In Memory Of President Jimmy Carter!

I was going to write a brief essay explaining how I feel about the late Jimmy Carter and how I think the fact we were cheated out of a second term led by this great and exceptionally good man, when I ran across this TikTok video essay which said all I wanted to say and said it better. 

With Respect. 

And with this post I'm closing up shop here for now. I might feel compelled to composes future responses to events, but frankly I'm tired of waiting for the shoes to drop, and I don't want the daily stress of following the ups and downs to drag down my health which is showing its age. And even more frankly, I don't want to listen to the squabbling. It's not the most responsible thing I can do, but for now I'm going to seal myself away from news for the most part, and I wait for baseball season. They can't stop that can they? Can they?

Thanks to all those who have held the flame and responded to my rants. It's much appreciated. Business will continue as usual at the Dojo, so I hope to see everyone there. 

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The Atomic War!

I spent much of my youth and early adult life seriously worried that nuclear war about to break out. Then the Berlin Wall fell and things seemed to settle down a bit, though the fundamentals which might lead to war were largely unchanged. The U.S. and the former Soviet Union had more than enough firepower to wipe us off the globe. 

During my "worry years" I subscribed to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to keep up with the developments across the globe as regards nuclear weapons. I thought about it that much. I subscribed to a host of political magazines, both those with which agreed and those with which dissented. (It was what we did in those pre-internet days.) It was a great weight on my shoulders, one I was unable to shake. Then fortunately I either matured or things got measurably better. Now the Bulletin says we are ninety seconds from doomsday. 

Now I worry about nuclear war again. Not so much an attack on the U.S. from Russia since our incoming President is a vassal of Putin, but I dread a small-scale weapon might be used in Ukraine. What holds things up is that Putin wants Ukraine for its wealth and an atomic attack would wipe much of that away. Other nations, once confident that the U.S. would protect them are now seeking nuclear weapons, and I can't blame them. The U.S. under Trump is no real ally to anyone. We've reached a tragic point in human history where greed and self-interest, among our worst traits are what arguably protects us from nuclear warfare, while at the same time making it more likely. 

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Seasons Greetings - Of A Sort!

There's no denying it. I am a "Scrooge". That doesn't mean I'm intemperate with those who seek charity for the needy (I like to give to food charities). That doesn't mean I imagine children should be sent to workhouse if their parents cannot meet the rent. (As long as they stay quiet I'm okay with kids...most of the time.)  None of those extreme over-the-top vile things, but what I am is tired of the spectacle of Christmas which stifles the senses and overruns all media and such, spilling into the streets and filling up the even the stillness with typically mewling Christmas songs.

I'm just tired of it before it gets started. If Christmas lasted a week, maybe even two I'd be all in. A two- week spree of holiday cheer and merchandising I could support as a bally end-of-the-year celebration. We all made it again you see; and here's something to show our appreciation all around. That would be dandy. But the damned holiday starts in September now and drags on for week after stultifying week and by the time the actual holiday itself actually arrives it's all weary anti-climax.

Now none of this has to do with the religious as side of Christmas. Ignored by the merchandising crowd for the most part, the birth of Jesus is something which perhaps ought to be marked and celebrated. The soul-sucking religion his birth spawned perhaps not so much, but the man of peace for certain. I'm down with that, unless you're not and I'm down with that too. To each his own I always say.

But the other, the dreary life-draining amble to acquire presents to make the significant others in our lives "happy" is really become a chore. I resist putting up the Christmas tree (a little thing really) as it means caving in sooner than I want to the holiday which like the Blob in both versions of that sci-fi movie seeks to absorb all around it. I want to hold it off as long as I can, to cherish the moments of the holiday with family and friends, compress them and make them potent and memorable.

So in the end I'm not so much against Christmas, but rather against it as currently practiced in a culture which has well and truly lost its way. I choose differently as much as I can, and that my friends makes me a "Scrooge".

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Public Enemies!

The recent killing of the CEO of United Healthcare has created quite a stir in the country. One wonders why, since with thanks to Republicans and the NRA there are at least as many guns as people in the United States. In point of fact the statistic is one and a half guns per individual. With that kind of armament available why is anyone surprised when anyone is killed. Well, it's because folks like Brian Thompson are supposed to be above the fray, well hidden behind stacks of cash which allow them to live apart from the rabble which make their lifestyles possible. 

But what is even more amazing is the reaction across the country to his murder. This man was shot down in cold blood on a city street and most Americans find it funny. That's profoundly sad on one hand, but strangely revealing about the state of the nation on the other. There was another time when Americans in masse rooted for villains. It was during the great Depression when villains like Bonny and Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson and John Dillinger were marauding across the heartland of these United States robbing banks and sometime killing cops and the occasional civilian. 

Banks and bankers were seen the real villains, as farms were foreclosed in many areas and in general life was rough and tough. These gangsters were thrilling for a typical citizen whose life was drudgery, with little sign of immediate improvement. The gangsters were seen as people who took action in the face of despair, who took control of their lives, though admittedly those lives were short. I think we are seeing the same thing play out here. 

People don't care why some young man killed the head of a giant health insurance company which is infamous for jerking its clients around and forbidding necessary care, they just are pleased that finally someone, somewhere is taking action. There is a tipping point in any culture when people will rise up and take action. As wrong-headed as the January 6th, 2021 Insurrection was, it pointed to this same unease. When these folks get a pardon from the new President of the United States (himself a convicted criminal) early next year, the message will be heard that taking personal even criminal action is effective at least in part. Laws are for suckers and losers. Leaders who fail to heed these messages better keep their heads down. People will only eat "cake" for so long. 

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Is That A Leopard On Your Face?

"The Leopards Eating People's Faces Party" has been growing exponentially in the United States by all reports. As dimwits who lazily voted for Trump and against their own best interests begin to realize how his potential policies might impact their lives, they begin to regret their vote and wish to take it back. Alas, it doesn't work that way. That national poll we held in November will have lasting negative consequences for countless people in the future. Workers are already seeing a diminishment in their take home pay just in anticipation of his enacting the hurtful economic policies. 

 

It has become something of an entertainment to watch people feel the penny dropping, and to hear their caterwauling about it. I don't find it all that much fun, since the suffering they just realized might happen to them will likely happen to me and mine as well. I just have the small pleasure of knowing I didn't choose it for myself. Watching these early days of the new administration showcases two things. They have a dark plan for America and the world, in which many of the things people have come to rely upon will be stripped away. But they appear to be bumblers on a gigantic scale. The egos of the top people are so outsized that there seems not to be room enough for all them. The infighting and incompetence shows us that those things we fear won't come because they cannot figure out how to implement them and still avoid the blame for the hurt. 

That has always been the Republican approach since the loathsome days of the terrifically overrated Ronald Reagan. Republicans have learned how to run against government, but they demonstrate little or no interest in actually running it, save in those aspects which reap financial benefits for their slave masters. Democrats know how to govern on the national level, but Republicans don't. They are well-trained in jeering and bad-mouthing those who can do governance, but they lack the skills to actually replace those they mock. The truth is they might want government to succeed when they gain power, but they don't know how to make it do that. It's a sad fate we face when our primary hope is that the firing squad doesn't know how to shoot straight. 

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