The intent of this blog is to promote human equality, human progress, human peace and justice, and optimism. To accomplish this, to encourage the discussion of ideas after identifying and discovering problems, and then creating positive solutions for "we the people," in order to provide for the "general welfare" and "domestic tranquility" of America now and its "posterity" into the future. To encourage an emphasis on separation of religion and state for all, no matter if this is for those "of faith" in a Maker / Creator (Deists, God-loving people, Christians, various people of spirituality) and atheists or agnostics.

Archive for the ‘Commentary’ Category

Books Reviewed: Slave Empire: How Slavery Built Modern Britain (Seamlan) & Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain (Sanghera) (7 Apr. 2022)

Dear Editors:

These books have a tone that commerce improved for Britain, due to slavery. This might be true. However, is this the only consideration for the advancement of commerce in Britain?

It would be interesting to compare the profits made by slavery to the reparations paid to slave owners when slavery ended and no reparations to the descendants of those who were most hurt by slavery.

It would be interesting to consider the commerce, over time, which resulted from Britain accepting Jewish people into its nation, when other nations of Europe, such as Spain, were rejecting the Jews. In light of this, one has to wonder about the end of slavery in Mexico, after Britain ended the slave trade, which led Texas to seek independence from Mexico, started the Mexican-American War, and eventually joining with the USA, due to the continuing slavery in the Southern area of the USA. Perhaps loss of life due to war is of no importance to the authors of these books? Not only in the Mexican-American War, but also in the American Civil War, Jim Crow lynchings, and other acts to lose life.  Anti-abortionists like to put forth a TV commercial about the loss of life of those aborted from the womb, but what about the loss of good lives of people who could have helped with American commerce and ingenuity, due to these wars and racial bigotry which one would want to spit on.

It would be interesting to consider the commerce, over time, due to Britain, for accepting Huguenots and others who were terrorized in Europe by the Roman Catholic Church. 

It would be interesting to compare the use of indentured servants to expand commerce in the USA by way of infrastructure improvements.  This would include the immigrants given a free ride to New York and, as indentured servants, helped open waterways with the Erie Canal which resulted in one of the biggest commercial centers in the world:  New York City.  Or with Carnegie and the building of the rail system across this nation in which Chinese and other Asians were used to build the infrastructure for the rail system.  They were not black, so were given freedom after a length of time (typically seven years).  This is mentioned due to the fact that it was soon after the British colonists in America succeeded in throwing off the British.  Yet, in 1807, Britain ended the slave trade. 

It would be interesting to consider the cost of human injustice, due to the enslavement of a group of people.  Such injustice would rip away at the commerce Britain had in Barbados and other locations for which Britain had happiness of commerce, while people suffered. 

America and other Western nations have shed the ideas of the “norm” that money comes before human justice. In actuality, these “norms” are held in esteem and pushes Americans down from being able to challenge these “norms.” In the end, slavery and commerce by means of money coming before human beings is a form of corruption, but people are too afraid to put it this way, are they not?

Simply said, these books enlighten us on how much money was made, due to slavery.  The books ignore the fact that such actions are just as corrupt as allowing the war on drugs to continue unceasingly, in order to protect the wealthy corrupt bastards of the drug lords or drug “czars,” whether in the USA, Afghanistan, Russia, or elsewhere.  Americans are too accepting of the “norms” of corruption which I address. 

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is true whether it is white folks with power over Africans, in putting them on slave boats destined for other locations. It is communists in China and other ares of the world who forcefully re-locate citizens to other locations, for the sake of a love of money and commerce, over human beings and human justice.  It is the same thing as the genocide perpetrated by Hitler, Putin, Stalin, and others.  Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Destroy democracy and these folks achieve corrupt power absolutely. It needs to stop, ending this fascination of comparing commerce due to enslavement. 

Category:

Book Reviews, Commentary, democracy, Economics, Regulated Capitalism, Commerce, human-rights

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Call it a carbon comeback? Really?

Dear Editors:

There is truth to the fact we are seeking out high-polluting fossil fuels, as we face the world dilemmas.  No argument from me on this score. 

As an educator and librarian for some 40 years, my ideas are to learn from the history as to how we got to this point of feeling helpless due to fossil fuels and going to our supplies which are kept in reserve.  Of those 40 years, I worked 11 years as a research librarian in an energy-related utility.  This nation has gone to lawyers making money and gotten rid of the research librarians with whom I worked in the 1980s and 1990s. How sad when considering information about what is happening, as posted by the Energy Information Administration, an organization upon which we relied upon data in the period of time to which I refer, while doing energy research. 

The downfall of what we were doing during that period of time was instigated by scientists at MIT who refuse to believe there is a problem with global warming. Their chickens are coming home to roost now, as we consider the dilemma today. What a shame.

The R&D efforts of the corporation for which I worked, along with scientists at universities such as University of Florida, were all destroyed. May I remind people that the word, “destroy,” is frequently used by the Hitler-type Nazi plutocratic supply-siders today. 

I lost my job, while high-paid lawyers were not laid off at that corporation. The head of R&D was laid off, even as he promoted the ideas from the Electric Power Research Institute (and U. of Florida) for researching hydrogen as a power source, fuel cells, and something called cold fusion. All gone and funding for such research pulled out.  Granted, cold fusion needed more research and ingenuity. Americans have proven to be able to “build the better mousetrap” in the past. But the funding to do it was blocked.  There were those who proclaimed that cold fusion, opposite to nuclear power, could have had as an output, water. However, in those days, it yielded only about a thimble full of water from the vast amounts put into it. MIT claimed, as Einstein was attacked, “it goes against the laws of physics.” The detractors, like the 19th-Century NY Governor Clinton detractors of his “ditch,” scoffed at there being any chance of anything developing.  The projects were abandoned.

More recently, President George W. Bush proclaimed that the use of switch grass could produce fuels which have lower pollution levels. Biomass production. Where is it? There were possibilities for such projects, but none developed. The fermentation of switch grass is a quicker process than many plant-based fermentation and could have been developed so as to improve the wastes released from burning the fuels. Where are they today? Do we see them? And let me say that there were a number of issues from George W. Bush which I did not agree. But that one stands out as having been more promising. 

Instead, we have developed more solar and wind power for the benefit of electric utilities, not for the benefit of weaning the consumer of the utility umbilical cord, as promised by the lousy deregulation folks in the 1990s, so as to assuage the feelings of those of us being laid off.  We have had a big effort to form supply-side economics with M&A of electric utilities into huge corporate conglomerates, as they moved to solar and wind power under the CONTROL of the deregulated M&A companies formed by deregulation.  Thus, the EIA statistics and the Rice University Public Policy Institute statistics give us a grim reminder about our reliance on fossil fuels, as Russia invades Ukraine.

Is it too late to learn from the perversions I describe in the history of energy development? I believe there is. But it takes a village to insist we do it, not my voice alone. Has the “village” been lost or is it still ready to be tapped? 

Category:

Commentary, Energy

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The Veil of Conservatism Used to Hide True Expressions Bigotry

When I speak with folks, I have come to recognize the ability to speak gloom and doom about America and try to connect with the “conservative” movement in America. I am learning.  The veil covers over true bigotry due to racism, anti-Semitism, sexual identity issues, and so forth.

For instance, the other day, The man spoke as if he was a “conservative” patriot when he said, “I don’t like watching football on TV any more. Such games and all of America has gone to hell all over the place. I don’t like them not standing and saluting the flag at the beginning of the game.

WHAT? WHO IS “they?”WHAT is the veil covering over the TRUE reasons?

I mentioned how I really no longer like to watch college or NFL football games, as I did in my younger years.  I did not give a reason why. I just my playing football in my younger  years, enjoyed playing football, and also did the enjoyment of watching football games, especially when purchasing tickets with “on demand” capabilities, entering a stadium, and not paying for the myriad of collective games with most of them being games I never watch.

The man was talking about his dislike of black people. Period. It was an example of systemic racist bigotry in America today, hidden under the veil of “conservatism.”   During Jim Crow, that veil of “conservatism” was up there, loud and clear, but I thought we had moved on beyond that.

People will defend this anti-human reaction as just being patriotic. If I had said anything, my reply would have been to mention that saluting the flag, for some people, involves a dislike of words like, “bombs bursting in air” and putting guns and violence first. White folks do it and validate this with the 2nd Amendment. That is supposed to be patriotic? It was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who really endorsed the use of non-violence, in spite of the words in the national anthem.  It took a lot of guts to even consider, after white folks hidden in white robes were lynching black people. Still. Non violence being pushed by black folks.

Furthermore, how many times do white folks salute the flag while saying the ledge of allegiance? White racist bigots who are nothing but hypocrites.  When the words “…liberty and justice for all,” I see no white person even flinch a muscle as they are thinking to themselves, “I really don’t want liberty and justice for all.” That’s not true for ALL white folks. But there are still many who are hypocrites who repeat those words. And then they work to put down black folks who express their own “freedom of expression and speech” by kneeling rather than standing during the national anthem.  Systemic racism is about hiding true feelings and saying, “yes’r, no sir” with a smile while repeating and participating in the patriotism which evidently is only allowed for white folks.  The true feelings of bigotry and racism, I would wager, were behind what that man said, as he felt “America is going to hell.” He did not say it. But that “hell” is the equality earned by black folks which they did not have in the “good old days” which some white folk are longing to achieve.   Considering this aspect, it embarrasses me to think about being white myself and having to experience such vicious attitudes hidden under the veil of “conservatism” and some who are patriotic proclaiming they go along with the objections to kneeling, just to go along with a crowd they consider patriotic.  It truly is disgusting to consider living in such a nation with white people who don’t want to progress past the lack of coexistence between colored and white, gay and straight, and Jews, Gentiles, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others.  To be patriotic is to say, “he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother,” even when someone kneels in expressing one’s own feelings for being a people which has been treated bad and now voter suppression and other means of putting people down are being used in Dixie again in order to “return to the good old days” of the environment like the poll tax and lynching.  Black folks who kneel are not taking the freedoms gained for granted and wish to be recognized in their expressions of protest. I cannot blame them, especially being a gay man who won’t take for granted the freedoms gained by the LGBTQ+

Category:

Commentary, systemic racism

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American Ingenuity, not Doom and Gloom Preachers who are nothing but Stupid Idiotic People

It was interesting to view the Ken Burns documentary about Benjamin Franklin. Once can learn quite a bit about liberty and freedom and the responsibility it takes to achieve and attain such liberty and freedom. One can also learn about dealing with what the truth is and differentiating lies from the truth, which is what is polarizing America today in quite large numbers. Newspapers and news people have abandoned local news and correctly portraying any local candidates, from local level, to state level, to Federal level.  Learn from Ben Franklin regarding common sense, but it is all being tossed out the window by people who no longer have a moral sensitivity to workers and community. This ignores what Scottish theologian and philosopher, Adam Smith, said during the “Enlightenment” period of the late 1800s. In this Burns documentary, one can learn about the time Franklin spent with Adam Smith and Scottish philosopher, David Hume, as well. In the end, Franklin demonstrates his acceptance of the two Scottish men and ultimately, after spending a great deal of time in London, rejected the English king.  You know. The one who was mentally crazed and ended up sending troops to America?

Here are some quotes pertinent to my discussion, from Ben Franklin:

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”  As educators, we all have believed that, to become humble, one can overturn ignorance, learn and gain wisdom. Humility. Someone once told Franklin that, in his list of pertinent characteristics, he forgot to include the word, humility.  Franklin came to terms with this projection and changed his positions on issues, after recognizing he needed to maintain humility and learn.  He did learn.  This thought helps differentiate between “stupidity” and “ignorance” for which too many Americans today have no sense about that differentiation. I was glad to learn Ben Franklin outlined this differentiation. I had not idea that my expressions to do such differentiation was once defined by Franklin, as exemplified in this quote. 

A side note. I did have to wonder, when Sixty Minutes ran the report about the people at NPR who were doing the story telling project were also doing the project to stop polarization in America between ‘conservative and liberal,” some project about “One small first step…” were mocking me when they proclaimed they had to “stop those who were calling others stupid and idiotic.” I confess. I have written to Sixty Minutes and other sources and have used such exclamations about “stupid and idiotic Americans.” I am not going to hide it. Perhaps I should simply revert to the fact that Sixty Minutes and other people in the media really take no interest in my writing and tend to simply mock me about the things not liked by me? I don’t know. Only my conjecture.

At the end of the day, I always need to reiterate that my first concern, as exemplified by Franklin, is about humanity, not money. That was the sense of Adam Smith, too, and I have repeated this over and over again. There have been, since Franklin’s time, too many times when individualist egotistical money lovers have tried to blow holes in what Adam Smith really intended in his treatise on economics and a sense of morality because they simply want to keep putting the King George type of people up on pedestals as the oligarchs they are.  Over time, there have been people like Teddy Roosevelt, another Scottish man in America, Andrew Carnegie, and several others who have made attempt to counter the ruthless money loving selfish purveyors of individualism as being what capitalism is all about.  They have done a good job because too many Americans miss the point about what capitalism was intended to be: a notion of balance in the universe that anti-puritanical Ben Franklin and others in the Founding Fathers (Deists) intended. The examples are in the “checks and balances” in democratic form of government which are being corrupted by money-loving individualists in business today, in their quest, by way of Citizens United, PACs, and lobbyists, corrupt this government today, just as Putin is doing in Russia. 

Hitler, like Trump, DeSantis, Rick Scott, and others, never repents from the wrongs he did in his murder and executions of many people in Europe. Purportedly, some of the last words of Hitler were that “the German people never understood what a great man he [Hitler] is.” To repent would have been to say something different than that. But the reader of Meine Kampf, Donald Trump, has yet to acknowledge that Biden won the election of 2020, when the facts prove otherwise, and the facts speak out, over and over again. Trump will never repent for what he had done. Perhaps King George never did, either? The net result is the damage Trump and the others guys do to America. In this documentary, we learn that Ben Franklin DID acknowledge some of his wrongs, which is a form of humility.

Can you differentiate fact from fiction? Why not?  Do you understand that this idea about inflation and gasoline prices, as with the election of 2020, is not the fault of Democrats? In fact, the ideas about “anything goes” in the economics of free markets, one can see it is the Libertarians (anarchists) who COULD be blamed more than anyone else. Where are these people? Situated in the Republican Party and unwilling to be held accountable for the net results brought upon people in a bad and malicious way, as with Putin going into the Ukraine.  The Libertarians can LOOK good because the other side of their argument is being “socially progressive.” But even with being “socially progressive,” as I learned it in the days I was a Republican and heard this idea expressed, it never meant to be represented by, “anything goes.” Adam Smith discusses this, as he talks about the moral sense of having self-control with human passions.  Not that Franklin did his best in achieving this, the womanizer he was. 

You ask, “what’s the point to all of this?” You might call this a diatribe. It’s not, unless you refuse to be humble and learn, as Franklin was able to achieve, but was not perfect in doing so.  The point to all of this is I am getting fed up with Democrats being smeared through the use of lies, over and over again.  In his State of the Union Address, President Biden identified his support of funding law and order and police forces, not defunding it. I can prove that there are both Republicans and Democrats who have endorsed defunding.  Our leader put out the facts. One should not be stereotyping all Democrats as being supportive of such a notion, just as I should not be stereotyping all Republicans as endorsing defunding. Yet, the Republican response to the president, from some lady in Iowa who sits in Congress, was to claim “that Democrats support defunding police.” Just the facts, ma’am and boy did you miss the boat on that one.

Then there are the congressional Republicans who did NOT support President Biden and the Democrats in the infrastructure bills then they go home and prey upon the stupidity of their constituents by taking credit for the parts of the infrastructure bill which impact the constituents. Yeah. Go ahead and blow holes in what I just said by making a claim that “the Democrats were unfair and did not listen to ONLY what we Republicans wanted.” Such perverts in the Republican Party miss the point about what it takes to live in a democracy. They want their cake and eat it too. They don’t want to have included what some others want, so they falsely take credit for the passage of some bill which they did not support because the net result was: “I can’t have my cake and eat it, too.” The little snotty bratty bullies then, like kids in a sandbox, kick sand int he face of otehrs and leave the sandbox. “I don’t get my way 100%, so go screw you Democrats,” inventing all kinds of tarnishing, like little snotty kids who lack maturity. I call this “stupid and ignorant” immature people because they are. 

Another issue. Gasoline prices. Reading in the media about how bad it is. It is bad. No doubt about it. It is refreshing when there is one newspapers which presents ideas for how to get around such an issue and deal with high cost of gasoline AND food, too.  They also address issues about President Biden is proposing to tap America’s oil reserves, too.  Snotty immature little bratty kids want instant gratification and that notion has also been the undoing of America which I could outline in another essay.  Polarization by newspapers and media presenting only national news and never getting to the depth of local politics and local issues. The exceptions to this can be found in some newspapers, so don’t bother to yell at me for “stereotyping.” There I go again. Reiterating what I already said. 

For me, this notion of high gasoline prices brings back a memory of the 1973 oil embargo and high gasoline prices at that time. What I failed to do was to also speak about the impact of inflation, since 1973, on the prices of gasoline in 1973 when they reached $4.00 or $5.00 per gallon. Because when they reached that price level back then, one can consider that having $5.00 per gallon today is actually a wonderful thing, when considering how much higher the actual price of $5.00 per gallon was back in the 1970s. I would wager that, in today’s dollars, $5.00 in 1973 would be far higher than $5.00.

Then I read Marilyn vos Savant in Parade Magazine this past Sunday (3 April 2022).  Let me quote her. She added another dimension to what I am saying. She does a comparison of gasoline in a time of very good economic growth, 1950, to today “Adjusted for inflation, the purchasing power of 27 cents in 1950 dollars is $2.97 now. But here’s a big difference: The average gas mileage for passenger cars in 1950 was 15 mpg, but it’s about 25 mpg now. So what grandpa experienced in 1950 was what we experience when gasoline is $5.00 per gallon today. In short, it was even worse for him [grandpa].” Add to that, the fact that “average” today is figured also on the existence of hybrid cars and electric cars. Imagine how much better it will likely get in the future with electric cars. Yes, invent anything you wish about the shortfalls of electric cars and batteries. But based on what I am optimistic about, due to AMERICAN INGENUITY, we CAN overcome such obstacles. But we won’t overcome obstacles when there are those who are pessimistic (pissimistic) about this and hand out gloom and doom statements which simply are lies being told over and over again and they become self-fulfilling prophesies.  Yes, it has been a long haul to get to these days with regard to electric cars. But let’s be glad that some of the car companies involved in throwing the monkey wrench into it all, from many years ago (1980s upstate NY and an upstart car company in which a certain big car manufacturer bought up all the battery supplies, patents, or what ever, and put the company out of business, are now involved with the development of electric cars. 

American ingenuity. My dad told me about American ingenuity when that he observed when he was in the occupying forces in Japan, when peace was declared at the end of World War II. You see, there was a shortage of gasoline for the convoy in which he was involved in moving from Tokyo to the northern reaches of Japan (so as to block Soviet forces from coming in to take over that northern portion). That gasoline shortage did not stop the troops with their jeeps and equipment. My dad told me about using alternative fuels at a time of need. He mentioned one such fuel was charcoal. Have no idea how it was done. Perhaps I should have questioned my dad more. American ingenuity in time of need. In other words, “when times get tough, the tough get going.” And I am not referencing thugs like QAnon or MAGA with insurrectionists. They are pessimistic stupid idiots. No I am talking about those Americans who see a need to DO SOMETHING and DO IT, for the good of community and nation.  They don’t do it just for their own individualistic egos which are like snotty immature egos.  Why does it seem as if there are people in other nations who are doing this better than America is doing, as we hear the wealthy oligarch autocrats of America who line of pockets of Congress with PACs and lobbyists, are out there with such power and control. 

Other Ben Franklin quotes:

“Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don’t have brains enough to be honest.”

“

“Little minds [like Republicans tarnishing other people because they disagree and provide only false ideas about why they disagree] think and talk about people.
Average minds think and talk about things and actions.
Great minds think and talk about ideas.”

“Common sense is something that everyone needs, few have, and none think they lack.”

“Thirteen virtues necessary for true success: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility.” Notice that good old Ben does not include the thing from Ayn Rand in the mid-20th Century in which the snotty immature ones of America (like Trump and many Republicans and Libertarians) have grabbed at: “virtue of selfishness.”

“If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.”  … As is pushed by puritanical dimwits and despotic autocratic government led by plutocrats such as Putin, Trump, DeSantis, Rick Scott, and others. 

“What you seem to be, be really.”

“A true Friend is the best Possession.”

“No gains without pains.”

“When you’re good to others, you’re best to yourself.”

“It is better to take many Injuries than to give one.”

“He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.”

“In free governments [and business, commerce, economics] the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors and sovereigns.”

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are”  Not gay? Not black? Then be as outraged about the treatment of such people in the past and don’t take for granted what has been achieved to overturn such lousy bigoted treatment.

“He that can have patience can have what he will.”

“Honesty is the best policy.”

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.”

“The only thing that is more expensive than education is ignorance.”

“Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.”

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”……  Being proactive, not reactionary.

“The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.”

“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

“Our cause is the cause of all [hu]mankind…we are fighting for their liberty in defending our own.”  ….. It is not about individual rights.

“The more the people are discontented with the oppression of taxes, the greater the need the prince has of money to distribute among his partisans and pay the troops that are to suppress all resistance and enable him to plunder at pleasure.”

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”

“Ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation to the prejudice and oppression of another is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy…An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy.”

Benjamin Franklin expressed the goal of America’s experiment in liberty when he said, “God grant that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the earth, so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface and say: This is my country.”

“Let honesty be as the breath of thy soul; then shalt thou reach the point of happiness, and independence shall be thy shield and buckler, thy helmet and crown; then shall thy soul walk upright, nor stoop to the silken wretch because he hath riches, nor pocket an abuse because the hand which offers it wears a ring set with diamonds.”

“We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable” in a draft of the Declaration of Independence changes it instead into an assertion of rationality. The scientific mind of Franklin drew on the scientific determinism of Isaac Newton and the analytic empiricism of David Hume and Gottfried Leibniz. In what became known as “Hume’s Fork” the latters’ theory distinguished between synthetic truths that describe matters of fact, and analytic truths that are self-evident by virtue of reason and definition.

“Sell not liberty to purchase power.”

“Every man is, of common right, and by the laws of God, a freeman and entitled to the free enjoyment of liberty.”

My thought:

There are some ideas of pessimism expressed by Franklin. For instance, with regard to corruption in government, it will be the end of government. My question. So how do we turn such a thing around and get rid of the corruption?

“The U.S. Constitution doesn’t guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself.”

“The ancients tell us what is best; but we must learn of the moderns what is fittest.”

“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.”

Thank you, Ken Burns for inspiring us to learn from history, not re-live history, and thus progress forward through the ages.  Progress forward through the ages, not as soldiers, but as human beings.

NOT Ben Franklin but pertinent to today:

Pertinent to the polarization of America by the deliberate mechanisms of newspapers and local media. “Local television and local TV news isn’t telling the voters about local candidates. NOT Ben Franklin but
Reed Hundt

Category:

Commentary, democracy, Economics, Regulated Capitalism, Commerce, Education, Journalism & Media

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Nothing But Censorship in Florida, With a One-party State of Republicans

Dear Spectrum News:

DeSatan of Florida signed into a law legislation about NOT teaching sexual identity in grades K-3. His accompanying comments were that we need to do more in teaching reading and writing. Also, that it is up to parents to teach kids that young about sexual identity. Wrong.

The Democrat stupidity which was announced with this news report was that, “there will be plenty of lawsuits.”  In other words, the only answer is to send in the clowns… I mean… send in the lawyers. The Democrats, with their tails between their legs, say nothing pertinent in response. No wonder that legislation got passed in Florida. 

Coexistence means we don’t pit one American against the others. So, thus, the Democrats did exactly what Joe Biden has been attempting to stop. Stop having one against the other and bring people together. There is a way to do this without merely “sending in the lawyers” and pitting one against another. 

I worked as a librarian, educator, musician, in Florida for almost 40 years. A librarian colleague, who was a director of a library in Florida, was once confronted by a local religious group and asked to censor all books about sex from the library by removing the books.  The librarian was sitting in her office where she had numerous Bibles on shelves. She went over to the shelves, picked up all the Bibles (Bible = library), and threw them all in a trash can. The group was appalled and asked her how she could do such a thing. The library director replied with, “you asked me to get rid of any books which contain sex, so I thought I would begin with the Bible, considering all the discussions of sex in their which we teach our young ones and have been doing so over many years. The stories of violence, too, which are in the Bible. King David was not only described as a violent person, but also as a many using violence to rid himself of a man with whom he had sex with the wife!  Therefore, I think the Bible is an appropriate place to begin.”  The group was appalled. Absolutely appalled. Had nothing more to say and simply departed.

Imagine a young Timothy McVeigh, in a third grade class with other white bullies and learning to dislike black folks and gay folks and so forth.  Perhaps the parents were teaching about these aspects, too, and there was no counter measures in education to provide a different side to it all? Now we begin to have that counter side to what parents teach with derogatory remarks about gay folks and a one-party state of Republicans decide to squash it. Don’t expose the kids to the fact that there is more than just bullying, conversion therapy, and so forth. Teaching love (agape word in the Greek language) will be curtailed. Democrats and the media should be pointing these aspects out to the people of Florida and to this nation, rather than pushing for a method which causes divisiveness by endorsing the lawsuits from lawyers. I don’t say there should be NO lawsuits. I am saying that what is needed here is to teach so people can learn rather than the only result being more polarization.  If people don’t want to learn and remain digging in their heels, advocating the traditionalist values and not listening and considering, then shame on them for they ruin this nation in their ignorance and stupidity, like a bunch of foolish dolts and idiots.
—

Professor Douglas Willet Cornwell (Retired)

Newark Valley, NY

bibsinger@gmail.com

———————————“Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “The problems of the world are not that some people love in a different way. The problems are that so many people don’t know how to love at all (CGA, 1970).” A Puritan is someone in fear that someone, somewhere, is having a good time. “Liberty and justice for all [not priorities on individual and selfish rights].” “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union [and overall wealth of American society]…” 
Benjamin Franklin: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are affected.” Stacey Abrams: “Compromise about actions, but not about values.”  Oscar Wilde: “I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”  Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Benjamin Franklin: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”  Whoopi Goldberg: “To handle this COVID-19 pandemic effectively, we all need to get on the same page.”  Note: To be clear, I do not like being patronized. I do not express my disdain over what happens to my fellow humans just for my own sake and to pursue favors and handouts. I do it in order to gain R – E – S – P – E – C – T for me and for millions of other Americans of any race, ethnicity, religious belief, or sex and sexual identity who try to walk in integrity as they attempt to achieve, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  PERIOD.  One nation under God [our Creator] with liberty and justice for all.

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Commentary, Education

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Mobile Home Lot Rents in Florida

Dear New York Times Editors:

It’s clear that housing costs have gone up tremendously, especially in Florida. A recent Sixty Minutes report identified astronomical cost increases in Florida housing. A specific company was mentioned which sounds like the creation of Slum Lord USA, Inc. Based in Canada, one can understand why the company has such investors to come to the USA and buy up housing in Florida when the Canadians pay one-quarter the cost Americans pay for healthcare. We pay to stay alive and don’t have any money left over for LONG TERM mortgages for Americans to make money after 30 years of investment.  We pay for Medicare and health insurance here to such an astronomical cost that we cannot afford increases in housing values upwards of 50% to 1005 or more. Those in Florida pay astronomical increases for premiums in homeowners’ insurance, too.  No money left over to buy homes, so house flippers have a field day, including a company from Canada.

With this being said, what about mobile home lot rent values in Florida? We learned in your newspaper that new investors are buying mobile home parks, particularly in Florida, and increasing lot rents by some 50%. Gosh, we purchased a mobile home near Melbourne, FL, hoping to have a place to visit in Florida form time to time, and to rent it out. A new investor from Wisconsin came into Melbourne, purchased the park where my parents owned the mobile home since the early 1980s, eliminated the ability for the owners to rent out the homes, and increased the lot rent by an astounding amount. Too bad we did not have a 50% increase in our lot rent, compared to what my parents paid. It would have made all the difference!  No. The increase was close to a 350% increase. The cost to rent a home purchased in the park was far more than the total tax bill for a much larger home in upstate New York. And we were unable to rent the place out during months we would not be in Florida.

Readers need to learn more about this type of situation. I don’t believe they are being given that information.
—

Professor Douglas Willet Cornwell (Retired)

Newark Valley, NY

bibsinger@gmail.com

———————————“Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “The problems of the world are not that some people love in a different way. The problems are that so many people don’t know how to love at all (CGA, 1970).” A Puritan is someone in fear that someone, somewhere, is having a good time. “Liberty and justice for all [not priorities on individual and selfish rights].” “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union [and overall wealth of American society]…” 
Benjamin Franklin: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are affected.” Stacey Abrams: “Compromise about actions, but not about values.”  Oscar Wilde: “I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”  Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Benjamin Franklin: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”  Whoopi Goldberg: “To handle this COVID-19 pandemic effectively, we all need to get on the same page.”  Note: To be clear, I do not like being patronized. I do not express my disdain over what happens to my fellow humans just for my own sake and to pursue favors and handouts. I do it in order to gain R – E – S – P – E – C – T for me and for millions of other Americans of any race, ethnicity, religious belief, or sex and sexual identity who try to walk in integrity as they attempt to achieve, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  PERIOD.  One nation under God [our Creator] with liberty and justice for all.

Category:

Commentary, Economics, Regulated Capitalism, Commerce

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Sixty Minutes, 3.27.2022

Applying the Alexa “syndrome” of artificial intelligence to historical memories? What a wonderful application of Alexa-type applications to the remembrance of those who suffered in the Holocaust.  To view questions asked of people now deceased and having the video presentation of a person now deceased answering the question is really what makes technology a blessing, even if it is often a curse on us. 

Related to this was the story about a project to record story-telling of Americans. Mentioning the animation of stories makes me wonder whether these are the short snippets viewers of PBS programs view between various episodes of programs? They are wonderful experiences, listening to such stories of Americans.

Between these two reports (virtual human memories and story telling), it makes me wish my dad could have joined the project for artificial intelligence in recorded historical memories.  He passed away in 2018 so could not be a part of such a project. But in his last months, I listened to him describe his service during World War II in the Philippines and Japan, under General Douglas MacArthur.  It was quite an interesting experience. He described the Army convoys driving to northern Japan, out of Tokyo. He never mentioned it, but in understanding the history of that time, I have a vague knowledge about how the USA, with Supreme Commander MacArthur over Japan, wanted to guard the northern frontier of Japan from the possibility of invasion by Soviet troops into that area.  Was this what my father described with the convoy in which he was involved? I won’t know for certain, but imagine if he had been questioned about such things and the video recorded, as the examples provided on the wonderful Sixty Minutes report last night.  I do, however, have a short audio of my dad describing how he got from the Philippines to Japan with his fellow Army soldiers. 

I also never got an answer as to whether or not my father and mother named me after General MacArthur, as I was born just after Truman fired MacArthur in Korea, during the time when General Eisenhower was president. 

With all of this being said, I do have a bone to pick with Sixty Minutes. What is hoped to be accomplished with the “First step Forward” program? Perhaps it was just coincidence that the story mentioned an attempt to stop the polarization of America due to Americans calling each other “stupid and idiotic.”  OK. I confess. I call many Americans “stupid and idiotic.” I wrote to Sixty Minutes and perhaps this is the only focus on what I wrote about? After all, my name is Douglas and Douglas MacArthur made some errors, one of which got him fired by Truman.  The jury still remains out on the Truman firing and whether or not it was a good thing to do, as we face, today, Chinese intervention in our American economy.  Yes. MacArthur was in error in attempting to stop the dropping of the atomic bombs, even if it was a lousy thing to have happen to human beings in Japan.  I don’t support human destruction to such a degree. But, the fact that Supreme Japanese Commander Douglas MacArthur later had troops heading to northern Japan addresses the true reason why the bombs were used. In other words, to gain quicker control of Japan by forcing them out of the war, and holding the upper hand when it came to dealing with the Soviets and a possible incursion into Japan. Truman’s decision to drop the bombs did work in our favor, in the end, as bad as atomic bombs are. 

I might add a side note. In a speech given by a Jewish man whose relatives and parents were impacted by Hitler’s Holocaust, he reminded us that the number of Jews killed by Hitler was surpassed by the numbers killed in the Soviet Union by Stalin. He presented the facts and statistics in this regard, so I trust they are correct.  How many survivors of the persecutions and deaths of Jews by Stalin in the former Soviet state when KGB agent, Putin, was present in that nation? A nation directed by dictators like Stalin and others.  How many Jewish survivors of the genocide there have been recorded in the project identified by Sixty Minutes? 

Taking this a step further, based on the “One step forward” project and the attempts to turn around the polarization between  those calling each other “stupid and idiotic,” I have more comments.  Does this project really hope to accomplish a reduction of such polarization by recording discussions between “conservative” and “liberal?” ‘Splain it to me, Lucy! For I am not convinced this will be as effective as it could be should there be other considerations. In this case, it is not about polarization between citizens as much as it is the polarization caused by a media which places emphasis on “conservative and liberal?”  Political ideology? Politics is the problem? When the media presents “politics as the problem” and that it matters not whether it is Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, or other aspects of politics, I believe this is the wrong approach. Politics = democracy. It takes longer to get results in a democracy than in a dictatorship. It’s the reason Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, “democracy is a very bad form of government, but all the others are so much worse.”  Thus, Americans being “stupid and idiotic” is the result of a stupid and idiotic media which has shelved any common sense involving democracy.

For instance. The other day, in reaching out to fellow Democrats to obtain signatures to put Democratic Party candidates on the ballots, I ran into several situations where one spouse was Democrat and the other one I was not aware of the party affiliation and I did not care. I was on a mission to speak with Democrats, not debate the other side. You wish to debate with the other side and i say, let’s sit down over a cup of coffee and discuss matters.  But you see, the “stupid and idiotic” nature in America today and no one wishes to do such a thing. So, this putting together people of “opposing viewpoints,” whether that be Republican v. Democrat or liberal v. conservative is supposed to correct this situation of polarization? I don’t see how it can when most Americans do not even know what it means to be Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative.

Why do I say this? Because as a kid, I read columnists in newspapers and had no regard as to whether or not the columnists were Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. It was of no concern to me. I would read conservative columnists like William F. Buckley, Jr., or George Will. At the same time, I would read something from more liberal Gore Vidal or others in that category. I could care less. All I wanted was NOT to dig in my heels as to what is the best opinion I might have, learn from what was being said, and discover the facts about matters, solutions, and ideas being presented.  This approach gave me peace and justice in my life. But who cares about how it impacted me, right? Who gives one damn to consider what I say? Right? All I know is that when I shared with others, no one asked whether it was Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, socialist, or what not. No one gave one damn about those things. Thus, today, I say that Americans are stupid and idiotic because they are being led by people defining hatred for any one side when discussing issues.  How does this project expect to overturn such lack of knowledge regarding conservative or liberal, when it puts people in a room on each side of these issues? I cannot see how this can be accomplished, so enlighten me, especially with regard to the issues I bring up. 

I want to go even further and discuss the matter of local newspapers and local broadcasting and how the decimation of local coverage with local politics, replaced by national politics, has done more to polarize America than what is considered in this project discussed on Sixty Minutes last night?

Sit back and read what I am about to write (say?).

I have a Masters in Library Science. The school where I earned my degree had to differentiate from “Information Science,” unless one worked to incorporate more information technology (additional credit-hours) and could earn a Masters of Library & Information Science. My course completion was on information content and included how methods of distributing information content in a digital-based world. The overall vision was about print books and periodicals, plus database management and media distribution.  But it also included electives from the “information content” people of the journalism school.  We used a textbook authored by a Cornell University information science practice in which “natural language” searching was being developed. We also used textbooks about providing information content by way of cable television and the media.  Don’t I know a thing or two about these issues?

During my career, I worked with librarians who were hired by newspapers and the media to validate facts. These were librarians working for newspapers like the St. Petersburg Times, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, etc., etc., etc. These were the quality newspapers which avoided sensationalist approaches to journalism.  Quality, not quantitative. 

At the same time, a sensationalist newspaper had also hired a librarian. Only due to the money (and a love of money – quantitative), did this person work for such a newspaper in order to attempt to validate one thing: “dirt” dug up against people.  In the education field, we consider that information about issues and events far surpass issues regarding people.  Sad to say, but today, we are in an environment in which conservative is linked to digging up “dirt” on people, whether true OR false (the librarians are gone – our jobs lost to lawyers and number crunchers who can support the lined pockets of the wealthy supply siders). The entire media has become sensationalist journalism, concentrating on dirt about people and never taking the time to really examine, in depth, the issues. Republicans and conservatives alike (such as Tucker Carlson) love this approach because it helps them win elections over Democrats for whom they cast false aspersions about. 

You don’t believe me, do you? You are now digging in your heels and standing firm like stubborn dolts, idiots, and stupid ones, regarding the prevalence of sensationalist journalism which rejects “politicians” of any kind; thus they help destroy democracy. 

I can provide examples of Democrats who have done some really wonderful things and you dig in your heels, proclaiming that “all politicians” are bad, not even listening to me. What does this “One step…” program hope to do to overturn such stuff, while projecting Republican against Democrat or liberal v. conservative?  I believe there needs to be a better approach to this problem of polarization in America.

My attitude about Americans being “stupid and ignorant” derives from the fact that I hear Republicans and supposed conservatives discuss the “stupidity” of doing research. Library research instruction was a main part of my career. If I was doing this in a corporate training program, I was also teaching in research in the evenings at a local community college.  Later, I had a full time job as a professor teaching. What does it matter to insult me, by Republicans who support number-crunching, lawyer, and information technology jobs as being more important than a job teaching with the Hegel triad concept of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis? In other words, I am insulted by Republicans and some conservatives who don’t want to synthesize through the process of research and learning. The media is stupid and ignorant in upholding this idea about “all politicians are bad” and leads to the destruction of synthesizing. There is only thesis and antithesis, so no one really wants to sincerely consider “synthesizing.” 

Thus, the lack of sincerity demonstrated by hearing that the destruction of library and information science jobs is very acceptable, whether it is the newspaper librarians who investigate and research or any other job with library research instruction involved.  Number crunchers and lawyers who make far more than educators and librarians are so much better for society, don’t you know? Quantitative s***, rather than quality. 

Recently, when I was looking for a Democratic Party member in a household, so as to have candidate petitions signed, a Republican answered the door. He said the wife, a Democrat, was not home. Rather than say, “come back later,” he began spouting off about how lousy Joe Biden and the Democrats are. Once again. The lowest level of intelligence in not addressing any issues, but addressing people with unsubstantiated dirt. I immediately figured this “dirt” was coming from Putin-Russian-loving Fox propagandist, Tucker Carlson – or some other source. 

Rather than address the man’s disgusting diatribe against Biden and the Democrats, I simply began to walk away.  When he said, “I’m a Republican,” my reply was this: “that’s wonderful! So glad to hear that because I was once a Republican, too. But I did not come here to discuss politics, but just to offer a Democrat an opportunity to place people on the ballot, in this nation with a democratic form of government.” To which, the Republican did not stop. And I finally said, “I don’t think we should discuss your opinions about Joe Biden because I am in total opposition, so let us end it there.”  He did not seem to want to stop, as I walked back to the car where another person was waiting for me.  Once again. How does the “first step …” program expect to deal with this situation in which the “stupid and idiotic” ones reveal their low intelligence by falsely trashing people, based on a lack of knowledge and information about what liberal, conservative, socialist, Republican, Democrat TRULY mean? 

Funny thing. Because I ran into the same thing in 2018, while going door-to-door with pamphlets and information about Democratic Party candidates and delivered ONLY to doors with Democrats. In fact, in that urban area of Florida, there was a gang of Trump-DeSantis goons who stalked us on the street, telling us that “we should not be here.” The reason we were not supposed to be there? Because our pamphlets included information about a black man named Jeff Gillum who was running against Ron DeSantis. 

Bigotry, whether against black folks or gay folks, Jews, or any other folks, is unacceptable in America.  That is the issue to which the “First step…” program is NOT addressing, as it just portrays “conservative and liberal.”  That is bulls***.  So, the example given on Sixty Minutes last night was about a black CONSERVATIVE pastor and a white LIBERAL pastor.  This is supposed to be good? 

I hate to say this, but I have run into “conservative” black folks who embrace “black lives matter” to such a degree that they can be considered racists. “I am against legal abortion because it limits the number of black children born.”  Not about a consideration of ALL LIVES MATTER and the HUMAN RACE, but only about black lives.  I knew one pastor who raised some 60+ black foster children. I have yet to hear a so-called conservative, whether white or black, give accolades to honor such a person. Imagine the children this pastor had, taught them to play music.  In one instance, the teacher-pastor turned the budding black musician over to a same-sex couple which was NOT black?  That same-sex couple raised a HETEROSEXUAL kid who became a promising performer.  Damnation to the DeSantis-Trump (and others) ideas about “it’s not about nature, but about nurture.” Go ahead. Think a bit, not about the issue and synthesizing the information here, but to dig in heels and shoot holes in my antithesis. 

If “nurture” is such a damn problem to stupid and idiotic people like DeSantis and Trump (and others), then ‘splain it to me, Lucy, how a gay couple did not NURTURE a black kid into being gay?  Because they could have. And the gay grandfathers who raised young kids together when they were of a very young age. Did they “nurture” gay children? Oh, yes. We have to be careful because if one does DISCOVER being gay, then it’s all the fault of the gay grandpas, right? lease explain how the number of HETEROSEXUAL parents have produced many GAY children? ‘Splain it to me, Lucy. 

Damnation to such stupidity and idiocy in America, with its stupid and ignorant media which does not address this issue at all.  But fools don’t take my word for it, do they?

Have I said enough yet, or do I need to go further? Because I can go further. I can discuss the issue of falsely accusing Biden and the Democrats with regard to inflation and gasoline prices.  I can talk about this issue. Plus more issues. 

I really wish I did NOT have to make such information available. I really do. I would NOT like to face off with others, especially if it’s to be divided by the stupidity of political or ideological divisiveness.  Perhaps if I could speak, face-to-face with a Trump, Putin, DeSantis, or Rick Scott, and concentrate on one thing, human equality, justice, and peace.  But when you face someone like a Trump who got it off with words such as, “you’re fired,” how can I expect the person to repent against such a lousy attitude? 

The person in which Johnson City, NY, is named, and the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company was created and became a very successful company, George F. Johnson, was very benevolent to his employees and understood how a company could be successful with such an attitude. He explained that his ideas for benevolence were based on ideas about holding fast to a “sense of morality to community and employees.” Those who followed him were not successful in running the company under such a vision, so the company failed.  They blamed the failure on the ideas about leading a company with the sense of morality which Johnson promoted. 

Johnson also spoke about a vision for “industrial democracy,” based on his model.  It can be achieved, but not by thinking inside the box of number crunching only.  Johnson never used the words, when providing healthcare for his employees, that it was “socialism.” He used wordage which one can learn from the original theorist of capitalism, Adam Smith.  But you see. Americans have no knowledge about Smith and the ideas of capitalism, nor “industrial democracy.” That is the reason I include words like, “how stupid and idiotic…”  I should say, “ignorant” because those who are ignorant, like a human baby learning to walk, can overcome such ignorance. The stupid ones are the idiotic ones who dig in their heels and refuse to listen, consider, think, and learn. Why? Out of fear that someone somewhere is telling them something which works and is good and it goes against their own thinking. 
—

Professor Douglas Willet Cornwell (Retired)

Newark Valley, NY

bibsinger@gmail.com

———————————“Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “The problems of the world are not that some people love in a different way. The problems are that so many people don’t know how to love at all (CGA, 1970).” A Puritan is someone in fear that someone, somewhere, is having a good time. “Liberty and justice for all [not priorities on individual and selfish rights].” “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union [and overall wealth of American society]…”  ​My path forward is not to re-live the past, but use learning from the past history in order to make life better in the future. My path forward is based not on politics, but to seek, consider, discuss, think about best practices for human justice, equality, rights, peace, and overall humanity.​
​”I don’t search for the meaning of life, but I attempt to learn the mysteries of life” because I seek wisdom, not certainty; I seek practice, not purity (and expectation to be perfect); I seek traditions, but not traditionalism.”​
​Benjamin Franklin: “​Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are ​affected.” Stacey Abrams: “Compromise about actions, but not about values.”  Oscar Wilde: “​​​I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”  Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Benjamin Franklin: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”  Whoopi Goldberg: “To handle this COVID-19 pandemic effectively, we all need to get on the same page.”  Note: To be clear, I do not like being patronized. I do not express my disdain over what happens to my fellow humans just for my own sake and to pursue favors and handouts. I do it in order to gain R – E – S – P – E – C – T for me and for millions of other Americans of any race, ethnicity, religious belief, or sex and sexual identity who try to walk in integrity as they attempt to achieve, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  PERIOD.  One nation under God [our Creator] with liberty and justice for all.

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Commentary

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Adam Smith, Moral Sentiments, Gay Issue

Theories of moral sentiment. Adam Smith addresses ideas about self-control with regard to passions. While this assessment would tend to agree with the ideas expressed in this essay from 2010, for the privacy of relationships, and the government not be involved (due to privacy issues), I have questions. In other words, self-control and passion really involves an assessment of an individual’s ideas for promiscuity or no promiscuity. It brings forth an assessment of privacy regarding monogamous sexual relationships and three or more individuals involved in sexual relationships. The issue here is not about heterosexual or homosexual, as evangelical puritans, afraid that someone somewhere is having a good time. Such people feel as if they have a divine right to judge and use people like Trump, DeSantis, Rick Scott, and others to invoke their autocracy forcing people to live in their way.

Therefore, am I correct to say that Smith made a statement of “morality” which was in a broader context than addressing homosexual and heterosexual ideas?

After all, traditionalist puritanical autocrats put forth the ideas of Sodom and Gomorrah. S&G (Genesis 19), if one reads it carefully, is really about the broader context which is addressed by Smith. Passions described in the events of S&G are about hatred of immigrants (xenophobia?) and using rape to demonstrate the hatred of immigrants, whether male or female. Ironically, a parallel account of this activity is found at Judges 19 when a woman gets killed due to rape.

In reading Smith’s Theories of Moral Sentiment, one can come to the conclusions I address. Your 2010 article seems to want to address the idea of privacy. Is this meant as a means of “being nice” to the plutocratic autocratic puritans in America today?

In a sense, Trump, Putin, DeSantis, Rick Scott, and others are doing nothing to abide by what this article says, as they try to push to put government BACK into the privacy of homosexuals, push homosexuals back into segregated closets, and help to re-introduce strong blackmailing of gay folks.

These people use religion to push an old idea which is the basis for the letters of the “f” word: “fornication under consent of King (or queen).” In this case, we can say, “fornication under consent of aristocratic business leaders” and then we can easily say the lack of privacy is NOT in the hands of a libertarian anarchist type of government, as Citizens United pushes those with money to vote and control the government and predominate over the will of the people and democracy. They use the ways of anti-homosexual companies like Chick-Fil-A (and now I have heard of Walgreens, Disney, and others) which is putting money forth to political candidates. It is ending up being those with a love of money who are working to control society and push for “fornication under consent of aristocratic business leaders” like Chick-Fil-A and others.

In other words. Trump and Putin and others can do whatever they wish to do regarding fornication, groping of women, etc., but they wish to dispose of, through old bullying tactics, those who are gay.

In a sense, this says let us just skip past the fact that Trump does not live up to Adam Smith’s ideas on moral sentiment, whether sexual or in terms of economics. Thus, to handle this, simply be “kind and nice” in trying to speak about “no government intervention in private matters?” After more than a decade since this essay was written, what has been accomplished? What is the intent here and how do you intend to move forward for the sake of moral sentiment towards ALL human beings.

Silly me for concluding that theologian, Adam Smith, with his “moral sentiments,” did NOT endorse the love of money. Even Joe Scarborough and others have written about this, with regard to economics and commerce.

Thus, when I view a documentary about a wealthy man who pulled himself up by the bootstraps from nothing, George F. Johnson, identifies a need to have a “sense of morality,” I don’t take his words as an endorsement of morality with regard to sexual identity or racist ideas. It just happens that society at that time was immersed in Jim Crow and the idea of bullying gay folks. If I take Mr. Johnson’s remarks as being related to ideas to endorse human equality due to “morality,” am I correct with regard to Mr. Johnson? Is there someone who just wishes to embrace the puritanical ways who finds it more interesting to shoot holes in what I say because “it’s just an interpretation,” rather than doing what another Binghamton, NY, person said, “THINK.” That means to consider and “THINK.” When puritanical autocratic people, living in judgment like a god, shoot holes in what I say, they never work to consider what I say in the context of humanity, but these idiots uphold their traditionalism with examples of past hatred. It is good to seek traditions at time, especially when considering humanity, human justice, human equality, and human rights. It is despicable to seek traditionalism.

The examples of both Johnson and Watson were to attempt to endorse ideas of humanity among their employees and do so by making money on this basis, not on the basis of a predominance of love of money, which is evil and endorsed by Russian immigrant, Ayn Rand, and others who taught the generation under the age of those of the World War II generation.

What does the Adam Smith Institute think about what I say?

Replies can be made at a blog titled Tioga Herald (http://tiogaherald.com) or at my email address of bibsinger@gmail.com …

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Commentary, democracy, Economics, Regulated Capitalism, Commerce, human-rights

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Lousy Homophobic Hateful Chick-Fil-A and an Illegitimate non-scientific Survey in Gannett Pravda in Binghamton

The Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin ran a “survey” question asking readers to choose the best chain restaurant for the area. To mock me, perhaps there are 43%, less than half the readers, who want Chick-Fil-A. Second came Golden Corral at only about 12%. So, this addresses the needs of the area?

Once again, we ask what is most popular when the question needs to be, what is the restaurant which provides a wider variety of foods for more people, breaded fried chicken like southern fried chicken or KFC? Or NY style chicken roasted with a Cornell University BBQ sauce consisting of vinegar and oil, not tomatoes or not breaded and fried?

America has had an increase in obesity beyond belief. Much of that is attributed to high rates of consumption of carbs. Look at the research, Gannett. To everything, there is a reason and a season, Gannett. A time to ask the readers and a time to seek the research.

In the midst of this favoring of breaded sandwiches, French fries, and fried breaded chicken, obesity AND diabetes numbers have increased in America. At the same time, our healthcare costs are four times as much as the Canadians who have the money to come to the USA and buy up our property and become slum lords (listen to a recent report from Sixty Minutes).

What does America do for diabetics? If you are employed, one can have a great deal done so the fat pigs of corporate America can have plenty of employees and no unions. But not employed and unable to get Obamacare (as it was made nearly impossible to get in Florida under Rick the Prick and DeSantis), well, forget it. You have to pay or go without the health assistance for the diabetes. Retirees have the same thing. Not employed and a Medicare system which sucks in this area and causes retirees, with lower salaries in retirement, have to watch the dollars float out of their pocketbooks. Meanwhile, bastards who are supposed to be helping Americans push JUSTICE, like Mattar and hurt in a car, do NOTHING about these conditions. Why? Because they are only concerned about their own selfish and greedy desires to make money from lawsuits. They don’t give one damn about the healthcare of all individuals.

This idea permeates into society as 43% choose Chick-Fil-A with breaded fried chicken and not the variety offered by Golden Corral. You can get breaded fried chicken at Golden Corral. You CANNOT get non-breaded chicken at Chick-Fil-A. But who cares about human justice anyway? Lawyers don’t, that’s for sure, or else they would DO SOMETHING about this situation I describe.

To take this all one step further, there is another aspect of Chick-Fil-A which is not being publicized. The fat pigs at the top are homophobic and anti-gay. Only about 10% or less of the population is gay, but one would think that gay people yield all this power and they have to be curtailed. Ironically, only about 12% want Golden Corral. There is likely no link between 12% and 10% being gay. Between 43% and 12%, add them up. The top two in the survey are about 55% of the readers surveyed.

The survey is not a good one, by the measurements of surveys. It measures ONLY those who HAPPEN to see the survey in the Press & Sun-Bulletin. That does NOT survey the entire population. But the Press & Sun-Bulletin acts like a centralized Putin-style and thinks it can push those figures and say, “see, everyone wants the number one restaurant.”

We don’t have a SCOTUS with a man like Thurgood Marshall. Marshall said that a simple majority should not rule because there is little or no justice. If one removed all the other restaurants on that survey list and JUST asked readers to choose, would the numbers come out with Chick-Fil-A on top? Those people who are diabetics, wanting gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian foods, or are no special diets, would wish to have an input.

The question also asks to submit a “national chain.” There you go again. Local is shit and only big national chains. What about the buffet served by Phil’s Chicken House. It contains the type of UPSTATE NEW YORK chicken without the breading and frying. It is a CULTURAL thing. What if people in Dixie were asked to judge? They are so hip to their own culture that in Louisiana they might wish to choose foods with creole cooking. Or in South Carolina, something related to South Carolina cooking which is described on the Food Network program of “Ms. Brown.” Or the foods described by Trish Yearwood in her Southern Cooking show on Food Network.

To the Fat Pigs of Gannett Pravda supposedly based from Binghamton, your survey sucks, big time. To the Fat Pigs of Gannett Gramma supposedly based from Binghamton, your automated system sucks big time when paying bills and you want to FORCE down our throats the idea of reading the newspaper online. To the big Fat Pigs of Gannett Centrally run with customer service from the Philippines, you remove all local control of the newspaper. Sad that no one can see the ability, with money, to provide a competition to the sucking Binghamton version of Gannett Pravda Central. Too bad you bastards just do as Rupert Murdock, immigrant from Australia, pushes down the throats of Americans – to remove local control.

Too bad that Murdock does not suffer what a former Florida governor with a great mind and doing a great job as a Democrat did.

Between the lousy customer service, automated systems, and this lousy survey which does not take into account ALL people, whether gay, black, brown, white, Jew, or otherwise and have the FAT PIGS of Gannett Pravda in Binghamton create a survey which is scientifically based and makes sense. Oh, that’s right, these SOB bastards cater to the fundagelicals like those at Chick-Fil-A who don’t want to believe in science. How silly of me to suggest such a thing when I believe in both spirituality (religion) AND science. How stupid of me not to go along with the crowd, right? Silly me.

🧐🧐🧐🤓🤓🤓🙏🙏🙏😎😎😎

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