One of the happiest, sharpest guys I know is a former alcoholic. He’s been in AA – Alcoholics Anonymous – for over 2 decades. Proficient in his business – we met due to manufactured housing – he adapts and rocks on in his part of the country.
That’s a true ‘happy ending’ to what for millions is the sad story of addiction.
Once someone starts smoking, it isn’t easy to quit. Odds are you know someone that has tried to or succeeded in ‘breaking the habit.’ There is often a kind of mutual respect, understanding, camaraderie or ‘unity’ among those who have broken free from some problematic habit. Hold that thought.
Something similar is true in drinking or with certain drugs. In the case of alcohol what might start of in moderation may over time turn to excess. Such matters can start easily in a seemingly innocuous way. But when mere pleasure or that short-term ‘feel good’ gives way to a growing addictive need and related behaviors, the early appeal turns into a type of slavery.
Hold that thought too, because not all slavery is chattel or bondage slavery.
Before continuing, a brief segue to tease some upcoming reports. There are a number of industry specific topics from tips and sources that are already in our hands or soon will be. MHProNews will be reporting on those items which you are unlikely to find elsewhere. The sources include federal, nonprofit, and others. Those will be rolled out in the hours and days ahead.
Now back to addictions, habits, and other sometimes subtle forms of enslavement.
There are psychological and several sociological profiles. The science may or may not fit a specific individual, but the collective insights from years of studies can be applied to larger swaths of a population. So, for instance, social media may be a habit for some. Researchers claim that social media has deliberately been designed to be ‘addictive.’ So, it isn’t just booze, drugs, or smoking that can ‘hook’ a person. Other forms of potentially problematic habits exist.
Once a habit – any ‘bad habit’ – is formed, by definition, it isn’t easy to change. But we all know people who have and do change. That is why the brief glimpse into that happy ex-drinker is inspiring. Just talking to that person is uplifting.
The point of this is that the powers that be in our industry and our nation grasp the power of habit very well. There are political habits. There are social habits. There are buying and selling habits, association habits and so on. For instance, is the association you are in working for you, or against you?
MHProNews has shared the comment from Marty Lavin before. But that same question could be posed to those who are members – for example – of MHAction. Are they being helped, harmed, used, or abused? There will be specific insights on that in an upcoming evidence-based report. It will include their own words and their own plans.
The point is that there are millions of those who don’t even realize that they have a bad habit.
In a sense, the smoker, drinker or drug addict routinely at least grasps that they are in the throes of problematic behavior. Some habits are not discussed as much, and thus escape the same level of understanding that can help people break free.
That’s why the truth telling is so important. We may or may not like the truth. But someone’s opinions do not cancel truth.
The moral relativist mentality – e.g.: ‘something can be true for you but not for me’ – is like many slick lies a clever, it is a half-truth. For instance, it is true that you may like vanilla, while I like chocolate. Both can be true. Those ‘truths’ are personal preferences.
But personal preferences don’t apply to all truths. Merely wanting or wishing that there was no gravity doesn’t give someone the ability to fly.
The founder of Black Lives Matter said on video camera that “We are trained Marxists.” Denying or ignoring that as being ‘true’ is possible. But wishing that the leaders of Black Lives Matter were not self-avowed Marxists looking to build a socialist or communist society wouldn’t magically make that wish true. When someone tells you that they are ‘trained Marxists,’ take them seriously, because it is a serious issue.
The reports for the week that was are sometimes detailed. Why? Because you don’t beat name callers by doing more name calling. MHProNews could simply say, ‘Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, George Soros – these are really bad guys!’ That would look like – and might be – merely an opinion. Mere opinions can be readily dismissed.
Facts, evidence, and the money trail. Those are the tools of discernment. It is evidence that reveals what is true.
Do we have opinions and preferences? Of course.
But sound opinion should be grounded in facts and evidence, not mere whim, what sounds or ‘feels’ good.
Tim Connor joins us again this week with a timely topic of what he calls “Temporary Truths and the Consequences.” Don’t miss it. It is quite insightful. One of Tim’s prior columns is among the top 50 articles month after month, long after it was originally published. As the author of best sellers and over 80 books, it is clear why he is a popular writer. Being in the top 50 articles when there are over 20,000 articles, reports, and posts on this site is an impressive accomplishment.
Speaking of hot topics.
One of the red hot reads in June 2020 is still hot this July. It is well into 6 figure in an industry that had an estimated pre-pandemic 75,000 full-time professionals. So, when you bust six figures, that means that numerous readers outside of our profession are digging into that topic. It is the one below. Note that it doesn’t say that those billionaires are bad guys. Rather, it provides evidence of their behavior plus the money trail. Thus, individuals who read the issue can discern what is true based upon facts, not opinion.
That report is linked above. The current leader is approaching 500,000 hits. That is one is accessed via the text-image box found below. First time reader? Click on either the image or the headline to access a given report.
A colleague sent a message that notes that people can earn their money by creating wealth, not just by squeezing it away from others. He was speaking of Elon Musk, who reportedly has surpassed Warren Buffett’s wealth. One may or may not agree with Musk, but it is certainly true that companies like Tesla, SpaceX or the Boring company didn’t exist. They broke new ground. They employed thousands upon thousands in the process. It is understandable what makes him different than Buffett, whom even Bill Gates – Buffett’s longtime colleague – said didn’t create. Buffett, said Gates, exploits.
![DidntWantToMeetWarren[Buffett]BecauseGuyBuysSellsFoundImperfectMarketNotValueAddSocietyZeroSumGameParasiticBillGatesPhotoMicrosoftLogoGatesFoundationLogoQuoteQuotableQuoteMHproNews](http://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/DidntWantToMeetWarrenBuffettBecauseGuyBuysSellsFoundImperfectMarketNotValueAddSocietyZeroSumGameParasiticBillGatesPhotoMicrosoftLogoGatesFoundationLogoQuoteQuotableQuoteMHproNews.jpg)
What follows are other issues that are regularly drawing tens of thousands to this platform. Over the course of a typical year, millions of visits occur here. It remains to be seen what the numbers will be for 2020, but when a single report draws 1.12 million hits in June, that is an interesting sign.
So, you are never alone here on MHProNews. Readers here don’t always like what they read. But they arguably return in part because we provide evidence, not mere opinions, slander, or hyperbole.
Back in the early days of our pro-growth, pro-consumer and pro-business platform, part of the site required a login. It was interesting to see ‘big names’ in our profession that were reading here. MHProNews stopped that login requirement practice many years ago. That said, MHProNews still gets messages and calls, along with tips from third parties. It is they that tell us that from the mom and pop operator to the largest firms in our profession, nonprofit and other leaders, public officials and John and Jane come too. That is backed up by site data from third party sources that doesn’t tell us specifically who is visiting, but it tells us how many are coming and how many hits are occurring on a specific report.
In feedback from readers, some jeer while others cheer. At the end of the day, what matters more isn’t a popularity contest but that readers are finding content that they can sink their teeth into.
Please don’t miss the postscript after the headlines for the week.
With no further adieu, let’s turn to the headlines for the reports in the week that was from 7.5 to 7.12.2020.
The Latest from MHLivingNews
Words of Wisdom – Tim Connor, CSP
What’s New on the Daily Business News on MHProNews
Saturday 7.11.2020
Friday 7.10.2020
Thursday 7.9.2020
Wednesday 7.8.2020
Tuesday 7.7.2020
Monday 7.6.2020
Sunday 7.5.2020
Postscript (PS) Additional MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
In case you didn’t notice, we have respect for those of whatever background that may be caught up in this or that habit. There is also respect for those who break free.
We respect those who may see things differently, but we make a robust, evidence-based case on topics that others in our profession either don’t report, gloss over, or try to make it seem innocent or even good.
Freedom is never free. Since shortly after the dawn of time, there have been those who manipulated or oppressed others. Cigarette companies make money selling a product that is habit forming and a danger to health. Today, that is out in the open.
But for years, cigarette companies outright lied about the problematic effects of smoking, didn’t they? It took years of research, information, reports, legal and other battles to force the truth out into the public.
Do you expect that Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, Mark Zuckerberg, and others like them will suddenly just jump up and admit that they have manipulated millions and profited from others’ weaknesses and habits?
Warren Buffett Declared “Class Warfare,” Buffett Says Fellow Billionaires – “We’re Winning”
You can’t make a good deal with a bad person. There is class warfare, and Buffett was coyly admitting the truth in sometimes open, sometimes coded language.
Gates criticized Buffett before they met, so he said as the quote above and again here reflects. Did Buffett change? Or did Gates merely embrace Buffett’s methods?
You have to fight for your own freedom, but you don’t have to do so alone. That struggle for a better life begins with education or information. Thinkers from hundreds of years ago understood that, so why aren’t they routinely taught in schools today?
The illusion of freedom is not the same thing as freedom. The solution for creating a “more perfect Union” is not destruction, but creation.
Millions own small businesses or have some level of equity in their housing or property. In a truly socialist economy, that could end for the majority.
Socialists can’t come to power by telling the truth. They can only come to power by a mixture of half-truths and outright lies. They routinely find fiery figures who have engaging personalities that cause emotions to get carried away. That is just one of the lessons of history. MHProNews has from early on provided insights from across the left-right media and political divides. By doing so, readers here get a richer picture of what is occurring on a given topic being reported.
This struggle in America is historic in every sense. Destroying history won’t help us learn from it and be inspired by it. Lifting up our fellow countrymen is how greater freedom is achieved.
It is less than 4 months to election day. Don’t wait until it is too late to being informing those in your circle as to what is actually being proposed as the future of America. Unless you want to live in an American version of Venezuela or Cuba, the time to push back with facts over fear and fiction is now. Recall or discover that Cuba and Venezuela were both more prosperous before their revolutions, not after.
There is a camaraderie that often forms among those who grasp what is at stake in the rapidly approaching voting in November 2020. Just as ex-addicts may form a natural bond and share a kind of mutual understanding and respect, there can be similarly be ties among those who are willing to do what it takes to insure the freedom of their loved ones.
Freedom is never free. It takes effort to break away from habits. That often starts with good education or sound information. Thanks for making this one of your resources to learn how to inform others while you inform and inspire yourself. Onward toward November!
Programming note. MHProNews has finished the process of revamping our industry-leading x2 weekly emailed headline news updates. You can sign up free in seconds at this link here or above.
Your ability to practice your business and profession depend in good measure on safety and security. Peace and protected rights, therefor, are vital. Law and order are essential.
Don’t forget that it is always about getting to the root cause of problems. It is all too easy to chase the latest bright and shiny ball. Each issue – properly understood – has a root cause that must be addressed.
There is always more to come, so stay tuned with the runaway number one source for authentic “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.
