Bits and Pieces

Gavin Newsome: Recall mania. Gavin has been retained as governor of California. $276 million was spent by California taxpayers for this inconvenience show of democracy. But it was far from democratic. The majority was asked to retain or reject the sitting governor. No majority was required to name the successor. Therefore, this is not a tool of democracy. Theocracy maybe? And what better good could have been had from that $276 million?

Gavin has energetically protected the people of California from COVID and its mutations. Along with the governors of New York and Illinois, the people were well protected. But conservative Republicans in California, wishing to politicize every little thing, battled people and ideology rather than illness and pandemic. Doing so they endangered their own lives as well as 38 million fellow residents of the state. Shame on them. Then they added to the woe by blaming climate change, forest fires and everything else under the sun on Gavin. Nothing of this was true or factual. Just more political nonsense.

California is in trouble because of this dichotomy of political struggle. The rest of our nation is in trouble as well because we are all feeling the same strains of political gamesmanship that hurt us rather than serve us. Empty blame. Empty warnings. False facts. Anything to gain control over others so they can earn more money and wield power.

Sick. Sick. Sick.

Filibuster: Frustration and obfuscation. Governance is all about compromise and consensus. It is not about absolute 100% agreement on anything. At all. Consensus, general agreement on many details so progress can continue forward. The filibuster is a tool to gain 100% agreement which is arguably impossible.

Therefore, dump the filibuster once and for all. Go back to 50% plus one vote defining the successful vote on any bill or measure within the Senate. That’s it. Get back to compromise. Or go home, Congress. Your record for the last 50 years is deplorable. Embarrassing. You do not deserve your salaries, staff, expense accounts or benefits. You have not earned them; endured for them, yes, earned, no.

Nuclear Koreas: Proximity to one another and both with nuclear missiles. What could possibly go wrong? At least we know and trust the South Koreans. They are not only our friends and allies, but we are also close competitors and investors in each other’s society and governance philosophy. We have worked hard since the cessation of hostilities of the Korean War and South Korea is a model commercial economy that invents new technologies, science, and products and services. They market to global buyers. They educate their own younger generations and set standards of excellence in nearly every endeavor they initiate.

Compare that with North Korea – a starving, poor population that is governed by a tyrant interested in ego, money, and power. Brutal ego. Brutal power. Extermination of opposition members, and those who hold different views than his; even family members.

They fight a silent war known only to themselves. They see enemies where there are none. They are offered peace, but they don’t know how to respond. They demand all manner of things but then don’t deliver the very things that would bring peace. So, they continue to rattle swords and test missiles. Whether they have the capability they claim or not, they are a bothersome citizen of the global community. Their positioning creates the tension they say they wish to avoid.

I think they act this way so they can continue to fool their own population and continue living high on the hog behind closed doors. Do they invent their war tools?  I think not; I suspect they buy them or are given them by both Russia and China. Says a lot about those two countries and their claims of peace, eh?

September 16, 2021