So I was fortunate enough to get a piece published in The Daily Caller that expanded upon the argument I made here on my blog last week. In it, I ask the simple question "Why is it wrong to condemn both fascists and communists?" 

I note that despite my problems with Trump and the awkwardness of what he said, he was right. Both sides were to blame. And that is obvious.

Yes, not all the protesters were Antifa, but those that were Antifa were predominantly responsible for starting the violence. Antifa is also a transparently communist organization. As I say in the article
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"And make no mistake about it, Antifa is a communist organization. Even The Washington Post acknowledges 'Its adherents are predominantly communists, socialists and anarchists who reject turning to the police or the state to halt the advance of white supremacy.' Remember, most in the Alt Right don’t actually call themselves 'fascists.'”

So communists and fascists fought each other in the streets. Yes, the worst violence was done by the fascists, but the communists mostly started it. And the communists have an even longer list of blood baths and massacres than the fascists do.

Communists and fascists are both, to use Hillary Clinton's words, deplorable. Both sides rightly deserve to be condemned. In this instance, Trump was right.

In my latest article for BiggerPockets I spread the gospel of Key Performance Indicators (or KPIs) and how important they are for systematizing and scaling your business (be it real estate or otherwise).  As I note the common problem entrepreneurs (and real estate investors) have is something like this,

"...without hard numbers to evaluate how you are doing, you will often have that feeling in your stomach that something is wrong, but you’re not quite sure or at least you’re not quite sure what is wrong. First, you will think that it was your contractor that screwed up, then you will talk to him and then think it was several of the other vendors, such as the painter or electrician. Or maybe it was your real estate agent. Maybe you should sell the property on your own to save the commission. Or maybe that’s a waste of your time and you would still likely have to pay the buyer’s commission."

KPIs can not only help with meauring company perfomance and project performance (such as a flip) but are also great for measuring employees,

"...tracking KPIs also makes it easier to evaluate employees in general. It makes it easier to know who to let go, who to keep, and who to promote. Furthermore, it gives your employees something to aim for which can be very motivating. "

Check it out!

I guess I'm not surprised, but it is really quite baffling how the mainstream press and most of the public has reacted to the events in Charlottesville the other day, particularly President Trump's comments.

Trump had condemned the hate "from many sides" and called for the country to come together as one. Well, the Left threw a conniption fit. Keith Olberman called Trump a neo-Nazi (again) amongst just about everyone else on the Left. A friend of mine on Facebook went so far as to call him a terrorist! For what? A weak comment regarding something other people did? 

Trump ended up having another press conference to "call evil by its name" and condemn racism.

But really, was this comment so horrible? Antifa is the main group that was "protesting" the Alt Right rally. And Antifa is an admitted communist group that promotes violence and engages in it all of the time. Does the media (and the rest of the country) really need to have a recap on the sins of communists? 

Yes the fascists were horrible, but the communists were just as bad and killed far more, probably close to 100 million.

In a battle between fascists and communists, which side do you pick? 

The answer is neither. 

Yes, the person who killed that woman with his car was part of the Alt Right, but Antifa started the violence in the first place. Yes, there was obviously "hate on many sides" and it's hard to conclude that those who have a problem with such a statement are anything other than communist sympathizers.

Well that didn't take long. Only a couple days after the "Anti-Diversity Memo" I mean "controversial manifesto" (memos are now manifestos I guess) was internally sent at Google challenging the company's diversity agenda, the author, James Damore, was fired.

Indeed, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai even cut short his vacation to deal with the "crisis." He noted in a letter that "People must feel free to express dissent" but also that "To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK."

In other words, dissent is perfectly fine as long as Sundar Pichai agrees with it.

Here's the thing, not only is the memo scientifically sound, and at the very least defensible, it does not say a "group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work." Is lying grounds for dismissal Sundar?

The memo talks about AVERAGES and explicitly notes to judge everyone as "an individual" and that there are plenty of exceptions. Read it for yourself, it's by no means a "screed."

If someone released a memo in Google noting that men commit more crime ON AVERAGE, would Google fire that person for passing around "harmful stereotypes." What say you Sundar?

I mean these are Google employees, how can they honestly be that stupid? 

Unfortunately, they aren't. The Left is moving closer and closer toward ideological Stalinism everyday. Briannu Wu just exclaimed as if the answer was obvious upon the release of the memo "Who is getting fired?" No thoughtcriminal can go unpunished!

And that reaction was common. As was the lying, like when CNN's headline said the memo argued "women aren't suited for tech jobs." Ridiculous policies have to be supported by lies I guess.

The Left is in a tragic state right now. Freedom of speech is under attack, and yes, I know Google is a private company and thereby not under the auspices of the First Amendment. But they are also all but a monopoly and  a critically important hub for the Internet. It already appears they tried to help elect Hillary Clinton. And now we see they have no tolerance whatsoever for even mild dissent from their ideological position.

Perhaps it's time to label Google (and Facebook and Twitter for that matter) as utilities and put them under the boot of the First Amendment.

My latest article for BiggerPockets takes on decision fatigue and the importance of making small decisions quickly and decisively. The more you agonize, the more you drain your willpower and reduce your mental energy for when you actually need it. 

I note some examples, from the real estate field, such as "Should you go with this $49 light fixture you normally use or this one that is nicer and normally sells for $89 but is on sale now for $69?" Or "Should you put a stripe on your business card design or not?" The answer, is basically "who cares?" Just make a decision!

As I conclude,

"Of course, other decisions require more careful thought, such as what to offer on a certain house or whether to accept a tenant or not. But if you take a step back, a decision’s importance is usually relatively obvious. Don’t let yourself get bogged down focusing on the little things. 'Don’t sweat the small stuff,' as they say. If you do, you’ll just wear out your willpower for when you actually need it."

Check it out!

My latest article on BiggerPockets discusses the inertia of action.  As I note,

"Often our own minds can be our worst enemies. Over-analysis is a big problem. I have noticed in myself that inaction tends to breed further inaction, and action tends to breed further action. There is an inertia in whatever state you are in that builds upon itself."

The biggest point I want to make here is that "action begets action." When I'm busy, I move from one thing to the next and accomplish a lot. When I sit around and do nothing, my mind starts to wander to all sorts of potential problems, most of which won't come to pass. 

Action can also alleviate fear. As I state,

"Sometimes, when I have an uncomfortable call—say, I need to call back an employment prospect to tell that person we’re offering the job to someone else or make what I know is a low offer—I stack that call between easy calls. Then I just start blasting through those calls. I don’t even give myself time to hesitate or become nervous before the difficult one."

Check it out!
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