Think Like a Corleone

Leave fools’ paradise to the fools.

Guest post by Robert Gore at Straight Line Logic

If you are offered a choice between having your tuition and expenses paid at a top of the line business school, or buying with your own money Mario Puzo’s The Godfather (the book and the movies, Parts One and Two) choose the latter. You’ll find them far more useful than the MBA.

Americans are frequently condemned for obliviousness to the lies and depredations of the people who rule them. Much of the condemnation is merited, but the obliviousness is also a vestige of a better time. The best gauge of a society is truth: its prevalence and how it’s treated.

You go to a store and buy a product. Your transaction rests on implicit assumptions that everyone in the supply chain is telling the truth and acting honorably. The product was manufactured to the manufacturer’s advertised standard. It was delivered by a transportation company in good order, and marketed by the store in good faith. Every step of the way you could have been ripped off and not known it. The product could be a counterfeit. The delivery truck could have been hijacked and the product resold to the vendor at a cut-rate price. The product might be defective, but the manufacturer and vendor continue to sell it. A paranoid could drive himself crazy imagining all the possibilities, most of which cannot be dismissed out of hand.

When exchange is voluntary, a producer’s reputation for integrity is an invaluable asset and an consumer’s trust is both rational and productive. A producer’s reputation rests on millions or billions of transactions in which consumers receive the value they expect, with any problems quickly addressed and remedied to the consumer’s satisfaction. One reason John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil did as well as it did was because its refining and distribution processes delivered oil that was of a uniformly high standard. Many of the company’s competitors did not. One batch might be acceptable, but other batches had impurities or varying chemical compositions. Those who think it’s easy to manufacturer millions of items or refine millions of barrels of oil to a uniform standard over a span of years or decades only betray their ignorance of manufacturing and refining.

The companies that reach the top of the heap in a voluntary exchange system save their customers immeasurable time and effort. Imagine if you had to inspect and test every item you bought before you used it. That would be a dump truck full of sand in the gears of your life; you’d get nothing else done.

Voluntary exchange rewards both integrity and trust. That was once the American milieu, and is still a significant part of it. We trust Apple to deliver great phones, ExxonMobil to deliver top grade gasoline, Whole Foods to deliver quality food, and so on. Unfortunately, another class of interactions has overshadowed the realm of voluntary exchange, interactions based on fear, force, fraud and theft. Nefarious means to nefarious ends are the province of governments.

Expanding government power and domination are the deadly enemies of integrity and trust. As a government uses violence to subjugate, the subjugated quickly learn that honesty and honorable behavior are persecuted; to survive they must resort to deception and covert resistance. The subjugators invariably regard the subjugated as an inferior class and disparage their tactics as dishonorable.

History is replete with such instances. Sicily has been ruled by a long line of outside powers. Starting in the late 1800s, the Mafia became the embodiment of the inverted morality that takes hold among tyrannized and brutalized peoples. That morality does nothing to advance the general welfare; it doesn’t promote prosperity or progress. It only allows the subjugated to survive.

In this antique garden, Michael Corleone learned about the roots from which his father grew. That the word “mafia” had originally meant place of refuge. Then it became the name for the secret organization that sprang up to fight against the rulers who had crushed the country and its people for centuries. Sicily was a land that had been more cruelly raped than any other in history. The Inquisition had tortured rich and poor alike. The landowning barons and the prices of the Catholic Church exercised absolute power over the shepherds and farmers. The police were the instruments of their power and so identified with them that to be called a policeman is the foulest insult one Sicilian can hurl at another.

Faced with the savagery of this absolute power, the suffering people learned never to betray their anger and their hatred for fear of being crushed. They learned never to make themselves vulnerable by uttering any sort of threat since giving such a warning insured a quick reprisal. They learned that society was their enemy and so when they sought redress they went to the rebel underground, the Mafia. And the Mafia cemented its power by originating the law of silence, the omerta. In the countryside of Sicily a stranger asking directions to the nearest town will not even receive the courtesy of an answer. And the greatest crime any member of the Mafia could commit would be to tell the police the name of the man who had just shot him or done him any kind of injury. Omerta became the religion of the people. A woman whose husband has been murdered would not tell the police the name of her husband’s murderer, not even of her child’s murderer, her daughter’s raper.

The Godfather, Mario Puzo

Probably 20 percent of Americans will tell you their life stories in a grocery store checkout line, and 50 percent over a cup of coffee. Many trade information about themselves as freely as they trade their money for groceries or coffee. Ask those who have escaped life in a totalitarian regime about it and they will marvel at the foolishness.

The oppressed learn to trust no one other than those who have demonstrated they deserve to be trusted, usually family or long-time friends. In response to disclosures that the government is monitoring them 24/7 and knows virtually everything they do and say, many Americans breezily assert that they’re not worried; they have nothing to hide. Behind omerta was the Sicilian peasant’s reality that any information, no matter how trivial or innocuous, was a weapon that could be used against him by the hostile and corrupt regime. American openness and trusting insouciance is quaintly naive—anachronisms from a better time—and pitiably foolish.

If you think the government, its friends, and those who pull its strings have your best interests at heart, that they tell the truth, that they can be trusted, you are living in a fool’s paradise and deserve whatever you get from your “benevolent” masters. For the rest of us, it’s time to go Sicilian, to start thinking like a Corleone. The dangers will intensify as things get much worse, before collapse offers the prospect of rebuilding something better.

The times demand caution, skepticism, less talking, more listening, alertness, wariness, hiding one’s strengths, remedying one’s weaknesses, self-sufficiency, cunning, and drawing closer to those few people in your life you know you can trust. Your survival is at stake and there are no guarantees. All you can do is better your odds. Indiscriminate trust and hoping for the best—without thinking about and preparing for the worse—will dramatically lower those odds.

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Wip
Wip

I have to say, the first paragraph was a very interesting thought. The prevailing believe is quite the opposite. Even so, I tend to agree with it. Truth…I can’t imagine a more important concept. Boy does the truth take a beating. Also, I think it is too late for about 90% of Americans to go sicilian. They don’t call it FaceCrack for nothing.

Socratic Dog
Socratic Dog

The Godfather was based on a lie: the lie that organized crime in the US was Italian or Sicilian. It wasn’t. It was (and is) largely Jewish.

Wip
Wip

Hmm, I’ve never heard that before. Can you point me in the right direction? Many Italians that I know have “stories”.

Socratic Dog
Socratic Dog

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_organized_crime
I have a sneaking suspicion that the Kennedy assassination was when the jewish mob actually took over the country. Since then, the US has been run by gangsters. Hillary was the anointed Don-to-be; the anti-Trump hysteria may be because he’s simply not a gangster.

Maggie

My husband calls it Snoopbook.

BOOSH!
BOOSH!

Do not use the word “antifa” – by the simple use of this word you give these ass-hats validation (anti-fascist) . We need to start calling them what they are “MCS” – Marxist Communist Shit. I don’t agree with the nazi/prowhite/whatever. But when any group decides that they are the purveyors of what is “correct ” speech they immediately become the most dangerous threat to liberty.
There’s a lot of shit being talked about libertarianism- but rest assured at least I (I don’t pretend to speak for others) don’t condone the use of force to shut down speech I don’t agree with.
Democrats are liars and RINoS are bitches – neither wants a true republic . My advice is to vote with your money- do not spend a dime with any company that is in favor of squashing any speech. Do not give eyeballs to any website that agrees with the MCS. You want to hit them where it hurts? The wallet is always the most powerful weapon.

TampaRed
TampaRed

I like that Boosh.
Antifa = MCS,hopefully it will catch on.

TampaRed
TampaRed

I made the comment above and went over to check my email and this had just come in-very timely after your comment above about Republicans.
“Mitt Romney-Civil War possible If Trump Doesn’t Apologize For Charlottesville Remarks”

http://mailchi.mp/foxnews/your-american-dispatch-974817?e=84e18355e5

Suzanna
Suzanna

Tampa,
It is widely understood that the Charlottesville
event was a gov orchestrated affair designed
to create chaos and racial strife. Paid
participants and agent provocateurs were
in attendance and acting on both “sides.”
The word is the FBI has been and in this case
was involved in staging events instigating
trouble and “terror” events.

Politicians, present and former, that look to
defame and threaten our president, for his
remarks, are beyond scorn. The remarks
were innocuous and quite accurate. Trump
can not “spill all his cookies in the lobby.”
I am not happy to say it, but a bunch of the
pols are treasonous, and poisoners of our
republic. They deserve the punishment due
them, as they are virtue signaling, hoping
for the favor of the “winners”…we sincerely
pray they will be the losers.

Robert (QSLV)
Robert (QSLV)

Two different cars were used in the staged attack. One had a stripe down the center of the hood, the other didn’t. The whole thing was staged by the New Bolshevick Soros Mc Cain Clinton Romney Pelosi Gore Obama FBI NSA faction.

Robert (QSLV)

BubblePuppy7
BubblePuppy7

The GOPe is our enemy.

Vic
Vic

Love that idea Boosh. I plan to that name and spread it around.

RGIII
RGIII

It stands for Anti First Admendment

Iska Waran
Iska Waran

Brilliant and true.

mike
mike

The roving Rent-a-Riot.

MarshRabbit
MarshRabbit

“I’d rob a bank before I accepted charity” (Saul Alinsky, Playboy Magazine interview, 1972)

Suzanna
Suzanna

no kidding…rob a bank?

BubblePuppy7
BubblePuppy7

It’s where the money is. LOL

MarshRabbit
MarshRabbit

Willie Sutton, lol

Ronnie
Ronnie

Good, but you left out the part where J.D. Rockefeller, Sr., owed a huge amount of his success to price fixing re: shipping costs by rail. This puts you in jail today.

Suzanna
Suzanna

Ronnie,
Actually it doesn’t. There is plenty of “price fixing”
and no one cared until now. Now that the under and
middle class are finding themselves in a struggle to
make ends meet, attitudes are changing.

llpoh
llpoh

I presume you are joking with “If you are offered a choice between having your tuition and expenses paid at a top of the line business school, or buying with your own money Mario Puzo’s The Godfather (the book and the movies, Parts One and Two) choose the latter. You’ll find them far more useful than the MBA.” If not, that is some seriously bad advice.

WIP
WIP

LLPOH, you may be right, but for how long? Even you admit most people will be in very troublesome financial shape going forward. I assume this will include the highly educated. Haven’t we seen that to be true many times in history? Even the highly educated are subjugated?

Llpoh
Llpoh

WIP – the top 10% will do very well indeed in my opinion. The next 20 percent will be kinda middle or lower middle class. Then the rest are likely screwed. Skills and smarts will always pay. But average and modestly skilled will be screwed.

Robert (QSLV)
Robert (QSLV)

The highly educated are always the first to go to “Camp”.

BB

Maybe sharing your life with others is a hold over of what once was a high trust society based on Christianity or at least christian principles.I still remember sitting on the front porch on Sunday afternoons with family and other families coming by to talk. That was in the early 70s .I never see that anymore.

Vic
Vic

BB, nobody has time any more. That’s also why charities lack people helping out.
In the past, the man worked outside the home, even if it was the farm, and the woman worked in the home and yard. (***)
The women were usually in charged of the get-togethers. The men basically showed up. Women also used free time to work in charities and to socialize with friends and family at the same time. That time is long past.

(*** Although in past ages women did other jobs, too, such as spinning in the home for pay, brewing beer for pay, maybe taking over the husbands business, such as in the Medieval Period, but not during the Victorian period.)

As an aside, imagine what the unemployment rate would be if women weren’t in the workforce because the Federal Reserve makes it impossible to live on one income. In the past, the majority of women didn’t work outside of the home after getting married. Do you know how many women I used to work with that said they wished they didn’t have to work in their job and wanted to stay home and clean house, cook and raise their kids? Countless amounts! I was one of them. 🙂

BB

Big Injun Chief of the Clouds , what do you know about business that you didn’t learn from Hollywood?I think this explains your attitude towards Andrew Jackson.You watch to many Hollywood movies as a poor child. Then it was easy to Blame a great American for your childhood Woe.Right ?

Overthecliff

Sometimes bb makes some good insightful comments. Sometimes he is full of shit. I still like him though.

MarshRabbit
MarshRabbit

“Michael Corleone understood for the first time why men like his father chose to become thieves and murderers rather than members of the legal society. The poverty and fear and degradation were too awful to be acceptable to any man of spirit.” (from The Godfather, by Mario Puzo, 1969)

“for faithful servants are always servants, and honest men are always poor; nor do any ever escape from servitude but the bold and faithless, or from poverty, but the rapacious and fraudulent. God and nature have thrown all human fortunes into the midst of mankind; and they are thus attainable rather by rapine than by industry, by wicked actions rather than by good. Hence it is that men feed upon each other, and those who cannot defend themselves must be worried.” (from Florentine Histories, by Niccolò Machiavelli, 1532)

Vic
Vic

MarshRabbit, that’s why the Bible says not to put your faith in things. And Jesus said, “It is harder for a camel to go through a needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven.”

MarshRabbit
MarshRabbit

The bosses & the church will tell you: “sure your life sucks now, but when you die it’s gonna be really great”, sounds like a con job. (I’m actually a believer, but the business model of Christianity does lend itself to charlatans, see The Man Nobody Knows by Bruce Barton, 1925, I see exploitive employers as failing to live up to the Biblical standard of Good Stewarts)

John Smith
John Smith

Matthew 19:24
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.”

What you are saying is far too obvious and therefore makes no sense.

Unvisible
Unvisible

I’m a fan of both Puzo and Gore (Robert, not Al). Fantastic piece. Thanks RG

Not Sure

A post ago, I asked myself the question, should I fight or give up, when the prospect of civil war is dumped in my lap. I leaned toward giving up because, at the end of the day after the dust settles and the weary fighter stands to relish his victory, he will be pummeled by the clueless sheeple who did not consider free speech a thing to fight for; “why are you fighting? The government knows what’s best for us!”

So for me, going Sicilian offers me at least a little ray of hope instead of giving up, in that maybe there will be some respite in going underground and hope some sanity may return to the world, while waiting for the global agenda to run its course. Here’s to hoping for a brighter future!

Suzanna
Suzanna

Bob,
Good post. I am married to my second Sicilian.
The first man is dead. The second is a jewel.
Family loyalty first…the murder for profit crooks
either end up dead or in jail.

But, omerta! I am a woman, it is hard to stop
talking, but there are some things I never speak
about. Your last words are brilliant and most
timely. Remember OPSEC…!

“The times demand caution, skepticism, less talking, more listening, alertness, wariness, hiding one’s strengths, remedying one’s weaknesses, self-sufficiency, cunning, and drawing closer to those few people in your life you know you can trust. Your survival is at stake and there are no guarantees. All you can do is better your odds. Indiscriminate trust and hoping for the best—without thinking about and preparing for the worse—will dramatically lower those odds.”

Vic
Vic

Suzanna, my ex was Italian. Family first and loyalty to the family.
(Not the Mafia family. He wasn’t in that, lol.)

Suzanna
Suzanna

Vic,
For an only child, me…it was heaven to be around
big, everyone talking, Italian families.
Last week we drove north an hour to attend the
small community’s Italian Fest. Son and his wife
joined us. We had a blast! And some really good
food. Some chubby women, but the majority looked good. Nice clothes, intact figure. And the
young men? Handsome to the max.

Crimson Avenger

I remember a scene in the West Wing when the press person, CJ, was being coached by a lawyer before giving testimony. He was instructing her not to give any more information than was necessary, because it gave opposing counsel something they didn’t have before, something that might be used against her. He then casually asked if she knew what time it was, and she said “Sure, it’s 11:30,” and he screamed at her – he didn’t ask what time it was, just whether she had the time. It was a lesson to me even then about OPSEC.

Vodka
Vodka

It seems to me that the government itself, on all levels, has already adopted the Corleone family’s strategies against us. They’ve beaten us to it. Whether it’s the politicians, or cops, or the IRS or the Fed/State/County/Municipal employee unions, or a thousand other examples. Every entity connected with government has agreed to collectively circle-the-wagons against us so that they can stay in power and continue to live well. Corporations and a hundred or so billionaires are allowed to be under-bosses as long as they keep the money ‘take’ flowing in. That’s mighty tough to beat. Perhaps even impossible.

There is really no identifiable target for anyone to “whack” that would have a significant effect on what they have established. It’s the greatest Syndicate ever.

Ronnie
Ronnie

Not a big issue – Suzanna – but price fixing is generally illegal, it was a major reason for anti-trust laws, and J.D. Rockefeller stood trial for it! Insider trading is a corollary. Ida Tarbell made a journalistic career out of this back when.

Suzanna
Suzanna

Ronnie,
Of course you are correct. Absolutely.

However the bone heads at the top, those Wall St.
bankers, for one, have flaunted the law. Their
financial crimes go unpunished. We could name
many professions, or BIG business that ignore
anti-trust laws everyday…and they are fairly open
about it. But you are aware of that. Just sayin’
the law is no barrier just now. Trouble is, when
the “leaders” go rogue, their underlings want some
skims as well. WE are not equal under the law.

hardscrabble farmer

Another thought provoking piece.

Too late for me to keep secrets from the world. Sometimes I wish I had gone that route, but as they say if wishes were horses…

My oldest son and I have been watching the old HBO series The Sopranos which is more or less a modern, serialized form of The Godfather. I felt that it would give him some insights into the costs of choosing to live a lifestyle where power and wealth are the goals rather than the truth. I am amazed at how deeply insightful David Chase (the writer/creator) was in telling that tale, how well concealed are the moral lessons beneath a veneer of pop culture references and prurient imagery. The people who ascend to the top of the economic ladder in our current system have far more in common with organized crime than they do with blood and soil types and that would explain a lot of what we see in the coverage of America’s widening divisions. The fact that in the end even the people they are closest to, the ones they actually love are hostile strangers to them and that no one can be trusted, not even your family. The last thing the people running this scam want is an alternative based on posterity, honor, hard work, production over consumption, self-reliance over dependency- that’s why the only thing they can do is paint anyone who lives that kind of life as deplorable. I have no idea how it all ends, but I trust that the truth will inevitably out.

Yesterday I got a call from The Colonel. There was a bad leak in the house (he thought it was from the roof) and when I got there I found that a pipe had burst in the bathroom. I shut off the water supply, had my oldest son bring over some dehumidifiers and explained to him what had happened and what I’d do to get him fixed up on Monday morning. He told me he wasn’t worried about it because he knew that he could trust me to do the right thing.

You don’t get that kind of relationship by keeping things to yourself, by looking out for number one all the time. Sometimes you have to give up your time and your efforts for people outside of your family and even if it doesn’t make you a rich man- like Machiavelli said- “…for faithful servants are always servants, and honest men are always poor; nor do any ever escape from servitude…” but it bequeaths you with a different form of wealth. To be trusted by a man who I respect and admire is valuable beyond accounting and it is the only way to build a real community. What kind of life would you have if you were rich but had not one soul you could share your thoughts with unless they were a paid therapist? To me that would be the very definition of Hell on Earth.

Thanks again for the insights, they are always spot on.

Suzanna
Suzanna

HSF,
The omerta thing is about not blabbing or bragging
or talking about what you have. The generosity we
have toward our neighbors and friends is usually
rewarded with their trust and (bonus) they are glad
to see us. That is being “rich”…of course you know
that very well. It must have felt good hearing that
said…trust = golden.

TJF
TJF

Going Sicilian…..that is a term I never thought of before. I like it, but it makes me want some pizza.

Suzanna
Suzanna

There is a thin crust pizza I’ve has, no red sauce,
but portabella mushrooms, some savory cheese
here and there, and a bit of fresh basil and olive
oil. Trouble is I can’t duplicate it! I am inspired
to try again though. So thanks.

Boat Guy
Boat Guy

Never answer any questions by government enforcers , say nothing . Their collective desire is to extort wealth from you and if they cannot get that they will imprison or indenture you . Should they be discovered wrong in their pursuit of you nothing will likely happen to them you however will be marked for further persecution by their ilk !

Suzanna
Suzanna

We all hope to never encounter any gov enforcers.
Or their mean dogs, or their intent on doing a civil
forfeiture trick on us. Yes, and keep thy mouth shut.

MarshRabbit
MarshRabbit

“I’m Not Talking (that’s what I’ve got to say)” by The Yardbirds

Anonymous
Anonymous

Page and Beck. Two of the greatest living guitarists together in the same band. Clapton was also with The Yardbirds, however the three never were in the band at the same time. Pity.

overthecliff
overthecliff

Suzanna and Vic pretty much hit the nail on the head with their first comments on this thread. Common sense bordering on brilliant. We can be proud to associate with that kind of feminist. (not to the exclusion of some of the other females who contribute to this site.

To late for you Robert but you gave advise. Make a list, don’t let them know who you are and above all else be armed.

Suzanna
Suzanna

Dear over,
well thank you there Mr. However, I must clarify…
I strive to be feminine but I am no feminist. I like
men and always look forward to a chance to sit and
listen to them talk. Well mostly. The beer and taco
dip football guys, not so much.

Mercy Otis Warren
Mercy Otis Warren

Interesting connection between the history of oppression in Sicily and the founding of the mafia as a refuge. I did not know that. I also do not know if a rich man can get rich without losing his soul, but I do know the warning:

Mark 8:

35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

If our goal is to stay alive and make a handsome profit in this world, Machiavelli is indeed a handy source. If our goal is to discover truth and explore it in collaboration with our neighbors, I would go with Plato and JC. The good thing is even if the Christian story is an overall fraud, the questions and implications above still seem to be true. The fact that Socrates arrived at a similar conclusion to Christ is testament to that.

Fine article, Robert.

Mary Christine

I’m in agreement with Suzanna and Vic regarding women and home making.

The MCS people made it a priority to break up the family and if not that, weaken it considerably. They have been successful far beyond what they probably imagined.

I stayed home with my two girls as much as their dad would let me. It wasn’t full time, but home four out of seven days had to do. One work day was a Saturday so they were with him. Unfortunately for them, we divorced when they were 10 and 13. That was quite rough on them.
I don’t regret not going to college. I’m a reader. Reading comprehension holds up my IQ. I’m mathematically challenged. I wish I weren’t.
My favorite book in high school was Atlas Shrugged. Somehow I managed to escape the SJW/feminist indoctrination my social studies and government teachers were pushing on me. I tried it on for a while, it just didn’t fit me well. I wanted to care for my kids.

My parents and brother passed on years ago. I think I can trust my daughters. I can’t trust my in-laws. Mother-in-law and both sister-in-laws are two faced. I can trust only my husband.
I do like the idea of the neighborhood trust thing through service. It takes a long time, though, and we just moved out to the country.

Suzanna
Suzanna

Mary Christine,
Moved to the country? Allow me to encourage you.
Get to the library and a church you enjoy, get to meet
people, do not gossip! (my always hard fast rule)
go to visit when invited, bring a baked treat, or share
your bounty. You will find the people are full of love
and you will love the fresh air. And meet cows, and
horses, dogs and cats, many chickens! (and fresh
eggs) and natural environs. I saw a turtle on the
road (8 x 6″) on my way home and stopped to
rescue it back to the green. It saw me and high
tailed it back to the creek. It was funny to see the
short plants rustling. I love it here! Never a dull
day.

Mary Christine

Good plan, Suzanna. We have already met the neighbors on both sides. Each of us have 12 acres but it’s longer than it is wide so their houses are within eyesight. Very nice people. I’m hoping they will help us get to know others around us.
The house across from us is in the process of being renovated so they owner can flip it. If they don’t get it up for sale soon, it should be interesting to see if it sells.
Our electrician knows everyone in the county so anything we need to know, he has the scoop:D
Gossip is deadly, I know, however, I am usually the last to learn about something that has been office or neighborhood gossip. People tend to confide in me, maybe because they never hear anything I have said about them. That seems contradictory, but the confidence is usually something that has nothing to do with gossip.
I learned where I can get fresh eggs and I should be able to get baby chicks when we are ready for them! I can’t wait! We used to have chickens a few years ago, when we lived in the city, believe it or not. Had 6 acres in the city but we moved to a smaller town 3 years ago and they didn’t allow chickens in the city limits.
We sold the house in town in June and moved 20 miles south. I think I needed to do it in steps. I was a suburban girl all my life. The house on 6 acres was like living in the country but the grocery store was 5 minutes away. Everything I needed was not more than 15 minutes away. We realized living in the city was going to be dangerous and the taxes were getting to be outrageous so we left. It takes some getting used to, country living, that is.
Did we just take Robert’s topic completely of the rails?

suzanna
suzanna

🙂

Peaceout
Peaceout

That was a good read Mr. Gore, thank you.

Stucky

. Recruiter: “Where did you get your education?”

Candidate 1: Harvard.

Candidate 2: The Godfather books.

So solly, if you hire #2 …. you’re nuts.

Taking lessons from a CRIMINAL organization shows, imho, a lack of moral clarity.

TampaRed
TampaRed

even though i enjoyed the article stucky,i tend to agree w/you-
and i believe that one of the indicators of where we went off the rails as a society is when there quit being a hard line defining moral/ethical clarity,both in society at large and in the entertainment industry–
entertainment is more than entertainment,it both teaches,reinforces,and reflects what/where our society is now & where it is going–

Suzanna
Suzanna

Tampa,
You are on target re: the broken moral compass.
I call it entrainment, not entertainment. No
TV for me whatsoever…and I was down on
movies as well. Then a smartie recommended
a 2016 movie, “The Accountant” with Ben Affleck.
Not previously a fan but he did a good job, and
is now stunningly handsome. I love the movie,
and now we own it. It is quite predictive, if you
catch it. Plus it has righteous morality, and
savant genius. Maybe a bit violent/but cathartic.
I called it entertainment. A welcome distraction.

Are we up to 100 yet? Bob Gore deserves no
less…we love him.

Greg
Greg

God bless J.D. Rockefeller

Iconoclast421
Iconoclast421

I had a dream that must have been mafia inspired. I was in a bank trying to deposit a check that the stupid machine wouldnt read. This drone flies up to the teller next to me. Hanging from the drone is a bag with a note taped to it that says “bomb in building, place $10k in bag or bomb explodes! Try to evacuate and bomb explodes!” I remember thinking “wow that’s pretty clev…” then everything went white.

Suzanna
Suzanna

11 comments to go and Robert goes 100…
now it is down to ten.

(do some people get their MBA through mail order?)

When did the rush to get this master’s of business
affairs start? My Mr. didn’t get one…he was already
a genius in his field. IT extraordinaire.

Anon
Anon

Just to add to my comment above. Llpoh, I AM financially independent, have been for about a decade now. Owned Real Estate, owned several small to medium business ventures, of which I was able to sell profitably and have successfully (some years more than others) traded the markets for years.
I have not attended any of the Ivy leagues, AND paid for my college via starting my own business at 18.
The point is that a LOT of people are VERY wealthy, and independent through many means other than paying enormous amounts gambling with borrowed money on marketed statistic anomalies.
I know it is worn, and they are also statistic anomalies, but how many of the billionaires currently (ones that created their fortunes from nothing) do you think were Ivy league graduates? Very few…..most simply were smart. Smart is not something an Ivy league gives you. It can aid, and can elevate someone of average or lower intelligence, simply because of the US caste system tied to paper from “prestigious” institutions, but it CANNOT give you actual intelligence. And ultimately, fortunes and independence is built on intelligence.

suzanna
suzanna

Hey hey Anon,
That was succinct…really smart people learn/hone their
skills in a college setting. Frankly, unless it is law or medicine,
math and science, college and a masters may be a waste of time
and money.

PS: We are going to get to 100!

Llpoh
Llpoh

Anon – here is a graph where it indicates 45% of billionaires attended an elite university. Gee, what a coincidence, right? Given only a miniscule portion of the population so attend, it is a very strong correlation.

Your comment re very few is inaccurate. I went to several elite colleges, and the difference between a Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, etc., and a run of the mill education is stunning. And there are no Ivy students of average intelligence. All of them suckers are smart. Buying a Harvard MBA is not gambling. It is a near sure thing. Folks like you can do well. But odds are much better if a person goes to an Ivy or equivalent.

comment image&w=480

Ronnie
Ronnie

Re: Greg. Hope you read “Titan”. Few people ever like John D., but not necessarily a lovely guy. For sure ruthless in business. Famous for “Competition is a sin”, meaning: leave things to me, please.

Ottomatik
Ottomatik

Omerta?
That is un-American, not red blooded at all. Yes, truth is dangerous, speaking truth publicly, even more so.
Where do you end up, committing to silence of your views, your life, Sicily, Cambodia, Beijing, Soviet State?
Do not succumb to fear, if we do not use our rights they will be sacrificed.
From antiquity:
“If we do not hang together, then surely we will hang separately.”
“All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing” ( or say nothing=Omerta)
Or perhaps a TBP classic, The Hangman’s Tale, my point is: fearful,timid silence has been a main contributor to our current trajectory. In light of that trajectory, perhaps it is time to fuckin speak up.

suzanna
suzanna

It is good to take a stand, and one should be open
about some things. Just ask Maggie, she’ll tell you.

Smart people have good opinions, and need to share
with the lesser informed. Right?

Bob, thanks for the article. It kicked up a few heels.
Gosh you have a website of your own, and you are
widely read. You have written 3 books I know of,
and each is unique. You have both a law degree, and an
MBA. Your credentials are full and intact! No one can
question that.

Wip
Wip

Well, LLPOH, you’re arrogance(?) and total miss on the purpose of Robert’s article has received a deluge of responses (yet again). 2 questions…1) has anyone without an MBA achieved similar results? I’m sure TBP comment section could produce more examples of success without one. I wonder how the world even got out of bed before the first MBA was created. 2) the people you mention are the type that would have achieved at practically anything they put their mind too, right? Even without an MBA.

Llpoh
Llpoh

Wip – he wrote that comment, right at the top of the article. It is factually and provably incorrect. If that comment does not support the article then he needs to change it.

Of course people have been successful without an MBA. Name any other cohort that after 25 years of work have median salaries of $350k and get back to me. Surgeons are likely to be one. Off hand do not know of any others.

Wip
Wip

Let me see if I can explain this article as it relates to the first paragraph, or is it…Let me explain the first paragraph as it relates to the article. Anyway, here goes….

Robert never compared the dollar value a person would receive between the book and an MBA. He merely stated that the book would be more valuable if one wanted to know “How the world really works”. Especially as things break down.

I hope that helps since it seems to me your MBA didn’t help you understand it.

And btw, many surgeons are crooks. That is a fact I have first hand experience with. And I would bet there are many a crooked MBAs also. Get high enough up there and you run into and get pushed into unspeakable, unsavory and criminal things.

hardscrabble farmer

I wrote an essay about the unseen value in high trust relationships-

https://hardscrabblefarmer.com/2016/12/11/the-economics-of-fraternity/

The government doesn’t factor in the monetary value of anything that doesn’t involve a dollar and cents transaction and so many people have come to see the world in a similar way because things like GDP are the only metric they have to go by. Llpoh is nothing if not focused on these kinds of details as a means of determining value. Great way to keep an eye on the bottom line as a businessman and obviously his life experience has proven him to be successful.

What gets left out is the kind of rewards that are not pecuniary in nature. And it also fails to account for the kinds of money that get left on the table because of this-

http://www.gfk-verein.org/en/compact/focustopics/worldwide-ranking-trust-professions

There’s a lot of folks with MBA’s down at the bottom of that list and an equal number of uncredentialed (or minimally certified) professions at the top. If people cannot see the value in trust, they are being deliberately obtuse.

Add to that the flow through costs of being in a profession where you don’t have enough time to raise your own kids- you think that au pairs, nannies and daycare providers are MBA’s? So you take the most valuable asset you have and you hand it off to one of the lowest paid people in our economy so you can make more money in an office?

How’s that Cost Benefit Analysis working out for society?

Different people have different criteria for what constitutes wealth and it doesn’t require and advanced degree to make those determinations for yourself.

I think that makes 100. Congrats, RG.

suzanna
suzanna

We love you HSF. I was at the equivalent of a rural
block party on Sunday. The hosts provided roasted
corn (picked that morning) and some meats. Everyone
else brought a dish/desert. I always want to talk to
everyone, and I did. The party wound down, and a few
of us packed leftovers and deserts for everyone, but
especially the oldsters.

I got to meet two new (to me) families. The daughter
of the dairy farmer (lives on the property in a second
house) her beautiful 12mos. baby and her man. Then
new neighbors, woman, her man and her visiting Mom.
I was given invitations to visit. And I will!

Indeed I felt wealthy on Sunday. Backstory: I have lived
here 5 years…many attendees went to grade school and
high school together and are married to their HS
sweethearts. I was warned it would be difficult to be
accepted in this tiny village and township. The contrary
has been true. It doesn’t hurt that my son married a local
woman, (July lst) and some of the people were at the
wedding. That was just icing on the cake tho.

Last, I don’t know if the host has an MBA, but he has
business acumen. He has served as a consultant in
business, and has been to India 7 Xs. An Indian Co.
bought a local business which employs many locals.
He has helped set up businesses in India. Impressive
for a farmer no?

I love it here! I wouldn’t trade my life for anything.
Wealth is in people and relationships.
Suzanna

Anonymous
Anonymous

Surgeons are also members of one of the 5 top occupations known to attract psychopaths. I’m sure investment banking is up there also. And politics, of course….

ottomatik
ottomatik

Thanks for the responce, and I appreciate your constant pokeing the hornets nest, keep pokeing, actually stick a big fat fuckin stick in that nest.
Ill hang with you, cuz, well, fuck them.
Its actually funny that you presented an article promoting Omerta, to….The Burning Platform….oxymoronic, if I may say without offense.

Wip
Wip

Yes, that is true. We do spill our guts here on the BP.

suzanna
suzanna

Bob and Wip,

If the commies win we just may get arrested.
All of TBP and Straight Line Logic will be hammered
for violations of speech (code)/non-PC.
It reminds me of East Berlin and the thought police
here in the FUSA. I do think, deep down, that we will
overcome this present mayhem. Will we survive the
“reset”? That remains to be seen. We may get insights
if we dig out our dog eared copies of Puzo.
Mario Puzo…a musical name.

“Mario Puzo was born October 15, 1920, in “Hell’s Kitchen” on Manhattan’s (NY) West Side and, following military service in World War II, attended New York’s New School for Social Research and Columbia University. His best-known novel, “The Godfather,” was preceded by two critically acclaimed novels, “The Dark Arena” and “The Fortunate Pilgrim.” In 1978, he published “Fools Die,” followed by “The Sicilian” (1984) and “The Fourth K” (1991). Mario Puzo has also written several screenplays, including Earthquake (1974), Superman (1978), and all three “Godfather” movies, for which he received two Academy Awards. Mario’s latest novel, 1996’s “The Last Don,” was made into a CBS television miniseries in May 1997, starring Danny Aiello, Kirstie Alley and Joe Mantegna. In 1997, Part II was aired. Also in 1997, Mario’s “The Fortunate Pilgrim” was re-released by Random House. Mario passed away July 2, 1999, at his home in Bay Shore, Long Island. His last novel, “Omerta,” will be published July, 2000. He is survived by his companion of 20 years, Carol Gino, and five children.”
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0701374/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

See that? Puzo wrote a book entitled “Omerta”…wow,
I’m going to look for that book!

Got it! 8 bananas Kindle version.

suzanna
suzanna

#103,
Robert,

So I was watching reporter Jason Goodman live/recorded in
PHX as he walked around and spoke to people. He interviewed
people waiting in line, and people on both “sides” of the
issue. It was people going in to see Trump, and people with
various signs against Trump. Mind you this is an open carry
state. This amazed the NYC Jason Goodman. People were
carrying!
The pro Trump people weren’t so forthcoming; the
anti Trump came in all flavors. American Indians, Mexicans,
and whites and blacks. A primary issue was Sheriff Arpiao,
and will Trump pardon him? Much polarization around
that question. The people were mostly from the area, and
Tuscon.
This morning I see Drudge reports it did devolve to chaos.
I hope there will be footage of both sides getting off the
same buses this time as well! May the powers of good win
over the powers of bad.

Thanks Bob, for your work, and happy MBA to all.
Suzanna

Mary Christine

Suzanna, if you are not on Gab, you should be. All of TBP should be. They started a Phoenix topic last night. Drudge is full of shit. Don’t know who’s running it but I never read it anymore. Here is a youtube post from the thread.

suzanna
suzanna

thank you Mary Christine,

I don’t know a thing about Gab,
but people say it is an alternative
to Facebook. For the most part, commenting
on TBP is my only internet presence. And,
I don’t use a smartphone. No time.

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