Facts or Narrative?

 Russai is continuing a tactic that has been used by many tyrants and wannabe tyrants over the years, lying to their people.  I suppose some might argue they aren't the ones lying, a Russian sympathizer for example, but the concept that the Nazis of Ukraine were at fault flies in the face of some logic.  The fighting is taking place in the Ukraine, not Russia, so I guess they committed reverse aggression.

You would like to think that people would wise up to the lying, but hard to criticize them who live in a country where the media is controlled by the ruling party when here with free press, so many believe similar lies. Some here seem to work hard to believe and make no attempt to find the truth.

Something I have noticed is we assume perfect knowledge by the people we don't support. This allows us to say they are lying when they simply don't know things.  

Up until the Russians actually invaded, there was some uncertainty about whether they would so the impact on energy prices was debatable.  Once they did and we applied sanctions, the impact became apparent.  You could easily argue that the impact has been greatly mitigated by the administration's actions but in our current political environment, all that is emphasized is how bad the impact was.

All we see generally is biased reporting, not factual stuff.  

The facts are not important to the narrative.

Help People do the Right Thing

 In everything we do we should have both short term and long-term goals.  Ideally the short-term ones support the long-term ones, but not always.  For example, we have a long-term goal of eliminating carbon-based energy sources and replacing them with renewable ones.  However, replacing high carbon sources with lower ones might be a good short-term goal.

In that respect we can't be opposed to certain actions which serve as stop gate measures.  We also need to be aware that in order to make any progress we need to have the support of the majority of the people and hopefully all of them.

This can be a long crusade.  Look at how long it took to get the message out on cigarettes.  I don't think it's fully out even now.  People still smoke even though it has become expensive and clearly a known danger.  Stopping can be hard and similarly transitioning from oil based to renewable is also hard.  

One of the issues relates to our capitalistic system.  The Government does not want to influence or benefit particular companies.  This makes scammer seem as legitimate as everyone else.  Should the Government pick winners and losers?  No, but it can create standards and identify those who violate them.

Buyer beware is one of our fundamentals.  Some have trouble being aware.  We can make that easier.

Cruel Nature?

 I used to have an office that looked out on a seldom used railroad spur.  In the winter the trees lining the spur was home to birds who would cluster together for I assume warmth.  Every morning quite a few of them lay dead on the ground under the trees. 

I don't know if someone cleaned them up or if they provided food to other animals.  I worked late enough to see them return for the night nosily as they jostled for a spot.  It clearly was a life-or-death matter although I read that the ones who died probably were malnourished.

I guess the ones who had trouble finding enough food had two problems.  They weren't strong enough to get a good spot where the warmth of the flock would help them and they couldn't withstand the cold being undernourished.

It seems cruel but the flock seemed to survive and when it became time to breed the weak had been weeded out.  Nature isn't cruel but it is pragmatic.  Your existence is not guaranteed, you have to fight for it. 

I never researched what type of birds these were but I'm pretty sure if I went to that office (it might not exist) the flock would still be flourishing.  

Nature made it stronger each year.

Disagree, but Don't Hate

 People have had to deal with disasters in their personal lives. The loss of a job, a serious illness or unexpected death can be devastating.  There are some support systems but only to a certain extent.  None of this is new and the one thing we know is that people will cope the best they can.

It does seem to me that somehow, we have many people who can't deal with even minor setbacks, at least in the scheme of things.  I was looking at pictures from Ukraine, a pretty modern country where the invaders apparently somewhat randomly shot people in Bucha.  These were men and women who had normal lives.  The pictures are gruesome in and of themselves but the ones where I guess relatives or neighbors were trying to identify the dead struck me the most.

Sometimes after a terrible accident or natural disaster we see similar images, but this seems totally random and particularly callous.  It made me wonder how we would react to similar carnage in this country.  Based on the current level of rhetoric, I don't think it is so impossible.

It's time to stop repeating or believing hate.  Americans who disagree with you on an issue are just as American as you are.  I don't personally support people having abortions, but I don't consider them murderers.  I'm not sure how we can dictate to one person that they lose control of their own body ever.

Still those who have an opposing view are not evil.  We just disagree.

Increase Production?

If you consider the Republican efforts, if any, to control inflation, it is basically to punish workers and reward big corporations who are profiting from the situation.

Some elements of inflation are external to this country, but others are not.   For example, American oil companies could reopen closed wells and increase the supply.  They say they are too expensive, but they have a good economic reason not to.  If a barrel of oil is selling for say $70 and it costs $40 to produce it you get a profits of $30 for each barrel.  If the price goes to $100 you are making $70 a barrel.  Say you produce a million barrels that's 70 million dollars.  Suppose you can double the production and drive the price of oil down to $70.   The new production drives the cost of production to $50 (these are the more expensive wells) only make 20 a barrel and at 2 million barrels you make $40 million dollars.  

Oil executives know that $70 million is more than $40 million so why open up those wells.  Since these same oil companies have bought up most of the available leases, expect no help from them.  In fairness they couldn't justify it to their shareholders.

Supreme Court

 There is some dispute about whether the Supreme Court has become more political.  Let's be realistic. It has.  Until a few years ago Supreme Court Justices could be filibustered.  Then we had the situation where the Republican senate refused to even hear arguments about Obama's nominee.  They knew by any standard he was an acceptable candidate and that they might not be able to filibuster his nomination if it got that far.    

Under Trump they dropped any pretense and dropped the filibuster capability.  Now the filibuster prevented proposing nominees so unacceptable to the other side that you could get 60 votes.  This led to rhe politicization of the court as nominees could be clearly partisan.  

Still, it isn't required that they be.  The latest nominee has all the qualifications and moderate opinions that should have led to a smooth confirmation.  Only 3 Republicans voted for her and they are trying to present her as a radical.  Her confirmation is historic and the fact that Republicans walked out while she wa being applauded is more a reflection of their closed mindedness than her.

More Representative Government

 If you frequent social media or watch some shows which pretend to be news you are probably familiar with accusations about (liberals/conservatives) trying to ruin this country.  These accusations are generally based on taking a position attributed to some and ascribing it to all.

Both sides have their share of hotheads and crazies, but what they say or do is not the official policy of either party, unless of course it is.  We have a lot of media people who like to pretend it is. 

Even worse, our primary system allows people with extreme views to become the official party nominee.  Unfortunately, too many Americans don't pay enough attention and vote based on name recognition or media exposure.

Even worse is that primary participation is so low and hardly reflects the will of the majority.

More honesty and better representation are the goals and we are not that close.  

Technology and Scams

 One of the problems we face as modern people is how complicated the world is and our inability to keep up.  Many things seem the same, and some, are but too many have become complex.  Thiis has created a divide between the techs and the others.  Take banking, something most of us have had to use over the years.  I know people who don't trust electronic transactions and still do everything in person, although some have been forced to use ATMs by the banks.  So, some of those have been fitted with interceptor readers that act real but steal your info and money. 

This is hardly the most sophisticated scam but it is aimed at those who do things in person.  I know people who have almost been scammed, or maybe they were.  Scammers like to prey on people's good nature and desire to help.  I guarantee you that the current situation in Ukraine has given rise to many scams designed to take advantage of your desire to help.

In fact the two aspects that make us susceptible is the desire to help others and greed.  The best defense i to forget about being polite or helping strangers via online solicitations.  If you want to help somebody, don't click on an e-mail link, find a reputable site yourself.  

Supreme Court Nominee

 It seems likely that we are soon going to have our first Black Female Supreme court justice.  The committee that reviewed her went totally partisan in their vote.  While the Republicans on the committee used various reasons, it comes down to her being nominated by a Democratic President, the fact that she has some liberal opinions and the fact that she is Black.

Since she is replacing a long serving liberal justice, her being liberal does not change the court balance so when you see liars talking about her vote could have swung past decisions that were decided by one vote, it isn't likely since she is likely to vote the same way the person she is replacing would have.  It shows how contemptuous Republicans are of their base.  

They have already declared, sight unseen, that they will block any future Biden nominees.  For all those who regret the loss of bipartisanship, if we ever had any, this is a clear indicator of why.

Facing Reality

 Life is unpredictable.  Sometimes we think we can predict it, but it tends to surprise us.  Not long ago, common knowledge was that if Russia decided to invade Ukraine, they would overrun it.  Now clearly that didn't happen.  In fact, I was reading about how Putin thought the Ukrainians would welcome him with flowers.  If you surround yourself with "Yes Men" you are living in a bubble.  That works until you leave the bubble.

We see a lot of that in this country now.  It seems different to me now but maybe I was just naive when I was young.  Studies show that most people live with people who share their views.  I don't mean that they live among other Americans who share fundamental values, rather they live with partisans who believe things that are controversial.

Believing that there is one or more organizations rigging elections, but which can't be found despite queries and audits, is like believing in Yeti or Aliens.  Simply put, if 99% of the evidence points to one conclusion but you hang onto the 1% that might be inconclusive, you have a problem.

   

Spring Birds

 April is the month that we start to expect Spring weather.  Yes, March can have nice days but once we get past April Fool's Day our expectations rise.  Certainly, the activity of the birds is timely as I imagine nest building is well underway.  Not sure about egg laying but I'm sure appropriate measures are underway.

I keep reading articles about how some birds are expanding their ranges north as the area warms up.  I generally see the same type of birds that I've always seen.  The most exotic are the cardinals who have nested in my backyard since I moved here.  I don't know how long cardinals live so I'm sure these aren't the original ones, but most likely their descendants.  

The most exotic bird was a small parrot that we actually captured one year thinking it was an escaped pet.  We lured it food and it seemed tame.  We never found anyone looking for a lost Parrot, so we adopted Baby and he was part of our family for a number of years.  Apparently, we have parrots now, but they were first noticed in 2013.  We found baby before that, but he has a family resemblance but more colorful.

Baby

Wild

Any Good News IsAttacked

 If you look at anything, pretty much, there will be areas that didn't go perfectly.  Take the Biden Presidency.  His agenda did not get passed in its entirety.  Some of his campaign promises haven't happened at least not yet.  Still, he has a string of accomplishments that far exceed the last occupant.

He has gotten us out of Afghanistan.  Yes, the exit and images on T.V. weren't great but a terrorist attack at any time is messy.  Those images don't change the fact that our involvement in a 20-year war is now over.

The economy is going gangbusters.  That's a significant accomplishment but the downside is that supply can't fully keep up with demand, especially regarding oil.  Sow we have inflation which is likely to ease as supply catches up.  Other items have manufacturing and supply issues as much manufacturing here and abroad have trouble gearing up.  The good news is that jobs are plentiful, and wages are increasing.  In our current culture, every silver cloud has a black lining.  Inflation is indeed transitory, but the transitory period is still with us.  

We have reforged our alliances in Europe and present a United front to the Russian aggression.  It seems to be paying off and while we are not losing soldiers, we do have a bit of an economic cost.  Once again, the success of the Ukrainians is the silver cloud, loss of Russian oil is the black lining.

The passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill is a monumental accomplishment.  It will have a long beneficial impact on this country.

Immigration is an issue that is not going to be solved.  It is being handled better but as it becomes more desirable here it will increase.  

The Pandemic is not gone but it is mostly contained for now.  We may simply have to live with it, but those who refuse to take precautions will live with a more serious version.  We know how to mitigate the danger, but some won't.  

Voting rights is problematic and the Supreme Court is more radical than it was.  Reforming it is unlikely.

The next election is probably not going to be the solution but it's not too late to rally the base.  Otherwise we may have two years of deadlock.

Party Affiliation

 One of the trends in this country is that party registrations are down while independent registration is up.  This is something of a misleading stat, since generally speaking independents don't have a candidate to vote for.  Maybe they should.

Most States make party affiliation the easiest way to get listed on the ballot.  The requirement to get listed varies but generally it requires petitions signed by a significant number of citizens and meeting filing deadlines. Some states make it easier than others but ultimately the two "major" parties get the top spots on the ballot.

We are living in a time when the differences between the parties seem greater than ever.  Not as much in actual policies as in animosity.  In many areas people are being told how democrats are socialists who kill babies.  This exceeds the argument about abortion.   

As far as policy goes, the Republicans object to the policies that they accuse Democrats of having.  In some cases, some democrats may actually support some of those policies but generally most don't.  Most Democrats are moderate in their views, just like most Republicans.

Still the hatred exists and is fed by rabid media.