SINCE THE UNITED STATES sprang forth principally from great britain, cricket and rugby were somewhat popluar in colonial america. they evolved into baseball and football, and the rest is history.
as they became popluar after the american civil war, business minded americans began to see the profit potential. since every town in america with nine or more people had a baseball team well before the civil war, professional baseball in big cities was perhaps inevitable, and has now spread throughout much of the world.
baseball is among america's greatest gifts to humanity. simultaneous with professional city baseball, baseball and football clubs sprouted and thrived on post civil war college campuses.
on campus, football was the more popular. it allowede for more participation, at less expense, and its roughness appealed to the young.
always looking for funding sources, administrators chnged their behavior from ingoring the phenomenon, to offering token support, and finally, to full fledged support, contril, and marketing. higher education in america jumped into bed with capitalistic athletic entertainment.
as early as the first decade of the twentieth century, concerns were raised about the corruptive power of money. grade changing, allowing good players to participate without being enrolled as students; all manner of corruption was cited and condemned, much like today.
the NCAA division I football crisis we have today, wherein billions of dollars are generated through college football, attendant with all manner of corruption, of which the recent penn state scandal is but one rather small example, is really nothing new on a fundamental level.
joe paterno, ironically, addressed the situation directly, when he suggested, a number of years ago, that college football should perhaps be paid like professionals. it is diffucult to maintaint the integrity and purity of amateur athletics when the entertainment is surrounded by billions of dollars.
eventually colleges and universities may be forced to separate athletics from academics, and become the sponsors and owners of professional sports businesses. in this way, there would be no question as to the nature of the arrangement, and might eliminate, at least to some degree, the rampant corruption we have now.
Bb
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Monday, July 30, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Searching
SALLY RIDE embodied the best of america; willingness to provide opportunity to females and homosexuals, a desire to improve, to explore and expand, everywhere, including outer space. her later years were devoted to inspiring children to enjoy science, which was her only un-american behavior.
jill tarter,recently retired directer of aerica's noble quest to discover signs of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, embodies these same characteristics. she now spends her time fundraising for S.E.T.I. without her our search for extraterrestrial intelligence would probably die, because obama and congress, perhaps unwisely, made drastic cuts to the space program in general, and SETI in particular.
the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life is a great and worthy project, and will probably yield incredible results, eventually, and costs only a fraction of what it costs to own and operate even a single aircraft carrier.
so far nothing has turned up, except for a couple of mystery signals here and there. but nothing definite, after nearly fifty years of looking. enrico fermi long ago suggested that the lack of success indicates that humanity is alone in the universe.
what it indicates is that the universe is really, really big. keep trying.
Bb
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jill tarter,recently retired directer of aerica's noble quest to discover signs of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, embodies these same characteristics. she now spends her time fundraising for S.E.T.I. without her our search for extraterrestrial intelligence would probably die, because obama and congress, perhaps unwisely, made drastic cuts to the space program in general, and SETI in particular.
the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life is a great and worthy project, and will probably yield incredible results, eventually, and costs only a fraction of what it costs to own and operate even a single aircraft carrier.
so far nothing has turned up, except for a couple of mystery signals here and there. but nothing definite, after nearly fifty years of looking. enrico fermi long ago suggested that the lack of success indicates that humanity is alone in the universe.
what it indicates is that the universe is really, really big. keep trying.
Bb
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Friday, July 27, 2012
Too Late
SOME MOVIE was scheduled for near future release in which gangsters shoot up a movie theatre. now the film has been pulled. but why? because it would remind us of aurora, colorado?
or because it would have given somebody the idea to do it again? either way, its too late. might as well go ahead and release the movie, which Would no doubt be successful. the cow is out of the barn.
its too late to prevent the movie theatre tragedy, or the memory of it. and if even the makers of the movie know this, if they feel that they have such great negative impact...why make such movies? because they sell, that's why.
perhaps desire for profit trumps civic mindedness. but this is no time to withhold release of a new movie with violence in it, simply because it came true. what good will it do? reminding us of a recent tragedy couldn't possibly be any worse than the memory of it now, and,since ther are a million movies long released with gratuitous violence..
it is simply too late to start worrying about bad influences because we simply care more about adrenalizing entertainment and money in america more than we care about...good influences.
Bb
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or because it would have given somebody the idea to do it again? either way, its too late. might as well go ahead and release the movie, which Would no doubt be successful. the cow is out of the barn.
its too late to prevent the movie theatre tragedy, or the memory of it. and if even the makers of the movie know this, if they feel that they have such great negative impact...why make such movies? because they sell, that's why.
perhaps desire for profit trumps civic mindedness. but this is no time to withhold release of a new movie with violence in it, simply because it came true. what good will it do? reminding us of a recent tragedy couldn't possibly be any worse than the memory of it now, and,since ther are a million movies long released with gratuitous violence..
it is simply too late to start worrying about bad influences because we simply care more about adrenalizing entertainment and money in america more than we care about...good influences.
Bb
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Thursday, July 26, 2012
Truth, and Hope
PLEASE UNDERSTAND, dear readers around the world, and particularly in russia, there are many americans who believe that the united states is and always has been the pre eminent force for good in the world.
these voluntarily blinded tend to omit mention of homosapiencide in forgettable places like the phillipines, and the trail of tears. they tend to further believe that the current american empire is a benevolent arrangement, because the united states is a benevolent nation.
this is an understandable attitude, since humans are fiercely loyal to whatever they love.
around the world today, generally, people who are aware of america's far flung military empire tend to believe that its nature is more aggressive than nurturing, not unreasonably.
american corporations want access to markets all over the world, and what american corporations want, american corporations get. hence, "globalization", an arrangement wherein american corporations freely roam the planet, exploiting cheap labor, flooding the american marketplace with cheap merchandise.
everybody's happy. well, almost everybody. there are indications that the ignorant masses everywhere are starting to take notice of what is going on, much to the chagrin of their (our) masters.
the natives are restless, and are showing it by getting out in the streets and proclaiming it. if one didn't know better, one might suspect that the world is threatened with take over by the unwashed working masses.
they feel they are being exploited, if you can imagine such a thing. but not to worry, never in history has any human society been governed by the folks on the bottom of the pyramid, and it seems as if its not going to happen anywhere, anytime soon.
but one can always hope...
Bb
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these voluntarily blinded tend to omit mention of homosapiencide in forgettable places like the phillipines, and the trail of tears. they tend to further believe that the current american empire is a benevolent arrangement, because the united states is a benevolent nation.
this is an understandable attitude, since humans are fiercely loyal to whatever they love.
around the world today, generally, people who are aware of america's far flung military empire tend to believe that its nature is more aggressive than nurturing, not unreasonably.
american corporations want access to markets all over the world, and what american corporations want, american corporations get. hence, "globalization", an arrangement wherein american corporations freely roam the planet, exploiting cheap labor, flooding the american marketplace with cheap merchandise.
everybody's happy. well, almost everybody. there are indications that the ignorant masses everywhere are starting to take notice of what is going on, much to the chagrin of their (our) masters.
the natives are restless, and are showing it by getting out in the streets and proclaiming it. if one didn't know better, one might suspect that the world is threatened with take over by the unwashed working masses.
they feel they are being exploited, if you can imagine such a thing. but not to worry, never in history has any human society been governed by the folks on the bottom of the pyramid, and it seems as if its not going to happen anywhere, anytime soon.
but one can always hope...
Bb
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Ever Higher
ALL OVER THE WORLD cities are getting bigger, as the world rapidly industrializes. this has been ongoing for about three hundred years, since the industrial revolution. by 1925 one half of all americans lived in town, the number is much higher now.
ITS THE SAME everywhere, especially in traditionally rural countries like india and china.as food production becomes increasingly efficient, fewer people are needed, or can make a profit in it.
even as they grow, megalopoli are obsolete, in a sense, because of modern communication and transportation. all the cultural and economic benefits of new york are available in starkville, mississippi, and blacksburg, west virginia.
But the cities, where the jobs are, attract. if you can't make it anywhere else, you can make it in a big city. one of every six people on this planet is an urban squatter, settling down on public land, living in squalor on the outskirts of cities like nairobi and cairo, (and every other city on the planet as well).
they are tolerated because they are reasonably productive, harmless, and content. they contribute to society. wipe them all out, their replacements would appear tomorrow. it appears that in the natural order of things, humans want an underclass.
why we don't just move everybody into nice clean apartment buildings remains a mystery.
manhattan is a perfect role model, as is tokyo. hyge cities full of high rise apartments. fewer suburbs, less urban sprawl, less horizontal human expansion, and more vertical human expansion. shy scrapers reaching into the heavens, ever higher, with an orbiting support and habitat system.
meanwhile, down below, millions of square miles of wilderness, only rarely visited by humans. and of course, adequate agricultural land. agriculture will move into space too, with the rest of us. maybe we could even find room for the squatters, inside, with the rest of us...
Bb
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ITS THE SAME everywhere, especially in traditionally rural countries like india and china.as food production becomes increasingly efficient, fewer people are needed, or can make a profit in it.
even as they grow, megalopoli are obsolete, in a sense, because of modern communication and transportation. all the cultural and economic benefits of new york are available in starkville, mississippi, and blacksburg, west virginia.
But the cities, where the jobs are, attract. if you can't make it anywhere else, you can make it in a big city. one of every six people on this planet is an urban squatter, settling down on public land, living in squalor on the outskirts of cities like nairobi and cairo, (and every other city on the planet as well).
they are tolerated because they are reasonably productive, harmless, and content. they contribute to society. wipe them all out, their replacements would appear tomorrow. it appears that in the natural order of things, humans want an underclass.
why we don't just move everybody into nice clean apartment buildings remains a mystery.
manhattan is a perfect role model, as is tokyo. hyge cities full of high rise apartments. fewer suburbs, less urban sprawl, less horizontal human expansion, and more vertical human expansion. shy scrapers reaching into the heavens, ever higher, with an orbiting support and habitat system.
meanwhile, down below, millions of square miles of wilderness, only rarely visited by humans. and of course, adequate agricultural land. agriculture will move into space too, with the rest of us. maybe we could even find room for the squatters, inside, with the rest of us...
Bb
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Some Fine Day
SOON A NEW software app will be available that will blow your mind. it will be called the "superpac app", and you might wish to consider getting it, and sharing it with a friend. Here's why:
the presidential campaign is fixin' to start in earnest. before long, everything on television will be an ad for either obama or romney. all other programming will disappear as roughly eleven billion dollars are spent by the two candidates trying to purchase the white house.
we should all get our TV disconnected, refusing to grovel to the corporations, and get our news from the internet, and from radio, particularly national public radio. maybe get a set of rabbit ears.
the soft ware app will tell you, if you click on it, how much each television add cost, and who paid for it, group, or individual. that will help educate the american voters, to the extent that they care.
the utter corruption that our political process is has until now been well concealed by the corruptors, while the american people, through ignorance, apathy, or both, ignored them.
our electronic devices are getting information to people with much greater efficiency than ever before. all over the world, the masses are howling for democracy. the internet is their vehicle, their enabler.
some fine day the masses are going to demand an end to the corruption, and once again, freedom will have been fought for, at great cost, and gained.
Bb
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the presidential campaign is fixin' to start in earnest. before long, everything on television will be an ad for either obama or romney. all other programming will disappear as roughly eleven billion dollars are spent by the two candidates trying to purchase the white house.
we should all get our TV disconnected, refusing to grovel to the corporations, and get our news from the internet, and from radio, particularly national public radio. maybe get a set of rabbit ears.
the soft ware app will tell you, if you click on it, how much each television add cost, and who paid for it, group, or individual. that will help educate the american voters, to the extent that they care.
the utter corruption that our political process is has until now been well concealed by the corruptors, while the american people, through ignorance, apathy, or both, ignored them.
our electronic devices are getting information to people with much greater efficiency than ever before. all over the world, the masses are howling for democracy. the internet is their vehicle, their enabler.
some fine day the masses are going to demand an end to the corruption, and once again, freedom will have been fought for, at great cost, and gained.
Bb
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Monday, July 23, 2012
The Problem With Paterno
THE INEVITABLE down bringing of the Jo Pa statue begs the question: is it really a good idea to erect statues for the veneration of individuals, rather than for artistic expression?
consider the statue of david, by michelangelo, perhaps the greatest work of art of all time.
now consider the joe paterno statue...truth be told, Jo Pa stands up pretty good, artistic quality wise. the artist did a good job. if only it had been presented as art....
in america statues are erected to generals and politicians, occasionally to actors, athletes, celebrities. inother parts of the civilized world, such as iran, statues are erected honoring poets and writers.
it seems safer to honor the writers, politicians often ended up getting torn down. just ask saddam hussein.
the penalties levied on penn state by the NCAA are weird, to say the least. penn state if dined sixty million dollars. who pays for penn state? the taxpayers! so we punish the taxpayers for jerry sandusky and joe paterno?
penn state now "vacates" victories, one hundred elven of them. so we rewrite history, we change the past? how, exactly?
fewer scolarships to be offered by penn state? and just whom does that punish, other than future students?
so, all of us are being punished for sandusky, paterno, and the others. and you know what? that's exactly how it should be, strange though it may seem. because that's exactly how it is.
if you are prejudiced against gay people, raise your hand. you're part of the problem, not the solution.
Bb
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consider the statue of david, by michelangelo, perhaps the greatest work of art of all time.
now consider the joe paterno statue...truth be told, Jo Pa stands up pretty good, artistic quality wise. the artist did a good job. if only it had been presented as art....
in america statues are erected to generals and politicians, occasionally to actors, athletes, celebrities. inother parts of the civilized world, such as iran, statues are erected honoring poets and writers.
it seems safer to honor the writers, politicians often ended up getting torn down. just ask saddam hussein.
the penalties levied on penn state by the NCAA are weird, to say the least. penn state if dined sixty million dollars. who pays for penn state? the taxpayers! so we punish the taxpayers for jerry sandusky and joe paterno?
penn state now "vacates" victories, one hundred elven of them. so we rewrite history, we change the past? how, exactly?
fewer scolarships to be offered by penn state? and just whom does that punish, other than future students?
so, all of us are being punished for sandusky, paterno, and the others. and you know what? that's exactly how it should be, strange though it may seem. because that's exactly how it is.
if you are prejudiced against gay people, raise your hand. you're part of the problem, not the solution.
Bb
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Seeking Cool Community
YOU ARE ENCOURAGED to consider visiting a public swimming pool, perhaps in a small town in the miswestern united states. such a venue anywhere in the world might be a hoot, but most certainly is in america, a country full of isolated people and brutally hot weather, where a nice cool public pool sure comes in handy.
america is not a community oriented country. it is a land of individual striving and achievement, always has been, ever more so now.
the average american has one friend fewer than a generation ago, according to a study released several years ago. are we becoming a nation of loners? participation in churches, civic organizations, and group activities of every sort has declined.
visitors fromother countries often marvel at american's lonely lifestyle. a vsitor from china, where community flourishes, said :"you americans are the loneliest people in the world. you care more about your dogs and cats than each other!". true enough.
in america, people sometimes see each other as annoyances, threats, competitors, rather than allies and supports. we isolate ourselves, sometimes become desperately lonely and alienated, and behave strangely,destructively, sometimes violently.
in a public swimming pool, one can actually speak to a stranger, maybe. one can admire whatever beautiful bodies one wishes, surreptiously, since amerca is a land of promiscuous prudishness, capitalistic profligacy stifled, somewhat, by christian restraint., a culture always at war with itself.
...floating on one's back in a cool pool, one forgets all that. the last two times i visited a public swimming pool i was kicked out for swimming in the deep part, without a lifeguard. again, that isolation tendency rearing its ugly head.
i need to remind myself the reason i am there; to seek community, not to avoid it.
Bb
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america is not a community oriented country. it is a land of individual striving and achievement, always has been, ever more so now.
the average american has one friend fewer than a generation ago, according to a study released several years ago. are we becoming a nation of loners? participation in churches, civic organizations, and group activities of every sort has declined.
visitors fromother countries often marvel at american's lonely lifestyle. a vsitor from china, where community flourishes, said :"you americans are the loneliest people in the world. you care more about your dogs and cats than each other!". true enough.
in america, people sometimes see each other as annoyances, threats, competitors, rather than allies and supports. we isolate ourselves, sometimes become desperately lonely and alienated, and behave strangely,destructively, sometimes violently.
in a public swimming pool, one can actually speak to a stranger, maybe. one can admire whatever beautiful bodies one wishes, surreptiously, since amerca is a land of promiscuous prudishness, capitalistic profligacy stifled, somewhat, by christian restraint., a culture always at war with itself.
...floating on one's back in a cool pool, one forgets all that. the last two times i visited a public swimming pool i was kicked out for swimming in the deep part, without a lifeguard. again, that isolation tendency rearing its ugly head.
i need to remind myself the reason i am there; to seek community, not to avoid it.
Bb
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Sunday, July 22, 2012
Domestic Spies
WITH ALL the other bad things he's done, president obama may now have exceeded his authority in spying on the american people. tsk tsk... an investigation doubtless shall ensue, or already is. as much as the president likes to talk, it seems strange that he would even have time to spy on anyone.
who's he spying on? "american citizens"? well then, "which" american citizens. you? me? and why? well, for onte thing, the other day some guy was caught trying to build a model airplane with a bomb attached to fly into the pentagon, ala nine one one.
then too, there are all those potential terrorist cells throughout the united states. the united states conducts its diplomacy and foreign policy in such a way as to anger everyone on the planet, then has to paranoically use extreme measure to protect itself, from everyone, including its own people.
that has a certian ring to it, as of soviet russia, nazi germany, red china, et al.
if the people become inattentive to the afairs of government, then the legislators and magistrates will divide society into two classes: wolves, and sheep, said thomas jefferson, quite correctly. in our case, its the corporate oligarchy doing the dividing, with the legislators and magistrates their paid errand boys.
there are a bunch of rules regarding what the government can do spy wise, but the rules have been changed, since bush, to allow for much more government spying, on us. the patriot act, for example.
we the american people should have a voice in deciding how much we want to be spied on, shouldn't we? i mean, really? personally i don't mind a man in a suit and dark glasses pointing a radar gun at my house now and then, but i don't want him intruding stealthily, and implanting electronic devices in my humble abode. savvy? aint that fair ?
but that's just me. doubtles all the rest o yuns have your personal preference, concerning who spies on you, how, and when. don't be bashful. you have a right to express your personal preferences!
Bb
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who's he spying on? "american citizens"? well then, "which" american citizens. you? me? and why? well, for onte thing, the other day some guy was caught trying to build a model airplane with a bomb attached to fly into the pentagon, ala nine one one.
then too, there are all those potential terrorist cells throughout the united states. the united states conducts its diplomacy and foreign policy in such a way as to anger everyone on the planet, then has to paranoically use extreme measure to protect itself, from everyone, including its own people.
that has a certian ring to it, as of soviet russia, nazi germany, red china, et al.
if the people become inattentive to the afairs of government, then the legislators and magistrates will divide society into two classes: wolves, and sheep, said thomas jefferson, quite correctly. in our case, its the corporate oligarchy doing the dividing, with the legislators and magistrates their paid errand boys.
there are a bunch of rules regarding what the government can do spy wise, but the rules have been changed, since bush, to allow for much more government spying, on us. the patriot act, for example.
we the american people should have a voice in deciding how much we want to be spied on, shouldn't we? i mean, really? personally i don't mind a man in a suit and dark glasses pointing a radar gun at my house now and then, but i don't want him intruding stealthily, and implanting electronic devices in my humble abode. savvy? aint that fair ?
but that's just me. doubtles all the rest o yuns have your personal preference, concerning who spies on you, how, and when. don't be bashful. you have a right to express your personal preferences!
Bb
please scroll down for more. new articles are posted every morning and evening. THANKS!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Self Determination?
RECENTLY IN GEORGIA (USA) a man who owns a turtle farm ran into a little problem, experienced a slight difficulty, in fact a major one; namely, nearly all his turtles escaped. something like twenty five hundred got away, out of a total of four thousand or so.
they had been intended to be sold as pets in the U. S., or sold to the chinese as whatever the chinese use turtles for, which, knowing the chinese, aint pets.
it seems likely that the turtles were freed, albeit slowly, by PETA types. as always this conjures the moral question: to what degree do we have the right to force our beliefs on others?to a very limited degree, one must respond.
are the PETA people, who fundamentallly should be admired by all, perhaps a bit too full of themselves? are most of the rest of us in america similarly afflicted, perchance? does this american tendency have anything to do with the world's perception of america as a bully?
maybe the good people of PETA should intelligently present to a candid world the reasons why farming turtles is a crime, and leave enforcement to the grater society, through proper legal channels?
and maybe the world should have greater respect for the position of russia and china with respect to syria. did the american people want a foreign coalition of diplomats, politicians, and military deciding the outcome of the american civil war? hardly.
maybe, just maybe, the syrians want to work it out themselves, for themselves, without american or united nations intervention. the great american thomas jefferson taught us that liberty and freedom often come with a cost, a high cost of life and treasure.
such seems to now be the case in syria, as it hasen been the case, at one time or another, nearly everywhere, the united states of america included.may the forces of freedom, liberty, equality, and justice prevail, wherever they are. presumably, they will.
Bb
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they had been intended to be sold as pets in the U. S., or sold to the chinese as whatever the chinese use turtles for, which, knowing the chinese, aint pets.
it seems likely that the turtles were freed, albeit slowly, by PETA types. as always this conjures the moral question: to what degree do we have the right to force our beliefs on others?to a very limited degree, one must respond.
are the PETA people, who fundamentallly should be admired by all, perhaps a bit too full of themselves? are most of the rest of us in america similarly afflicted, perchance? does this american tendency have anything to do with the world's perception of america as a bully?
maybe the good people of PETA should intelligently present to a candid world the reasons why farming turtles is a crime, and leave enforcement to the grater society, through proper legal channels?
and maybe the world should have greater respect for the position of russia and china with respect to syria. did the american people want a foreign coalition of diplomats, politicians, and military deciding the outcome of the american civil war? hardly.
maybe, just maybe, the syrians want to work it out themselves, for themselves, without american or united nations intervention. the great american thomas jefferson taught us that liberty and freedom often come with a cost, a high cost of life and treasure.
such seems to now be the case in syria, as it hasen been the case, at one time or another, nearly everywhere, the united states of america included.may the forces of freedom, liberty, equality, and justice prevail, wherever they are. presumably, they will.
Bb
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Research
BY NOW everyone in the world knows that in america an american citizen walked into a crowded movie theatre the other day looking like darth vador on steroids, and did some serious damage, to us all.
miraculously, he survived, thanks to the brave police officers to whom he evidently sweetly surrendered. how nice of him.
another nut case, lock him up, burn him, move on.
Or, how about this: initiate a study project, including many top scientists from many fields, from around the world, similar to the manhattan project or the human genome project. study every nook and cranny of this particular random mass murder tragedy, and all others like it, of which there have been more than a few in recent decades.
ascertain causes and suggest solutions. do it using the scientific method to the max. the scientific method is the answer, it is the way, and it should be our religion. the gospel according to the four forces of nature, or something like that.
isn't it obvious that there is some sort of pattern here? a pattern wherein random mass murder occurs too often in america. patterns suggest common causes, patterns indicate underlying reasons. discovering these can lead to correcting them.
the pattern includes virginia tech, congressperson giffords, columbine, and a whole host of other tragic venues. part of the pattern seems to be that the perps are angry young men, alienated from society, psychologically troubled. chicks don't commit random mass murders, bless their sweet little hearts.
yes, the violence is "random". no, it isn't your fault - or is it?
what if a comprehensive scientific study clearly reveals that the root cause of all this random mass murder is the existence of a form of behavior in which you engage daily? you'd want to know about it, so you could change it, wouldn't you? you'd own up to it, wouldn't you?
there are reasons for everything that happens, those reasons can be discovered, and it is often quite surprising what they turn out to be. each occurance has its own reason, which it often shares with other similar occurances.
so let's roll up our sleeves and do some scientific detective work. the sooner we get started the better.
Bb
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miraculously, he survived, thanks to the brave police officers to whom he evidently sweetly surrendered. how nice of him.
another nut case, lock him up, burn him, move on.
Or, how about this: initiate a study project, including many top scientists from many fields, from around the world, similar to the manhattan project or the human genome project. study every nook and cranny of this particular random mass murder tragedy, and all others like it, of which there have been more than a few in recent decades.
ascertain causes and suggest solutions. do it using the scientific method to the max. the scientific method is the answer, it is the way, and it should be our religion. the gospel according to the four forces of nature, or something like that.
isn't it obvious that there is some sort of pattern here? a pattern wherein random mass murder occurs too often in america. patterns suggest common causes, patterns indicate underlying reasons. discovering these can lead to correcting them.
the pattern includes virginia tech, congressperson giffords, columbine, and a whole host of other tragic venues. part of the pattern seems to be that the perps are angry young men, alienated from society, psychologically troubled. chicks don't commit random mass murders, bless their sweet little hearts.
yes, the violence is "random". no, it isn't your fault - or is it?
what if a comprehensive scientific study clearly reveals that the root cause of all this random mass murder is the existence of a form of behavior in which you engage daily? you'd want to know about it, so you could change it, wouldn't you? you'd own up to it, wouldn't you?
there are reasons for everything that happens, those reasons can be discovered, and it is often quite surprising what they turn out to be. each occurance has its own reason, which it often shares with other similar occurances.
so let's roll up our sleeves and do some scientific detective work. the sooner we get started the better.
Bb
please scroll down for more articles, which are posted each morning and evening.THANKS!
Why Wait For Aliens?
ITS TIME TO START cleaning up the world for future inhabitants. we might not get our deposit back. where we're going, we won't need it anyway.
granted, the invention of agriculture, including cattle farming, was brilliant. well done, homo sapiens. the price we pay is our need, real and perceived, to defend territory. we spend about half our resources doing this.
controlling territory encourages cultural development, including manufacturing, currency capitalism, marketing, and escape entertainment. all this consumes about half our resources, the other half.
since we now spend half our money attacking and defending each other, while the ecosystem deteriorates, mightn't we consider exerting a little effort repairing our self inflicted environmental damage?
ronald reagan pointed out that if the earth were threatened by extraterrestrial invaders, earthlings would abandon their petty intra-species squabbles, and unite.
wouldn't that be grand, complete human unification!? But why wait for aliens? if nothing else, why not simply pretend that aliens are out there, lurking...threatening....or we could devise a substitute human unification catalyst, like, say, climate change, global warming, ecosystem collapse, and human extinction!
all seven billion of us, working together, in concert, jointly, humanunificationarily. in order to make this happen, we must first all agree that global warming is real, that human extinction is a real possibility, that we care, and that can ans must do something about it.
knowing us, that might be hard to do.
Bb
please scroll down for more....new articles are posted each morning, and evening.THANKS!
granted, the invention of agriculture, including cattle farming, was brilliant. well done, homo sapiens. the price we pay is our need, real and perceived, to defend territory. we spend about half our resources doing this.
controlling territory encourages cultural development, including manufacturing, currency capitalism, marketing, and escape entertainment. all this consumes about half our resources, the other half.
since we now spend half our money attacking and defending each other, while the ecosystem deteriorates, mightn't we consider exerting a little effort repairing our self inflicted environmental damage?
ronald reagan pointed out that if the earth were threatened by extraterrestrial invaders, earthlings would abandon their petty intra-species squabbles, and unite.
wouldn't that be grand, complete human unification!? But why wait for aliens? if nothing else, why not simply pretend that aliens are out there, lurking...threatening....or we could devise a substitute human unification catalyst, like, say, climate change, global warming, ecosystem collapse, and human extinction!
all seven billion of us, working together, in concert, jointly, humanunificationarily. in order to make this happen, we must first all agree that global warming is real, that human extinction is a real possibility, that we care, and that can ans must do something about it.
knowing us, that might be hard to do.
Bb
please scroll down for more....new articles are posted each morning, and evening.THANKS!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Evolution
IT MAY BE that what the human race needs, among much, is a new morality and a new philosophy, to match our modern times. it could even be argued that all areas of human endeavor, including religion and morality, should evolve with our evolving species.
OUR science and technology progress, OUR moral philosophy and religiosity do not.
humans are inherently conservative, reluctant to change the things they love most, no matter how obviously such things might need to be changed.
even as we unlock the secrets of the universe, billions of us cling to the unrasonable belief that absolute truth can be told by books. if some scriputre says that a disobedient child should be killed, should we kill the child, or change the scripture?
new books are bineg written at a prodigious rate. keep 'em coming! maybe a few of them will even talk a bit of truth. books are marvelous tools, indisputably. and yes, they preserve and perpetuate......whatever is insed them....which is often great entertainment, interesting facts, or descriptions and names for our mistakes, at best.
but they are not repositories of absolute eternal truth, nor were ever intended to be.
similarly, ancient religion and philosophy, people like plato an aristotle, and jesus and mohammed, seem brilliant, and full of truth, but...imperfect...and not entirely covering everything we need covered now.
jesus never uttered a word about slavery, or the internet. twentieth century philosophers seem incomplete, unsatisfactory, notwithstanding the brilliance of people like bertrand russell and jean paul sartre.
where are the creators, the discoverers, of future human religiosity and future philosophy?
probably busy either barely surviving, or making money.
Bb
please scroll down for more. new articles are posted every morning, and every evening. THANKS!
OUR science and technology progress, OUR moral philosophy and religiosity do not.
humans are inherently conservative, reluctant to change the things they love most, no matter how obviously such things might need to be changed.
even as we unlock the secrets of the universe, billions of us cling to the unrasonable belief that absolute truth can be told by books. if some scriputre says that a disobedient child should be killed, should we kill the child, or change the scripture?
new books are bineg written at a prodigious rate. keep 'em coming! maybe a few of them will even talk a bit of truth. books are marvelous tools, indisputably. and yes, they preserve and perpetuate......whatever is insed them....which is often great entertainment, interesting facts, or descriptions and names for our mistakes, at best.
but they are not repositories of absolute eternal truth, nor were ever intended to be.
similarly, ancient religion and philosophy, people like plato an aristotle, and jesus and mohammed, seem brilliant, and full of truth, but...imperfect...and not entirely covering everything we need covered now.
jesus never uttered a word about slavery, or the internet. twentieth century philosophers seem incomplete, unsatisfactory, notwithstanding the brilliance of people like bertrand russell and jean paul sartre.
where are the creators, the discoverers, of future human religiosity and future philosophy?
probably busy either barely surviving, or making money.
Bb
please scroll down for more. new articles are posted every morning, and every evening. THANKS!
Taking Our Chances
FOR THOSE OF YOU who have never visited the united states, one hardly knows whether to envy or pity you. certainly, you've missed out on a lot of excitement. however, the future promises to be ever more exciting, so there's still time to get here and see it all unfold.
how often does somebody walk into a public place, pull out a gun, and start blasting away, killing as many people as time permits? once a year, several times a year? one gets the impression that it happens, on average, two or three times a year.
but the frequency seems to be increasing, so much so that future incidents might not even render the perpetrator famous. that might be a good thing; it might eliminate motivation.
there was a time when this sort of thing happened in post offices, as overworked, underpaid postal employees cut loose on several occasions, often enough that the phenomenon was for a time given the term "going postal", wherever it happened.
then, we moved over into the public schools. fortunately that venue seems to have abated a bit, so...where next? political appearances? motion picture theatres?
by now trillions of academicians of all sorts have probably developed theories to attempt to explain this behavior, and in particular, its frequency in america.
undoubtedly the widespread ownership of guns has oft been cited, as well as the competitive nature of american culture. perhaps some economic sociologists have pointed out the great disparity in success and social status, and the persistance of an underemployed poverty ridden class.
are americans lonely, angry, and alienated? to a certain extent, without doubt. road rage is a common occurance in america as well. cut somebody off in traffic, and you may end up with a bullet hole in your windshield, if not your head.
but don't let all this keep you from visiting the united states. the odds are still heavily on your side, at least for the time being...
Bb
please scroll down for more...
how often does somebody walk into a public place, pull out a gun, and start blasting away, killing as many people as time permits? once a year, several times a year? one gets the impression that it happens, on average, two or three times a year.
but the frequency seems to be increasing, so much so that future incidents might not even render the perpetrator famous. that might be a good thing; it might eliminate motivation.
there was a time when this sort of thing happened in post offices, as overworked, underpaid postal employees cut loose on several occasions, often enough that the phenomenon was for a time given the term "going postal", wherever it happened.
then, we moved over into the public schools. fortunately that venue seems to have abated a bit, so...where next? political appearances? motion picture theatres?
by now trillions of academicians of all sorts have probably developed theories to attempt to explain this behavior, and in particular, its frequency in america.
undoubtedly the widespread ownership of guns has oft been cited, as well as the competitive nature of american culture. perhaps some economic sociologists have pointed out the great disparity in success and social status, and the persistance of an underemployed poverty ridden class.
are americans lonely, angry, and alienated? to a certain extent, without doubt. road rage is a common occurance in america as well. cut somebody off in traffic, and you may end up with a bullet hole in your windshield, if not your head.
but don't let all this keep you from visiting the united states. the odds are still heavily on your side, at least for the time being...
Bb
please scroll down for more...
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Betting on the wrong horse
THE WORLD WILL soon force syrian dictator/butcher assad from power, which is the way it should be, in the internet age. the butchery only gets worse, as a protest turned rebellion now turns into full fledged civil war.
so far over seventeen thousand syrians have died, which only makes the opposition to the government in power greater, and greater. it is reaching a boiling point. the syrian pwople, as a whole, will soon force assad from power, or die trying.
they have clearly demonstrated their willingness to do that; die for freedom, and the refusal of russia and chinda to accept this, and instead to stand by and support their client state ally, the current government of syria, is a dead end street for both china and russia.
perhaps the good readers of The Truthless Reconciler in russia, of which there are surprisingly many, can prevail upon their fellow russian citizens to change their government's stubborn, futile support of assad.
assad will be removed from power, and will probably take refuge in, you guessed it, russia. pity. he'd be better off, happier, in , say hawaii, which the united states would probably happily arrange this very instant, if only he would resing voluntarily.
the way he (syrian dictator/butcher assad) is going now, he will end up like khaddafi in lybia.
the russins and chinese have simply painted themselves into a corner, trapped by their alliance with assad, like the way the united states was trapped with the shah of iran in 1979. but at least america dumped the shah, albiet too belatedly to be of any real help.
the united states has many many times bet on the wrong horse, and stayed with him far too long, against all reason. like george washington said, foreign alliances are a trap; avoid them. russia and china are just now finding that out.
Bb
please scroll down for more...
so far over seventeen thousand syrians have died, which only makes the opposition to the government in power greater, and greater. it is reaching a boiling point. the syrian pwople, as a whole, will soon force assad from power, or die trying.
they have clearly demonstrated their willingness to do that; die for freedom, and the refusal of russia and chinda to accept this, and instead to stand by and support their client state ally, the current government of syria, is a dead end street for both china and russia.
perhaps the good readers of The Truthless Reconciler in russia, of which there are surprisingly many, can prevail upon their fellow russian citizens to change their government's stubborn, futile support of assad.
assad will be removed from power, and will probably take refuge in, you guessed it, russia. pity. he'd be better off, happier, in , say hawaii, which the united states would probably happily arrange this very instant, if only he would resing voluntarily.
the way he (syrian dictator/butcher assad) is going now, he will end up like khaddafi in lybia.
the russins and chinese have simply painted themselves into a corner, trapped by their alliance with assad, like the way the united states was trapped with the shah of iran in 1979. but at least america dumped the shah, albiet too belatedly to be of any real help.
the united states has many many times bet on the wrong horse, and stayed with him far too long, against all reason. like george washington said, foreign alliances are a trap; avoid them. russia and china are just now finding that out.
Bb
please scroll down for more...
Reallocation
WHEN THE GREAT DROUGHT consumes the entire united states for months, perhaps the american people will awaken, and awaken their government, to the need to do something about it.
there are at least three options. one is to remove water from the oceans, desalinate it, and relocate it, another is to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and yet another is to plant billions of trees.
all this could, and should be done on a global basis, all the nations of the world, all the people of the world, devoted to helping. currently americans spend about half their wealth and energy on the military, about half on entertainment, and practically nothing for anything else.
the rest of the world is better, but not much, not enough.
the united states has, what, twelve aircraft carriers? they cost, what, one million dollars a day to maintain and operate? perhaps a few of them could be converted into water tankers.
all foreign readers of the Truthless Reconciler are encouraged to consider these proposals, and urge them upon their american friends. all american readers are encouraged to think about this, talk to others about it, and yes, sure as hell, to write their congressperson.
Bb
please scroll down for more...thanks!
there are at least three options. one is to remove water from the oceans, desalinate it, and relocate it, another is to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and yet another is to plant billions of trees.
all this could, and should be done on a global basis, all the nations of the world, all the people of the world, devoted to helping. currently americans spend about half their wealth and energy on the military, about half on entertainment, and practically nothing for anything else.
the rest of the world is better, but not much, not enough.
the united states has, what, twelve aircraft carriers? they cost, what, one million dollars a day to maintain and operate? perhaps a few of them could be converted into water tankers.
all foreign readers of the Truthless Reconciler are encouraged to consider these proposals, and urge them upon their american friends. all american readers are encouraged to think about this, talk to others about it, and yes, sure as hell, to write their congressperson.
Bb
please scroll down for more...thanks!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Wolves and Sheep
IF POLITICAL CANDIDATES were prohibited from purchasing advertising in america, how would people find out about them? the old fashioned way, that's how. one handshake at a time...
of course, we the government could step in and pass a law requiring all media to donate time and space equally to all candidates. but let's not. the less government, the better. just one law, to cover it all: "the purchase of political advertising is prohibited".
how elegant! how intelligent! how simple! what the media in america needs is more direct feedback from customers. then, the executives wouldn't have to guess what we want; they would know.
it might just barely be possible that the american people don't want quite as much gratuitous, mindless, seductive violence and sex as our corporate masters seem to think, and, indeed, it just might be that we the people are a bit more intelligent than previously thought, and might like a bit more meaningful, intellectual programming on TV..maybe...
the american people are perfectly capable of telling the media how much advertising they want from which candidates. Direct Democracy in action!
OUR current system of purchasing political power and influence is of benefit only to the very wealthy. it harms the rest of us by buying and owning our supposed democracy, and turning it into an oligarchial plutocracy.
"If the people becom einattentive to the affairs of government, the legislators and magistrates will divide society into two classes: wolves, and sheep."
thomas jefferson would probably agree that this is exactly what is happening now.
Bb
please scroll down for more..thanks!
of course, we the government could step in and pass a law requiring all media to donate time and space equally to all candidates. but let's not. the less government, the better. just one law, to cover it all: "the purchase of political advertising is prohibited".
how elegant! how intelligent! how simple! what the media in america needs is more direct feedback from customers. then, the executives wouldn't have to guess what we want; they would know.
it might just barely be possible that the american people don't want quite as much gratuitous, mindless, seductive violence and sex as our corporate masters seem to think, and, indeed, it just might be that we the people are a bit more intelligent than previously thought, and might like a bit more meaningful, intellectual programming on TV..maybe...
the american people are perfectly capable of telling the media how much advertising they want from which candidates. Direct Democracy in action!
OUR current system of purchasing political power and influence is of benefit only to the very wealthy. it harms the rest of us by buying and owning our supposed democracy, and turning it into an oligarchial plutocracy.
"If the people becom einattentive to the affairs of government, the legislators and magistrates will divide society into two classes: wolves, and sheep."
thomas jefferson would probably agree that this is exactly what is happening now.
Bb
please scroll down for more..thanks!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Purchasing Political Power in america
LET THE DEBATE BE JOINED IN EARNEST, not just in congress, but throughout the land; what kind of political system do we want in america? for the thrid time the democrats in washington proposed a "disclosure" law, requiring that the source of all money spent on presidential campaign advertising be revealed to the american, and indeed the global, people.
VIVA political transparency! Down with darkened smoke filled rooms full of powerful politicians enriching themselves and cheating the people!
it isn't enough that millions of dollars flow into presidential campaigns from we the sheep people, nor is it enough that Political Action Committees raise and spend tens of millions of unregulated campaign advertising money. Now we have "social welfare" clubs, twisting pretzel - like around the limited campaign finance laws, whose contribution to social welfare consists of purchasing power and influence.
political power and influence are purchased in america, rather then earned, or reluctantly and humbly accepted, as they should be. our founding fathers ohnly pretended to reluctantly accept power, but at least they earned it.
our modern republicans prefer the current power purchasing system, which they laughably call "freedon of speech", instead of corporate corruption, which is what they should call it.
why don't they realize that it simply isn't worth it? thomas jefferson called the presidency "splendid misery". why does anyone want it desperately, as our american presidential politicians seem to?
we the people should be ashamed that we allow this corruption to persist, and to work for the corrupters.
refuse to contribute to any political campaign. refuse to vote for any political candidate who advertises. in necessary, fill out the entire ballot with write in candidates. that's the best advice you'll get today.
Bb
please scroll down for more...
VIVA political transparency! Down with darkened smoke filled rooms full of powerful politicians enriching themselves and cheating the people!
it isn't enough that millions of dollars flow into presidential campaigns from we the sheep people, nor is it enough that Political Action Committees raise and spend tens of millions of unregulated campaign advertising money. Now we have "social welfare" clubs, twisting pretzel - like around the limited campaign finance laws, whose contribution to social welfare consists of purchasing power and influence.
political power and influence are purchased in america, rather then earned, or reluctantly and humbly accepted, as they should be. our founding fathers ohnly pretended to reluctantly accept power, but at least they earned it.
our modern republicans prefer the current power purchasing system, which they laughably call "freedon of speech", instead of corporate corruption, which is what they should call it.
why don't they realize that it simply isn't worth it? thomas jefferson called the presidency "splendid misery". why does anyone want it desperately, as our american presidential politicians seem to?
we the people should be ashamed that we allow this corruption to persist, and to work for the corrupters.
refuse to contribute to any political campaign. refuse to vote for any political candidate who advertises. in necessary, fill out the entire ballot with write in candidates. that's the best advice you'll get today.
Bb
please scroll down for more...
Arguing about jobs
SO NOW OBAMA AND ROMNEY are arguing about which of them has exported more jobs. barrack as president, or mitt as financier - well, we have to argue about something, don't we?
whatever obama has or hasn't done as president with regard to economic policy is, or should be, easy to see. most of what presidents do tends to be highly visible. its hard to see where he's done anything intentionally to ship jobs out of the united states.
romney is another matter. his actions are a bit hazier, lay a bit deeper, but should still be visible, and probably are.
maybe obama should hire the ex FBI director who recently completed an investigation at penn state. he'd get to the bottom of it. if mitt made decisions he later denied, or shipped american jobs overseas, it should be knowable, and known.
BUT so what? is shipping jobs overseas such a bad thing? shouldn't the american economy be able to replace lost jobs with new ones, and more of them? are we not, ultimately, one big global community, global economy?
let america be the economic job creation engine of the world! after all, the world seems to need one...
meanwhile, back in poor lil ole job deprived america, maybe we should start making new jobs. maybe somebody should set up a television factory, or a radio factory, or so forth.
with enough manufacturing, america and the world might close the gap between actual wealth, and all this paper, electronic, imaginary money we seem so fond of creating out of thin air.
maybe we shouldn't worry about whether big corporations look for cheap labor, because we already know they do. instead, let us concern ourselves with the key question: how to produce and distribute a reasonable and desirable amount of material wealth to everyone, sustainably.
so far, we haven't figured that one out.
Bb
please scroll down for more...
whatever obama has or hasn't done as president with regard to economic policy is, or should be, easy to see. most of what presidents do tends to be highly visible. its hard to see where he's done anything intentionally to ship jobs out of the united states.
romney is another matter. his actions are a bit hazier, lay a bit deeper, but should still be visible, and probably are.
maybe obama should hire the ex FBI director who recently completed an investigation at penn state. he'd get to the bottom of it. if mitt made decisions he later denied, or shipped american jobs overseas, it should be knowable, and known.
BUT so what? is shipping jobs overseas such a bad thing? shouldn't the american economy be able to replace lost jobs with new ones, and more of them? are we not, ultimately, one big global community, global economy?
let america be the economic job creation engine of the world! after all, the world seems to need one...
meanwhile, back in poor lil ole job deprived america, maybe we should start making new jobs. maybe somebody should set up a television factory, or a radio factory, or so forth.
with enough manufacturing, america and the world might close the gap between actual wealth, and all this paper, electronic, imaginary money we seem so fond of creating out of thin air.
maybe we shouldn't worry about whether big corporations look for cheap labor, because we already know they do. instead, let us concern ourselves with the key question: how to produce and distribute a reasonable and desirable amount of material wealth to everyone, sustainably.
so far, we haven't figured that one out.
Bb
please scroll down for more...
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Statues OF Human Gods
SEVERAL MONTHS AGO The Truthless Reconciler published an article defending joe paterno. at the time it was believed that he reported the crime to his immediate supervisor, and left it at that.
now we know better. we know now that he instigated a conspiracy to conceal, and thus enable, the horrible crimes, presumably for fear of damaging the reputation of his employer and himself.
ironic, because had he done what he should have, which is raise holy hell the minute he found out about it, then all would now be well with penn state and joe pa's legacy.
as it stands now, its all in ruins; penn state football, joe's legacy, and eventually, undoubtedly, his statue.
a living legend. how incredible it seems to erect a statue to someone who not only is still living, but still working. but it fits in with the american, indeed the human tendency to worship idols.
from the very moment when albert einstein arrived in america to live he was utterly amazed at how he was treated, which was like a god. he received the full celebrity treatment, complete with paparazzi. at one point, out of frustration, he described himself as a "fashion model".
and einstein understood the silliness of it all, the distortion of values, the twisting of reason. he marvelled that people would approach him, ask for his autograph, and say nothing further to him. when a distant relative expressed disappointment at not having had the opportunity to meet him, einstein wrote the relative a letter, describing himself as a chubby little eccentric old man with a cigar stub, long white hair, and some strange ideas about the world.
einstein knew the insanity of celebrity culture, because he was intelligent. ironically, joe paterno must have known the same thing; he must have understood the silliness of erecting a statue of a working football coach, because paterno was also smart.
there is a statue of einstein in washington DC, not far from the lincoln memorial, which einstein never approved, and which he would undoubtedly want taken down.
maybe jo pa would have been better off to have refused to pose for a statue.
Bb
please scroll down for more...thanks!
now we know better. we know now that he instigated a conspiracy to conceal, and thus enable, the horrible crimes, presumably for fear of damaging the reputation of his employer and himself.
ironic, because had he done what he should have, which is raise holy hell the minute he found out about it, then all would now be well with penn state and joe pa's legacy.
as it stands now, its all in ruins; penn state football, joe's legacy, and eventually, undoubtedly, his statue.
a living legend. how incredible it seems to erect a statue to someone who not only is still living, but still working. but it fits in with the american, indeed the human tendency to worship idols.
from the very moment when albert einstein arrived in america to live he was utterly amazed at how he was treated, which was like a god. he received the full celebrity treatment, complete with paparazzi. at one point, out of frustration, he described himself as a "fashion model".
and einstein understood the silliness of it all, the distortion of values, the twisting of reason. he marvelled that people would approach him, ask for his autograph, and say nothing further to him. when a distant relative expressed disappointment at not having had the opportunity to meet him, einstein wrote the relative a letter, describing himself as a chubby little eccentric old man with a cigar stub, long white hair, and some strange ideas about the world.
einstein knew the insanity of celebrity culture, because he was intelligent. ironically, joe paterno must have known the same thing; he must have understood the silliness of erecting a statue of a working football coach, because paterno was also smart.
there is a statue of einstein in washington DC, not far from the lincoln memorial, which einstein never approved, and which he would undoubtedly want taken down.
maybe jo pa would have been better off to have refused to pose for a statue.
Bb
please scroll down for more...thanks!
Lindsay and Lady Gaga
A QUICK GLANCE through the gossip headlines on AOL showed something about lindsay lohan and lady gaga, and their new friendship. the mere thought of such a thing is enough to frighten most readers from further research, but those who endure are likely to uncover a cornucopia of american cultural clues.
is this friendshiip a good thing, those two getting together? will they be positive influences on each other? is it healthy?
and why does the american public care enough about it to make it profitable for america online, a dying company trying desperately to stay alive, to make mention of it?
somehow, one can imagine lindsay and lady busting into the hottest of the hot nightclubs, and tearing 'em up. is lindsey supposed to be doing such things?
are the fame and the money really making their lives better, or would they (lindsay and lady) be better off to sink back into anonymity, whence they came? gaga could sing all she wants in some small, local spot, and lindsey could make a life of community theatre, somewhere, anywhere, quiet, invisible, out of the huge all american spotlight.
would they be better off doing that, giving up the wealth and fame? its debatable.
talent, of course, especially songwriting, singing and acting talent, is abundant in the world. american culture has a habit of shining the spotlight glaringly on a selected few of the talented.
and its all good. the american people get the entertainment they want, the selected talented folks get incredible wealth and fame, and the corporations which set it all up get the vast bulk of the wealth of, you guessed it, the american people, who enjoy the talents of the talented, for a price.
so as long as everyone's happy, its all good. you just wonder if there ever comes a time when great fame becomes more of a burden than its worth, and celebrity worshipping ever seems hollow and shallow.
in america, apparently not.
Bb
please scroll down for more..thanks!
is this friendshiip a good thing, those two getting together? will they be positive influences on each other? is it healthy?
and why does the american public care enough about it to make it profitable for america online, a dying company trying desperately to stay alive, to make mention of it?
somehow, one can imagine lindsay and lady busting into the hottest of the hot nightclubs, and tearing 'em up. is lindsey supposed to be doing such things?
are the fame and the money really making their lives better, or would they (lindsay and lady) be better off to sink back into anonymity, whence they came? gaga could sing all she wants in some small, local spot, and lindsey could make a life of community theatre, somewhere, anywhere, quiet, invisible, out of the huge all american spotlight.
would they be better off doing that, giving up the wealth and fame? its debatable.
talent, of course, especially songwriting, singing and acting talent, is abundant in the world. american culture has a habit of shining the spotlight glaringly on a selected few of the talented.
and its all good. the american people get the entertainment they want, the selected talented folks get incredible wealth and fame, and the corporations which set it all up get the vast bulk of the wealth of, you guessed it, the american people, who enjoy the talents of the talented, for a price.
so as long as everyone's happy, its all good. you just wonder if there ever comes a time when great fame becomes more of a burden than its worth, and celebrity worshipping ever seems hollow and shallow.
in america, apparently not.
Bb
please scroll down for more..thanks!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Rising Above the Fray
WORD WAS that american supreme court chief justice roberts changed his mind about obamacare halfway through the process, between hearing oral arguments and deliberating. subsequent melodramatic versions emerged, in which the four conservative justices wouldn't, and still won't, speak to the chief justice.
maybe justice roberts wanted to show the world that the american supreme court is more than merely an ideologically driven mouth piece for liberals and conservatives. the supreme court should be above and beyond political philosophy and ideology, but often seems not to be.
most of the time the liberal justices and conservative justices can be easily identified, and most often their votes can be seen to reflect their personal politics. this is ecactly what happened in the vote which won the presidency for george bush against al gore, and the vote that decided immigration policy in arizona.
the american chief justice rose above his personal politics when he decided in favor of obamacare.
you gotta give him credit for that, regardless of what else you think about it. may we all rise above our personal politics a bit more often...
Bb
please scroll down for more...thanks!
maybe justice roberts wanted to show the world that the american supreme court is more than merely an ideologically driven mouth piece for liberals and conservatives. the supreme court should be above and beyond political philosophy and ideology, but often seems not to be.
most of the time the liberal justices and conservative justices can be easily identified, and most often their votes can be seen to reflect their personal politics. this is ecactly what happened in the vote which won the presidency for george bush against al gore, and the vote that decided immigration policy in arizona.
the american chief justice rose above his personal politics when he decided in favor of obamacare.
you gotta give him credit for that, regardless of what else you think about it. may we all rise above our personal politics a bit more often...
Bb
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Extremes
IT SEEMS AMAZING, ironic, and somehow appropiate that there is simultaneously an obesity epidemic, and a hunger epidemic, in the united states of america, and around the world. both are growing steadily; it should be interesting to see which, in the long run, prevails. perhaps half the world population will grow corpulant, and half will starve.
that sounds better than one percent porking out, and ninety nine percent starving. who knows what the final ratio will be.
this might be the ultimate expression of cutthroat corporate capitalism, half the world rich, half the world poor, nobody in the middle. or will it be one and ninety nine? our corporate masters still allow many among the peasants to put on extra weight, for the time being.
if only we could average it out! none too rich, none too poor. none too fat, none too hungry.
in america, one third of the people are obese, and one fourth have hunger issues: a regular struggle getting enough to eat. in other words, they live in poverty. strangely enough, there appears to be a bit of crossover effect; some of the obese folks are also impoverished. exactly how this works remains a mystery.
government welfare programs keep people out of desperate, hungry poverty, confine them to low income stability, which permits enough extra food to permit obesity. welcome to america, the land of the corpulant poor.
long live the middle class!
Bb
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that sounds better than one percent porking out, and ninety nine percent starving. who knows what the final ratio will be.
this might be the ultimate expression of cutthroat corporate capitalism, half the world rich, half the world poor, nobody in the middle. or will it be one and ninety nine? our corporate masters still allow many among the peasants to put on extra weight, for the time being.
if only we could average it out! none too rich, none too poor. none too fat, none too hungry.
in america, one third of the people are obese, and one fourth have hunger issues: a regular struggle getting enough to eat. in other words, they live in poverty. strangely enough, there appears to be a bit of crossover effect; some of the obese folks are also impoverished. exactly how this works remains a mystery.
government welfare programs keep people out of desperate, hungry poverty, confine them to low income stability, which permits enough extra food to permit obesity. welcome to america, the land of the corpulant poor.
long live the middle class!
Bb
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Friday, July 13, 2012
name change
SPEAKING OF THE NAACP, its time to change its name.
let's politically correctly change its name to "The National Association For the Advancement of African Americans". Then, we can shorten it to the clever sounding "N4A".
I've even got a logo drawn up, suitable for placement on sweat shirts, T shirts, ball caps, and heaven knows what else.
That really has a ring to it, doesn't it? Great idea, right?
but i'll bet you a dime they won't do it. an organization devoted to liberalism, change, advancement, held back on something so simple yet important as an appropiate and long overdue name change by stubborn, conservative, traditional, rigid thinking. tsk tsk
I would join the AARP, if i were retired. if they change the name to "the over fifty club", i'm in.
or maybe I'm wrong. maybe they will go for it. after all, its the right thing to do.
it is in the nature of humans to resist changing anything they like, even to improve it. change is the child of discontent. but as goethe said
"the world advances only because of those who oppose it".
the NAACP opposes the world, certain atitudes in the world, and seeks to change and improve it. it could improve itself by changing its own name, but i'll bet a dime it won't.
bb
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let's politically correctly change its name to "The National Association For the Advancement of African Americans". Then, we can shorten it to the clever sounding "N4A".
I've even got a logo drawn up, suitable for placement on sweat shirts, T shirts, ball caps, and heaven knows what else.
That really has a ring to it, doesn't it? Great idea, right?
but i'll bet you a dime they won't do it. an organization devoted to liberalism, change, advancement, held back on something so simple yet important as an appropiate and long overdue name change by stubborn, conservative, traditional, rigid thinking. tsk tsk
I would join the AARP, if i were retired. if they change the name to "the over fifty club", i'm in.
or maybe I'm wrong. maybe they will go for it. after all, its the right thing to do.
it is in the nature of humans to resist changing anything they like, even to improve it. change is the child of discontent. but as goethe said
"the world advances only because of those who oppose it".
the NAACP opposes the world, certain atitudes in the world, and seeks to change and improve it. it could improve itself by changing its own name, but i'll bet a dime it won't.
bb
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Thursday, July 12, 2012
Mitt and the NAACP
YOU GOTTA GIVE MITT CREDIT for speaking to the NAACP, going straight into the lion's den, as it were. perhaps he wanted to appear brave, honest, willing to do difficult things. perhaps he simply responded to an invitation.
the audience could have treated him a bit better. can't blame 'em for booing at mitt's threat to repeal obamacare, but they might have applauded a bit more energetically in response to mitt's harmless comments.
it begs the question why do ninety five per cent of african americans vote for obama, and why do they vote for democrats in general? could it be that they tend to be poor, and democrats are perceived as being more interested in helping the poor? at least, if that's not the reason, what is?
the republicans claim that they can help the poor more than the democrats, primarily by keeping taxes on the wealthy low, so that the wealthy can hire more people, including the poor. sounds just a tad circuitous.
obama doesn't plan to even talk to the NAACP< does he? maybe he takes their support for granted.
were i mitt romney, i would keep hammering at the theme that republican conservative ideas are better for the poor than liberal democrat ideas, even though you don't think so. and see how far it gets him. what else can he do?
he'll have to convince the poor that the best way to help them is to keep taxes on the wealthy low, and wait for the benefits...to trickle down. good luck with that, mitt.
if the economy gets worse in america between now and the presidential election, voters will have to choose between socialistic obama-istic, or republican capitalistic approaches to the solution. how many poor people will vote for trickle down mitt - economics, "mittnomics"?
we'll see.
Bb
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the audience could have treated him a bit better. can't blame 'em for booing at mitt's threat to repeal obamacare, but they might have applauded a bit more energetically in response to mitt's harmless comments.
it begs the question why do ninety five per cent of african americans vote for obama, and why do they vote for democrats in general? could it be that they tend to be poor, and democrats are perceived as being more interested in helping the poor? at least, if that's not the reason, what is?
the republicans claim that they can help the poor more than the democrats, primarily by keeping taxes on the wealthy low, so that the wealthy can hire more people, including the poor. sounds just a tad circuitous.
obama doesn't plan to even talk to the NAACP< does he? maybe he takes their support for granted.
were i mitt romney, i would keep hammering at the theme that republican conservative ideas are better for the poor than liberal democrat ideas, even though you don't think so. and see how far it gets him. what else can he do?
he'll have to convince the poor that the best way to help them is to keep taxes on the wealthy low, and wait for the benefits...to trickle down. good luck with that, mitt.
if the economy gets worse in america between now and the presidential election, voters will have to choose between socialistic obama-istic, or republican capitalistic approaches to the solution. how many poor people will vote for trickle down mitt - economics, "mittnomics"?
we'll see.
Bb
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Tuesday, July 10, 2012
campaign corruption
THE SCOREBOARD reads; seventy million for obama, one hundred million for romney, for the past month. fundraising for the presidential campaign. almost all of it will be spent on advertising, which we found out in the last century, works remarkably well - if you are ever trying to decide whether to advertise, do it. it works, everytime.
we keep track of political campaign fundraising as if watching a ball game. but with less concern. we act as if this is the most natural, normal thing in the world. meanwhile, our political offices are being bought and sold like a commodity, the wealthy getting the best results.
whichever gold digger wins the white house this year will have spent at least one billion dollars to purchase it, and will be utterly beholden to those who provided the cash. nobody seems to care.
two years ago the U. S. supreme court voted five to four that money is speech, and that the constitution is powerless to regulate political spending. essentially, one person created this mess, or rather, deepened an existing mess.
if we can't rely on our constitution to prevent national political bribery, blatant corruption, then what good is it? thomas jefferson said that a reoublic would need a new constitution every generation, to accomodate changing times.
both jefferson and james madison, who wrote the document, would be appalled and surprised that not only is the same document still being used, but that it is regarded as sacred and inviolable, rather than temporary and imperfect.
a single seven word constitutional phrase would fix the problem; "the purchase of political advertising is prohibited".
a brand spankin' new constitution might do us well, as well.
Bb
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we keep track of political campaign fundraising as if watching a ball game. but with less concern. we act as if this is the most natural, normal thing in the world. meanwhile, our political offices are being bought and sold like a commodity, the wealthy getting the best results.
whichever gold digger wins the white house this year will have spent at least one billion dollars to purchase it, and will be utterly beholden to those who provided the cash. nobody seems to care.
two years ago the U. S. supreme court voted five to four that money is speech, and that the constitution is powerless to regulate political spending. essentially, one person created this mess, or rather, deepened an existing mess.
if we can't rely on our constitution to prevent national political bribery, blatant corruption, then what good is it? thomas jefferson said that a reoublic would need a new constitution every generation, to accomodate changing times.
both jefferson and james madison, who wrote the document, would be appalled and surprised that not only is the same document still being used, but that it is regarded as sacred and inviolable, rather than temporary and imperfect.
a single seven word constitutional phrase would fix the problem; "the purchase of political advertising is prohibited".
a brand spankin' new constitution might do us well, as well.
Bb
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Sunday, July 8, 2012
Neighborly Impasse
A NICE WELL MEANING CHRISTIAN COUPLE in phoenix started having friends over for bible study a few years ago. it worked out well, and it continued, and grew....and grew...
it got to the point where the neighbors starting complaining about the great number of cars, people, and noise coming to their neighborhood too often, increasing all the time.
the city got involved, by warning the nice suburban couple they were violating zoning and fire codes, because of the number of people on the property and the organized religious nature of the gatherings.
the nice married couple built a big building in their backyard, and got a permit for a "game room", presumably because their hood isn't zoned for churches. naughty naughty. false witness. tsk tsk...
how long do you have to study the bible before you feel like you've studied it enough? do people who join bible study groups realize that there are other books worthy of reading, and even study? but that's another question...
...at what point do you and your wife stop and think; hey! with all these people, and all this interest, why don't we just all go in together, buy land, and build a church? but that's another question...
so, anyway, bottom line, the couple deliberately, flagrantly and repeatedly violated city ordinances, in front of many witnesses, and the hubby is going to jail; for two months.
that's the ridiculous part. JAIL? can't we do any better than that? how about arbitration, the neighbors, the city, and the accused all having a say, and a judge bindingly arbitrating? no, that would make too much sense...
all cities must have ordinances. everyone has the right to have visitors; to a point. that point is reached when all the neighbors begin complaining regularly.
what we have here is a failure to communicate. so instead, we just lock 'em up...
Bb
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it got to the point where the neighbors starting complaining about the great number of cars, people, and noise coming to their neighborhood too often, increasing all the time.
the city got involved, by warning the nice suburban couple they were violating zoning and fire codes, because of the number of people on the property and the organized religious nature of the gatherings.
the nice married couple built a big building in their backyard, and got a permit for a "game room", presumably because their hood isn't zoned for churches. naughty naughty. false witness. tsk tsk...
how long do you have to study the bible before you feel like you've studied it enough? do people who join bible study groups realize that there are other books worthy of reading, and even study? but that's another question...
...at what point do you and your wife stop and think; hey! with all these people, and all this interest, why don't we just all go in together, buy land, and build a church? but that's another question...
so, anyway, bottom line, the couple deliberately, flagrantly and repeatedly violated city ordinances, in front of many witnesses, and the hubby is going to jail; for two months.
that's the ridiculous part. JAIL? can't we do any better than that? how about arbitration, the neighbors, the city, and the accused all having a say, and a judge bindingly arbitrating? no, that would make too much sense...
all cities must have ordinances. everyone has the right to have visitors; to a point. that point is reached when all the neighbors begin complaining regularly.
what we have here is a failure to communicate. so instead, we just lock 'em up...
Bb
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Too Much Currency, Not Enough Wealth
THE GREAT THING ABOUT MONEY is that it doesn't really have to exist in order to be useful. you don't even have to have it in your pocket to pay for something. just say the magic word, and its there! just hand your card to the cashier.
let's have the united states government print up a ton of it (money) and send it out, electronically, to all americans. george bush junior did that one time, bless his heart, but the amount was only about six hundred per (per amer per).
I'm talking about real money. let's have the u s fed gov email a million bucks to each and every one of us.
hell, make it ten mil. and why limit it to americans? flood the world with american currency, drown out all the other currencies, establish real, complete american global economic domination. real, complete, corporate american economic global domination. sorry.
everybody in the world using american money, enriching the american lenders of american money, enriching us all, seven billion multi millionaires.
how would you spend your ten mil? big new house? nice new car? investments? travel?
removing currency from the gold standard, or any standard, is an ambitious act of growth and greed, the hope that currency will sustain its own value on memory, and will grow the economy merely by existing in ever greater quantities.. a visit to the bureau of printing and engraving in washington d c is worth anybody's time, to see those bills rolling lickity split off the press.
for twenty dollars used to you could buy a sheet of sixteen ones, suitable for framing, or, in a pinch, for cutting up and spending on ramen noodles.
the only problem is: if you print and circulate a milllion bucks, you gotta manufacture a million dollars worth of cars, houses, and TVs and radios and shoes and socks, and other things....or the currency doesn't mean much, because it no longer means gold... in our world we manufacture money magically from a small plastic card; manufacturing actual wealth is a bit more work.
do we want a world with billions of huge valuable houses, or a world with less currency?
its our choice.
Bb
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let's have the united states government print up a ton of it (money) and send it out, electronically, to all americans. george bush junior did that one time, bless his heart, but the amount was only about six hundred per (per amer per).
I'm talking about real money. let's have the u s fed gov email a million bucks to each and every one of us.
hell, make it ten mil. and why limit it to americans? flood the world with american currency, drown out all the other currencies, establish real, complete american global economic domination. real, complete, corporate american economic global domination. sorry.
everybody in the world using american money, enriching the american lenders of american money, enriching us all, seven billion multi millionaires.
how would you spend your ten mil? big new house? nice new car? investments? travel?
removing currency from the gold standard, or any standard, is an ambitious act of growth and greed, the hope that currency will sustain its own value on memory, and will grow the economy merely by existing in ever greater quantities.. a visit to the bureau of printing and engraving in washington d c is worth anybody's time, to see those bills rolling lickity split off the press.
for twenty dollars used to you could buy a sheet of sixteen ones, suitable for framing, or, in a pinch, for cutting up and spending on ramen noodles.
the only problem is: if you print and circulate a milllion bucks, you gotta manufacture a million dollars worth of cars, houses, and TVs and radios and shoes and socks, and other things....or the currency doesn't mean much, because it no longer means gold... in our world we manufacture money magically from a small plastic card; manufacturing actual wealth is a bit more work.
do we want a world with billions of huge valuable houses, or a world with less currency?
its our choice.
Bb
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Saturday, July 7, 2012
Our Big American Fuss
United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts (U.S.S.C.C.J.J.R.) flew off to malta, thinking it a good time to get away. the rest of us are stuck here, wondering how in the hell you can pass a law, fine anybody who breaks it, and call the fine a "tax". i'm never going to figure it out. i need help. maybe if we all work together on this....but off to malta he flew, and only he knew...
as beautiful and wonderful as socialized medicne might turn out to be, the high court seems to have bent over backwards to avoid ruling it unconstitutional
if america wants socialized health care, let's have it. if not, let's not. (america wants it, but only when the word "socialism" isn't used). if we need to change the constitution to have what we want, let's change the constitution. hell, let's write a whole new constitution, that's what jefferson would have wanted.
but do we really want it because a small group of nine people twists words to justify their prejudices, rather than transcending them?
for now, let's let the republicans repeal obama care, and let them take whatever blame or credit comes with it and attaches thereto. then, when the current system gets so bad that nobody is happy, we can start talking about a single payer european style socialistic system, maybe german style.
as usual, the world must be laughing that we (america) made such a big deal out of this. but the real fuss is yet to come. the world aint seen nuthin' yet..
Bb
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as beautiful and wonderful as socialized medicne might turn out to be, the high court seems to have bent over backwards to avoid ruling it unconstitutional
if america wants socialized health care, let's have it. if not, let's not. (america wants it, but only when the word "socialism" isn't used). if we need to change the constitution to have what we want, let's change the constitution. hell, let's write a whole new constitution, that's what jefferson would have wanted.
but do we really want it because a small group of nine people twists words to justify their prejudices, rather than transcending them?
for now, let's let the republicans repeal obama care, and let them take whatever blame or credit comes with it and attaches thereto. then, when the current system gets so bad that nobody is happy, we can start talking about a single payer european style socialistic system, maybe german style.
as usual, the world must be laughing that we (america) made such a big deal out of this. but the real fuss is yet to come. the world aint seen nuthin' yet..
Bb
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Friday, July 6, 2012
group of people walking
OCCUPY WALL STREET flared up in philadelphia over the fourth of july holiday, a few of the participants got arrested, and the rest of them, maybe a hundred or so, decided to walk from philly to new york, and to arrive on wall street itself on the one hundreth anniversary of the birth of woody guthrie.
so, as we speak, they must be on their way, somewhere on the sidewalk of interstate 95, making about ten miles a day. what they plan to do when they get to wall street is unknown; they might need to rest a spell, then perhaps have a good, long sit in, media welcome.
sometimes long, grass roots marches attract attention, and gain participants, as they proceed. napoleon's return from st. helena comes to mind, as does the bonus march of 1932. then too, lest we forget forrest gump...
if the universe were a more perfect place the occupy walk would attract millions of new people between philly and the big apple, and would arrive at the holland tunnel, or lincoln tunnel, or staten island ferry, or wherever, looking like a monstrously large army, or moving city.
the birthday of woody guthrie is july 14, which is also bastille day in france, roughly the equivalent of the american fourth of july. maybe one million middle class protestors will tramp into downtown manhatten singing "this land is your land" before they dismantle corporate capitalism and economic inequality and replace it with.....what?...
ay, there's the rub. if we want to change the world, and believe me, we do, what do we want to change it into? maybe we'll get the answer on bastille day...
Bb
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so, as we speak, they must be on their way, somewhere on the sidewalk of interstate 95, making about ten miles a day. what they plan to do when they get to wall street is unknown; they might need to rest a spell, then perhaps have a good, long sit in, media welcome.
sometimes long, grass roots marches attract attention, and gain participants, as they proceed. napoleon's return from st. helena comes to mind, as does the bonus march of 1932. then too, lest we forget forrest gump...
if the universe were a more perfect place the occupy walk would attract millions of new people between philly and the big apple, and would arrive at the holland tunnel, or lincoln tunnel, or staten island ferry, or wherever, looking like a monstrously large army, or moving city.
the birthday of woody guthrie is july 14, which is also bastille day in france, roughly the equivalent of the american fourth of july. maybe one million middle class protestors will tramp into downtown manhatten singing "this land is your land" before they dismantle corporate capitalism and economic inequality and replace it with.....what?...
ay, there's the rub. if we want to change the world, and believe me, we do, what do we want to change it into? maybe we'll get the answer on bastille day...
Bb
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Thursday, July 5, 2012
Purchasing Friends
AMERICAN DIPLOMACY strikes again. secretary of state hillary clinton apologized, sort of, for killing twenty four pakistani soldiers last november, and for the first time this was sufficient, because the pakistani govenment is once again permitting american supplies to move to afghanistan by way of pakistan.
the united states made it clear to pakistan many moons ago that america will fire drone missiles into pakistan from afghanistan to kill terrorists, with or without pakistani permission. thus permission is never sought, which really helps american relations with pakistan.
twenty four soldiers is a lot of soldiers. one can understand pakistan's reaction. one also wonders why it took the united states seven months to issue an apology good enough to get the supply road reopened.
more and more often, pakistan is telling the americans to keep their money. the era of purchasing international support, project "rent an ally" may be coming to an end for the great american empire. the american dollar is sinking into worthlessness through constant abuse, and the nations which have historically taken our bribes are looking to other means of advancement, such as internal economic development.
if there is going to be one great big country in the world going around telling other countries what to do, and paying them to do it, i guess its kinda cool to be a citizen of the one country which is able to do that. sorta like living in ancient rome.
but when the cupboard becomes barren, what then?
Bb
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the united states made it clear to pakistan many moons ago that america will fire drone missiles into pakistan from afghanistan to kill terrorists, with or without pakistani permission. thus permission is never sought, which really helps american relations with pakistan.
twenty four soldiers is a lot of soldiers. one can understand pakistan's reaction. one also wonders why it took the united states seven months to issue an apology good enough to get the supply road reopened.
more and more often, pakistan is telling the americans to keep their money. the era of purchasing international support, project "rent an ally" may be coming to an end for the great american empire. the american dollar is sinking into worthlessness through constant abuse, and the nations which have historically taken our bribes are looking to other means of advancement, such as internal economic development.
if there is going to be one great big country in the world going around telling other countries what to do, and paying them to do it, i guess its kinda cool to be a citizen of the one country which is able to do that. sorta like living in ancient rome.
but when the cupboard becomes barren, what then?
Bb
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Wednesday, July 4, 2012
america's best
INDEPENDENCE DAY, the 4th of july, is a big deal in america, for all the right reasons. during the final week of june, 1776, when jefferson had finished the document and given it to adams and franklin, who butchered it, adams thought that it would be voted on, agreed upon, and signed by all the conspirators on july the first. he proclaimed jubilantly in a letter that the first of july is destined to become a glorious holiday in the new united states, to be celebrated in perpetuity raucously. john the proclaimer nearly got it right.
looking back on it, the united states of america seems almost destined to have become an empire, because the main theme, from day one, was growth, expansion, exploitation of opportunity for greater things. the empire reached california, then jumped across the world's oceans, and never looked back.
ironic, because america began as a revolt from empire. thomas paine was right; it made no sense for a small island to rule a vast continent four thousand miles away. and as we are fast discovering, it makes no sense for a vast contiment to rule over other vast contiments.
perhaps it was ultimately a good thing that england ruled india for two hundred years. but its hard to see how. the indian subcontinent would eventually have had access to all western cultural benefits without the two centuries of brutality.
london actually ruled the american colonies rather leniently, compared to the way they ruled india, compared to the way most overseas empires are ruled. the complaints listed in the declaration of independence actually seem rather tame, as well as justified and true.
no matter where you live in the world, july the fourth is a good day to read the declaration of independence. its the best america has to offer.
Bb
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looking back on it, the united states of america seems almost destined to have become an empire, because the main theme, from day one, was growth, expansion, exploitation of opportunity for greater things. the empire reached california, then jumped across the world's oceans, and never looked back.
ironic, because america began as a revolt from empire. thomas paine was right; it made no sense for a small island to rule a vast continent four thousand miles away. and as we are fast discovering, it makes no sense for a vast contiment to rule over other vast contiments.
perhaps it was ultimately a good thing that england ruled india for two hundred years. but its hard to see how. the indian subcontinent would eventually have had access to all western cultural benefits without the two centuries of brutality.
london actually ruled the american colonies rather leniently, compared to the way they ruled india, compared to the way most overseas empires are ruled. the complaints listed in the declaration of independence actually seem rather tame, as well as justified and true.
no matter where you live in the world, july the fourth is a good day to read the declaration of independence. its the best america has to offer.
Bb
please scroll down 4 more....
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
WE The People
OCCUPY WALL STREET is gearing up again, at least for the holiday. they are gathering in philly for the fourth. for those of you who might not recall, this is the organization, the protest movement which camped out in public last fall in many american cities, trying to draw attention to social ills, like corporate tyranny.
they haven't entirely gone away, in fact, twenty six of them were arrested in philly just for being there.
back on may first, as our russian friends well know, "we" "celebrated" international workers day, and the occupy wall street movement seemd to be on the verge of re emerging. last year, they got started on sepetmber seventeenth, the worst possible time of year. this spring, with a golden opportunity, they failed to ignite it.
the issues they raise are real issues, and occupy wall street proves, or should prove, that civil war, war between the rich and poor is possible, perhaps even likely.
dropping whatever you're doing, and camping out in central park for six weeks might be a bit difficult for most; the occupy wall street movement needs to augment physically literal events with an internet barrage.
the tea party believes that government should stay out of the way and allow society to segregate itself into whatever economic strata the free market creates, and the occupy people are socialistic; still; they both are trying hard to be populist movements, representing "the will of the people". defferent people have different wills, perhaps.
but in common, perhaps, we all have fundamental decency, and hold sacred the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
Bb
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they haven't entirely gone away, in fact, twenty six of them were arrested in philly just for being there.
back on may first, as our russian friends well know, "we" "celebrated" international workers day, and the occupy wall street movement seemd to be on the verge of re emerging. last year, they got started on sepetmber seventeenth, the worst possible time of year. this spring, with a golden opportunity, they failed to ignite it.
the issues they raise are real issues, and occupy wall street proves, or should prove, that civil war, war between the rich and poor is possible, perhaps even likely.
dropping whatever you're doing, and camping out in central park for six weeks might be a bit difficult for most; the occupy wall street movement needs to augment physically literal events with an internet barrage.
the tea party believes that government should stay out of the way and allow society to segregate itself into whatever economic strata the free market creates, and the occupy people are socialistic; still; they both are trying hard to be populist movements, representing "the will of the people". defferent people have different wills, perhaps.
but in common, perhaps, we all have fundamental decency, and hold sacred the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
Bb
please scroll down for more...
Monday, July 2, 2012
When to govern, when not to govern
CAN IT REALLY BE TRUE THAT the city of new york is considering legislation making it illegal to sell , purchase, or consume any drink larger than sixteen ounces which has sugar in it? excuse me?
america becomes more like a kurt vonneut novel every day.
it is already illegal to sell saturated fats in new york restaurants; will it soon be illegal to eat donuts in small towns all over america? to what extent can we protect people from their own bad choices through legislation?
the free market has its own kind of legislation. if someone is selling, buying, or consuming too many large sugary drinks, the negative consequences of this will show up, eventually, and the demand for the cause of these negative consequences will diminish in the free market.
should we really make it illegal to manufacture, sell, buy, or smoke cigarettes? probably not, however tempting it might be.
wanna get the government out of health care? fine. then allow the number of doctors and hospitals to double, and manifest massive voluntary free market sharing throughout human culture. when ever people are cooperating with each other, helping each other, they are behaving "socialistically" even if the government is nowhere in sight.
humans are as inherently socialistic (cooperative) as they are capitalistic (competitive). let's put both modes of thought and action to work, with, or preferrably without government!
government which comes from the top down is tyranny. government which comes from the bottom up is voluntary cooperation. our choice is as always, what form of government to have, and how much of it.
Bb
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THE TRUTHLESS RECONCILER AND AMERICAN EXPLICATOR! THANKS!
america becomes more like a kurt vonneut novel every day.
it is already illegal to sell saturated fats in new york restaurants; will it soon be illegal to eat donuts in small towns all over america? to what extent can we protect people from their own bad choices through legislation?
the free market has its own kind of legislation. if someone is selling, buying, or consuming too many large sugary drinks, the negative consequences of this will show up, eventually, and the demand for the cause of these negative consequences will diminish in the free market.
should we really make it illegal to manufacture, sell, buy, or smoke cigarettes? probably not, however tempting it might be.
wanna get the government out of health care? fine. then allow the number of doctors and hospitals to double, and manifest massive voluntary free market sharing throughout human culture. when ever people are cooperating with each other, helping each other, they are behaving "socialistically" even if the government is nowhere in sight.
humans are as inherently socialistic (cooperative) as they are capitalistic (competitive). let's put both modes of thought and action to work, with, or preferrably without government!
government which comes from the top down is tyranny. government which comes from the bottom up is voluntary cooperation. our choice is as always, what form of government to have, and how much of it.
Bb
please scroll down for the rest of
THE TRUTHLESS RECONCILER AND AMERICAN EXPLICATOR! THANKS!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Choices,Options, and Priorities
THE SUMMER OF 2012 has hardly bergun, but already it seems destined to set records for heat in may parts of the united states. this has beden happening regularly for about thirty years; heat records in the summer. and it appears that drought will be the twin companion of the heat. this could get serious.
for many years many people denied the existence of climate change, global warming. now almost everyone finally accepts the reality of it, but the deniers now deny that the human race has anything to do with it. this, despite verified mathemathical models which clearly demonstrate otherwise.
what if billions and billions of trees were planted, worldwide? would that make any difference? it has been predicted by respected scientists suah a michio kaku of new york university that within a hundred years mankid will be able to control the weather. will this solve our problems, or make them worse? can you imagine for a minute mankind haveing weather control capability, without fighting about it?
most of the seven billion people on this planet live in poverty. billions more people are on the way. the human population will rise to at least nine billion withine twenty five years. how will we ever feed, clothe, and shelter everybody without completing the process of environmental destruction we have abviously already unleashed?
the nine billion people are a certainty. most are already here, the rest soon will be. so is the desperate attempt to eliminate poverty be increasing manufacturing. it will happen. can we do all this and reverse global warming simultaneously?
about half of the world's money is invested in the military, draining away the world's capacity to eliminate poverty and repair the environment. unless we change this, all hope is lost.
Bb
please scroll down for the rest of THE TRUTHLESS RECONCILER AND AMERICAN EXPLICATOR!THANKS!
for many years many people denied the existence of climate change, global warming. now almost everyone finally accepts the reality of it, but the deniers now deny that the human race has anything to do with it. this, despite verified mathemathical models which clearly demonstrate otherwise.
what if billions and billions of trees were planted, worldwide? would that make any difference? it has been predicted by respected scientists suah a michio kaku of new york university that within a hundred years mankid will be able to control the weather. will this solve our problems, or make them worse? can you imagine for a minute mankind haveing weather control capability, without fighting about it?
most of the seven billion people on this planet live in poverty. billions more people are on the way. the human population will rise to at least nine billion withine twenty five years. how will we ever feed, clothe, and shelter everybody without completing the process of environmental destruction we have abviously already unleashed?
the nine billion people are a certainty. most are already here, the rest soon will be. so is the desperate attempt to eliminate poverty be increasing manufacturing. it will happen. can we do all this and reverse global warming simultaneously?
about half of the world's money is invested in the military, draining away the world's capacity to eliminate poverty and repair the environment. unless we change this, all hope is lost.
Bb
please scroll down for the rest of THE TRUTHLESS RECONCILER AND AMERICAN EXPLICATOR!THANKS!
It Could BE Worse
SO NOW WE'RE STUCK with semi socialistic health care, which pleases neither the capitalists nor the socialists, which is perhaps the way is should be. compromise is never intended to achieve complete happiness or displeasure. conservatives should be grateful that the united states didn't end up with a canadian or european style single payer socialist system. from the conservative point of view, it could have been worse.
the effort to repeal obama care will be combative, exciting, and entertaining. throughout most of the world, it is likely that people will be amazed that the americans are fighting such a huge battle over such a lame, limp, weak form of socialism, instead of at least having an argument over real socialism.
throughout most of the world, taxes are very high, and government services include health care insurance.
since even in america the people want good roads, sewer systems, and a strong military "defense" if nothing else, taxes will of necessity be high; it is a simple fact of life that modern life, which includes big infrastructure and big projects (like fleets of aircraft carriers) requires big collections of money from everyone.
its hard to imagine the united states having a good military defense and highway system if private companies were offering these things in response to popular demand, and we were paying for it directly out of our pockets to said private corporations. i would be tempted to scrimp on defense, and hope other people are paying for it. what would everyone else do?
the american military is a socialistic entity, and cannot ever be otherwise. the question is; what is the best balance between socialism and capitalism going forward? we need to find an answer.
Bb
please scroll down for more Truthless Reconciler and American Explicator. Thanks!
the effort to repeal obama care will be combative, exciting, and entertaining. throughout most of the world, it is likely that people will be amazed that the americans are fighting such a huge battle over such a lame, limp, weak form of socialism, instead of at least having an argument over real socialism.
throughout most of the world, taxes are very high, and government services include health care insurance.
since even in america the people want good roads, sewer systems, and a strong military "defense" if nothing else, taxes will of necessity be high; it is a simple fact of life that modern life, which includes big infrastructure and big projects (like fleets of aircraft carriers) requires big collections of money from everyone.
its hard to imagine the united states having a good military defense and highway system if private companies were offering these things in response to popular demand, and we were paying for it directly out of our pockets to said private corporations. i would be tempted to scrimp on defense, and hope other people are paying for it. what would everyone else do?
the american military is a socialistic entity, and cannot ever be otherwise. the question is; what is the best balance between socialism and capitalism going forward? we need to find an answer.
Bb
please scroll down for more Truthless Reconciler and American Explicator. Thanks!
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