Meanderings

Domestic Terrorism: Right Wing extremists are responsible for most domestic terrorism incidents in the United States currently. This is the conclusion of an annual assessment by the Department of Homeland Security. Their conclusions are echoed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. As reported in the New York Times, CSIS claims 67% of terrorist events in the first 8 months of 2020 in the US are directly laid at the feet of right wing extremist groups. White supremacy is the predominant theme of these groups. They are credited with inserting their activities in Black Lives Matters protests of police killings to skew public blame toward black protesters as the cause of the violence. The opposite was and is the truth.

White Supremacy is not a kind and gentle belief system. It is one of fear and loathing that the once white majority is fading into minority. The math of this shift is inevitable. We are a diverse nation and we always have been. Only now is majority position shifting away from white to black/brown/other. The inevitability of this happening has long been in our knowledge. And it is OK. Mature adults accept this without fear. Some don’t. And that’s the problem here. Guns, fear and white supremacy is a toxic mix. Welcome to 2021?

Oil’s Future: I have opined often in this space that the ‘oil standard’ in America’s economy needs to be removed. The why is world peace and international stability. Control over oil supplies and markets has been the central cause of Middle East wars which are spreading to other global hot spots. Remove oil from the mix and the Middle East will have to find another reason to go to war. I suppose religious intolerance will become more central in that case, but then, America is not the arbiter in such things nor should it be.

The future of oil however needs to be abated because of another reason: ecological pollution of air, water and soil. Both the burning of fossil fuels and the extraction of the fuel destroys the planet. We have known this for a very long time.

Oil will remain a fixture in our lives for a very long time, but it will be much less. How much less is the function of how quickly we change to non-fossil fuel energy sources. Technology will help advance both the progress and the speed of change. Already the automotive industry is swinging toward production of electric powered vehicles. Off grid housing is a thing these days and it will increase. Eventually most homes will be off grid for heating, cooling and lighting. Wireless technology may eliminate the cable in cable TV and internet access as well.

Employment and career potential in this new oil-free economy will be plentiful. The benefit of saving the planet is just one side of this new future. It’s good, all good.

Filling Supreme Court Vacancy: It was wrong for the republican Senate to block President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination in the last year of his term. It is also wrong to do the same this close to trump’s re-election campaign. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. However, that’s not how power politics works in 2020 America. It is that power posture that has destroyed the nation’s civility. Constitutional design and balance of the federal government is now out of alignment. Pundits, philosophers and constitutional law experts can say what they want, but the system is now broken.

How do we fix it? Extraordinary effort and cooperation will be needed to fix this problem. The will and cooperation are lacking which also defines the problem.

Does this mean we must replay the revolution to restore balance? Your ideas are welcome here.

October 26, 2020