NBA Players: Help Stop the Pimping of the People!

Despite the provocative nature of the title, this video has NOTHING to do with “sexual” pimping. The
title is intentional provocation to direct viewers to a more important issue affecting the world! I'm
talking about poverty, and what we as a people – with the help of you, our NBA brethren – can do
about it. Specifically, this video will offer a paradigm that – if followed – is GUARANTEED to
drastically reduce income inequality, which is the ONLY viable way TO eradicate poverty! I'm not
trying to represent that I have uncovered a paradigm unknown to the world's economists. This is
something that they easily could have come up with had they the will to do so. But sadly, most people
study economics with a view only toward personal or aggregate national economic benefit. Lifting up
those from the bottom, that is, attacking income disparity just isn't the focus of econ classes – at least it
wasn't when I studied collegiate economics some 40 odd years ago. But the tools that the study of
business and economics equips one with are all that is needed to come up with a paradigm, IF one is so
inclined. [Video presentation here: NBA Players: Help Stop the Pimping of the People!]

Okay, if the people are being pimped, that means that the people are whores, right? Some of you will
recall a few years back when Barbara Walters was called by whomever a “media whore”. Many took
exception to this designation but – because of the way I view capitalism – I thought the moniker was
fitting, and I'll tell you why. All of us operating within a capitalist system “sell” ourselves or parts of
ourselves every time we work for money. Broadly speaking, laborers are “labor whores” and thinkers
are “thinking whores”. More specifically, doctors are “medical whores”; lawyers are “legal whores”;
businessmen are “business whores”, and yes professional basketball players are “basketball whores”.
I've spent so much time with this analogy that I considered writing a book entitled, “Capitalism vs.
Iceberg Slim: Will the Real Pimp Please Stand”. I never wrote the book, but hey…I’m not dead yet!

The fact is that I have compared capitalism to pimping for a number of years now and here's why. In a
pimp/whore relationship, the whore does all the work. The pimp takes in all the money and then
decides how much residual income to give to the whore. Capitalism – in its present form – works
exactly the same way! The worker whores do all the work. The entrepreneurial pimps take in all the
income and decide how much residual income will go to the worker whores! Even high salary
employees are still whores but – just like regular whores – they receive more money and are afforded
other perks because they bring in more money and are thus, the pimps’ “prize whores”, typically called
by a two-word name with the initials “BB”. I’ll actually say the name later, but I don’t want to unduly
antagonize the audience too early in the presentation.

But this is capitalism as it IS..., VERY heavy on the pimp side! BUT this not capitalism as it has to be
NOR how it has always been. Prior to the industrial revolution most workers/whores didn't work for an
entrepreneur/pimp. They were independent artisans or “street walkers” with no pimp! Industrialization
allowed for faster and increased production due to a new assembly line process but it ALSO forced out
the independent artisans. The present form of capitalism is the CAUSE of income disparity in America
and the exportation of this brand of capitalism has been the cause of even greater income disparity
worldwide, since this brand of capitalism can only marginally work in the richest nation in the world.
Ten percent of the citizens of a nation controlling ninety percent of the wealth is simply unworkable
anywhere BUT in the richest nation in the world; and only marginally so!

To wit, what I am going to do is re-introduce a kinder, gentler form of capitalism in order to reduce
income inequality. This will require a great infusion of capital and – as rich as many of you ballplayers
are – you still don't even collectively have enough. Thus, I propose that America supports YOU in
YOUR quest in the formation of a “players only” league. A league where the owners of every team are
the “players only” of said team and the individual teams are the ONLY owners of the league. But YOU
will need support from America – fan support – for a successful launch of a “league of your own” and
Americans, by and large have no stake in helping millionaires become billionaires. So, we're gonna tie
your destinies together! They're gonna gladly help you get rid of YOUR pimps because YOU will – in
turn – help them get rid of THEIR pimps!

After you players decide that a league of your own is a desirable path, you will naturally evolve into an
adversarial business relationship with the NBA. The total defection of professional basketball players
to a “players only” league will mean the demise of the NBA, so owners WILL fight your endeavor.
Although their possession of capital allows them the opportunity for investment in virtually ANY
OTHER venture, they have DECIDED to pimp YOU because YOU are “high ticket” hos!

But, once the public makes it clear that they will support YOU over your owners/pimps in your quest
for independence – including the purchase of YOUR NEW apparel over the apparel representing both
past and present NBA stars and franchises – giving in to your “mutiny of whores” (including the
takeover of present franchises at greatly reduced prices) will simply be their best business option. But
they will not arrive at this conclusion without a fight. How many pimps do you know of that will
willingly let their highest paid hos go without a fight? It is what it is. Be ready! Pimps NEVER
willingly relinquish their stable of hos. They must ALWAYS be forced to do so.

And there's no reason to wait until you are playing for that “league of your own” to start freeing
American whores...I mean workers... from their pimp companies. Granted, you will only be able to
truly implement this system on a globally significant level after you remove YOUR pimps, thereby
keeping ALL of YOUR “trick money”. Still, you will be able to help a substantial number of
Americans “fire their pimps” with the resources currently available to you. This will actually be a
valuable good faith gesture to naysayers who will argue that once America makes you the next
billionaire class, you'll become as materialistic as the blue bloods.

Now, I don't personally believe that you would emulate the blue bloods, because from what I've
experienced in MY 63 years, it's only the new millionaires that “reach or give back”. Old money tends
to help the less fortunate only to the extent that they get tax breaks and they NEVER seem to help out
in ways that are trans-formative enough to help the poor become middle class. Maybe it's just that new
money tends to remember personal experiences with poverty – vividly! And... I'd also surmise that it's
easy for the Christian blue bloods among us to actually feel good about addressing the symptoms of
poverty versus the causes since their sacred book proclaims in three separate gospels that “the poor you
have with you, always”. My suggestion to Christians who think this way... is a change in their mantra
to... “I can do some things through Christ”... cause can't shit be done about poverty! I mean hell, if
that’s how you think… own it!

I would suggest that you players settle on a name for your new league; open the business, though you
have no teams yet, along with a non-profit foundation with the same name; have all players contribute
to the fund and start implementing operation FIRE YOUR PIMP on a smaller scale! (I was actually
gonna be a bit vain and say, “operation Barrett Paradigm” but I felt the name of the operation should
double as a rallying cry. Don't you agree?) This will not only get America accustomed to the idea of
firing their pimps; it will firmly attach your league's name to the fire your pimp movement. This will
ingratiate the people to you and increase their willingness to reject the purchase of old and new NBA
paraphernalia in favor of gear from your new league – a necessary revenue loss to pressure your pimps
to pull money out of pimping you and investing it elsewhere.

So, I'm going to first outline the specifics of the fire your pimp movement. Then I will discuss
readiness moves for all players to prepare for the impending firing of your pimps. I will create a
shortened URL link to this video so that all players can tweet, post, embed etc. the link to your billions
of social media followers this simple message: “Players owning the teams? Check first 15 minutes of
video. [URL] Give feedback. #fireyourpimp.” You don’t have to write that down because it’s in the
description below. This way, you don't have to pitch the idea. The video will. And you will be only
asking that they listen to 15 minutes of a video that is likely to run close to an hour. They will get the
gist of it from that much and will likely ingest it all after going that far. Finally, I will seek an average
payment of at least $2,500 per player, an amount that the richest players could pay for their entire team.
This will mostly be to enable me to fund my non-profit – Our Common Welfare, Inc. – to institute
operation fire your pimp on a smaller scale with labor pools. All minds clear?

Now, to be honest, I considered not even recording this video because of a prideful reason. You see,
some folk may notice that I seldom smile these days and the reason is simply because of a messed-up
grill. My teeth are shot and I never smile anymore because of it and usually cover my mouth when
laughter overtakes me. But in the end, I simply realized the importance of this undertaking and realized
that I just couldn't let my pride preclude me from unveiling a plan with such massive benefit to the
entire world. Also – though I am a Humanist, atheist, and anti-theist – I was a believer for the first 50+
years of my life and I seem to remember a biblical reference of “pride going before the fall”. So, I
sucked it up! Still, the escaping air between my upper teeth will necessitate that I pause or slow down
to adequately pronounce certain words, syllables of combinations thereof. It is what it is......

So, ...although I have long compared capitalism to pimping, the truth is that I was only viewing it for
what it had morphed into and NOT what it fundamentally is. Fundamentally, capitalism is a system of
prostitution. As mentioned earlier, in such a system we all “sell” parts of ourselves – our knowledge,
skills, expertise, training, or labor. But there are two assessments about prostitution that Americans in
general and black Americans in particular have perennially determined. Americans in general have
determined that prostitution is most likely the world's oldest profession and black Americans in
particular have determined that pimping couldn't have been far behind it.

Okay, here's how you drastically reduce income inequality and eventually eradicate poverty while
staying within a capitalist structure. You use every means available to revolutionize most of the
corporate industry into privately held corporations with all employees – from cashier to president – as
equal and sole common stock shareholders! Salaries and wages can still differ from job to job within
the corporation based on relative value, but the equality among shareholders means that each employee
receives equal dividends and have an equal voice in running it.

Now, I did say most of the corporate industry needs to be transformed into corporations where all the
workers are equal owners, but not all. The reason is that there are certain groups of workers who are
both the workers of an enterprise and also the product sold. It would be unfair to these workers to allow
employees of “regular” value to share equally in the profits of the company because any ownership
interest in the company would mean ownership interest in the product sold – thus, ownership interest in
their fellow workers. The main goal of the fire your pimp movement is for “worker whores” to receive
all of their own “trick money” and then pay out expenses. Some of your expenses would be the
payments to support staff, i.e., your front office.
Doctors, lawyers, athletes, and music artists are all examples where the workers are also the product
sold. But whereas doctors and lawyers are able to easily fire their pimps and work for themselves,
athletes and music artists don’t fare as well. I have some thoughts about transforming the music
industry as well, but we’re dealing with professional basketball players right now. So, the players will
be the sole common stock shareholders of their respective teams – because they are also the product
sold. Still, it would be hypocritical of you to be the face of a movement that seeks to empower workers
with the ownership and profits of the companies they work for if you are willing to share neither
ownership nor profits with your workers. So, I would suggest sharing profits since sharing ownership
of yourselves would not be a move forward. My thoughts are that you distribute 5% of profits among
non-playing members of your corporate team depending on the dollar amount of profits. I’m also
thinking that the percentage could raise incrementally to 10%, 15%, and a ceiling of 20% within
various ranges of profits earned. Fortunately, you all already understand the concept of team and thus
realize that – though your non-stars and bench players don’t bring as much to the table as your stars,
and are thus paid less – you couldn’t win a championship without them. The same applies to your front
office. In fact, most everyone in any front office in the NBA is likely indispensable with one glaring
exception – the owners!

The limited financial liability that has been afforded to corporate shareholders since 1855 means that
creditors look only to the assets of the corporation for debt resolution. In other words – although
workers in employee-owned companies would lose their jobs were the company to fail, just as they
with the pimp companies – they would owe no company debt. The profits that have been dispersed as
dividends over the years would be theirs to keep – insulated from company debt. Yet every year they
are in business they will have adequate salaries and great benefits in addition to those quarterly or bi-
monthly dividends that will greatly increase their standard of living, as well as provide more savings to
insulate them from the perils of job loss.

To illustrate this paradigm in action, imagine you – our NBA brethren – securing or building a structure
in a blighted area of a major city with the goal of offering at least 50% of the jobs to the residents of the
neighborhood. Now I understand, and am certain that particular indicators will steer you towards the
temptation to setup in a more affluent area instead. High crime rates will be one such indicator against
business enterprise in poor sections, but it's the specific reason you should “start in the hood” in my
opinion. And it's not about any biblical references about helping “the least of these” – remember, I'm an
atheist and a Humanist. But use that, if it helps you.

But no, I firmly believe that poverty causes a great deal of crime and that reductions in poverty result
in reductions in crime. For instance, the bible's declaration that the love of money is the root of all evil
is quite informative, but it still only tells half of the story. In truth, it is the thirst for money that should
be said to be the root of all evil. Though we may conflate the words “thirsty” and “greedy” – especially
with today's slang – greed is only a part of thirst. Just as a great deal of the thirst for money emanates
from obsession and greed, there is just as much thirst emanating from deprivation and need. The
financial crimes of Paul Manafort and his white-collar ilk emanate from obsession and greed – not
need. The thefts, robberies, drug dealings, and yes... actual pimping... in the hood emanate mostly from
deprivation and need... with a sprinkling of greed.

Yes, you may have to hire off duty police officers for security, but I believe it will be a worthwhile
venture, nonetheless. And remember... poor areas across America aren't limited to minority dominant
areas. There are more white people in America on welfare and receiving food stamps than any
particular minority group. So, the terms “blighted area”, “poor”, and “crime-ridden” are by no means
indications that black and brown communities should be your sole targets. That would neither represent
the breadth of American poverty nor the totality of the poor neighborhoods that some pro basketball
players come from and desire to uplift. And never forget that, along with white American players who
will want to economically stimulate their own neighborhoods, there are also international players who
will want to assist areas in their mother countries just as Dikembe Mutombo built the hospital in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

After securing/building the structure, you announce the opening of a discount store called “Our Mart” –
call it an alternative to Wal-Mart, K Mart, Target, Family Dollar, etc. Using one name could cause
unnecessary legal issues. Using all you can think of within the industry allows you to target past and
present employees within the industry versus the unfair business practices lawsuit you could lose by
targeting a particular store. Announce that Our Mart will be wholly owned by the employees – the only
shareholders. Accept applications for all employment of Our Mart – including upper management,
financial manager, president, and buyers – favoring those with similar retail experience who live in the
area. Start training those chosen and stock the store. You may want to query any buyers with Wal-Mart
experience in the intricacies of buying from China. You may also reach out to your old buddy Yao
Ming to assist in getting even better deals than Wal-Mart currently enjoys – especially since China may
want to institute the program in their country as well.

Keep in mind that the two largest economies in the world – ours and China's – are both hybrid mixtures
of capitalism and socialism. Ours is predominantly capitalist with socialist elements and theirs is
predominantly socialist with capitalist elements – a tacit admission of the inability of either system to
adequately address societal economic needs standing alone. But unlike American poli-trickans who
berate socialism and the socialist elements within our capitalism at every turn, Chinese leaders openly
embrace capitalism – as long as they can control it. Thus, they are likely to fully embrace the fire your
pimp model long before America does. The Chinese embrace some capitalism because they understand
the limits of socialism relative to economic growth. Yet their largely socialist ideology compels them to
put income inequality at the forefront of their economic strategy. Over time, the employee owned
companies of both countries are likely to move toward buying product solely within country but
initially we may be helpers one to another.

You will have to hire some trainers to ensure that all employees are both aware of the inter-workings of
each position and department within the corporation as well as the pluses and minuses of a privately
held versus a publicly traded corporation. But remember, you will be a non-profit institution, so many
trainers can be convinced to volunteer their time. This will reduce the debt of the new corporation
because all funds spent to start the corporation and keep it afloat until profits can pay the bills will be in
the form of an interest free very long-term loan. This not only comports with the notion of giving the
“gift of opportunity” and not a gift per se; it will also establish a credit history for the new corporation,
should loans be a necessity in the future. Not to mention that, more funds trickling in means more
employee-owned corporations that you can set up. Repayment should be structured in such a way that –
after allowance for retained earnings that ensure the health of the operating budget – the company can
make a debt payment and still pay out significant quarterly or bi-monthly dividends.

Now, because I desire to see income inequality addressed in the worst economic areas of our country
first... and because I feel there is a close nexus between poverty and crime, I would advise that you
establish two other businesses simultaneously within the same area. I would suggest the names “Our
Neighborhood grocery store” and “Our Labor Pool”. The grocery store should be set up the exact same
way as the discount store but the nature of a labor pool requires a slightly different setup. This is the
area where I could offer the most help via my non-profit, Our Common Welfare, Inc. because it
requires the least amount of capital. Many folks from large cities are familiar with labor pools but most
smaller cities tend not to have them.

A labor pool is a place where folk who need immediate cash go to get typically menial labor
assignments and are either paid a check or cash at the end of the work day. They are typically paid
anywhere from minimum wage to a few dollars above that depending on the job. The labor pool
company is actually paid $2 to $3 an hour over the amount dispersed to the worker, which constitutes
their profit. But since many labor pool workers are actively seeking full time employment on some
days of the week, they can't be available every day of the week. This makes setting up such an entity as
an employee-owned corporation problematic. It wouldn't be fair to allow dividend participation and
ownership rights to employees not working regularly. There are other reasons, but discussing them here
would not be the best use of viewer time.

Sooo... I believe that it would be better to set up Our Labor Pool as either a separate non-profit
organization or a program within your non-profit. Then you can just pay the outside workers – as
independent contractors – the total hourly wage that the client company has agreed to pay Our Labor
Pool without keeping the average of about $2 to $3 per hour as profit. In the office, you will have all
well-paid employees and ask professional trainers in areas like bookkeeping and independent
contractor taxation to volunteer. You know…, the ones who can afford to volunteer. My non-profit, Our
Common Welfare, Inc., will use this model for its Our Labor Pool program. But keep in mind that –
although the goal for the discount store and grocery store is to set up the companies as employee-
owned corporations – the labor pool component will likely always be run by the non-profit. Office
employees won’t share profits because there will be none; and to allow any profit that inures to their
benefit would allow them to profit on workers who are also the product sold – an improper situation, as
mentioned earlier. Now, there will likely be no market for a labor pool should you choose to
concentrate on more stable, middle income areas. I don’t recommend that but it’s your prerogative. As
my law school professors used to constantly remind me, “reasonable minds can disagree”.

But keep this in mind as well: The children themselves of the parents in America who suffer from
income inequality additionally suffer from educational inequality. This is because of our inane policy of
allowing school districts within states to determine educational policy instead of the states themselves.
Money allocated to run schools in these districts depend upon the tax base within the districts. Thus,
the more affluent citizens in the more affluent districts can allocate more money for their children's
education and poorer school districts with less of a tax base have less money to allocate for theirs. The
solution is clearly to put state governments – and not school districts – in control of our public schools
so that funds would be allocated equally among state schools. But, as we know all too well, in
America..., it's all about the Benjamins.

So now – 65 years after the Supreme Court held in Brown v. Board of Education that “separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal” – our school systems are still separate and unequal. If I
were arguing before the Supreme Court, I would say that just as the Court held in Brown that
segregation along racial lines is deleterious to black children due to the inference that they are
inherently inferior; segregation along economic lines is deleterious to economically challenged children
due to the inference that poor children aren't deserving of a quality education simply because their
parents are poor.

Now before I transition into steps players need to start making to insure the success of your new
league, let me make it plain just why the “fire your pimp” movement is of absolute necessity to combat
income inequality – in America, as well as worldwide. To paraphrase a line from Mike Epps' character
in the movie, “How High”, the United States has been pimpin' since pimp pimpin' since pimp pimpin'!
Businesses from our country have been long-legged pimp daddies who were pimping all over the world
for years before Ludacris put out his song. When employee compensation issues in America make it
difficult for these corporate pimps to take pimpdom to its highest level, they move their corporations
overseas and pimp international hos. But here’s the crusher that helps to cause so much dislike of
America abroad. When American corporations pimp American workers there is no change in the total
wealth makeup of the economy. They only redistribute wealth within the economy. But when they
pimp international whores, they are taking portions of the worker whores “trick money” out of the
foreign economy, thus, keeping the nations they profess to invest in perennially poor! Now I could use
a nice metaphor in stating that the present form of capitalism is still nothing but pimping 101. I could
say that a rose by any other name is still a rose. But the more appropriate metaphor would be that you
can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig!

These corporations aren't moving overseas because they aren't making a profit in America. They are
moving because of greed; because they want more of a profit and paying employees less accomplishes
that. Plus, the host countries tend to help offset the expense of moving. No employee-owned
corporation would move this way. Their employees will be happy to have a regular pay check from a
company they own, regardless of decreasing but steady dividends. They're also likely to be better
employees and to provide better customer service. They will have great retirement programs, still
receive social security upon retirement, and finally have the opportunity to save money instead of
living – as most Americans do, as evidenced by our recent “should be illegal” shutdown – from pay
check to pay check! You will have the power to make the American dream a reality for them. And I
know that you want that because after all – not the NBA – but you who are now NBA players... care!

Finally, it is important that you understand the significance of the fire your pimp movement
internationally. In the middle of drafting the unveil for this movement that I have had in mind for some
time, I saw Dambisa Moyo on a news program promoting her recent book, “Edge of Chaos: Why
Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth—and How to Fix It”. Of course, I had to stop and
peruse her book a bit to determine if she had indeed already published what I know to be the only
viable means to combat income inequity. She hadn't. But what her book does shine a spotlight on is the
fact that many countries are starting to believe that a shift from democratic capitalism to alternative
models, such as authoritarianism, state capitalism, and illiberal democracies offer them a better chance
of achieving economic growth.

The rejection of capitalism in favor of socialism is of no concern to me and shouldn't be of concern to

Americans. The rejection of democracy in favor of authoritarianism or communism does concern me
and should concern all Americans. Here's why. Capitalism and socialism are competing economic
systems and democracy, communism, and authoritarianism represent varying systems of governance.
Because of Cold War tactics from both America and Russia, many people so intricately link democracy
to capitalism and communism to socialism that a rejection of one – in their minds – means a rejection
of the other. Thus, because capitalism has failed to economically better the lives of most of the world's
population, citizens in a number of countries have and are taking one of two approaches that tend to
lead to the demise of democracy.

Some countries elect fringe candidates with a more authoritarian platform which promises that their
authoritarian approach is what is needed to get things done. Other countries take to the streets, revolt,
and either end up being ruled by the new revolutionaries or the military who steps in to regain order.
Either way, they become much less democratic. America may deem said country to be in chaos – and it
may very well be – but many of its citizens will welcome the change despite the loss of civil liberties.
After all, you can neither buy groceries nor pay rent with your civil liberties. So, necessity forces them
to choose between what they probably see as the lesser of two evils.

Now, none of this should not come as a surprise because – as I pointed out earlier – 10% of the
population of a country controlling 90% of its wealth is only marginally workable in the richest nation
in the world and fails miserably everywhere else. Therefore, your implementation of the fire your pimp
movement will not only lift up America. It will be a blueprint for economically uplifting the world. If
the American government comes on board, it can even help bolster our country's international standing.
And just to emphasize how aware I am of the social impact this will have, consider that – as I
continuously worked on this script for my teleprompter – I saved it under the title, “Saving the World”.

Imagine a Small Business Administration policy of loan preference for companies – however large or
small – that are 100% employee owned. Imagine our federal government moving away from
“enterprise zones” where they pay corporate pimps to cultivate corporate hos in low income areas; and
toward “fire your pimp” initiatives in those same blighted areas, instead.

Imagine American foreign aid that didn't go directly to foreign governments but to the foreign citizens
instead; like an American bank in a foreign land issuing business loans to employee-owned businesses
and startups. Since “trickle down”, voodoo economics tend to only make the rich richer and the poor
poorer, why not do our foreign aid in reverse? At least half of it. Half directly to the government now
and the other half as business loans to its citizens that will eventually inure to the government via an
increased tax base.

Imagine an American law that made it illegal for our businesses to move any part of their operations or
money overseas under threat of being considered foreign companies that would then have to pay import
taxes on their products and pay taxes as a foreign corporation. Of course, both American corporations
and foreign leaders would protest the loss of capital. Corporations of developed countries have
perennially mined the resources of undeveloped and underdeveloped countries – both those resources
underground as well as those resources walking upon the ground. AND the benefits inuring to those
corporate pimps and plunderers as well as the foreign leader pimps and plunderers have absolutely
dwarfed the miniscule benefits bestowed upon the citizens of these countries.

If we are to both lift our own people out of poverty as well as export a paradigm that does the same for
the peoples of the world, it must be a kinder, gentler form of capitalism that is not so heavy on the pimp
side. It is the pimping of the people that is the antithesis of the ability to “pull oneself up by their own
bootstraps”. Instead of allowing businesses of developed countries to open up plants and branches in
underdeveloped countries, the international practice should be that these companies only be allowed to
get consulting fees for bringing their business expertise to the opening of plants and businesses within
the country that are owned solely by the citizens of that country. By doing all of these things we will
transform America from a country of platitudes that merely talks the talk of life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness to a country who truly walks the walk.

Now, let’s discuss some things that may be of help in the formation of a league of your own because
I’m sure that I’m already past my self-imposed limit of a 30-minute video. Anything longer seems to
lose the audience. But I will definitely hit the high points as well as promise my availability for follow-
up webinar meetings. Any help that I can give does NOT have to end with this video!

The very first thing to do is share this video. Even though we are at playoff time, making a full body
meeting unlikely until they are over, it’s a good time to raise awareness of the fire your pimp
movement as well as gauge public support for a players only league. Then meet with the players as
soon as possible to determine who’s in favor of having your own league. The difficulty of getting 450
people together at one time will probably necessitate that you set up a webinar for those unable to
attend in person.

Certain as I am that the vote will be in the affirmative, select a name for your new league and decide to
start a non-profit with the name of the league followed by the word “fund” or “foundation”. For
example, should you settle on a name like Players Only Basketball Association, the name of the non-
profit should be Players Only Basketball Association Fund or simply Players Only Fund. This way, it
will be clear to all that the programs instituted by the non-profit – including but not limited to the fire
your pimp initiative – are associated with your new league.

Select a small group of 5 to 10 of you to do the leg work and report back regularly to the group about
the developments. This group should immediately open up bank accounts for both your new league and
your non-profit. Then the total membership can contribute funds to the accounts so business can be
conducted. Immediately incorporate your new business as well as the non-profit and purchase the
corresponding domain names for the websites that the businesses will obviously have. After
incorporating, obtaining EINs or Employee Identification Numbers from the IRS is a breeze. I got mine
within 5 business days.

Next, you will want to hire one of the top three labor law and contract law firms to represent your
entire group. Your entertainment lawyers won’t help in this endeavor; not because they are incapable,
but because they don’t practice in these areas and would need to bone up on the specifics that labor
lawyers and contract lawyers deal with daily. This isn’t a slight on your entertainment lawyers; labor
and contract lawyers would also need to bone up on entertainment law to effectively represent you in
that area as well.

It is likely that the league already has one of the top three labor and contract law firms already
representing them. But don’t worry. Any of the top three will be adequate for your endeavors. The
contract law firm will be scouring your contracts for loopholes. For instance, many contracts of the
type you sign will have non-compete clauses in them. But a good contract law firm will find a way
around them. Undoubtedly there is case law that establishes exceptions to such clauses when the parties
are leaving to start their own league versus going to an established or upstart competing league. For
example, a Hoover vacuum salesman may be disallowed to sell for Electrolux for a certain period after
leaving Hoover but yet be allowed to immediately market a vacuum cleaner that he designed himself. A
lawyer’s non-compete clause may preclude him from immediately joining another firm while yet
allowing him to hang out his own shingle.

The most important thing for you to understand about the law is that – as my property law professor
drilled in my head from day one – despite the clear wording of your contracts, all rights are relative,
and not absolute! Also, the courts have the final say-so on the legitimacy of a contract clause – even
though you have agreed to it. The courts may, for example, determine that a non-compete clause
relative to fleeing for another league with another set of owners is proper while simultaneously holding
that the same clause forbidding you to start your own league is too onerous, and thus, invalid. In short,
you may feel like there should be no difference between Wal-Mart workers deciding to all walk out and
starting their own store and you starting your own league – and you’d be right. But that may still have
to be litigated because, in America, you only have the rights that you are willing to fight for. Ergo, you
need one of the top contract law firms.

You will also need one of the top labor law firms because you may want to use the antitrust laws to
your advantage. As mentioned earlier, professional athletes are uniquely situated because you represent
both the labor and the product sold. A labor law firm is probably best suited to handle the intricacies
inherent in such a duality. Also, labor lawyers are well studied in the area of antitrust law. Believe it or
not the NBA’s monopoly of professional basketball players could be a factor in your winning the day –
especially since this monopoly seeks to keep you from being your own boss – even though you are also
the product being sold. And that’s un-American because in capitalist, pull yourself up by your
bootstraps, fair market, “we don’t want to have slaves, any more” America no one in no industry should
be precluded from being his or her own boss! While your lawyers argue that point in negotiations – and
likely in court, as well as in the media – you will argue it also on social and mainstream media.

Now, anything that I say of a legal nature should be talked over with your attorneys. Though I
graduated from law school, earning my J.D., I’ve never been admitted to the bar of any state nor ever
practiced law. Therefore, I can’t give legal advice – unless it’s free advice. What I can do is charge
clients for non-legal consultation and advertising expenses. But you haven’t hired me for consultation
and advertising. I am, instead, offering you consultation and advertising; leaving you the option of
either deciding the amount you want to give… or to not give at all. Now, I personally don’t think it
brash to ask 450 millionaires to whom one has just given a blueprint to become billionaires to
collectively give said person one million dollars. Instead, I am asking you to first decide if the amount
I’m asking is fair or if another amount that you may collectively decide upon is a better option. I want
you to then donate 80% of that amount directly to my non-profit – for which you will have a tax
deduction – and pay the other 20% directly to me for consultation and advertising expenses that will
also constitute a write-off. Then I can pay off student debt, other debt, and get my grill fixed –
something I have to do before I can accept any television interviews that will undoubtedly be
requested.

It is also important that you all take a tighter reign on your spending. You will need to save your money
because you may have to use some of it. Financing of your league shouldn’t pose much of an issue with
lenders because you are a proven product. But one thing that would give them pause is the uncertainty
of litigation before your league becomes a reality. This is why you will want to immediately
incorporate your new league and inform the NBA of your intention to take your ball to play in a league
of your own, say, three years from now starting with the 2022 basketball season. And you will play
your games during the same time of the year that the current NBA teams plays. They will fight you but
your lawyers will be able to file for a declaratory judgment that should allow you to move forward.

A declaratory judgment is a binding judgment from a court defining the legal relationship between the
parties and their rights in a matter. After you receive a declaratory judgment saying that you can break
your NBA contracts and start a league of your own, the NBA will likely appeal the judgment and the
issue may go all the way to the Supreme Court. But once the issue is settled, financing will not be a
problem from any lender. Again, proven product. No brainer. But it is imperative that the process be
started ASAP – as in right now!

Though it is also imperative that you get all of the current NBA players to join your “mutiny of
whores”, getting all of the big names in the league to sign on will be absolutely crucial in convincing
the rest. And, though I’m sure they will all recognize the urgency of now surrounding the issue of
poverty, they may be reluctant to leave money on the table with the NBA, nonetheless. So, I would
advise this. Guarantee that they will receive money equal to their present contracts and likely future
contracts but over a longer period of time. Just guarantee the player with the 100-million-dollar
contract over 5 years that he will get the same from the new league but maybe over a 10 or 15-year
period, payable to their estates should they not live long enough to collect.
Having gotten all current players on board, you will need to ensure that future professional basketball
players come into your league and not the NBA. Undoubtedly, the NBA will initially try to go on with
replacement players the way the NFL did for three weeks during the 1987 strike season. They will most
likely get these players from the G League. Keeping a tighter budget on your money now will enable
you to start your own development league like the G League with one glaring exception that will make
your development league more attractive to players over the present G League.

Set up your development league to be a mirror image of your own players league where the
development league players are the sole common stock shareholders of the development league. You
will have an agreement with this development league to only funnel their players to your league
exclusively and not the NBA in return for your financing their league in the same way that you will
finance corporations under the “fire your pimp” initiative – no interest loans payable over a lengthy
period of time. Other perks the G League presently enjoy, you can match and even exceed. As indicated
earlier, I’ll be available for webinar meetings later for more in-depth conversation, but I’m trying to
wind up a long video. Again, it is impossible to overstress the importance of saving your money.

The new NBA staffed by former G League players will be a failure in short order if you maintain your
ranks. The inferior product – along with your three years of implementing the fire your pimp initiative,
that will garner massive public support – will ensure that failure. After all – if owners refuse to sell you
their teams at greatly reduced prices with long-term payments favorable to you – would fans go to see
the Golden State Warriors staffed with G League players or the Golden State Gladiators staffed with all
of the former Warriors? Would they opt to see the G League staffed Houston Rockets or James Harden
and the Houston Missals?

You may have to play at smaller venues at first because the arenas you presently play in are likely co-
owned by the teams and the city due to the issuance of government bonds to build the structures. Your
lawyers be able to recommend either legal or other professional personnel in areas of real estate and
public administration to navigate these waters. Fans can pressure city governments to help in a variety
of ways. While that’s being worked out, you can offer your own type of League Pass to customers at an
initial price of close to half of what the NBA currently charges! Television access to all of the former
NBA players at a greatly reduced price? In short order, that would literally kill sales of the NBA
League Pass.

But you’ll also have to convince college players to opt for your draft instead of the NBA’s. They will
be thirsty – mostly from need and not greed – which will make them vulnerable to the large contracts
the NBA will offer. I wouldn’t try to match their offers. Their pockets are deeper because they already
are the billionaires that you are seeking to become. Your talking points will be about ownership, self-
determination, and – as you young folk like to put it – bossing up. Not to mention fact that – since most
of you are closer to the end of your playing days than the beginning, and are thus mainly looking
toward the fulfillment of present multi-million-dollar contracts, however a period of time it spans – the
newbies are the ones most likely to end up as billionaires! Something they will NEVER achieve by
sharing their trick money with present NBA owner/pimps! As a matter of fact, this is a good time to
discuss present NBA team and league income.

I’m aware that under your collective bargaining agreement, the teams are supposed to open up their
books to you so it can be determined how much of their income is to be shared with the players. Well,
they may be keeping a large part of their income secret from you. And ironically – though I had this
particular presentation in mind even before the Clippers were sold – that sale offers valuable insight
into the lies that may have been told to you about NBA team revenues and profits.

On March 30, 2014 – the day after Steve Ballmer made what turned out to be a successful 2 billion-
dollar bid to purchase the LA Clippers – the Times published a probably online article with the title,
“The Clippers Are Worth Nowhere Near What Ballmer Is Paying”. That article asserted that Forbes had
estimated that the Clippers’ had generated $128 million in revenue and earned $15 million in profits the
previous year. Now, there are various ways of a determining a business’ valuation, depending on the
industry. The Times article asserted that – the typical valuation for NBA teams is 4 times the previous
year’s revenue. This would have put the valuation of the Clippers franchise at $512 million – 4 times
$128 million. Ballmer paid almost 4 times that amount.

The article even considered the “possibility” that Ballmer paid more because he considered the
prospect of future earning in his valuation of the Clippers. It offered that – since the team was playing
better, had rising popularity, and was soon to sign a new TV contract – revenues might possibly
increase by $52 million dollars, pushing the revenue that is multiplied to $180 million. But 4 times that
“predictive revenue” versus estimated revenue – speculative as it is – still only brings the valuation up
to $720 million. Thus, Ballmer paid almost 3 times what the typical valuation would be, based on
“predictive revenue”. Granted, Forbes could only assert an estimate of the previous year’s revenue and
profit for the team but they have been in the business of estimating financial inter-workings for a very
long time. So, they likely had at least as much information on team revenue and profit as NBA players
had, and probably even more.

Two alternative possible conclusions can be asserted as a result of this sale. Either Steve Ballmer is a
dumb-ass businessman or only the owners of NBA teams know the true revenue stream of individual
teams and that true stream is only revealed to potential buyers. Since it’s difficult to fathom that the
guy whom Forbes says is the 19th richest person in the world with a net worth of $40+ billion is a
dumb-ass businessman, the scales tip very heavily toward players not being privy to individual teams’ –
and likely the entire league’s – true revenue streams. So, because you will be making deals for the
purchase of some teams in the 3 years prior to your NBA exit, a good tax law firm and accounting firm
will also be helpful to you.

But keep in mind that you will not be offering full value for any team the new league decides to
purchase because the owners will be what the mortgage industry typically refers to as “distressed
sellers”. A “distressed seller” in the mortgage industry is described as someone who – because of life
events such as death and divorce – have to sell. This knowledge is used by buyers to offer substantially
less that market value for a house. The NBA will be distressed sellers because without a product, they
have nothing to sell. You will be in the driver’s seat so don’t get soft, thinking that the team owners
gave you an “opportunity” by drafting you into the NBA. They no more gave you an opportunity than a
pimp gives an opportunity to the future whore he picks up at a bus station.

What they did give you was an opportunity to be pimped! The same applies to any former player who
is now an owner. Said former player is now an owner – a pimp! What was that biblical reference? Envy
not the oppressor and take none of his ways? Two wrongs don’t make a right. Progress is not made
when former slaves become slaveholders nor when former hos become pimps! It just perpetuates the
cycle of pimping; a cycle that mankind in general has come to accept as normal. The normality of the
concept that someone else HAS to make money on our efforts is so widely accepted that Intuit has a
commercial featuring Danny DeVito in a gym spouting a familiar refrain, “Your job isn’t doing hard
work. It’s making him do work hard, and getting paid for it”. We have to create a new normal if we are
to tackle income disparity and poverty.
Many of you may not have heard of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, but he was born exactly 99
years to the day before I was. I also share a birthday – July the 26th – with Michael Vick, actors Jason
Robards Jr., Sandra Bullock, Kate Beckinsale, Kevin Spacey, Helen Mirren, Jason Statham, and Cress
Williams aka Black Lightening, aka “Scooter”, Janet Jackson’s deceased father Joe, comedian Gary
Owen, psychoanalyst Carl Jung, and Mick Jagger. But there is a line in a George Bernard Shaw play
that encapsulates the “different beat” that I have always danced to. This line was paraphrased and
became the official mantra for Robert Kennedy’s bid for the presidency – so much so that it’s on every
poster I’ve ever seen of Robert Kennedy. That line is, “Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I
dream of things that never were, and ask why not”. Everything centers around perspective. We must
stop giving so much deference to “how things are” and embrace the vision of how they can be. Instead
of seeking our own personal transition from worker to “boss” – the hip hop barometer for determining
that one has “made it” – we need to embrace the concept of everyone being their own boss, either as
sole proprietors or co-equal owners in the corporations where they work.

Now, because this video has already become much longer than I wanted it to be, I’m about to do what
is called in the sales industry the “button up” and the close. Again, all one of you NBA players have to
do is leave me a private message with a phone number to contact you, and I will call. If we need to do a
webinar, I’ll set it up. But before I close, a few things about my atheism and Humanism, since some of
you will be concerned about donating money to what you will erroneously characterize as a “heathen
non-profit” organization.

My atheism only indicates what I don’t believe and my Humanism indicates what I do believe. I prefer
to be known by what I do believe rather than what I don’t. To say that one is an atheist is akin to saying
one doesn’t eat dogs. Just as atheism explains nothing about what one does believe, being a non-dog-
eater explains nothing about what a person does include in their diet. The best way to describe
Humanism is a philosophy based on a moral and ethical code openly established by human beings. This
is in contrast to godism where man also decided the moral and ethical codes but presented the codes as
being authored by a deity, and thus, sacred. This enabled the godists to represent their own prejudices
toward homosexuals, sex outside of marriage, men who are intimate with women during their
menstrual cycles, women who disobey their husbands, women who speak in the church, female pastors,
etc. as being the deity’s prejudices, and thus, holy and justified prejudices! Since Humanism freely
acknowledges that our moral and ethical codes are developed by us, we are not only free to embrace all
of humanity the same, but have the flexibility to alter our codes as new information comes to light as
none of our directives and manifestos are considered sacred! BTW, as alternatives to the words theist
and theism, I prefer the words godist and godism because of the clear contrast to Humanist and
Humanism.

But this is my personal crusade and not one that I plan for Our Common Welfare to be a part of. Our
Common Welfare will concentrate on just what the name implies – all social issues that promote
America’s common welfare. In addition to the fire your pimp movement – where the most finances will
be needed – I presently intend for the organization to also be actively involved in advocating for things
like: the eradication of the cash bond system, free health care and higher education for all citizens,
congressional term limits, and inclusion of third-party candidates in debates.

So, there it is. You now have a paradigm that – if followed – is guaranteed to drastically reduce income
inequality and, over time, eradicate poverty. The plan calls for you to assert yourselves as “masters of
your fate, and captains of your souls” while simultaneously helping others to do likewise. In return the
masses will support your new league and only boycott the NBA in all ways after you leave three years
from now, setting you on the road from millionaire status to billionaire status. Again, as appreciation
for my presentation of said plan you are asked – not to make me a millionaire – but to collectively
donate $800,000 tax deductible dollars to my non-profit organization so that it can further the “fire
your pimp” initiative on a smaller scale and pay me $200,000 for consultation and advertising fees. If
you don’t, I may talk about you like a dog, but hey, there’s really nothing else can I do? This IS
unsolicited information.

After hitting the link in the description below that says “ourcommonwelfare.org/donate” you will see
the Paypal donate button. If you agree to an individual contribution of $2,500, you will donate $2,000,
or 80%, to Our Common Welfare. You will then come back and click on the next link below – the
Paypal link – that will take you to Paypal, where you will be able to pay $500, or 20%, to me. The
payment is clearly labeled “Consultation and Advertising Fee” under the name of Servant2All, a
moniker and business name that I have used online for almost 20 years, spelled exactly as my YouTube
channel name is spelled. Big ballers desiring to make the full contribution for the 15-member team –
$37,500 – will donate and pay expenses of $30,000 and $7,500, respectively. After each donation, you
will be directed to Our Common Welfare’s EIN for your records. After each payment to me, you will
be directed to my personal EIN. In both cases, should you pay from your own Paypal account, they
already have your email address and will send you an email confirmation. If you opt instead to use a
debit or credit card, you will be asked to fill in an email address for your email confirmation.

Once you copy and paste the selected tweet with the hashtag #fireyourpimp to your fans, the proverbial
crap will hit the fan. People will say that this plan offers the best hope for fixing a broken economic
system that they have ever encountered. They will look to you for confirmation that every player is “all
in”. As brand ambassadors, people will want to hear from you – reducing to nothingness the voice of
the idiotic, myopic female who wanted you to shut up and dribble. Both players and fans: promote the
hashtag #fireyourpimp and question poli-trickans about where they stand on the issue. BTW, the “poli-
trickan” label is personal to me because of a deep-seated belief that most office seekers practice “poli-
tricks” – not politics. Here’s a glaring example.

Poli-trickans are constantly clamoring about the notion of taking money out of poli-tricks. If they
weren’t practicing poli-tricks, they would say that all we have to do is characterize political
advertisements as public service announcements. The FCC has the power to compel all television and
radio stations to run PSAs without charge as they are determined to be in the public interest. Putting
political advertisements under this umbrella insures equal air time for all candidates and alleviates the
need for a big bankroll to run for office. But your poli-trickans want money to be a determining factor
just as it has been since the inception of the nation. But more on that at another time.

There are presidential, congressional midterm, and state elections coming up next year. Make the “fire
your pimp” initiative a litmus test for all candidates at every level. Because, we need to face facts. The
only possible way to reduce income inequality is through a redistribution of wealth. Corporations –
including some of your sponsors – won’t like this. In any economy there is a finite, measurable amount
of wealth at any given point in time. Taking away a pimp’s “ho money” means that the hos get to keep
all of their “trick money” but it also means less money in the pockets of the pimp. As this movement
gains momentum virtually all corporations, where none of the workers also constitute the product sold,
will be a potential target. This will even include the largest corporations – corporations like Amazon,
that has made Jeff Bezos the highest paid pimp in the world. That will take a lot of time and he’ll
probably be able to diversify his investments to weather the storm, but all corporations will see the
trend coming, and some will take a “by any means necessary” approach to maintaining their stable of
whores. Be strong. The end justifies the means! #fireyourpimp
The only way to redistribute America’s wealth and still be fair to all parties is via the reduction of the
pimping element that presently permeates capitalism, so that the worker whores can keep all of their
“trick money”. To say that you don’t want to remove as much of the pimping element from capitalism
that you possibly can is to say that you don’t mind heavy weights being put upon those the proverbial
bootstraps that you expect every American to pull themselves up by. That belief is un-American and
people who believe it should not hold any political office in America. They are pimp enablers!
#fireyourpimp #fireyourpimpenablers Definitely make that one go viral as well.

For too long the poor in America have been ignored – even though most estimates are that at least half
of Americans live below the poverty line. The root cause of this negligence is the systematic denial of
the numbers by all parties. Poli-trickans push the idea that everyone does well in America unless they
are lazy. To avoid the shame of the “lazy label”, however untrue, the poor learn to “fake it, ‘til they
make it”, pretend to already be the middle-class people they are striving to be, allowing poli-trickans to
only address middle-class issues and seldom –if ever –mention the poor at all. #fireyourpimp
#fireyourpimpenablers

Both players and fans, should start pressuring all levels of government to partnership with and commit
financially to the fire your pimp movement. The more government help we get, the faster we can
reduce income inequality. I’ve even heard one or two presidential candidates express support for
reparations for black people though no one seems to know what reparations should look like. THIS is
what reparations should look like – empowering the descendants of slaves, sacrificed to enable
America to become the worldwide financial power that it is, with the ability to fire their pimps. Hold
their feet to the freaking FIRE!! #fireyourpimp #fireyourpimpenablers

The more resources government uses in the fire your pimp movement in the form of reparations to
black people, the more players can use their money both for pet projects they already desire for the
communities that many of them come from and toward the poor white and brown communities that
most of you didn’t come from. Once again 50% below the poverty line + 11% Black American
population, many whom are either rich or middle-class + 17% Hispanic American population, many
whom are either rich or middle-class = more white Americans than any other demographic group live
below the poverty line! This issue isn’t racial. It’s American. It’s worldly! #fireyourpimp
#fireyourpimpenablers

Just as my frat, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – yes, I am an Alpha man, a man of distinction –
just as King led a civil rights movement that shaped the soul of America and ultimately the world, you
ball players stand on the precipice of an economic movement that promises to be at least as far-
reaching. Do NOT take this likely! In the intervening time before the groundbreaking firing of your
pimps, you will also need to work with your NFL and Major League Baseball peers to help establish a
timetable to fire their pimps as well. I presented the paradigm to you, 1) because you represent the
smallest group of professional athletes, and are thus more likely to be cohesive, and 2) because you
presently enjoy more civic freedoms to speak your mind than your professional counterparts. But don’t
be overly thankful to Adam Silver for the latter. He still represents your pimps and has simply given
you whores more of a voice because you demanded it! And you were able to demand it because you are
“high-ticket whores”. And what does a pimp call his best money maker? C’mon, you’re part of the hip
hop generation where rap artists – for whatever reason – like to pay homage to pimps, though they
represent the most vile and despicable beings on the planet. You know the lingo. The pimp’s prize
whore is called…. his “bottom bitch”. She gets more personal time with her pimp than the other
whores, just like you get to hobnob with your owner pimps more than front office workers. Collectively
you are all bottom bitches. But so are other professional athlete and the highest paid employees of
other companies. Silicon Valley if full of bottom bitches! You are not alone.

So, don’t get it twisted! The smaller number of players who can do what you do relative to the number
of players who can do what your professional football and baseball peers can do, simply makes you
less replaceable! But many of them also represent “new money” risen from poverty. So, unlike many
blue bloods, they too will want to help other people – as well as themselves – to experience the true
life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that can only come once they fire their pimps! #fireyourpimp
#fireyourpimpenablers

In closing, I will use a biblical reference, altered to give a Humanist feel to it. They that turn unto each
other, shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. This is the renewing power of collective energy. You can call
it “gawd” if you want to, but I call it resolve. Resolve that is made steadfast by the collective. The
collective gives strength; the collective bestows courage. And if there IS a god, he’s gonna be late to
the party any. He always is! That’s the reason behind mantras like, “the lord helps them that help
themselves” and “if you take one step, he’ll take two”. This hyped-up preacher’s style is no indication
that this Humanist is re-thinking the steps that once had him close to the Christian ministry. It is a call
to commonality. It is a call to understanding. And that understanding is… that no matter whether you
are a godist or a Humanist, one result STILL remains the same. If mankind doesn’t start the process,
the process won’t get started!

So, even if you think your god will help, he’s not likely to show before the 4th quarter, and usually he’s
an overtime god. You still gotta make sure the game is tied at the end of regulation, or win it before
your god gets there. Did abolitionists protest slavery and did slaves revolt? Or did god miraculously
unlock their chains. Did civil rights advocates work tirelessly for social change, or did god say, “let
there be” and there was? Did women use every means at their disposal to gain the vote, or did god
merely snap his divine fingers? And do whores who are successful in leaving their pimp usually have to
summon the courage to do it themselves? Or does god simply paralyze the pimp’s “pimp hand”?

If it is to be, it is up to we! But if you believe that all of our efforts are merely evidence of gawd “using
us”, believe it if it helps you to come aboard. I can hear the old church mothers talking about me right
now. They’re saying things like, “Baby, you may not believe in god, but he sho does believe in you”.
Use that if it helps you. I don’t care! The end justifies the means to me. So, whatever your belief
system is – or lack thereof – if it is to be, it’s up to we!

But whatever happens from this day forward, I have already fulfilled my life’s dream. For 30+ years –
from the age of 19 up until my mid 50s – I was determined that I would be an integral figure in helping
to make the world more harmonious. And because I believed in an almighty, super being called god
who wanted the same thing, this did not seem like a lofty goal to me. All I had to do was align myself
to him ever-so-closely and he would imbue me with the necessary arsenal to accomplish my vision
quest. Around my mid-20s, I had determined this goal was to be fulfilled by the penning of a book
entitled, “We and The Father Are One”. It was to be a comparative religion book that would hopefully
bring more harmony amongst the world’s religions by concentrating on their similarities instead of
their differences. Were I to write that book today, the sentiment and title would be, “We ARE the God
We Seek”. Yet, because of the book I was going to write, I became a self-studied student of religions.

But the more I studied, the less I believed that there is a god. After determining that there isn’t, I was no
longer confident in being that spark that could actually help to usher in world peace. But now, I am that
spark. There is much work to be done, and there is a part for all of us to play. And yet, as I sit here – 3
months before my 64th birthday – I can truly say that, if I died tomorrow, I’d die knowing that I have
contributed to making the world a more harmonious place. Can you say the same? Well, if you can’t,
all you gotta do is board this train, and you will be able to make that claim!

Barrett OUT!