United States are dismantled and replaced by small and agile IPU’s (Intelligence Policing Units) that protect humanity from the remaining fringe fanatics.

Freedom also reigns supreme. Oppressive regimes can’t survive in a transparent world, where censorship and propaganda is undermined by instantaneous and free access to news and information through universal worldwide Internet provided by Google’s next-generation Global-Max service. The world community is also enlightened by the capability to freely travel throughout the world, and communicate seamlessly in any language.  In real time, mind reading technology listens to the little voice in your head that says what you want to say, and then generates the words in any language with a digital replication of your voice.

And, because airplanes are fueled by hydrogen generated from free energy, and security risks have been marginalized, the consumer cost to travel collapses to 0, while the airlines are more profitable than ever via advertising and other premium services.  Supersonic flight and sub-orbital flights mean it only takes less than 2 hours to get from San Francisco to Shanghai. And, when you arrive at the airport an autonomous Taxi vehicle takes you where you want for free (also supported by video advertising, a snack and mini bar, and other premium information services). Instantaneous teleporting and time travel have been demonstrated within research labs, and it’s looking promising that these technologies will be commercialized within the next 100 years.

Governments are a tiny fraction of the size they once were.  Blundering bureaucracies, and the ballooning government debt-bomb explosion enabled robust free-market solutions to education, healthcare, and transportation to thrive. The need for policing and emergency units and other public welfare expenses only requires a corporate flat tax of 2%.  The budget for operating the Internal Revenue Service has shrunk from $11 billion in 2009 ($10.5 trillion in today’s dollars) to $5 million today. The tax code, which in 2009 was more than 5.6 million words and 30,000 pages with single-spaced 12 pt font, is now simply half a page.

Transparency and probability management destroys the need for bloated bureaucracy and growth stifling regulation and is an inherently combatting force to corruption, dishonesty, and greed. Total transparency is achieved largely through mandated universal adoption of probability management and a networked, real-time, global Monte Carlo simulation engine, which illuminates the future in powerful ways, to inform optimal decision making in the present (accessed through WarpDrive’s Dashboard, a WarpShare company).  This technology also ensures stable economic growth, so another economic calamity like the busts of 1929, 1999, 2008 and 2016 doesn’t happen again.

The largest boon to the economic growth and prosperity the Earth enjoys today is a result of affordable and universal education offered through computing devices and BrainJump Innovation Centers. The thrust of education is to identify and develop a person’s unique gifts and passions, so life is productive and significant. Personalized learning paths within immersive 3 dimensional virtual spaces are based on students’ individual aptitudes and interests. Learning is also an active experience, rather than the archaic passive and regurgitative experience it once was. Education revolves around innovation, and is fun, collaborative, and individually-paced. And, because learning is connected to real-world problem solving, students no longer ask, “Why do I have to learn this?” Online education is also the great equalizer, as students anywhere in the world have the same access to world-class teaching resources.

Quality of life is dramatically improved by the literal greening of cities, where buildings are living, breathing organisms that complement natural habitats and ecosystems. Smart urban design also promotes health and wellness through social interaction, improved productivity, and supporting a positive state of mind. Most significantly, the use of personal transportation vehicles like Segways, and raised monorail systems, eliminates traffic in and around dense urban centers. In this world, crime is rare, because people are authentically happy. Research has proven that mental health directly impacts overall health and wellness more than any other factor, and advanced monitoring and sensor systems track health metrics, including mental health. Therapies are administered via meBOOST in real time, so people can achieve their full potential.

* bold connotes initiatives I’m developing

The Case for Optimism: Supporting Evidence for the Thesis

The Bush proposal for the partial privatization of social security is prescient of this prediction.

Aubrey de Grey TED talk

Essential reading on transforming how we design and make things – Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough & Michael Braungart –

God’s Model

Mercury levels in fish is rising as a result of increased greenhouse gasses.

Bisphenol A is one of many contaminants found in plastic food packaging.

The safety of chemicals is “the question of the hour for the early 21st Century.” – David Rosner, Professor of history and public health at Columbia University.

3D Object Printing from home

Urban Farms and plastic packaging alternatives -

The transition is already happening via Fair Trade (organic) certification, which is extending beyond food products to clothing. Building products are similarly rated and evaluated by LEED and others. Appliances are rated for energy efficiency.

Bloom Energy a Kleiner Perkins investment, is developing technology to produce energy from ambient air

Solar Cells are getting more and more efficient

Hydrogen Fuel and clean energy carrier

Safe Zones and the U.S. Iraq exit Strategy

Ryanair foreshadows this prediction, as it offers free tickets to 1/4 of its passengers

The DARPA Grand Challenge: http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/index.asp has already produced autonomous vehicles capable of navigating an urban setting. Several cars already currently have self-breaking and lane assist technologies and can even parallel park This means that vehicles will be able to safely travel on highways at speeds of more than 200 miles per hour, while passengers watch television and drink cold beer with their feet up.

Mind Reading Technology segment on 60 Minutes

Time Travel

2057 Science Channel

The World First Time Machine

Teleportation

Probability Management

Flaw of Averages

Floating city nation states will form, as people escape oppressive taxation and economic stagnation resulting from irresponsible, misinformed, and reckless fiscal and monetary policy. These nation states will provide a model for nations around the world, to effectively eliminate stifling taxation regimes through new revenue generating business models. The Seasteading Institute

SRI International and the Department of Education have studied the efficacy of online education, which has shown to be more effective than conventional education, and online education is still in its infancy. Online programs can scale with virtually additional per user cost.

The most significant last and final threat to humanity is the chance of huge meteor hit, but thanks to the Lifeboat Foundation and their colonies on Moon and Mars, humanity should persist for the foreseeable future.  LIfeboat Foundation

last night, I watched the live streaming of the alpha launch of Stanford Persuasion Lab’s Peace Dot Initiative.  For more information, click here.

Here’s a classic quote regarding peace from Ronald Reagan, who led the defeat of the Soviet Empire, which stood for limiting personal freedom, and the eradication of religion.

“Those who would trade our freedom for the soup kitchen of the welfare state have told us that they have a utopian solution of peace without victory. They call their policy “accommodation.” And they say if we only avoid any direct confrontation with the enemy, he will forget his evil ways and learn to love us. All who oppose them are indicted as warmongers. They say we offer simple answers to complex problems. Well, perhaps there is a simple answer–not an easy answer–but simple.

If you and I have the courage to tell our elected officials that we want our national policy based upon what we know in our hearts is morally right. We cannot buy our security, our freedom from the threat of the bomb by committing an immorality so great as saying to a billion now in slavery behind the Iron Curtain, “Give up your dreams of freedom because to save our own skin, we are willing to make a deal with your slave masters.” Alexander Hamilton said, “A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.” Let’s set the record straight. There is no argument over the choice between peace and war, but there is only one guaranteed way you can have peace–and you can have it in the next second–surrender.

Admittedly there is a risk in any course we follow other than this, but every lesson in history tells us that the greater risk lies in appeasement, and this is the specter our well-meaning liberal friends refuse to face–that their policy of accommodation is appeasement, and it gives no choice between peace and war, only between fight and surrender. If we continue to accommodate, continue to back and retreat, eventually we have to face the final demand–the ultimatum. And what then? When Nikita Khrushchev has told his people he knows what our answer will be? He has told them that we are retreating under the pressure of the Cold War, and someday when the time comes to deliver the ultimatum, our surrender will be voluntary because by that time we will have weakened from within spiritually, morally, and economically. He believes this because from our side he has heard voices pleading for “peace at any price” or “better Red than dead,” or as one commentator put it, he would rather “live on his knees than die on his feet.” And therein lies the road to war, because those voices don’t speak for the rest of us. You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. If nothing in life is worth dying for, when did this begin–just in the face of this enemy? Or should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the pharaohs? Should Christ have refused the cross? Should the patriots at Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard ’round the world? The martyrs of history were not fools, and our honored dead who gave their lives to stop the advance of the Nazis didn’t die in vain. Where, then, is the road to peace? Well, it’s a simple answer after all.”

Check out the first test flights of our “Autonomous UAV Project.” Crash landings and all… Stay tuned!http://www.vimeo.com/6602905

I’ve been thinking a bit about rules lately.  These thoughts are still developing – would appreciate any feedback.  In a civil society, there have to have some rules, or else there would be anarchy, but rules should be effective and not destructive.  How do you create rules that represent the wishes of the vast majority of people?  If the people really had any power in the governing process, don’t you think there might be a more effective balance between risk and convenience, to improve the overall experience of passing through airport security by not having to remove your shoes, for instance?  We’re the only country in the world that requires folks to remove their shoes at airport security…  What would happen if we had radical open sourced and transparent rule making?  A giant “Wikipedia meets digg” for regulation. Do you think then we would have a 1,200 page healthcare plan that nobody understands?

[previous related post - government 2.0 here.]

Some would say that the regulatory authorities failed the American people by not effectively regulating the financial industry, which led to our current financial crisis.  But, if we have too many rules (like Sarbanes Oxley) the regulation can stifle innovation.  What if we simply let the irresponsible players fail, and allowed some of the smaller players that actually acted responsibly to pick up the slack, and reap the rewards of their prudent behavior?

Wouldn’t the risk of institutional failure and personal bankruptcy be a more effective deterrence of irresponsibility, than regulation, and the promise of bailouts, if you take irresponsible risks and fail (again)?

I witnessed a passenger attempting to board a plane yesterday, who had an abnormally small purse, and an abnormally small carry-on. But, she had a 3rd “carry on,” a zip locked bag with her diabetic medication.  The gate agent told her she could not carry three bags on, and had to stuff her meds into her carry on, even though overall she had far less less luggage than most people. The diabetic medication didn’t fit in her small bag, and the gate agent told her firmly, “Mam, you’re going to have to make it fit.” That’s a ridiculous example of rules gone awry.

Our regulatory environment should also reflect the natural principles of diversity and resilience.  I guess that’s a topic for another post.

And, a yet a 3rd future post about what Thomas Edison said: “There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish something.”

Finally, when can personal judgment trump “the rules?”

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

I believe that the government can have an important role in fostering innovation through investment, but not sure this government investment makes sense (announced yesterday). Isn’t it putting the cart before the horse? It seems to me the bigger problem is not having cheap, renewable energy.  If we can figure that out (and we’re getting closer every day), and consumers have the capability to power their cars with an energy source that’s cheaper than gas, the consumers are going to demand electric cars (or maybe hydrogen fuel cell cars are better…), and no tax payer money would be needed for their development.

the mission of the Institute is to enable the building of ocean communities, to experiment with innovative political and social systems…

they just had a contest, to envision what life offshore would be like.

These cities would be great for my refugee idea…

For more details, click here for source (fast company).

Myth # 1: The United States car industry is failing, because Americans are demanding small cars and not buying big cars.

Look at the sales data for April 2009:

609,024 SUV’s and Pickups sold

vs.

149,822 small cars sold

That’s a factor of 4x more SUV’s and pickups sold than small cars.

(by the way, the Toyota Prius, which is often used as the gold standard example for what American car companies are missing… isn’t even among the top 20 vehicles sold in the United States.)

Myth # 2:  Fiat has “small engine technology,” according to Obama, that Chrysler does not have, and needs in order to turn things around. (and, therefore, this justifies just giving away an American car company to a foreign company.)

In reality, Chrysler already has hybrid technology, and also has the capabilities to develop a compact car.

Chrysler is failing, because it is losing market share, and the company has no hits (and no hits in the pipeline).

The Chrysler brand does not have a single vehicle in the top 20 vehicles sold.

And, even in the SUV and pickup truck segments, the competition is killing them.

For example, The Chevy Silverado and Ford F series each outsell Dodge Ram by nearly a factor of 2x.

Chrysler lost the pulse of the American consumer, and focused on numbers (Cerberus is a hedge fund, after all), rather than on passion and design.

Fixing that focus will turn things around — not Fiat’s “small engine technology!”

Sales data source here (WSJ).

138,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq within two years, according to Obama’s plan.

Will the U.S. and the rest of the civilized world be able to simply say: “Iraq is the problem of the Iraqis” when chaos and violence ensues after our departure, and thousands of thousands of additional innocent Iraqi lives are lost? I foresee this as extremely probable, and believe this scenario is unconscionable.

However, I also think the United States can not currently afford to police an entire nation, where the majority of people would like to see us leave.

So, let’s give them a clear choice.

Why don’t we set up fortified cities in the desert, where people who would like the benefits of living in a free, peaceful city with education, and job opportunities can have that chance? These would not simply be refugee camps, where conditions can be deplorable, but safe cities that the U.S. is strategically committed to building and maintaining. And, those who don’t want to live under U.S. protection and ideals can stay in their current homes, and live (or die) with the consequences.

The Masdar city, a state of the art planned city in Abu Dhabi that will be a zero-carbon, and zero waste city will be home to 50,000 people. Price tag: $22 billion. That’s less than two months of our current spending levels in Iraq of $12 billion a month. And, clearly we can provide clean, safe housing for significantly less than the luxurious Masdar City.

Or, we could build floating cities, which would not infringe on sovereign land.

We should be willing to defend those who want freedom and safety, rather than to write-off their slaughter from afar, as we did in the case of Rwanda and Darfur.

I believe there are absolutes.

Like gravity, time and space.

But, you say, “What if there’s another dimension outside of our awareness, where these rules don’t apply?” Then that dimension would be governed by its own absolutes.

Within nature, there is a hierarchy  But, among humans there is not.  All men are created equal.

But, you say, “I’m not good at math, and Henry is, so clearly we are not created equal.”  However, you do have equal value in God’s eyes.

So, you may kill innocent bugs, but not innocent humans.

But, you say, “A noble war may have innocent casualties.”  In this case, I believe it comes down to intention. Did you intend to kill innocent people, or not?

But, you say, “Innocence is subjective to perspective.”

If your endgame violates our fundamental rights as humans, then that is absolutely wrong.