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

It’s the 1000% Increase in CEO Salaries Since the 1970s, not Inflation, Stupid

There the media goes, once again. There it goes again. Nothing but complaints put forth about inflation, shooting holes in the progress which has been made to bring down unemployment while our younger folks are gaining some better living wages.

Fact for which the media NEVER mentions. CEO salaries have advanced a whooping exponential increase of 1000+% since the 1970s. Now it’s these CEOs complaining and trying to manipulate the media to go along. The people who do the work and purchase the products then become confused by it all and don’t know which way to turn. The big CEOs with their exponentially large increases simply work to stir up the mud between the “little people” so that those like me might be such people’s BEST ALLIES, but are being treated like MANURE instead, by the very people for whom we wish to help, in some way or another.  Lawyers and number crunchers, from personal injury lawsuits, fake workman’s comp MANURE, and the money made from regressive taxes like the income tax, are manipulated and they act like they are naive to what is happening – with their hidden agenda in support of the wealthy plutocrats who pit one American against another. 

The problems we fact today might be from inflation, but only by means of sabotage in the economy, as done by the CEOs have had exponentially large increases in salaries since the 1970s.  We need to come together like a “village” and fight all of this, tooth and nail, not working with contention against one another and the common ground of the “little people.”  We need the Fanfare for the COMMON HUMAN. 

Lying in Wilson (NY) Commercials – HERE WE GO AGAIN

Wilson. Running for NY governor.  Here we go again. Lies. Tarnishing an image of a person by casting aspersions and not discussing the issue. Intelligent people discuss issues, not people.  Discussion of people in the manner that Wilson does in his commercials is shallow and the most unintelligent. Apparently Republican Wilson figures the people are stupid, so therefore speaks in unintelligent ways. And the media allows this. No National Association of Broadcasters to stop it. No professional media groups to stop it, as it becomes just like the land to the east – Russia – and Putin.

America is better than that. There are best practices in America’s past which does better. 

When Wilson first began with his candidacy, my first inclination was to think about some of what he was saying and thinking, “gee, he might be a candidate for governor which I would support on some issues. He went from that to the Reagan way of saying it, “there you go again,” emulating what Republicans do: don’t discuss the issues, but tarnish the person. I have seen it in Florida and now the virus is spreading more and more to New York?

I am interested in the issue regarding the changes to bail in the state. I don’t know what it is. My first inclination is to think about the number of innocent people in jail or those put there on misdemeanors and ending up staying there so long they BECOME criminals. Nurture, not nature. 

I also think about the cyber hackers who have nothing to do but sit in a jail cell and do more secret crimes from the jail cells. Then I have to wonder what this change in “bail” is all about, because I don’t know.  And Wilson does nothing to EDUCATE the people and identify the problem, as HE sees it, with the legislation. Rather than do that, he touts his big mouth opinion that Gov. Hochul “wants to put criminals back on the street.”  Does he really think she wants to do this or just maybe, she saw a solution which she thought MIGHT help to put down the true criminals? We don’t know because because ass Wilson does not tell us this or something from which intelligent people can THINK about. I am NOT going to THINK about Hochul “putting criminals back on the street.” Rather, I am going find Wilson to STINK to high heaven.  

America deserves better than this crap thrown at us by Republicans. It is the reason I departed from the Republican Party because I had enough of the MANURE they throw at their opponents and not DISCUSSING ISSUES so people can THINK and CONSIDER the issues for in each person’s mind.  The Republicans in Florida have one in an autocratic plutocratic one-party state like fascists and communists — like Putin. So other Republicans apparently think that is the way to win elections and create their one-party fascist plutocratic state, with wealthy business men calling all the shots.

Pack the U.S. Supreme Court for HUMAN JUSTICE, not Politics and Religious Puritanicals; Destroy the U.S. Senate Filibuster

It is time to pack the U.S. Supreme Court for the purposes of human justice for all, not just the puritanical fascists directed by the evil Trinity of DeSantis (DePutin), Rick Scott, Donald Trump (plus others). There is no peace until there is justice. Catering to those who believe they have a right, given them by [A] god, have not right to do that. They defend the use of guns to kill human beings and not protect them from cradle to grave, while attempting to protect those in the womb as being more important than the 18-years-olds we send to war. They think that the teaching of violence through the media, parents who embrace such measures, and young kids’ friends on the streets, is more important education than the peace, friendship, and cooperative attitudes taught with sexual identity. Please help to kill the Senate filibuster, too.

Stop the Wealthy Ones of America Who Think only the Little People Pay Taxes – PLUS MORE ISSUES

Dear Editors:

A documentary told us how a small wealthy nation did not have a regressive income tax. Instead, they use a value-added tax (VAT) and property taxes.  I was tarnished because I identified, incorrectly, the name of the nation and where it was located.  The point about of my writing was about how this nation did not HAVE as many “little people” as the USA does, so it prefers a VAT and property taxes.  In other words, this nation is unable to play around with tax deductions and tax credits because it would do them little good. So, this nation uses a VAT instead. Notice that the wealthy in the USA who don’t wish to pay ANY taxes because they have us “little people” in which they can shove taxes down our throats, while getting away with “murder” of not paying taxes at all, as they invest their money elsewhere, probably in this little nation with the VAT.

This needs to stop and a VAT here in the USA, replacing sales taxes AND income taxes, is an answer, because the tax is on anything the producer price index (PPI) addresses, not what the CONSUMER price index (CPI) and income of CONSUMERS (the “little people”) are forced to do, after the union busting of these wealthy people have increased the income gap between wealthy and the rest of us astronomically – more than 1000% increase for those controlling the corporations since the 1970s.  (See article in 23 April 2022 Business section of The [Scranton] Times-Tribune , “A widening wealth gap,” for more information about what I am saying).

as for criticism about having the wrong nation, it loses the impact about the point I am trying to make. Perhaps some might say I deserve it because I promote accuracy, truth, and lack of hatred in what the media puts out.  On the other side, I can say this.  With the destruction of librarian jobs in the media, as I viewed happening over the past 20 years or so, then the problem is not me, the librarian, but the lack of people checking for accuracy. Thus, I view a documentary and attempt to recall the name of the nation, and get immersed in the lack of librarians to check the facts about such a documentary.

For me, too, as a librarian, I find it more difficult to use a reference to video documentaries.  With newspapers and magazines, it is in print. Therefore, had I read this information in a print copy like a newspaper or magazine, I am able to go back and confirm what was printed. With this video documentary, I am not able to do this.  With technological advances, it is more difficult to do so with digital copies of newspapers, too. Google has become a lousy search engine which goes far from what information / library scientists at Syracuse University and Cornell University developed for natural language searching in the 1970s and 1980s.  Google is lousy and most search engines are lousy. Much easier to clip or copy a print copy of a periodical article. Go ahead. Shoot holes in what I say, based on a love of ME, ME, ME – and “it works for ME, ME, ME.” I have given examples with an overview, not just ME, ME, ME.  I have experience with digital searching and how lousy I have seen it become today, so it is not about only ME, ME, ME. But about Katzer and Salton of upstate New York and the development of such systems. 

The wealthy ones of America have embraced this digital shit, destroyed local control of media, destroyed the jobs of those who research accuracy, truth and lack of hatred. We end up with such wealthy folks going against the very things which developed this nation when my maternal 5th great-grandfather (and many other wealthy folks), during the time of the American Revolution, gave money to the Federal government when it had nothing, “…in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence [defense], promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

Meanwhile, the wealthy of America, with the goons of union-busting, the destruction of the once-sensitive leadership of corporations (i.e., George F. Johnson and Thomas J. Watson) have denied living wages to the “little people” of the USA and work to preserve this by supporting social dissonance with wedge issues and purchasing of votes when there are those who are not gay, black, Latino, Jew. Therefore these folks are ME, ME, ME oriented and don’t wish to support human equality and human justice with “liberty for all.”  In other words, these “little people” say, “I’m not gay, black, Latino, Jew, so why should I care?” Wedge issue and wealthy money behind it, in the Republican “Nationalist” group.  (Nationalist = Nazi). 

The next time you read that some part of what I say, having nothing to do with my main point, has an inaccuracy, THINK, THINK, THINK… about the overall point of what I write. Don’t shoot holes when the main point is important to consider.  THINK… about the destruction of librarian and library research jobs. You certainly would not consider removing jobs of number crunchers and lawyers, would you? The Nazis of Germany were given a slap of sarcasm by the song, “Money Makes the World Go Around” – written by a gay man.  The wealthy pigs of America take the song seriously, along with the “Nationalist” Nazis of America. 

These wealthy fat pigs won’t do the elimination of a regressive income tax in which they play games with deductions and credits, for the salvation of SOME groups of people.  They won’t eliminate such taxes, plus sales taxes on the CPI which require profit margins to be cut into by hiring number crunchers and lawyers. It’s okay to eliminate jobs of librarians and educators, but not the number crunchers and stupid law people with their personal injury lawsuits and workman’s’ comp lawsuits.  They don’t want to use a VAT because they believe in the Nazi view about “money making the world go around.”  

The Canadians do not have such abysmal things as frivolous lawsuits and workman’s comp crap with the fakes who push them. They pay one-quarter of the cost of healthcare than Americans pay in this “private” system tailored to the wealthy and the career lawyers and wealthy business people who sit in and control Congress with PACs and lobbyists, including those of the military-industrial complex which Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about this complex being bad.  Lawyers and number crunchers stand strong while the people just complain about government and we “little people” not only pay the taxes, but also pay four times as much as Canadians for healthcare, while Canadians have increased the average longevity of human beings in Canada.  Only a person in France can be the oldest person in the world, at the age of 118. But not in America.  GODDAMN the fat pigs of America who lead us into the future with “little people” and others being “dashed on the stones” and no one to do something about this situation. 

My point about this discussed nation, whether island nation or peninsula, is that when there are no “little folk” around for the wealthy fat pigs to amass huge amounts of money and then invest in offshore accounts (island nations), while doing NOTHING for the people of America.

Andrew Carnegie, a person who provided money from his wealth, for libraries and education, said that the success of a society is not due to individuals, but due to the society. Wealthy man, Bill Gates, said that people would save money by using a library to read books, not to purchase books for their own individual library.  Yet, the “Nationalist” Republicans reduce educators and librarians by way of elimination of local coverage of newspapers and then claiming “no one reads newspapers,” with a hidden agenda to increase the use of digital technology – for the sake of wealthy ME, ME, ME folks who don’t give one damn about WE THE PEOPLE.  These wealthy fat pigs dictate to those companies which support social progression by acknowledging sexual identity (i.e., sexual identity is more than just about gay folks, but teaching young kids, whether male or female, to be more confident about themselves than to submit to a lousy freaking male teacher in upstate New York who had sex with young girls). These wealthy fat pigs don’t like local media reporters who report the unethical and corrupt behavior at the local level. So, they push to eliminate this aspect of the news, claiming, “no one reads newspapers so do it by digital.”  I have numerous examples in Florida in which corrupt and unethical behaviors were once uncovered at the local level.  It took local reporters AND librarians to do it. These freaking lousy wealthy ones have destroyed us in this field, while supporting lawyers and number crunchers, as if they are deity because, as the Nazis said, “money makes the world go around.”  Not true and we have many examples in history in which money DOES NOT make the world go around, but if it did, it was done for the good of WE THE PEOPLE, not the fat goons of union busters and corrupt, immoral, unethical individuals in society.  Scot Andrew Carnegie, Scot 18th-Century theologian/economist/philosopher, Adam Smith, and many others are examples. And any inaccuracies in media could be stopped with references on PRINT copies. But if it is said in a video or on digital technology, who the hell can find such inaccuracies to consider what was said?   Simplicity comes with the PRINT copies.

Trump Reduced the Amount to be Deducted on Income Taxes for Charitable Contributions; Freak Trump

Life is not better due to Trump. The Republicans have a committee in the Senate which is not called Republican Senate Campaign Committee.  Rick the Prick Scott of Florida chairs it. All of this comes down to “nationalists” and has as its model, the Nazis of Germany. 

Trump reduced the deductions for charitable contributions. George W. Bush had said this was a good thing because it allowed the American people to determine the groups to give to for social good and thus reduce what the government needs to spend. Thus, when a group in Florida (and others) began to raise money, due to charitable contributions spurred on by tax deductions, to give to school lunch programs, the idea was to follow the ways of George W. Bush because school lunch programs were funded by the Federal government and “nationalists” like Rick the Prick and DePutin HATED such funding, let alone any funding for Obamacare. So what do these people endorse? Getting rid of the deduction.

So, locally, when asked to contribute while at the cash register of a retail outlet, I made the statement that it would be very pleasant if I could deduct such an amount on my income taxes, but that Trump had reduced that ability to do so and claimed life was so much better, as a result.  Not. 

How did the clerk reply? Did the clerk even consider what I said and take the point about how things could have been better by continuing as Bush put in place? No. Me, me, me, me, me, me. The response was about “well I cannot give anyway.”  I wish she could and we could reduce the 4 times as much as Canadians pay, for healthcare, so she could. But no. This person was involved in healthcare and was only thinking about the instant gratification ONLY for her. She could have cared less about the money CROS Ministries with Publix in Florida helped out Floridians. NOPE. Just about her GODDAMN SELF AND THAT SELF ONLY.  Individualism inspired by the LOVE of the automobile and other things in America which make people STINK TO HIGH HEAVEN in their thinking ONLY ABOUT ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME – and instant gratification. Never thinking how we can improve things for ALL of us and she might just benefit. GODDAMN such people.

Really. I wish to GODDAMN such people because they are selfish snotty brats, as exemplified by those with guns in QAnon, MAGA, and other groups. GODDAMN THE NATIONALISTS in America, including Rick the Prick and others. DAMNATION TO THEM ALL. 

Sick of the Lies from Opinions on Commercials – STOP THEM

The media be damned for allowing commercials on television which tell lies.  Harry Wilson is an asshole with his ads on television and I am going to say so. Damn the media on CBS Channel 12 in Binghamton for allowing such ads.

Harry Wilson has the opinion that “Hochul and the new bail law puts criminals back on the street.” That is HIS opinion that he uses to predict, but there is no evidence provided. Just saying so is a LIE.

Hitler said, “tell a lie enough time and it becomes the truth.” Stop the BS in the media, including television.

Wonder why channel 12 no longer accepts email? Damnation to them for doing this.

Americans are getting sick and tired of hearing this BS on television. Oh, that’s right! I can say this and its MY OPINION. But I cannot afford television ads to express this OPINION. And the newspapers and others have censored me from putting it in print. Damnation to those who are able to afford such lies on television and to those who CENSOR me.

New York’s Temporary Cancellation of Gasoline Tax, June to End of Year

Dear Editors:

Let me clarify, first, that I consider myself to be an environmentalist who believes the planet is threatened by global warming. I can go further into many aspects of this issue in order to prove that I am an environmentalist. But I will forego such discussion right now. 

Recently, the New York governor and legislature put in place legislation to temporarily cease collection of the New York gasoline tax. I use the word, TEMPORARY, because this is the important aspect of it. So far, I have heard no words about making this permanent. In fact, I am against any retail sales taxes. Period.  I am against sales tax because I observed that, when such taxes were begun in New York under Nelson Rockefeller, small business people were ignored when they pointed out that they were being forced to pay a tax in which they had to cover their asses by hiring accountants and lawyers. It cut into their profit margins. Profit is an ok thing. Love of money is not.  We have conformed, now, to the idea that love of money is not corrupt but a normal part of life.  I also might add that I have always been against the idiotic idea of a regressive income tax and that we should have a simpler tax which does not require hiring so many accountants and lawyers, imposed at the “producer” level (the Producer Price Index (PPI) level or wholesale, not at the Consumer Price Index (CPI) level. I guess I need to clarify this bit of bias, too.  The tax at the PPI level is called a Value-added Tax, or VAT. The wealthy island nation of Morocco has a VAT and property taxes, no income tax. Thus, I have clarified my position on all of this, with regard to a temporary no-gasoline-tax legislation.

I believe that there are environmentalists who push the envelope too far. Yes, we do not want our water supply inundated with chemicals resulting from fracking.  To be sure.  Yes, we do wish to wean New York and this nation of fossil fuel consumption which pollutes the atmosphere.  There is no doubt about this, in my mind. But to speak out against a temporary stop to collection of gasoline taxes, just because it could reduce the price of gasoline and cause consumers to purchase more gasoline, is absurd. The reasons for me saying this are because such talk against doing a temporary tax reduction does not take into account various aspects of this issue.

1. IT IS TEMPORARY. Read my lips. IT IS TEMPORARY. I would be against doing this permanently, unless it was taken up with a package to rid the state of ALL sales taxes and the income tax and replace it with the VAT. 

2. There are consumers who are suffering, due to the situation today.  A war and the remnants of a pandemic (which seems to be as strong as the Everready bunny as it keeps on going).  Such a tax could help consumers in a bad situation to kind of get back on their feet once again.  The environmentalists sound as bad as Republicans and their efforts to curtail getting the economy going again. It is a smart and wise decision.

3. Among the consumers who are suffering, where do they purchase electric or hybrid vehicles and how much must they spend on them? Can they afford such vehicles? No.  At the end of the day, too many of these consumers are caught between a rock and a hard place. If the environmentalists want to do their duty and protect the environment, I would suggest stop putting down this temporary elimination of a gas tax and work to raise money to help consumers invest in non-gasoline fuels and vehicles.  There is a stock market in which they can utilize brokers like Robin Hood brokers and other sources to put money where there is more development of such non-gasoline and less-polluting endeavors. 

4. The TEMPORARY nature of this legislation also helps consumers take a small respite in higher prices so as to gear up for the possibility of purchasing an electric, hybrid, or other non-gasoline vehicle when the elimination of the tax is reversed in January 2023.  In other words, there is time for auto manufacturers to gear up for this, consumers can invest in the development of such companies, and we can find an alternative on the LONG-TERM horizon which can benefit the environment.

My dad once ran a pickup truck with a switch. When he did not wish to use gasoline, the switch gave him a chance to use the propane gas which was aboard his truck.  Is it not true that propane gas is less polluting? That’s a good question.  Those were the days when gasoline prices were very low.

Of course, we need to take into consideration that there were predictions this past year that propane would also rise in price by some 43%. I am just throwing the solution out there in the air.

In contrast, the predictions said electric prices would rise only about 6%.  All predictions for which I don’t know the answers. But before environmentalists go speaking out against the temporary injunction against a gasoline tax, perhaps they need to check out the statistics and facts first.  But try to purchase an electric or hybrid car today. I have heard of the lack of supply and that sends prices high on such vehicles.  Apparently gasoline cars are a somewhat cheaper alternative.  Perhaps there should also be a cancellation of the sales tax on electric and hybrid vehicles?

All in all, I support Governor Hochul and the legislature in taking the steps mentioned here: a temporary elimination of gasoline taxes. 

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. 

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? 

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+