It is reasonable to forgive any wrong that is justly compensated. Even a sincere apology is sometimes enough -- especially, if the harm that results from the wrong-doing is not enduring. What is difficult to tolerate is a system that rewards wrongdoing and punishes good behavior. We live in a time in which such reward and punishment abounds. Should we then wonder how are fellow humans can behave with such hatred, pain, and confusion?

On December 30, 2021 I was badly assaulted and sought justice for having been so. I tested the system as it was presented, and my assailant was charged, convicted, and sentenced. What should have taken no more than a couple of months took some two-and-one-half years! My assailant was sentenced on May 10, 2024.

So repulsed by the behavior of the judicial system, I documented the entire ordeal in a five-act, reality play that is available for your perusal and erudition. The dialogue of the play is that of the sentencing hearing at which I, as the victim of my assailant's crime, was allowed to make a statement and enter into “dialogue” with the judge.

Today it is popular to point blame at the system while allowing those who make the system “work” go free. For, after all, are these latter not merely products of the same? Well, no. The law is based on personal responsibility. So, I went after both — the system and those who make it up — and revealed much in so doing.

In the end I am likely now closer to my assailant than those who are leading him and others like him down a false path.

The family in which I grew up became so torn apart by circumstance that I pretty much gave up on raising a family of my own. Indeed, the likelihood that a family of my own will ever come to pass is now quite small.

The nuclear family is the most fundamental societal unit, and strong family ties appear essential for a vibrant, healthy society. Unfortunately, the crucial social mechanisms that once reinforced the family unit have been significantly eroded. What is more, through its wayward policies and inappropriate laws government has greatly abetted this erosion. In the West, and especially in the United States, we have traded family for government institutions. It were, as if, government and the too often failed academicians who guide its employees could somehow replace the intimate understanding, helpful guidance, and immediate assistance that only members of a close-knit family can offer one another.

When I compare my own worldly experience in eight countries on three continents, it appears that we in the so-called West have erred in an important way.

Fortunately, my own realization of this loss encouraged me to make an effort to renew my family ties. My persistence paid off. My younger brother, the only remaining member of the nuclear family in which I was raised, is once again on speaking terms with me, and we are now exchanging holiday greetings. It is a small, but important gesture in the right direction.

On November 15, 2022, one week after the promised “Red Wave” failed to materialize, Donald J. Trump announced his candidacy to become America's 47th president. On that day I printed five letters in red each occupying one full letter-size piece of paper. When placed side-by-side in my 6th floor window — sufficiently distant from, yet still visible to, the woke rabble below — they read trump. These letters remained in my window until November 5, 2024, when I took them down and placed them on my apartment door to the chagrin of many of my neighbors.

No, I do not know what the Trump presidency will bring between 2025 and 2029, but whatever it is, it will surely be better than another four years under the rule of the so-called “Democratic” Party. Indeed, the Democrats have lost their way! The most egregious evidence of this is the many millions of improperly identified, or more simply, unidentified foreign nationals whom the Biden administration invited into our nation.

We are no longer living in the 19th century. There is no land for which there is not a deed, and that is not already owned by someone. Our nation no longer has the need to settle undeveloped land in an effort to secure our borders against larger sovereign powers.

The second most egregious evidence is the Democrats' fixation with global warming, climate change, the new ice age, whatever. The idea that we should control the earth's atmosphere rather than adapt to its fluctuations is an absolutely insane notion. This ideology of control, together with their “hidden” desire to quash the sovereignty of the American people in favor of the creation of a one-world government administered by carefully selected servants of our world's global corporate elite is an abomination against everything for which America has ever stood.

Alas, the list of abominations is simply too long to list here, and we must do everything to insure that these unAmerican ideologs do not return to power in their present form.

On the bright side I was genuinely pleased to see Donald J. Trump invite Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to join his future cabinet as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. As a small, but monthly donor to Del Bigtree's Highwire and the ICAN organization, I believe that my money was well spent.

No, I am not at all happy with my fellow countrymen's continued blind support for the State of Israel, but this is a malaise that has plagued American politics for many decades. And, this malaise will surely not change under the Trump Administration. Then too, there is much more on the presidential and congressional plates — no matter the administration — than the catering of the US Government to the political ambitions of a tiny rogue and barbarous state on the other side of the world.

At least, now we have a chance at restoring the American republic on our own soil — and this, based on the philosophy of governance set forth by our nation's founding fathers. It will not be easy, but the wheel that control's the direction of the Amercian juggernaut has been turned at least once, if not already twice, in the proper direction. There is, indeed, good reason for hope.

On December 13th I became 75 years of age. This makes me three-quarters of a century old!

When I reached middle-age I felt like my life was over. It took me more than a decade to realize that a new life was just beginning. Since then, things have continued to move forward despite several major set backs along the way. In the end, being 75 is pretty cool, if you are sufficiently healthy to enjoy it and bother to keep pace with the world around you. Most of my peers resigned long before they reached 75 and are just hanging around to die. I think very little about how my life will end. There are some ways that I will absolutely seek to avoid, but absent of an “early” departure my goal is to leave a worthy mark.

To celebrate my 75th, a good friend and I went to Maneki, a Japanese restaurant in Seattle's International District, where I treated him to large, shared platefuls of sashimi and tempura as well as a bowl of misō shiru, specially prepared eggplant as an hors d'oeuvres, and dessert. In turn, he treated me to a martini at a neighboring bistro called Itsumo while we waited our turn because our reservation had been rejected. After a most pleasurable dinner we went to the busy lobby of the Westin Hotel for an expresso and more conversation. It was great fun.

It rained the whole time, and I simply did not care. After all, I now live in Seattle where cold rain is a way of life.

I was most thankful to have had someone with whom to pass the occasion, as I have spent many a birthday alone -- not necessarily lonely, but without human companionship. After all, being with others is part of what it means to be human.

I am also happy that my 75th appeared in the Year of the Dragon, the same year in which D.J. Trump was elected our 47th.

Already in December of 2023 I had decided that I should take advantage of the 2024 arrival of the 99th Annual WEAI Conference in Seattle. WEAI is the acronym for the Western Economics Conference International. The conference hosts over a thousand attendees every year from around the Pacific Rim.

I first attended the conference while still resident in Hong Kong, and have since attended in Tōkyō, Seattle, and San Francisco. Although not a regular attendee, having just completed my first book dedicated to the field of monetary history, I concluded that I had something to say that was worthy of the conference's attention and decided to present a paper. After all, the conference was only a twenty-minute walk from my residence, and I would be spared the additional costs of travel, food, and lodging.

I decided to take what I had learned from my research, to distill it into a somewhat scholarly paper, and to present it to the conference. As expected, my presentation was scheduled early on a Sunday morning where attendance would likely not include many more people than those who were also making presentations in the same session. I did not let this deter me and prepared a quality presentation whose execution went well. I also fulfilled my session obligation as a discussant and received good advice in return for my effort.

As my paper was far too long for publication, I have since divided it into three papers ("A Call for the Restoration of Monetary Order" Part I and Part II) and am planning to present my completely revised, but not yet completed third paper at the 100th Annual WEAI Conference in San Francisco in 2025. Already I have paid for my attendance and submitted an abstract. I am now awaiting approval. It will likely not be a slam-dunk.

After I finished my presentation at The 99th I found a table in a section of the Hyatt-Regency reserved for meeting others in your own field of interest. The table which I chose was reserved for those interested in monetary theory. For the next three days I occupied the table with an advertisment of my book, two table placards, a bottle of Japanese sake, and a friendly, but dedicated demeanor. Whereas the one placard advertised by book, the other included the following statement

My photo was taken and included among those published by the conference photographer. In the photo I was seated at the table, but the table setting did not appear.

On Thursday, December 12th, the day before my 75th birthday, I was examined along with one of my classmates. It was my third karate test in two years, and I felt very confident about my performance. I was even complemented by the blackbelt who was present and had helped to administer the examination.

At the end of the test my classmate and I were told to prepare an oral statement about how we could improve our overall importance. This statement was to be delivered on December 17th, the following Tuesday.

On the following Tuesday our classmate who was missing on the previous Thursday appeared and was tested, as well. Our blackbelt was not present, and I was not at all happy with the way that the exam was conducted. This said, my classmate performed well and was promoted by the end of class. Whereupon my classmate and I, who had been told to provide oral statements on the previous Thursday, were now told to write an essay instead and have it submitted by Thursday — our last meeting of the year. Writing the essay was easy, as I had already prepared my oral statement. I submitted it via email on the following day.

On Thursday before our final meeting of the year our dōjō master informed me that I would not be promoted, I was not disappointed, rather deeply angered — not by my failure to have been promoted, but by the reason and manner by which I was notified. As a result, I boycotted the last class of the year in protest and learned from the blackbelt, who had complemented my performance during the previous week, that my classmate, who, like me, was required to write an essay, had been promoted. I was glad to have skipped class as the brown belt had purposefully humiliated me during our joint test on the previous Thursday.

Indeed, I spent a good portion of the Christmas and New Year holidays and their interim thinking about whether and how I might return at the beginning of the New Year.

I have decided to continue, but only under the condition that my training is allowed to advance. I do not attend class to practice; this I do on my own — alone at the gym or at the dōjō on non-class days.

When I decided to go to Japan, it was because, in part, that I wanted to discover Japan. When I decided to leave Japan, it was because I had completed my discovery and was denied further chance of professional advancement.

Both Hong Kong and Kyrgyzatan offered me something that I could not obtain in Japan — namely, a full-time faculty position at a well-respected university. I chose Hong Kong, because it would allow me to view East Asia through a set of eyes that were not Japanese. In contrast, the Kyrgyz Republic is a Muslim nation and former member state (soviet) of the Soviet Union — not exactly a nation within an alternative East Asian perspective. When I left Hong Kong in 2007 I returned to the United States for a brief period before returning overseas first to Saudi Arabia, then to South Korea, on to Thailand, and then back to Saudi Arabia where I remained for three additional years. I can now make informed statements about what it means to be East Asian and Asian.

Important is that I am now living in the United States and am still conflicted by certain Japanese attitudes. Although I am a member of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center (JCCC) of Seattle, am learning karate at the age of 75, and am teaching Japanese language and culture online, only my teaching has run smoothly. In effect, my outside-inside (soto-uchi 外内 ) understanding of Japan is not being crushed by Japan's inside-outside (uchi-soto 内外) understanding of me and the world as a whole.

In January 2024 I was assured by the JCCC that an opportunity for American returnees from Japan would be organized for the purpose of language maintenance. It still has not occurred. I even offered to help organize regularly scheduled meetings. Instead, I was embarrassed by JCCC management behind my back. It took nearly a month to resolve the matter, and it was not without profound effort on my part. Although the JCCC and I are now on good terms, my relationship with my Japanese-American karaté master appears never to have properly healed.

The Japanese can be a difficult lot, but I still have a profound interest in their language and culture. My nearly uninterrupted, nine-year sojourn in Japan had a profound impact on the way I view humanity and the world in general.

The first draft of Mount Cambitas — The Story of Real Money was completed before the end of 2023. It was a two-year project that I had hoped to make available online and eventually publish in hardback. As the book was over 700 pages in length, I decided to split the book into two volumes in the hope that I could receive some income while completing my revision of the second volume.

As the spring of 2024 waned I became increasingly busy with other matters that required my immediate attention including the up-coming sentencing trial of my assailant and my planned presentation at the 99th Annual WEAI Conference where I hoped to make the first formal presentation of my findings and conclusions.

My first sally into the publishing world was one of cold rebuke. My book's online presence attracted few viewers and was barely acknowledged — this despite a passing glimmer of hope from a publisher who originally expressed an interest in the book and then later declined. Where before I believed that there was a sincere interest in the substance of my message, I discovered only casual advertising interest. I was discouraged and decided to take a break from my book project — not the book's mission.

It was in the spring of 2021 that I was approached by my now three-decade-long German friend to translate a book written in German about the so-called Hidden Christians of Japan. The author was a friend and business colleague of my friend. I agreed to the project for several reason and worked on the translation for several months without interruption in order to complete it in a timely manner.

In a way I was the perfect match for such a translation, as I was not only a native speaker of English with a very good understanding of the German language, but I also enjoy good fluency in written Japanese, am very familiar with Japanese culture, and have always had an interest in history. What is more, I had previously translated a tour guide from German to English written by my friend. The guide provided a brief historical and architectural description of each Catholic church in the Tōkyō region. Though neither a Catholic, nor an adherent to any religious faith, I was raised in a Christian home in a Christian nation and am very familiar with Christian traditions and the Christian faith in general. In effect, I am a friend to all religious faiths — despite my own belief that God is the invention of humankind.

This past year action was finally taken to find an English language publisher for the translation of The Light of Faith Who knows? Maybe this year a publisher will be found. No matter, I am merely the translator and can only encourage the author to have his own work published.

In the end, my having completed the translation so early and with such energy was that it led to my own research about the history of real money and the eventual completion of the first draft of my own work entitled Mount Cambitas - The Story of Real Money — what is gradually emerging as a political initiative to bring about global monetary reform.

As we moved closer and closer to the election, I was both distracted and conflicted. On the one hand, I knew that Trump was my candidate of choice, and that the vast majority of those around me were against his renewed bid for the presidency. On the other hand, I knew that, once in office, the new President would likely not address the core of our nation's ills and much of the world's. In effect, he would not relinquish control of the US dollar and bring an end to the money racket that plagues all Western nations, if not the entirety of humanity.

The Mount Cambitas website was not achieving the goal that it was designed to accomplish — namely, brand recognition and an income stream large enough to entice a publisher. Accordingly, shortly after the WEAI Conference was completed and the July 4th holiday had passed, I began looking for a way to improve the appearance and functionality of my site.

The world of IT had advanced far beyond my own humble understanding of computer programming and web application development.

A free, thirty-day, introductory course to Laravel offered by Jeffrey Way, that took me nearly three months to complete, became my avenue of choice. I began in late August and did not finish until mid-November after the election. My foundation in PHP was largely sufficient, but I found Laravel to be a jungle of interlocking namespaces that were not easy to unravel. Important errors were made. Indeed, I often felt like I sometimes feel in my karaté training — blind allegiance with the hope that one day my many unresolved questions would be answered. Most were, in fact, and I thank Jeffrey for his guidance.

By the time I completed the course, the holiday season had arrived, and I have yet to make a full effort since. I largely expect that soon I will muster the will to plunge more deeply and make good on my three months' worth of self-training with Jeffrey as my trainer.

In March or thereabouts I submitted my candidacy for becoming the precinct committee officer (PCO) for the Republican Party of my local voting precinct. As there was no opposition to my election I was automatically awarded the post. I was even offered the position of precinct captain, but declined due to my lack of experience as a PCO.

My precinct consists of approximately 500 eligible voters -- nearly all of whom live in high-rise apartment buildings whose news sources can only be surmised. As nearly all of them use voice mail to filter their calls, and seemingly do not want, from the outset, to become involved in political discussion, it is nearly impossible to engage them in political dialogue that is not both rare and incidental in public places.

During the run-up to the election I even offered those whom I called and encouraged to vote an invitation to an election-night watch party. There were zero takers.

In order to overcome the obvious impasse I have decided to begin the New Year with a tabling effort at Seattle University that is only a ten-minute walk from my residence. Hopefully, there, face-to-face discussion and civil dialogue will be possible. It is not like this will be my first time in such an endeavor.

In October of 2023 I resisted having my holiday be ruined by still another Israeli pounding of the entrapped Arab peoples of Palestine. Instead, I wrote a brief article in which I predicted what would happen based on many years of observation. It was an article of condemnation without active participation.

The whole matter in the Middle East is thoroughly disgusting, and I feel powerless to effect any change. After a full year of ever more repressive measures I felt compelled to speak out still again, but this time with a very different tact. Rather than prosecuting Israel I chastised those who support it — those who have rendered me powerless to effectuate any change, my own countrymen. The article is entitled The God of Abraham.

I published it on my Substack account on the first day of the celebration of Hanukkah, and it received the greatest number of views for the entire month.

I do not recall how I discovered The Chosen, but it was likely via the Angel Studios website. Angel Studios was promoting the production and distribution of a movie called Cabrini, and I was resident in a building that was named after St. Cabrini, the subject of the film. This was before The Chosen and Angel Studios separated ways.

Though not a Christian per se, I was raised in a Christian family in a Christian nation and was well aware of America's second Great Awakening — a movement that has been sweeping America under the names of “America First”, “Make America Great Again”, and others. I was generally pleased with the trend and decided to refresh my understanding of the Christian faith, as a result. I found The Chosen to be a sincere effort to portray the New Testament in a manner that was easily digested and enjoyable to watch.

After several seasons and many episodes I decided to ask my Christian friend of long-standing whether he was familiar with The Chosen series, and if so, what he thought of about it. As he agreed that it was a good portrayal of his own understanding of Christianity, I purchased for him the three-fish t-shirt sold by The Chosen to help fund their effort. It was the first birthday present that I had ever sent him, and it was greatly rewarded by a much larger present in return. It made the holiday season so much better.

The rent that I pay in my current residence is determined by my level of income. Since 2019 the management of my building (both previous and current) had refused to acknowledge my company. It is now, after five long years, allowing me to deduct my business expenses from my business revenue.

As my business revenue increased last year and therefore my rent, and as my business expenses are a large proportion of my business revenue the rent relief was substantial and very welcome.

Everything has become more expensive — especially food, and I eat nearly entirely organic. In the end it is difficult to grow a company when you are “taxed” solely on your revenue and not your profit. What finally swung the pendulum was a federal government document that clearly showed that I was self-employed. Up until this year my personal documentation had been ignored. Such is the current state of affairs in America.

The obstacles of the year ahead are formidable, but I return to my own adage of hope that I first published in celebration of the coming Year of the Dog in 2006.

Be loyal to your objectives,
and if they are worthy,
people will follow.

I was compelled to leave Hong Kong one year later for failure of my friends and family to come to my aid when I needed it most. I almost did not make it out alive, and I was forced to abandon the HKLNA Project and my further developement of the Tsong Kit website as a result. It was likely the second most traumatic period of my life. Still I encourage both family and friendship. Maybe I had not been very good at either. Maybe they were trying to send me a message.