Its a phrase you hear from certain politicians a lot, real Americans, and what they want.
Usually they conjure up an image of older white Americans who they claim espouse conservative values.
Obviously some of them do but many others do not.
Its also true that these same baby boomers are children of the 60s who set the course of this nation towards what it has become.
More sexual freedom for everybody.
More legalized marijuana.
More equality between the races, although hardly perfect.
A greater acceptance of religions and diversity.
So who are these real Americans?
They do exist but are hardly a majority of us.
They do tend to vote more and hold on to certain values that aren't the norm anymore.
Real America is much more than that.
It is all of us.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Monday, April 29, 2019
Getting out the Vote
When you consider how many voting age citizens don't bother to vote, even in Presidential elections, it should be no surprise we don't get the Government we want.
Over 90 million people didn't vote in the 2016 election. These are the same people who often argue voting doesn't matter. Well it does and so does not voting.
There are many people in this country who are terribly fearful that more of these people will actually vote and most indication are, it would fundamentally change our approach to many things.
In fact, while usually not stated as such, they are considered by many the uneducated masses who expect the Government to deliver services to them.
Roadblocks are erected to discourage them from voting.
How to get this large group of Americans represented is a significant issue. Some might argue that they are represented by those who do vote, but most indications are they are not really in favor of the establishment in either party.
Increasing voter participation should be an important priority for our Democracy, it just isn't.
Over 90 million people didn't vote in the 2016 election. These are the same people who often argue voting doesn't matter. Well it does and so does not voting.
There are many people in this country who are terribly fearful that more of these people will actually vote and most indication are, it would fundamentally change our approach to many things.
In fact, while usually not stated as such, they are considered by many the uneducated masses who expect the Government to deliver services to them.
Roadblocks are erected to discourage them from voting.
How to get this large group of Americans represented is a significant issue. Some might argue that they are represented by those who do vote, but most indications are they are not really in favor of the establishment in either party.
Increasing voter participation should be an important priority for our Democracy, it just isn't.
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Economies
There is the "official" economy but there are many other economies as well which are harder to measure.
For most of my life when I read reports of how the economy was doing it had almost no impact on my actual well being.
My personal economy seemed very different than what I saw reported. I was aware of higher or lower prices and interest rates but my personal economy was generally OK.
If you live like most of us and get laid off or fired you are in a recession. If you don't you aren't.
For millions of Americans who lost good paying jobs in factories the economy has never recovered. They may have a job or they may have left the workforce, but they are not earning what they used to.
They has been a significant trend in this country where workforce participation has been declining after a period of significant increase as more women joined it.
Some of this is related to people retiring but a significant part of it is related to people who live in the "get by" economy.
They may work "off the books" a bit, they may get disability or unemployment benefits, possibly food stamps, and may be selling of things that they have acquired over time. They also might work in the normal economy some of the time in seasonal or other work as it becomes available.
They possibly would like full time employment if it was available but many of them are becoming unemployable as they develop addictions, possibly to opioids or alcohol.
The following chart shows the dramatic reduction in workforce participation after the peak near 2000.
That drop is caused by many things, but the economy of the late 1990s employed many more people than we do today.
Simply a fact. Not the greatest economy of all time, unless you ignore the vanishing workers.
For most of my life when I read reports of how the economy was doing it had almost no impact on my actual well being.
My personal economy seemed very different than what I saw reported. I was aware of higher or lower prices and interest rates but my personal economy was generally OK.
If you live like most of us and get laid off or fired you are in a recession. If you don't you aren't.
For millions of Americans who lost good paying jobs in factories the economy has never recovered. They may have a job or they may have left the workforce, but they are not earning what they used to.
They has been a significant trend in this country where workforce participation has been declining after a period of significant increase as more women joined it.
Some of this is related to people retiring but a significant part of it is related to people who live in the "get by" economy.
They may work "off the books" a bit, they may get disability or unemployment benefits, possibly food stamps, and may be selling of things that they have acquired over time. They also might work in the normal economy some of the time in seasonal or other work as it becomes available.
They possibly would like full time employment if it was available but many of them are becoming unemployable as they develop addictions, possibly to opioids or alcohol.
The following chart shows the dramatic reduction in workforce participation after the peak near 2000.
That drop is caused by many things, but the economy of the late 1990s employed many more people than we do today.
Simply a fact. Not the greatest economy of all time, unless you ignore the vanishing workers.
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Health and Safety
One of the areas that is having a fairly immediate impact on Americans is the reduction of regulations meant to protect us from things like food contamination.
One of the things that gets limited coverage is when our current representative of big business cancels a regulation designed to protect the public.
Of course it costs money to comply with it but the tradeoff is the loss of human lives.
We live in a world where foods are farmed and processed remotely and in large quantities. We have always had some food that caused illness but when those happened we generally regulated the cause making our food safer.
It did cost money and to some extent was a bit of a tax, and maybe it wasn't needed in most instances, but the times it prevented illness or death would be in my opinion well worth the small cost of compliance.
Hundreds if not thousands of these regulations have been cancelled to help business make more profits, and while most of those businesses are not evil or trying to hurt us, the lack of the regulation means safety measures will be eliminated.
The predictable impact of that would be more contaminated food in the marketplace and coincidentally it seems like I read about more E-Coli outbreaks than ever.
Of course that's anecdotal, but the administration is OK with some of us being victims if it helps his business friends make more money.
I guess our survivors can sue.
One of the things that gets limited coverage is when our current representative of big business cancels a regulation designed to protect the public.
Of course it costs money to comply with it but the tradeoff is the loss of human lives.
We live in a world where foods are farmed and processed remotely and in large quantities. We have always had some food that caused illness but when those happened we generally regulated the cause making our food safer.
It did cost money and to some extent was a bit of a tax, and maybe it wasn't needed in most instances, but the times it prevented illness or death would be in my opinion well worth the small cost of compliance.
Hundreds if not thousands of these regulations have been cancelled to help business make more profits, and while most of those businesses are not evil or trying to hurt us, the lack of the regulation means safety measures will be eliminated.
The predictable impact of that would be more contaminated food in the marketplace and coincidentally it seems like I read about more E-Coli outbreaks than ever.
Of course that's anecdotal, but the administration is OK with some of us being victims if it helps his business friends make more money.
I guess our survivors can sue.
Friday, April 26, 2019
Constitutional Powers
We go through periods when either because of a crisis or war or simply because of an ineffectual congress that the presidential powers start to expand.
Of course once they expand it is hard to reel them in.
Eventually of course we get someone who overdoes it and congress tries to reestablish their constitutional role.
Our nation is designed to have a legislature the creates law, and a president who executes it. While of course the president can propose laws and policies, and can block legislation with his veto, he is supposed to run the government efficiently, similar is some ways to a CEO.
CEOs though generally have a lot more policy authority.
It is hard for presidents to resist expanding their authority, it often seems like the only way to get things done. However the legislative process is messy because it generally results in policies that are acceptable to most people.
Doing nothing is often preferable to doing something wrong.
Take the issues with our Southern Border.
There is significant disagreement about the solution that's needed and even about the extent of the problem.
Usurping legislative power by declaring an emergency which it clearly isn't is abusing the constitution.
We may have a significant problem on the border, we may not, but emergency implies some sort of imminent danger, which there isn't.
This will eventually be decided in the courts and lets hope the new nominees stick to the constitution. If they don't we may be on a dangerous road indeed.
Of course once they expand it is hard to reel them in.
Eventually of course we get someone who overdoes it and congress tries to reestablish their constitutional role.
Our nation is designed to have a legislature the creates law, and a president who executes it. While of course the president can propose laws and policies, and can block legislation with his veto, he is supposed to run the government efficiently, similar is some ways to a CEO.
CEOs though generally have a lot more policy authority.
It is hard for presidents to resist expanding their authority, it often seems like the only way to get things done. However the legislative process is messy because it generally results in policies that are acceptable to most people.
Doing nothing is often preferable to doing something wrong.
Take the issues with our Southern Border.
There is significant disagreement about the solution that's needed and even about the extent of the problem.
Usurping legislative power by declaring an emergency which it clearly isn't is abusing the constitution.
We may have a significant problem on the border, we may not, but emergency implies some sort of imminent danger, which there isn't.
This will eventually be decided in the courts and lets hope the new nominees stick to the constitution. If they don't we may be on a dangerous road indeed.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Vote Value
Considering the upcoming 2020 elections, the most important races may be at the State level.
With the census, the states will revise their congressional districts.
Last time, the republicans managed to control a significant amount of the legislatures and they were able to create a fair number of "safe" republican seats.
The fact that despite this they lost so many seats in the last mid-terms is revealing.
The majority of people in this country support progressive values.
Remember that without the electoral college, we would have a different president.
Still, if you create districts that harbor disproportionate numbers of progressive voters, you can often control the other districts with small majorities.
So in a state where a majority vote for Democrats, you may have a solid majority of Republicans in the legislature.
Some of this may occur somewhat naturally but a lot of it is the result of gerrymandering.
While a time honored tradition, in the modern era we can do a lot better.
One person, one vote, and a vote that counts equally.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Human Nature
If you consider both ancient and more recent history, humans have been brutish to both the world around them and each other.
The history we are aware of demonstrates our thin veneer of civilization.
In the some of our great early literature, we see the Greeks, after they take Troy, systematically throwing the Trojans they didn't enslave off the walls of the city.
The bible itself is full of brutal acts, the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, the many wars where they were defeated by the Empires of the time.
Rome, conquered much of the known world, murdering and enslaving the lands they vanquished.
Of course we don't have to go back that far, we have the subjugation of many native populations by the Europeans, the World Wars, the Nazis, the Stalinist Gulags and the genocides in many parts of the World that are still happening.
We may think we are civilized, but all of these events were recorded because we had civilization. Its not hard to imagine brutality and bullying were with us from the start.
Many experiments have been conducted which show that educated, civilized people can inflict harm on others when authority figures tell them its OK.
The simple fact is that human nature reveals itself under duress and generally it isn't very nice.
Yes, we are also altruistic, we are nothing if not full of contradictions. If however you look at war zones and how we easily ignore the atrocities in them, at least most of us, you see that civilization is in fact paper thin.
We see a move in this country to hate and terror, not from outside extremists only, but native groups expressing hate against changes they don't like. Immigrants, refugees, minorities, and others are the victims of this hate and we as a nation need to combat it.
Unfortunately our leadership actually embraces it, it promotes their ideology.
We need to overcome hate and never forget it is always right there.
The history we are aware of demonstrates our thin veneer of civilization.
In the some of our great early literature, we see the Greeks, after they take Troy, systematically throwing the Trojans they didn't enslave off the walls of the city.
The bible itself is full of brutal acts, the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, the many wars where they were defeated by the Empires of the time.
Rome, conquered much of the known world, murdering and enslaving the lands they vanquished.
Of course we don't have to go back that far, we have the subjugation of many native populations by the Europeans, the World Wars, the Nazis, the Stalinist Gulags and the genocides in many parts of the World that are still happening.
We may think we are civilized, but all of these events were recorded because we had civilization. Its not hard to imagine brutality and bullying were with us from the start.
Many experiments have been conducted which show that educated, civilized people can inflict harm on others when authority figures tell them its OK.
The simple fact is that human nature reveals itself under duress and generally it isn't very nice.
Yes, we are also altruistic, we are nothing if not full of contradictions. If however you look at war zones and how we easily ignore the atrocities in them, at least most of us, you see that civilization is in fact paper thin.
We see a move in this country to hate and terror, not from outside extremists only, but native groups expressing hate against changes they don't like. Immigrants, refugees, minorities, and others are the victims of this hate and we as a nation need to combat it.
Unfortunately our leadership actually embraces it, it promotes their ideology.
We need to overcome hate and never forget it is always right there.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Persecution?
If you give the dontard any credibility you think he is the most persecuted president ever.
He ignores the amount of abuse heaped upon his predecessor, some of it by him as a birther, which generally was inaccurate.
They still play the game of taking an event, twisting it to make it look bad and never letting go.
Unfortunately its a dangerous world and bad things happen, usually despite everyone's best efforts.
Take an event like Benghazi, which was certainly bad and which was during a fairly chaotic period in the middle east. The first couple of days had a few statements made that turned out to be inaccurate, but which were corrected soon thereafter.
This was portrayed as lying to the American public, even if the lie was corrected within a week.
Compare that to this guy who lies multiple times every day and, because he lies so much, isn't nailed to the cross over them.
One was persecuted for what was an honest mistake during the "fog of war" the other simply lies and then lies to defend his lies.
Persecution? More like a free pass if you ask me.
He ignores the amount of abuse heaped upon his predecessor, some of it by him as a birther, which generally was inaccurate.
They still play the game of taking an event, twisting it to make it look bad and never letting go.
Unfortunately its a dangerous world and bad things happen, usually despite everyone's best efforts.
Take an event like Benghazi, which was certainly bad and which was during a fairly chaotic period in the middle east. The first couple of days had a few statements made that turned out to be inaccurate, but which were corrected soon thereafter.
This was portrayed as lying to the American public, even if the lie was corrected within a week.
Compare that to this guy who lies multiple times every day and, because he lies so much, isn't nailed to the cross over them.
One was persecuted for what was an honest mistake during the "fog of war" the other simply lies and then lies to defend his lies.
Persecution? More like a free pass if you ask me.
Monday, April 22, 2019
Government Fairness
We should never forget that decisions made by the Government impact peoples lives in very significant ways. In addition to the life and death decisions made regarding our active duty troops, it makes decisions that impact our lives from before our birth to the day we die, and even after.
You want the air you breathe to be clean, the schools safe and equipped, the streets safe, the highways in repair, the police professional, the health care system to be available and affordable, the food you eat safe, the country protected, the unemployment and retirement benefits to be there when needed, justice blind and your vote to count.
For all of those things we need Government at some level, and we generally want that Government to be fair.
We also know it is better to be rich in this country and if you are rich you are more likely to get what you want.
That old saying about needing money to make money is nowhere as true as in Government. If you need something, it certainly helps to buy a few politicians.
We have significant systems of welfare for the rich in the form of Government contracts, subsidies, incentives and favorable tax treatments. Some of these may generate jobs, but those jobs are diluted by high executive salaries, profits and the use of automation.
In fact the latest giveaway tax law increased profits significantly, helped stockholders, but had a minor and passing impact on jobs.
Its time to make sure politicians represent all the people, not just the ones who can make big campaign donations.
You want the air you breathe to be clean, the schools safe and equipped, the streets safe, the highways in repair, the police professional, the health care system to be available and affordable, the food you eat safe, the country protected, the unemployment and retirement benefits to be there when needed, justice blind and your vote to count.
For all of those things we need Government at some level, and we generally want that Government to be fair.
We also know it is better to be rich in this country and if you are rich you are more likely to get what you want.
That old saying about needing money to make money is nowhere as true as in Government. If you need something, it certainly helps to buy a few politicians.
We have significant systems of welfare for the rich in the form of Government contracts, subsidies, incentives and favorable tax treatments. Some of these may generate jobs, but those jobs are diluted by high executive salaries, profits and the use of automation.
In fact the latest giveaway tax law increased profits significantly, helped stockholders, but had a minor and passing impact on jobs.
Its time to make sure politicians represent all the people, not just the ones who can make big campaign donations.
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Report as Fodder
The Mueller report describes a group of people who were ineptly running a campaign with little knowledge or regard for the rules.
They tried to violate laws, possibly unintentionally, but failed to do so.
They wanted to collude with Russia about dirt on Hillary, but Russia wanted to talk about other issues.
Before the election they simply were to inept to collude, although they tried. I doubt they came across as trustworthy enough to get what they wanted.
After the election, they seemed to realize they should hide what they tried to do, although as it turn out they were failures as criminals then too.
In addition to the ones who got caught perjuring themselves, there is plenty of evidence that the chief incompetent tried to obstruct justice.
He couldn't get people to do what he wanted.
I'm not sure if the intent to obstruct is enough of a crime to impeach, and I think that ship has sailed.
As idiotic as the ex-mayor of New York is generally, he is right that getting to debate the report is probably a good strategy for them. They can twist the facts around for their base.
The effort should be on winning in 2020, not spending the next two years providing a stage where it might appear like political theatre.
They live is a twisted reality, we need to impose actual reality.
They tried to violate laws, possibly unintentionally, but failed to do so.
They wanted to collude with Russia about dirt on Hillary, but Russia wanted to talk about other issues.
Before the election they simply were to inept to collude, although they tried. I doubt they came across as trustworthy enough to get what they wanted.
After the election, they seemed to realize they should hide what they tried to do, although as it turn out they were failures as criminals then too.
In addition to the ones who got caught perjuring themselves, there is plenty of evidence that the chief incompetent tried to obstruct justice.
He couldn't get people to do what he wanted.
I'm not sure if the intent to obstruct is enough of a crime to impeach, and I think that ship has sailed.
As idiotic as the ex-mayor of New York is generally, he is right that getting to debate the report is probably a good strategy for them. They can twist the facts around for their base.
The effort should be on winning in 2020, not spending the next two years providing a stage where it might appear like political theatre.
They live is a twisted reality, we need to impose actual reality.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Holidays
This weekend we see the celebration of Passover and Easter.
These two holidays are linked in many ways and both celebrate the liberation of death in their own way.
Passover celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from bondage, but to achieve it God slaughtered every first born Egyptian child.
Easter celebrates the liberation of man from sin via the death of Jesus.
They are however joyous holidays, celebrating new starts.
Have good ones!
These two holidays are linked in many ways and both celebrate the liberation of death in their own way.
Passover celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from bondage, but to achieve it God slaughtered every first born Egyptian child.
Easter celebrates the liberation of man from sin via the death of Jesus.
They are however joyous holidays, celebrating new starts.
Have good ones!
Friday, April 19, 2019
Not Exonerated, but Not Important
While not exonerated, he also wasn't found guilty.
The fact that he exaggerates the way the report describes his behavior is not surprise, but there are plenty of people in the world who are probably guilty but the evidence isn't enough to charge or convict them.
The behavior described is clearly bad, but that isn't a surprise, all his behavior is mostly bad.
The question really is what is the best way to deal with this if you don't want another four years of lies and deceit. Clearly we know he is going to go to rallies and trumpet his exoneration to his mindless supporters, who might actually know better but support him anyway.
What we do know is that if the Democrats don't do something extremely stupid, they are likely to win big in 2020 just like they did in 2018.
He is energizing their base more than he is drumming up additional support.
Realistically, he won a small number of traditionally blue states by getting out the rural vote while certain segments of the democratic base, who weren't enamored of the candidate stayed home.
Most of them have seen the impact of his policies on racial equality, hate, justice for the LGBTA community, progressive causes, the appointment of conservative justices who may challenge or overturn some significant policies, his attack on health coverage and the general contempt he holds most of them in.
Even the economy and the tax changes are not as good or successful as he pretends.
He wasn't exonerated but what is more important is that he not be re-elected.
The fact that he exaggerates the way the report describes his behavior is not surprise, but there are plenty of people in the world who are probably guilty but the evidence isn't enough to charge or convict them.
The behavior described is clearly bad, but that isn't a surprise, all his behavior is mostly bad.
The question really is what is the best way to deal with this if you don't want another four years of lies and deceit. Clearly we know he is going to go to rallies and trumpet his exoneration to his mindless supporters, who might actually know better but support him anyway.
What we do know is that if the Democrats don't do something extremely stupid, they are likely to win big in 2020 just like they did in 2018.
He is energizing their base more than he is drumming up additional support.
Realistically, he won a small number of traditionally blue states by getting out the rural vote while certain segments of the democratic base, who weren't enamored of the candidate stayed home.
Most of them have seen the impact of his policies on racial equality, hate, justice for the LGBTA community, progressive causes, the appointment of conservative justices who may challenge or overturn some significant policies, his attack on health coverage and the general contempt he holds most of them in.
Even the economy and the tax changes are not as good or successful as he pretends.
He wasn't exonerated but what is more important is that he not be re-elected.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
More Fairness
If you grow up poor in this country your odds of escaping that world are pretty slim.
Recent studies show that the best indicator of someones ultimate success level in life in their parents.
It makes sense. You learn what to do from your environs and the more money you have generally the better the environs.
Wealthy children go to well funded schools with extra-curricular activities, labs and advanced placement courses.
Poor children are often lucky to be in a class with an up-to-date text book.
For many of them school is more day care than educational experience.
They face many more issues related to bullying, gangs, drugs, and random violence.
Many have parents who are unable to take care of themselves let alone their children.
Many of them live in single parent homes and many of them have fathers who are incarcerated.
Often the question isn't if they will join a gang, its what one will they join?
Some do manage to get educated in spite of this and escape the cycle of poverty.
These are the exceptions, not the norm.
Thee children often have parents or a parent who cares just as much as parents in the suburbs, but if they are part of the working poor, they work long hours and aren't always available.
They say it takes a village, but what if the village is dominated by drug dealers, gang members and addicts?
You are likely not going to end up as a corporate executive.
Recent studies show that the best indicator of someones ultimate success level in life in their parents.
It makes sense. You learn what to do from your environs and the more money you have generally the better the environs.
Wealthy children go to well funded schools with extra-curricular activities, labs and advanced placement courses.
Poor children are often lucky to be in a class with an up-to-date text book.
For many of them school is more day care than educational experience.
They face many more issues related to bullying, gangs, drugs, and random violence.
Many have parents who are unable to take care of themselves let alone their children.
Many of them live in single parent homes and many of them have fathers who are incarcerated.
Often the question isn't if they will join a gang, its what one will they join?
Some do manage to get educated in spite of this and escape the cycle of poverty.
These are the exceptions, not the norm.
Thee children often have parents or a parent who cares just as much as parents in the suburbs, but if they are part of the working poor, they work long hours and aren't always available.
They say it takes a village, but what if the village is dominated by drug dealers, gang members and addicts?
You are likely not going to end up as a corporate executive.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Fairness
Life is not fair.
Both due to genetics and heritage we start off unequally.
Some people are born to wealthy or rich parents. Some are born with physical and mental attributes that exceed the average person.
Many successful people, seem unaware of the advantages they started with. There are of course people who have overcome the disadvantages of their birth and achieved success. This is the exception and while you see many books, written by successful people that talk about how they succeeded because of hard work, and they did, there were just as many people who worked as hard who didn't succeed.
If you don't have the natural ability it doesn't matter how much you practice singing, you will not become a star.
Economically it is a bit more equal, one can achieve some success despite the disadvantages of being born poor, with a little help.
The real question is what should society do to help those who for various reasons, are unable to help themselves?
This is not a new problem, it existed since the earliest days. The poor are mentioned in the bible and there is plenty of historical mention of the poor.
In some ways we have been fortunate in this country. For much of our history we were growing and creating jobs that required minimal skills but paid well.
This led to unprecedented national wealth and a standard of living for many that was the envy of the world. Not everyone shared in this but most did.
Then the robots started to take over. There are so many jobs that went away because of the rise of automation that we see a large group of Americans with limited opportunities. Its not their fault but they are the victims of it. The benefits accrue to the owners and the investors and we see the great increase in wealth inequality in this country.
Is there a solution? We have to find one. We can't just turn back the clock.
Both due to genetics and heritage we start off unequally.
Some people are born to wealthy or rich parents. Some are born with physical and mental attributes that exceed the average person.
Many successful people, seem unaware of the advantages they started with. There are of course people who have overcome the disadvantages of their birth and achieved success. This is the exception and while you see many books, written by successful people that talk about how they succeeded because of hard work, and they did, there were just as many people who worked as hard who didn't succeed.
If you don't have the natural ability it doesn't matter how much you practice singing, you will not become a star.
Economically it is a bit more equal, one can achieve some success despite the disadvantages of being born poor, with a little help.
The real question is what should society do to help those who for various reasons, are unable to help themselves?
This is not a new problem, it existed since the earliest days. The poor are mentioned in the bible and there is plenty of historical mention of the poor.
In some ways we have been fortunate in this country. For much of our history we were growing and creating jobs that required minimal skills but paid well.
This led to unprecedented national wealth and a standard of living for many that was the envy of the world. Not everyone shared in this but most did.
Then the robots started to take over. There are so many jobs that went away because of the rise of automation that we see a large group of Americans with limited opportunities. Its not their fault but they are the victims of it. The benefits accrue to the owners and the investors and we see the great increase in wealth inequality in this country.
Is there a solution? We have to find one. We can't just turn back the clock.
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Swords Into Plowshares
Partly because of our strategic location and partly because of our large population and strong defense, their are no real dangers concerning a conventional attack on this country.
Yes we were attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor and terrorists have attacked specific targets, but the idea that someone could invade and occupy this country is not really a danger.
Our troops are engaged worldwide in "Peacekeeping" roles that are sometimes open hostilities. We have significant forces in Europe, and Asia to serve as a first line of defense and to guarantee the safety of certain countries from potential enemies.
These arrangements primarily started after the world war or during the cold war. Our involvement in the middle east is a bit more recent and was to prevent a dictator from grabbing certain oil supplies, although we called it protecting an ally (sort of) from a brutal dictator.
The dictator was deposed and in his place we have a fairly unfriendly regime and increase terrorism that we have been combating. Our involvement in the middle east in complex and since we seem to have enough of our own oil now, why are we still there?
The argument is that we have to combat terrorism before the terrorists attack us here. It seems thought that our presence creates more terrorists than we can kill. We have killed quite a few but unfortunately its hard to avoid some collateral damage as we do it, so we kill some innocent people which leads to new terrorists.
Now the best cycle.
We spend a lot of money on defense and I'm certainly in favor of defending this country. I have some trouble seeing how our national interests are being served in some of these actions.
The bible tells us to beat our swords into plowshares. Don't see much of that going on.
Yes we were attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor and terrorists have attacked specific targets, but the idea that someone could invade and occupy this country is not really a danger.
Our troops are engaged worldwide in "Peacekeeping" roles that are sometimes open hostilities. We have significant forces in Europe, and Asia to serve as a first line of defense and to guarantee the safety of certain countries from potential enemies.
These arrangements primarily started after the world war or during the cold war. Our involvement in the middle east is a bit more recent and was to prevent a dictator from grabbing certain oil supplies, although we called it protecting an ally (sort of) from a brutal dictator.
The dictator was deposed and in his place we have a fairly unfriendly regime and increase terrorism that we have been combating. Our involvement in the middle east in complex and since we seem to have enough of our own oil now, why are we still there?
The argument is that we have to combat terrorism before the terrorists attack us here. It seems thought that our presence creates more terrorists than we can kill. We have killed quite a few but unfortunately its hard to avoid some collateral damage as we do it, so we kill some innocent people which leads to new terrorists.
Now the best cycle.
We spend a lot of money on defense and I'm certainly in favor of defending this country. I have some trouble seeing how our national interests are being served in some of these actions.
The bible tells us to beat our swords into plowshares. Don't see much of that going on.
Monday, April 15, 2019
Civil Discourse
In general the things we argue about represent very little of the actual Government. For example, things like defense, social security, homeland security are all things that are supported by nearly everybody. Whether a particular weapon system gets funded or what the social security cola should be might be arguments, but the broad topic is something agreed on.
It seems like the differences are greater than they are because we have a press that mostly focuses on the interesting arguments and a president who treats everything as a political issue.
Take immigration. Everybody, or at least almost everybody would want policies that weed our terrorists and known criminals while allowing asylum seekers and desirable immigrants access. Its not that hard but of course you need to understand that you are dealing with many individuals, each whom has their own issues.
They are not selected by their home countries to come here. They are not generally terrorists or drug smugglers. They are generally fleeing the gangs, not joining them. They don't become a long term drain on our resources, once they get settled.
To believe these things is the result of rhetoric with no basis in facts.
Yes, in any fairly large group of people you will have some who aren't going to obey the law and who might commit a crime, but these are the exceptions. It would be like saying all Americans are mass murderers because some have committed mass murder. Its just not logical or correct.
The idea of working together on the things that unite us while debating the things we disagree on isn't really that alien a concept. We used to do it all the time.
It seems like the differences are greater than they are because we have a press that mostly focuses on the interesting arguments and a president who treats everything as a political issue.
Take immigration. Everybody, or at least almost everybody would want policies that weed our terrorists and known criminals while allowing asylum seekers and desirable immigrants access. Its not that hard but of course you need to understand that you are dealing with many individuals, each whom has their own issues.
They are not selected by their home countries to come here. They are not generally terrorists or drug smugglers. They are generally fleeing the gangs, not joining them. They don't become a long term drain on our resources, once they get settled.
To believe these things is the result of rhetoric with no basis in facts.
Yes, in any fairly large group of people you will have some who aren't going to obey the law and who might commit a crime, but these are the exceptions. It would be like saying all Americans are mass murderers because some have committed mass murder. Its just not logical or correct.
The idea of working together on the things that unite us while debating the things we disagree on isn't really that alien a concept. We used to do it all the time.
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Family Farming
Farming is a declining occupation as the number of farms and number of farmers continue to decline.
Certainly industrial farming is still producing but the family farm is becoming a thing of the past.
Number of Farms
The article draws its own conclusions but I think there is a story behind the numbers. Competitive commercial farming is being taken over by the industrial farms as you see the larger family owned farms shrink, but small, possibly organic, possibly part time farms increase.
This is more a trend to a more faddish food culture and those farms will never be able to feed everybody, but they can peddle their goods at local farmers markets or sell to local groceries.
This isn't a bad thing for them, its a healthy and possibly lucrative hobby. Its one step up from having a vegetable garden and many may have even evolved from there.
What it does show is that the great American heartland where we produce the staples of our diets in wheat, corn, etc. is becoming a big factory with workers and corporate interests.
Much of the American mythos revolves around the family farm.
Its becoming more and more inaccurate.
Certainly industrial farming is still producing but the family farm is becoming a thing of the past.
Number of Farms
The article draws its own conclusions but I think there is a story behind the numbers. Competitive commercial farming is being taken over by the industrial farms as you see the larger family owned farms shrink, but small, possibly organic, possibly part time farms increase.
This is more a trend to a more faddish food culture and those farms will never be able to feed everybody, but they can peddle their goods at local farmers markets or sell to local groceries.
This isn't a bad thing for them, its a healthy and possibly lucrative hobby. Its one step up from having a vegetable garden and many may have even evolved from there.
What it does show is that the great American heartland where we produce the staples of our diets in wheat, corn, etc. is becoming a big factory with workers and corporate interests.
Much of the American mythos revolves around the family farm.
Its becoming more and more inaccurate.
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Impositions
There are things in this country that I think should change. Those changes are primarily to allow individuals to have more rights, despite their beliefs or past actions.
Some policies in this country restrict a persons rights without an offsetting public benefit.
However, there are some compelling public issues that require some infringement on an individual's rights.
Take infectious diseases. If we have a safe method to prevent them it is the public interest to make everyone do it. Its the price you pay to be part of society. If you wish not to participate, take appropriate steps, but don't continue to be a health hazard when you don't have to be.
Similarly, a woman has the right to decide what she does with her own body, but at some point an unborn child has to be considered. In some states we see legislation saying that once a fetus has a heartbeat, it gets some state protection. Is that point meaningful in any definition of when a fetus turns into a person worthy of state protection? Its not viable on its own. Of course many anti abortion advocates argue that it is a person upon conception. This is primarily a religious based argument and should have no place in a government discussion. The idea that a women can be forced to do this would seem to make her less than a person.
I think when someone allows their religious beliefs to influence their positions on public policy they are on thin ice. Imposing your beliefs on someone else is as wrong as them imposing their beliefs on you. We saw a lot of scare campaigns about how our last president was going to impose Sharia law, which wasn't close to true. Would that be any worse than someone imposing some Christian value system on everyone? There are moral and social values that rise above individual religious beliefs. believe what you want, but let everyone else do the same.
Some policies in this country restrict a persons rights without an offsetting public benefit.
However, there are some compelling public issues that require some infringement on an individual's rights.
Take infectious diseases. If we have a safe method to prevent them it is the public interest to make everyone do it. Its the price you pay to be part of society. If you wish not to participate, take appropriate steps, but don't continue to be a health hazard when you don't have to be.
Similarly, a woman has the right to decide what she does with her own body, but at some point an unborn child has to be considered. In some states we see legislation saying that once a fetus has a heartbeat, it gets some state protection. Is that point meaningful in any definition of when a fetus turns into a person worthy of state protection? Its not viable on its own. Of course many anti abortion advocates argue that it is a person upon conception. This is primarily a religious based argument and should have no place in a government discussion. The idea that a women can be forced to do this would seem to make her less than a person.
I think when someone allows their religious beliefs to influence their positions on public policy they are on thin ice. Imposing your beliefs on someone else is as wrong as them imposing their beliefs on you. We saw a lot of scare campaigns about how our last president was going to impose Sharia law, which wasn't close to true. Would that be any worse than someone imposing some Christian value system on everyone? There are moral and social values that rise above individual religious beliefs. believe what you want, but let everyone else do the same.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Theft of Secrets
If you steal and publish Government secrets or those of an individual you are breaking the law. If you don't steal them but publish them, you might not be.
In the second case it has to be beyond doubt that you had no involvement in the theft, or it would be easy to simply hire people to steal the stuff.
We are going to hear a lot in the next few months about the legality or importance of WikiLeaks. You opinion on that probably hinges on your view of Government in general.
If you tend to think that Government is the enemy of the people, then spying on it and stealing their secrets is probably something you support. Of course that view makes you a supporter of espionage and other criminal behavior.
Let's be clear, investigative journalism isn't the issue. It is certainly OK to try to ascertain the actions and criticize any that you feel are inappropriate. What is at issue is theft and stealing secrets.
Theft is a criminal behavior.
Some people feel that any Government secret is fair game. It is also true that some things classified don't need to be. Still that decision should be made by experts, not some random foreign person working with a foreign entity to disrupt our country.
The other thing is to remember, he is stealing from all of us, we are after all the people who make up the Government.
In the second case it has to be beyond doubt that you had no involvement in the theft, or it would be easy to simply hire people to steal the stuff.
We are going to hear a lot in the next few months about the legality or importance of WikiLeaks. You opinion on that probably hinges on your view of Government in general.
If you tend to think that Government is the enemy of the people, then spying on it and stealing their secrets is probably something you support. Of course that view makes you a supporter of espionage and other criminal behavior.
Let's be clear, investigative journalism isn't the issue. It is certainly OK to try to ascertain the actions and criticize any that you feel are inappropriate. What is at issue is theft and stealing secrets.
Theft is a criminal behavior.
Some people feel that any Government secret is fair game. It is also true that some things classified don't need to be. Still that decision should be made by experts, not some random foreign person working with a foreign entity to disrupt our country.
The other thing is to remember, he is stealing from all of us, we are after all the people who make up the Government.
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Unanticipated Consequences
In general, to determine the effectiveness of a course of behavior you have to measure results.
The results are the measure of effectiveness although of course to get a true measure you have to make sure there are no other variables.
This is fairly easy in a laboratory setting but not so much in the real world.
Still, if you introduce a specific action and a related result changes, you can treat the result as a likely result of that action.
Take immigration. We have seen a lot of rhetoric and bluster about it yet the result is a significant increase in people coming for asylum.
It seems counterintuitive, but there is most likely a relationship between the two. Sometimes just drawing attention to an issue, makes it more popular.
Of course the causes could be related to deteriorating conditions in their home countries.
Still our anti-immigration administration has managed to increase the number of undocumented immigrants significantly.
Maybe time to try something different.
The results are the measure of effectiveness although of course to get a true measure you have to make sure there are no other variables.
This is fairly easy in a laboratory setting but not so much in the real world.
Still, if you introduce a specific action and a related result changes, you can treat the result as a likely result of that action.
Take immigration. We have seen a lot of rhetoric and bluster about it yet the result is a significant increase in people coming for asylum.
It seems counterintuitive, but there is most likely a relationship between the two. Sometimes just drawing attention to an issue, makes it more popular.
Of course the causes could be related to deteriorating conditions in their home countries.
Still our anti-immigration administration has managed to increase the number of undocumented immigrants significantly.
Maybe time to try something different.
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Real Crisis
Forecasts indicate that a spring storm is going to bring significant snow to the middle part of the country.
This is weather, but the intensity of recent storms seems to be increasing. A weather trend represents climate change.
The storm, named by some Wesley, is another bomb cyclone and will dump significant snow in much of the country. These are the same areas that were impacted by the last bomb cyclone and which are suffering from floods and the new snow fall will simply exacerbate the problem.
We have seen many trends in weather and no reasonable person doesn't realize that the real crisis we face, worldwide, is climate change caused by or at least contributed to by human activity.
Its already too late to avoid some of the issues but failure to curtail the amount of carbon we release into the atmosphere will lead to even greater issues.
We have probably already altered the interactions that control things like bomb cyclones by warming the waters around the globe.
Maybe the border we should be worried about is the borders between shore and water. The water is rising and we aren't doing much to stop it.
This is weather, but the intensity of recent storms seems to be increasing. A weather trend represents climate change.
The storm, named by some Wesley, is another bomb cyclone and will dump significant snow in much of the country. These are the same areas that were impacted by the last bomb cyclone and which are suffering from floods and the new snow fall will simply exacerbate the problem.
We have seen many trends in weather and no reasonable person doesn't realize that the real crisis we face, worldwide, is climate change caused by or at least contributed to by human activity.
Its already too late to avoid some of the issues but failure to curtail the amount of carbon we release into the atmosphere will lead to even greater issues.
We have probably already altered the interactions that control things like bomb cyclones by warming the waters around the globe.
Maybe the border we should be worried about is the borders between shore and water. The water is rising and we aren't doing much to stop it.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Doing The Right Thing
Are poor immigrants wanting to come to this country for a better life a crisis?
If so the country was in a crisis for most of its history.
I understand that the rhetoric has grown dramatically and it is presented as an invasion of undesirables.
Still, it might rise to the level of a situation, but it is only a crisis if we make it one.
It may strain our border resources a bit, but we could certainly process these asylum seekers in an orderly way if we wanted to.
We have processed large numbers of asylum seekers in our past successfully. Of course in some events we simply accepted everyone fleeing Cuba who passed a rudimentary check. To some extent our current cumbersome process and shortage of personnel is causing delays and detention issues.
As a person who should care about his fellow man, the issue is what should we do with people who have left everything behind and show up at our border asking for safe entrance?
Obviously if they are some sort of threat or have terrorist connections, we shouldn't admit them, but ordinary people with families who just want a chance to be safe?
The country is not full, its is far from it.
Its clear that not everyone agrees that we have a humanitarian responsibility to help these people, our fellow humans, and that is just a fact.
However, each of them is a person and has the same hopes and desires as we do. They are mostly victims of violence, poverty and corrupt governments. Those are not our fault, but its not their fault either.
We need to do the right thing and not blame the victims.
If so the country was in a crisis for most of its history.
I understand that the rhetoric has grown dramatically and it is presented as an invasion of undesirables.
Still, it might rise to the level of a situation, but it is only a crisis if we make it one.
It may strain our border resources a bit, but we could certainly process these asylum seekers in an orderly way if we wanted to.
We have processed large numbers of asylum seekers in our past successfully. Of course in some events we simply accepted everyone fleeing Cuba who passed a rudimentary check. To some extent our current cumbersome process and shortage of personnel is causing delays and detention issues.
As a person who should care about his fellow man, the issue is what should we do with people who have left everything behind and show up at our border asking for safe entrance?
Obviously if they are some sort of threat or have terrorist connections, we shouldn't admit them, but ordinary people with families who just want a chance to be safe?
The country is not full, its is far from it.
Its clear that not everyone agrees that we have a humanitarian responsibility to help these people, our fellow humans, and that is just a fact.
However, each of them is a person and has the same hopes and desires as we do. They are mostly victims of violence, poverty and corrupt governments. Those are not our fault, but its not their fault either.
We need to do the right thing and not blame the victims.
Monday, April 8, 2019
Social Democracy
We are going to hear a lot of rhetoric about how the Democrats are pushing a socialist agenda.
The reason for that is that the word Socialism has negative connotations in this country. We have associated it with both Communism and to some extent with National Socialism (NAZIs). Certainly it is not well explained, at least in undergraduate classes, as a system.
Socialism simply means looking at the welfare of the many as opposed to letting a few accumulate all the wealth and property. There are examples of socialist societies where this concept taken to an extreme led to reduced economic opportunity for all. That is not either a universal or foregone conclusion of implementing social policies.
If you consider Western Europe you see many examples of socialist type policies that have not led to the disintegration of the economies. Providing things like education, health care, job opportunities and pensions has not destroyed their economies. Generally what you see is a trade off between higher taxes and higher benefits but because of these policies pretty much everyone is guaranteed a certain standard of living.
The question really is are we a society which cares for its members or just a collection of individuals where only the fittest survive?
If you favor the second option, what do you think the poor and disenfranchised are going to do?
We are the richest nation that ever existed and yet we have significant groups that get inadequate education, inadequate health care and insecure old age benefits.
Shouldn't we do better as a society?
Is that socialism? Does it matter?
The reason for that is that the word Socialism has negative connotations in this country. We have associated it with both Communism and to some extent with National Socialism (NAZIs). Certainly it is not well explained, at least in undergraduate classes, as a system.
Socialism simply means looking at the welfare of the many as opposed to letting a few accumulate all the wealth and property. There are examples of socialist societies where this concept taken to an extreme led to reduced economic opportunity for all. That is not either a universal or foregone conclusion of implementing social policies.
If you consider Western Europe you see many examples of socialist type policies that have not led to the disintegration of the economies. Providing things like education, health care, job opportunities and pensions has not destroyed their economies. Generally what you see is a trade off between higher taxes and higher benefits but because of these policies pretty much everyone is guaranteed a certain standard of living.
The question really is are we a society which cares for its members or just a collection of individuals where only the fittest survive?
If you favor the second option, what do you think the poor and disenfranchised are going to do?
We are the richest nation that ever existed and yet we have significant groups that get inadequate education, inadequate health care and insecure old age benefits.
Shouldn't we do better as a society?
Is that socialism? Does it matter?
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Sunday Musings
Its nearing the deadline for filing taxes and many people still need to do so.
The full impact of the Republican tax law will filter its way through the economy and in what was a poor decision on their part, many Americans are going to find they are getting a smaller refund or may actually owe money even though they are paying less in total.
This is because in order to try to influence the public they had the IRS recalculate the withholding tables, to withhold less than they should have.
The amount of the extra money in each paycheck wasn't impressive and combined with other changes that occur for most people every year, such as increased health insurance cost, it was probably pretty negligible.
If you get 52 paychecks a year, or more likely 26, an extra $10 or $20 isn't going to rock your world. You do however notice that refund check of $520 you are used to getting. \\Its actually enough money to get something or do something.
When they don't get it, they aren't happy. Would argue its just an interest free loan to the Government, but its like forced savings.
People like refund checks and are used to them.
The full impact of the Republican tax law will filter its way through the economy and in what was a poor decision on their part, many Americans are going to find they are getting a smaller refund or may actually owe money even though they are paying less in total.
This is because in order to try to influence the public they had the IRS recalculate the withholding tables, to withhold less than they should have.
The amount of the extra money in each paycheck wasn't impressive and combined with other changes that occur for most people every year, such as increased health insurance cost, it was probably pretty negligible.
If you get 52 paychecks a year, or more likely 26, an extra $10 or $20 isn't going to rock your world. You do however notice that refund check of $520 you are used to getting. \\Its actually enough money to get something or do something.
When they don't get it, they aren't happy. Would argue its just an interest free loan to the Government, but its like forced savings.
People like refund checks and are used to them.
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Economy Thoughts
Time to take another look at the economy. Most people thing the economy is doing well, and this seems primarily because of the rise in stock prices and the low unemployment rate.
However the problem areas in the rust belt and the farm belt are still, well, trouble areas.
Farmers have been hit hard by this administration's policies, specifically in regard to tariffs, which increases their costs and reduces their competitiveness.
A cynical person might think that the only beneficiaries of driving out smaller farmers would be the larger corporate farmers who can buy up farms cheaper.
While there has been some increase in manufacturing, the number of jobs and skill levels required is still low and then high. The jobs for low skill union workers in large factories like we had in the 50s are not coming back. We see some rise in wages, partly as a result of minimum wage increases and partly because we might have hit the bottom on wages.
If average wages decrease as low paying jobs replace higher paying jobs, at some point that will be complete and we will have a new wage base, that will increase. It might take a while for the average wage to equal what it once did, but it will increase.
We see the same thing in the housing market where many homes are still selling below the peaks of the last decade.
We still have an escalating deficit and another factor is that companies are reducing benefits in the pension and health areas because of cost.
So how are we doing under this economy? Well same as we always have under Republicans, the rich get richer and the rest of us look for trickles.
However the problem areas in the rust belt and the farm belt are still, well, trouble areas.
Farmers have been hit hard by this administration's policies, specifically in regard to tariffs, which increases their costs and reduces their competitiveness.
A cynical person might think that the only beneficiaries of driving out smaller farmers would be the larger corporate farmers who can buy up farms cheaper.
While there has been some increase in manufacturing, the number of jobs and skill levels required is still low and then high. The jobs for low skill union workers in large factories like we had in the 50s are not coming back. We see some rise in wages, partly as a result of minimum wage increases and partly because we might have hit the bottom on wages.
If average wages decrease as low paying jobs replace higher paying jobs, at some point that will be complete and we will have a new wage base, that will increase. It might take a while for the average wage to equal what it once did, but it will increase.
We see the same thing in the housing market where many homes are still selling below the peaks of the last decade.
We still have an escalating deficit and another factor is that companies are reducing benefits in the pension and health areas because of cost.
So how are we doing under this economy? Well same as we always have under Republicans, the rich get richer and the rest of us look for trickles.
Friday, April 5, 2019
Unsocial Media
An issue from the 2016 election which will be an issue again is the amount of fake and slanderous information on social media.
In 2016 we saw a concerted effort by at least one foreign player to influence the public. To what extent it succeeded is hard to gauge, but much of it was pretty obvious at the time, unless of course you believed it.
Social media has become for any the on-line place they visit. They see messages from family and friends and suddenly, perhaps even forwarded by one of them they see an outrageous claim about a candidate or candidates in general.
You can't salute the flag, they have sex slaves, they are denying veterans health care, they want to promote (add any abhorrent activity here).
You of course shouldn't believe these things, and many don't, but like a message that a judge tells a jury to disregard you still saw it.
And you may see it over and over again, until it just seems like it must be true.
There are places where you can check the veracity of these statement but most don't.
The repetition is pervasive and you are encouraged to forward the outrageous claim, if you are a patriot or care about (enter cause here).
The more people do that, the more credibility it takes on.
There is pressure on social media to control some of this and some steps have been taken. However they can't act until its been sent and by then it already doing its damage.
It up to us to recognize the bad messaging but that's not likely.
I don't have high hopes that social media can fix this without doing something even worse.
Well have to see.
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Our Earth
There are people who oppose renewable energy sources, including the dontard. The reason for this is pretty unclear, except for those who have a vested interest in carbon based energy sources like oil, gas, and coal.
Creating energy using solar, wind, tides, water flow or any other renewable source eliminates pollution and provides essentially the same energy as the other sources. In some cases affordability cold be a factor but if you consider our recent past, the use of windmills and water mills were quite common.
We went through a period that we are still in where cheap carbon based energy became inexpensive and transportable. We were able to have a tremendous expansion of industry, transportation and provided the ability to heat and cool our homes.
The side effect of this was that we saw an increase in pollution and a release of carbon into the atmosphere that creates a greenhouse effect. Much of the pollution, especially some of the most visible has been controlled or eliminated.
We still rely to a great extent on carbon based energy, but we have taken many steps to be more efficient and we have seen some move towards use of renewable energy.
The point is that we have released so much carbon into the air that we are at a point where we need to change our ways to avoid fairly catastrophic results. In fact we may be already be at a point where we already face dire consequences.
Each of us needs to continue reducing our use of carbon and require our politicians to accept the reality of climate change.
Creating energy using solar, wind, tides, water flow or any other renewable source eliminates pollution and provides essentially the same energy as the other sources. In some cases affordability cold be a factor but if you consider our recent past, the use of windmills and water mills were quite common.
We went through a period that we are still in where cheap carbon based energy became inexpensive and transportable. We were able to have a tremendous expansion of industry, transportation and provided the ability to heat and cool our homes.
The side effect of this was that we saw an increase in pollution and a release of carbon into the atmosphere that creates a greenhouse effect. Much of the pollution, especially some of the most visible has been controlled or eliminated.
We still rely to a great extent on carbon based energy, but we have taken many steps to be more efficient and we have seen some move towards use of renewable energy.
The point is that we have released so much carbon into the air that we are at a point where we need to change our ways to avoid fairly catastrophic results. In fact we may be already be at a point where we already face dire consequences.
Each of us needs to continue reducing our use of carbon and require our politicians to accept the reality of climate change.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Behavior
One of the things I hear a lot is if someone finds your behavior "uncomfortable" you need to respect that and change.
I think it really depends on what that behavior is.
In many cases the behavior itself is wrong or at least questionable and should be modified.
However there are certain innocent type behaviors that 99.9% of people don't find offensive but which might be considered offensive by the .1%..
Should we consider that maybe that small group are the ones with the problem?
Some people have conditions that make them over susceptible to some behaviors, such as touching.
Clearly you shouldn't be touching them, but at the same time, shaking their hand or offering them a hug is not inappropriate behavior.
Now to be clear, it would be inappropriate if you have said you didn't want to be hugged, but if the hug is clearly innocent and not salacious and you say nothing, can you years later act like it was offensive? I guess you can, we are seeing it, but should it be a real issue?
The behavior itself has to be the criteria. Innocent behavior taken the wrong way is not behavior that should be condemned, if it wasn't objected to at the time.
The behavior is the only thing someone can control and to be condemned for acting innocently, is just wrong. At least in my view.
I think it really depends on what that behavior is.
In many cases the behavior itself is wrong or at least questionable and should be modified.
However there are certain innocent type behaviors that 99.9% of people don't find offensive but which might be considered offensive by the .1%..
Should we consider that maybe that small group are the ones with the problem?
Some people have conditions that make them over susceptible to some behaviors, such as touching.
Clearly you shouldn't be touching them, but at the same time, shaking their hand or offering them a hug is not inappropriate behavior.
Now to be clear, it would be inappropriate if you have said you didn't want to be hugged, but if the hug is clearly innocent and not salacious and you say nothing, can you years later act like it was offensive? I guess you can, we are seeing it, but should it be a real issue?
The behavior itself has to be the criteria. Innocent behavior taken the wrong way is not behavior that should be condemned, if it wasn't objected to at the time.
The behavior is the only thing someone can control and to be condemned for acting innocently, is just wrong. At least in my view.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Dominant Behavior
If you watch enough nature shows you get a general idea of how evolution has resulted in the survival and continuance of the strongest individuals. They are able to dominate their rivals and generally attract females.
So in most species you see males either fight or display their skills and the females are predisposed to pick the most dominant males.
There would be no reason to believe that humans evolved any differently and whether we want to admit it or not most of us behave the same ways instinctively. We can certainly make different choices and it might also be true that in today's world, physical attributes may not be the most significant for success, but our instincts are formed based on a very long evolutionary past. In fact to some extent this instinctive behavior may be the basis for much of the bullying that goes on.
None of this excuses bad behavior, we are able to make decisions based on moral and legal rules, but it is an underlying factor in how we behave. It leads to the alpha's in a group exerting a certain dominance and perhaps trying to display that dominance to the rest of the group.
This behavior may even be done at the subconscious level, where our instincts still rule, and lead to behavior that may make others uncomfortable.
It is not something that can be changed easily, it is too embedded, but it can be controlled. Still it will still exhibit itself in certain situations.
In most situations dominant personalities will emerge and sometimes they will make other uncomfortable. What the proper reaction is to this obviously varies based on the individual circumstances, but it isn't just going to stop, its too ingrained.
So in most species you see males either fight or display their skills and the females are predisposed to pick the most dominant males.
There would be no reason to believe that humans evolved any differently and whether we want to admit it or not most of us behave the same ways instinctively. We can certainly make different choices and it might also be true that in today's world, physical attributes may not be the most significant for success, but our instincts are formed based on a very long evolutionary past. In fact to some extent this instinctive behavior may be the basis for much of the bullying that goes on.
None of this excuses bad behavior, we are able to make decisions based on moral and legal rules, but it is an underlying factor in how we behave. It leads to the alpha's in a group exerting a certain dominance and perhaps trying to display that dominance to the rest of the group.
This behavior may even be done at the subconscious level, where our instincts still rule, and lead to behavior that may make others uncomfortable.
It is not something that can be changed easily, it is too embedded, but it can be controlled. Still it will still exhibit itself in certain situations.
In most situations dominant personalities will emerge and sometimes they will make other uncomfortable. What the proper reaction is to this obviously varies based on the individual circumstances, but it isn't just going to stop, its too ingrained.
Monday, April 1, 2019
Foreign Aid
What is the point of Foreign Aid?
While before World War II there were instances of countries helping allies or client states militarily, it was generally a transactional type situation where in exchange for assistance the recipient made certain commitments.
After the war, the United States instituted the Marshal Plan which helped much of Europe rebuild and was ultimately designed to prevent them from falling under the Soviet Bloc.
While a lot of time has passed and foreign aid programs have taken a number of forms, including peaceful and military, the idea that it is an investment in exporting western concepts of equality and democracy underlie it.
It involves a lot of money and the success of it is hard to assess.
It is clearly the carrot we offer while sanctions would be the stick.
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The ultimate objective of it would be for the recipient to become self sufficient and, like Europe after the war, become a valued partner of ours economically and perhaps militarily.
Whatever aid we give to poor countries is designed to help the poorer citizens of that country have better opportunities. Unfortunately, in too many cases the money gets diverted and misused.
From that aspect, cutting off foreign aid to a country as a punishment will impact the ruling class of that country, depending on the degree of corruption involved.
Of course if the foreign aid is being used effectively, cutting it off will increase poverty and probably lead to more citizens giving up hope and exiting.
Cutting off aid to the countries that have the most migrants is likely to backfire.
Time will tell.
While before World War II there were instances of countries helping allies or client states militarily, it was generally a transactional type situation where in exchange for assistance the recipient made certain commitments.
After the war, the United States instituted the Marshal Plan which helped much of Europe rebuild and was ultimately designed to prevent them from falling under the Soviet Bloc.
While a lot of time has passed and foreign aid programs have taken a number of forms, including peaceful and military, the idea that it is an investment in exporting western concepts of equality and democracy underlie it.
It involves a lot of money and the success of it is hard to assess.
It is clearly the carrot we offer while sanctions would be the stick.
\
The ultimate objective of it would be for the recipient to become self sufficient and, like Europe after the war, become a valued partner of ours economically and perhaps militarily.
Whatever aid we give to poor countries is designed to help the poorer citizens of that country have better opportunities. Unfortunately, in too many cases the money gets diverted and misused.
From that aspect, cutting off foreign aid to a country as a punishment will impact the ruling class of that country, depending on the degree of corruption involved.
Of course if the foreign aid is being used effectively, cutting it off will increase poverty and probably lead to more citizens giving up hope and exiting.
Cutting off aid to the countries that have the most migrants is likely to backfire.
Time will tell.
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