We Are Family!

A great old song filling the heart and soul with excitement and vigor. Remember it well. Not usually by sort of music, but then I was working with tens of thousands of young people, driving a lot (listening to the radio of course!) and remember the times, work, schedules were rough. A lot of effort in those days just to get from one day to the next. This song helped me do that.

Today the challenge is to once again support the ‘we are family’ message in spite of all our diversity and divisiveness. The mood is poor. The mood borders on violence. And that is exactly what we do not need.

If bullies must act out their frustrations in this manner, then let’s not give them any mind to do that. The authorities will answer violence with restraint, arrest, jail and court processing.

The rest of us can go about our purposeful lives and live our happiness.

Scanning Facebook posts I note those who disagree with my comments and positions. Mine are not vicious; theirs are. And, I add, uncalled for. So I merrily go on my way and leave them in their pooling acid and disposition.

If anyone wishes to calmly sit down and talk about issues in an orderly fashion, fine; I’m up for that and welcome the opportunity to hold an adult conversation. That exchange is likely to help me understand more than I do at the moment; hopefully that is the same for my conversationalist. It is in opening up our minds that we learn. Better yet, we come to understand more fully the issues at hand and then what we can do about them to make them more productive, not less.

I have long held that those who do not understand my positions on issues literally have not experienced life in the same manner as I. Well that’s a big DUH! That is precisely why people have differing views on the world. Our experiences are different and we come to those experiences with myriad feelings, needs, aches and pains. It is the human condition for each of us. Our views will be different.

Working through those views, however, is the process that gets quirky. It is not the same for each of us. It takes focus, work, exploration, and research to understand an issue. Hopefully each of us gains a good understanding of an issue before holding forth on it in a public manner. In the age of Facebook, Twitter and personal blogs, that is mostly not the case.

So we blast off on every issue regardless of our understanding or temperament. No wonder others react to our words.

Mea culpa. I am at fault with this. Perhaps you as well?

We can do better. We have to do better. If we are to reason together we must recognize our own faults and trip points. We must be open to hearing and actually working to understand other points of view.

Maybe that’s when we will find ‘we are family’ all over again.

I hope so!

August 31, 2017

Being An American

Black, Irish, Latino and Latina, Chinese, South American, female, male, gay, straight, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, foreign or native born – each and every one of us who lives here voluntarily is an American. Naturalized or native, still an American. Liberal, conservative, Muslim, Jewish or Christian, or simply an Atheist. What you think doesn’t matter. Who you are does matter. Do you tolerate people different from you? Or do you segregate yourself into a ghetto of your own making?

Nazi, white supremacist, you can think these things freely in America; but know that you speak hate and represent such; that creates reactions. Your action creates reaction. You are responsible for both the action and the reaction. Because you are so out of the mainstream of thought and values.

The dissonance is the trouble maker. Those holding on dearly to the dissonance and insist it be heard must be ready for the reaction. They alone cause it.

Yes you have free speech rights but you also have responsibility in the exercise of that right. If you create a danger to others by your speech, then you can expect all forms of trouble. Injury may result. Property damage may result. And yes, you are held responsible for all of it. You cannot shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theater. That is well-established law in the US. This principle has been expanded to include other common sense restrictions.

Just because you are free to think and speak with freedom doesn’t mean you are correct in any other sense. Facts, history and context are all important to what it is you say. If you are dissonant with any or all of that, then you are wrong. If you wish to live that way, fine; but learn to be isolated and shunned. Those are just the facts of life.

For the rest of  us, we learn to live lives of purpose and consequence. We tolerate you but do not celebrate you. If you are OK with that, fine.

Also, the rest of us have learned to tolerate people who we don’t understand or agree with on many levels of life. I’m gay; I don’t expect you to be gay, nor do I expect you to celebrate my being gay. I’ve learned to live with this situation; you do too, just like I have learned to live with your anti-American, hateful personality. Just don’t tread on me or my family or my property. In return we will provide you the same level of protection.

“Give me your tired, your poor, teeming masses yearning to be free…” is a deeply moving inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty. We are a nation of immigrants. Whether born to parents who brought you here as an infant, or as the first generation born on this soil by immigrant parents, it doesn’t matter. You are an American. If you were born in the 5^th or 20^th generation of an immigrant family, such does not make you better or lesser a citizen of America.

We are Americans and that’s what counts. With that established we are all free to pursue life, liberty and happiness however we will and can. The rights and liberties of others are protected from our pursuits. We are not to damage anyone else’s rights. Getting along does count for a lot in America.

You and I have a responsibility to fulfill governance duties. We vote, we keep informed, we pay taxes, we volunteer our services, we serve on juries, and in many ways we support the operations of our governing units. We own those governing units; they do as we direct through the power of the ballot box and our relations with elected representatives. Those folks work for us, you and I. But they cannot do their jobs well in a vacuum. They need your input and help to do their jobs. So do yours.

Having said all that, understand you and I do not have the intrinsic power to pick and choose who our neighbors or fellow citizens are. We are all part of the same melting pot. The stew mixes well because of our unique differences. Learn to appreciate that.

I do appreciate it and I welcome your efforts to do the same.

Now, about voting for a simpleton bully like Trump; how could you? When did you stop reading or listening to the news? Or history?

We have work to do in this nation as we always have. The job is never done. A lot of people are hurting and they need our help. I’m hurting and need help. But each of us is required to pull our share of the workload. I’m doing mine. Are you?

August 30, 2017

Letting Go, Being Real

It is not an easy thing to be real. Authentic is a better word. Being authentic means being willing to just be, let go the restrictions of what others think about you and your thoughts, but actually daring to explore on your own and come to conclusions. Daring means willingness to share your thoughts and conclusions with others. See what they think about them. What criticisms do they have? Are you OK fielding those criticisms without losing faith that what you think and how you arrived at conclusions have validity on their own?

Are you able to act on the criticism and adjust your conclusions accordingly? Did some of the comments prove helpful to you and actually clarify your own thinking? Did they have a point you had missed? Great! You can take criticism and survive it; even benefit from it.

Benefiting from it means you are using thoughts from others and weaving them into your thought process; this action enhances the conclusions, the outcomes of the process. Fresh ideas often spring from this interaction. It is from such processes that teamwork forms among office mates and friends working on a common project.

And this leads to Collaboration. 

Now, collaboration is a special action of workers and thinkers. Their focus is on something common. Thinking out loud on the common project/task, raises questions, terms, phrases, all in need of definition. Group thinking begins to expand the subject matter more and more and finally some tasks are identified that, when worked on by separate sub teams, actually lead to some interesting findings.

Teamwork and collaboration. Cooperation, too. Three words that contain much promise for people of goodwill who trust one another (wait! that’s the definition of goodwill!). I started this piece talking about being real, being authentic. Getting to that point takes courage and freedom. It means you can let go of fear of judgment, fear of being wrong, fear of losing face, and just being you. You, in all of your richness and promise. And flaws.

If entire teams have members like you, just imagine what can be accomplished by you all! The possibilities take my breath away.

But it really starts with individual courage to just be yourself. Freed from restrictions of what others may think, you are now able to think freely and associate bits and pieces of the real world in relationships unimagined before. That's where invention comes from. Seeing the world differently however managed. Using old things differently for different results, or creating new things completely. All of this creation comes from serious thinking and personal courage.

Want to say something to the world community? Then write it down, edit it, and post it on a blog. The worst thing will be if it is entirely ignored. If you earn reactions, you know it was read. And if the reactions are reasonable and accurate criticisms, alter your message; make it better; then re-post it. Show the world you can change and adapt as well as think on your own.

It takes courage to do this. Your courage. I know because I have worked through this process on my own for several years now. I think I’m doing OK. No monsters have sprung from under the bed in the middle of the night and sucked air from my lungs yet!

Of course there is still time for them to creep out of their hidey ho’s but I doubt it very much. See? I still carry doubts with me. But I’m getting better. You will too. Try it!

August 29, 2017

Alt-Left vs Alt Right

There is no such thing. Alt-Right maybe is a thing, but there is no Alt-Left. In the old day – that would be at least 20 years ago and more! – descriptions of left and right were much different than they are today in 2017.

I recall a discussion last Thanksgiving with my former wife. She had been reading my blog posts and opined that I had become far more liberal than what she remembered. I calmly stated that I remain a centrist as I have mostly been in my adult life, but perhaps what she is noticing is the distance between what I espouse compared with her current conservative position. I queried: Is it possible you have moved farther right than you had noticed?

And that’s the point I wish to make today. The liberal, or so-called left, is really the old Democrat position of social programs that are large enough to care for the people who really need systemic assistance. The problems are so large only a large, central government program will suffice if we expect lasting change and outcomes. Caring for one another, building the commonweal of a nation, is actually what we are talking about here. How well is the health care system actually helping people be well and keep well? Is it so costly as to price out of reach the needs of the lower income folk? If that is so, then what do we need to do about that? Surely an American society we believe in and love would respond to such need?

That response is the liberal response. So is Planned Parenthood, educational standards that ensure all of our kids are getting a good, solid education in the public school systems.

Conservatives would say no to all of that. They would claim it is the responsibility of each individual and their family to care for their own. If they want more in life, they must work harder to earn the income that makes purchasing for their needs possible.

I understand that but I also understand that systemic misfiring of the economy, of the political system, and of so much more, actually holds many people back from doing well for themselves. And that holds the rest of us back as well.

Overall, I think the conservatives are getting more conservative. More reactionary, too. And they don’t realize it. So, in comparison with others, they think the others are becoming more liberal. I suggest they re-examine their situation and study if my idea might have merit in their case.

If I’m right then the alt-left vs alt-right argument is bogus and needs to be scrapped. That will go a long way in cooling hot tempers much on display these days.

I’ve suggested before – and I re-suggest it now – that we identify a list of traits we think should describe America. What are the characteristics that we Americans believe in and want to be known for? Those are the things we should focus on, not what is different among us. For example, I think we can agree that we do honestly care about those less fortunate than ourselves. What we do about the people with problems is an action item yet to be agreed upon. But if those folks hold the nation back from solving other issues intelligently, then we need to help those people sooner rather than later. We want them to be a plus for the nation, not a drag.

Same with infrastructure. I see it as an investment in our nation, in our ability to get things done. We can’t very well do that if storm water surges flood homes, streets and cities. We must have dams and waterways that control such periodic storm waters. Same for roads and bridges. We must provide those if we want people to get to and from work and shopping and service districts. And schools, we need an educated workforce to support employers. And we need intelligent voters to vote on facts and logical issues rather than feelings and suspicions.

All of those items are investments in our nation and its people. And for what reason? For the common good of everyone. We all benefit from this sort of investment.

Let’s face this one fact: commerce benefits from schools, roads and bridges. And many other aspects of social life in America as well. We all pay for that with taxes. Often businesses do not pay the same taxes; they are lessened to encourage more investment in commerce and industry. They benefit without realizing how much society is subsidizing them. Yes; that’s a fact! Most of those folks, however, think they are subsidizing society. They would be wrong in that conclusion.

So rather than fighting each other on the streets of Charlottesville or Phoenix, why not engage in worthwhile discussions that actually get us somewhere?

That would be a refreshing change from today’s vitriol. Worth a try?

August 28, 2017

Tax Cuts & Trickle Down Myths

No tax cut is free. By its very nature it is a reduction of income for the taxing body. That means either the taxing body does its job with less money, or finds new efficiencies to do more with less. It can be done. But care should be taken; some tasks are work intensive and do not lend themselves to common efficiency theory.

Of course amateur economists live among us and claim that we need not worry. With lower taxes come higher disposable incomes that will surely be spent in the economy and create more economic activity, taxable incomes, etc. The theory states that what was eliminated by tax cuts will be replaced with higher earnings. Such are taxed replacing the taxes eliminated.

All of that sounds good. But we have tried it. At times it worked as outlined above, but mostly it has not worked out well.

What the amateur economists have lost sight of is the shrinking Middle Class. We are not what we once were. Not only are their fewer of us, but those of us surviving – barely – are doing so with much less wealth, income and standard of living. To add to this misery, budget conscious politicians preach reduced entitlements and government programs in human services. They feel the beneficiaries of such programs are slothful ingrates who feed at the public trough.

They need to check the trough; first of all they are there feeding off of high government salaries for elected officials, and posh benefit plans as well as generous expense accounts and stipends. Second, they should check the troughs for those they know – like their Aunt Mary, Uncle Joe, and their own parents.

The so-called entitlements are benefit plans the ‘insured’ paid for through premiums and payroll taxes over a lifetime. So too Medicare; like Social Security, it is a benefit plan paid for by those covered by the program. Besides, if benefits were reduced in both of those programs, the poor will become poorer, and that will include retired people. All retired people.

The trickle down economic theory only works when it is early in a cycle of trying it. Pretty much all of the benefits from this theory were recognized a few decades ago; even President George H. W. Bush learned the truth; he tried extending trickle down methods and met with failure in a big way. The same would be true today. There is only so much blood in a turnip you can squeeze from it! Think about that.

Tax cuts today would benefit only the wealthy. They would pay less but the beneficiaries would receive less and in a more costly economy. Standards of living would drop steeply. The economy would contract and unemployment grow. Household incomes would likely stall once again. New job creation and adoption of new technology would also stall.

During the George W. Bush presidency an enormous social cost was transferred to the Middle Class when tax cuts for the wealthy were enacted. That move cost the US government $1 trillion. Then the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were waged endlessly for another $2 trillion. No wonder the federal deficit was a runaway! And the annual red ink gushing in the federal budget is easily explained.

To correct this mess tax increases are required on those who have the money with which to pay the higher taxes. It’s like gravity, folks; what goes up must come down and vice versa. There is no such thing as a free lunch. We can work hard to ease the pain on those who will be asked to pay, but please do not extract one more dollar from those who truly cannot afford it. That would be your disappearing Middle Class.

We’ve heard all of this before. Why don’t we listen and heed the facts and truth?

Because we are wishful thinkers trying to escape responsibility. ‘Not me Boss! Surely not me!’

Bosh!!

August 25, 2017

Writing

Writing anything at all is easy; having it mean something is another matter. One thing I have learned, though, having anything mean something comes from an honest expression of feeling and knowledge. That knowledge is not all wise. But it is real, taught by experience. What you feel in specific situation is real to you and only to you; a companion who experiences the same situation will feel something similar, perhaps, but he or she will most likely know it differently. If each of you wrote about your experience, they would be different. Sharing only the common happening, all else would be quite different.

So it is that reading another’s thoughts are unique and fresh. Trite are those words and phrases that are expected and often repeated by other writers. Conventions and patterns of speech are shorthand for sameness. And boredom? Maybe. That depends on where we the reader are coming from as we consume the prose on the page.

Imagine for yourself what it would be like to live through an event you’ve never experienced. What would it be like? How would you express the feelings and unfolding realizations of the happening?

That’s what I’m talking about; now remember an actual event and write about that. Compare the two blurbs and rate freshness of spirit. Which is more starkly present and real? Maybe you cannot judge this for yourself; perhaps another reader can.

I have a good friend on tour for 14 days. She is seeing for the first time the Canadian Rockies, Lake Louise and Banff. These are places I would love to experience; meanwhile photos must suffice. And she is sending those photos through. They are every bit what I expected them to be. Some are pictures taken from the dome car on the train, a passing view of a mountain lake, or mountain pass. In the still form the photo speaks volumes. Wondering the same scene as it unfolds is another experience to imagine for me, to feel for her. She is there and I am not. But the details of the still photo come alive as I explore the nooks and crannies and individual trees dotting the landscape. Breathtaking in its entirety. As a passing scene? I’m not sure I could do it justice.

So the imagination is one thing and reality another. But life is lived in motion not in still photography. The latter provides the details; the former allows experience.

Writing that paragraph gives satisfaction. A truth, small but wondrous, has appeared from the words. Would we have thought the truth in any other way? Is that the genius of putting words on pages and attempting to say something? And is it genius or accident? Most likely the latter.

At least living by accident is living in the present. Fleeting as it is the present is actually the only true thing of life. The rest is what? Memory?

Maybe so, but it is from memories we paste together the meaning of it all. It is then we know we have experienced something rich and real; before we only sensed it.

August 24, 2017

Trump’s Afghanistan

It was inevitable that America would wage military might in Afghanistan to rout out Al Qaeda and Bin Laden. George W Bush and Dick Cheney were right about that. And so it was done.

That’s how we got involved with Afghanistan. Like the French and Russians before us – and most likely many others as well throughout history – Afghanistan has been an allure for foreign nations. Regardless, we were there for Osama bin Laden.

For a time we did rout Al Qaeda. Eventually we got Bin Laden, too, only it was in Pakistan, an ally that knew well Bin Laden was living safely within its borders.

But we got sidetracked by many things: Afghanistan was a mess: its people living in squalor, its streets in chaos and violence, Taliban running amok, so too Al Qaeda. Buildings were demolished by enemy attack. American GIs trained Afghani troops only to have them turn on the GIs and kill them in sneak attacks. Who was Taliban and who was not? The enigma morphed continually to make mirrors not speak true reflections.

As reality and myth meshed, we happily were sidetracked into nation building. We were the good guys and we would leave Afghanistan whole and self determining. We learned long after that she was already self determining, we just didn’t think the conditions were wanted as such.

As the puzzling reality took shape we didn’t understand it. And so it was that the lure of Iraq took us out of Afghanistan (only we didn’t admit that openly) so we could play real war games on our own terms.

And that turned out badly as well.

Perhaps Americans should admit we do not understand the world community as well as we think? The Middle Eastern culture is everyman’s culture when you think of it. This is the cradle of civilization; we’ve all been here before; that doesn’t mean we know it and understand it. Biblical times. Koran times. Torah times.

Get it? These are the books of knowledge and wisdom we preach in many tongues throughout the globe. Yet we pretend to know of each other we actually do not. Pity. There is so much more we could be if only we invested the effort. And time.

Meanwhile we strike out in ways we know and continue the muddle. Muddling is what we do well when we don’t know any better. Only we should know better. We have trillions of dollars in military materiel and equipment and people. But we don’t have the knowledge of the current State Department to guide wise use of our assets. No; we continue to do as we usually do. Maybe we should stop digging the hole?

Trump’s speech to the nation Monday, August 21, 2017 was a rambling bit of froth. He clearly knows little of what he speaks. He blames others for the situation in which we find ourselves, only he thinks he is the only one in the mess. No; we are all in the soup on this one. How to manage the situation and not lose national face is the goal. That’s the same imagined outcome we’ve all had for some time.

Trump does not bring fresh eyes or ideas to the situation. But he did speak truth we all have come to know: Afghanistan is and was a mistake; Iraq is and was a mistake; Taliban and Al Qaeda own the ‘peace’ of the Middle East; leaders and ‘owners’ of the Middle East get wealth and satisfaction for themselves by keeping the area in chaos; the drug trade globally relies on Afghanistan’s crops of evil; in that is much wealth, for some.

The treasure and human life we have paid in Afghanistan will never be recovered. We grieve and regret. It is time to leave as cleanly as possible. Just keep our backsides covered as we turn and exit.

For Pakistan – the cowering two-faced ally – do the same. Turn and exit.

Focus instead on building lasting peace among allies in the region. Just be careful who we name as allies. So far all have wanted America as friend because of her money and might. It’s time to say no to that and insist on something better.

The ball is in their court. Let’s see what they come up with. And this mean Netanyahu as well.

I just shudder thinking trump is in the swing seat at a time like this!

August 23, 2017

Violence Begets Peace?

After the terror comes peace. The attack stuns, injures, maims and kills. It is awful. The mind reels during the attack, not knowing the what or why of anything. The world is turned upside down. And then peace! Silence. Dead silence. A stirring is barely heard. Someone is moving. A shoe scrapes sideways on the pavement. A few dry leaves flutter in the gutter. Then a moan, whimper and sob. Faintly in the far distance a wailing siren is barely heard; it grows louder. Then shouts are heard as bystanders return to the scene they hurriedly left moments before. They become a crowd, now on hands and knees peering close to the injured wondering how to assist them.

The crowd grows and agitated voices multiply until the area sounds like a busy emergency room at a hospital. In a real way it has become that. emergency medical personnel are now on the scene. So too the police and public servants we take so for granted. Humming now the scene of the attack is coming to life to save the injured and cover the dead.

A light breeze fans the faces of the onlookers and the wounded alike. Sweat, tears and blood dry with the breeze. And now murmurs of comfort are heard as order is restored and ambulances remove patients to an uncertain recovery.

An hour later there is peace in this street, on this block. The damage has been done and now the assessment. Yes, this is peace of a sort.

Later hours mull over the event. Reason is contemplated. Why is asked and answers questioned. Sense is brought to light but not full understanding. An awful thing has happened. Fresh concerns are now our focus. Injured are ministered, wrapped and sedated. They are resting and coping with their own thoughts. The dead are quiet; it is their families who are now the injured ones and full of questions. And sorrow. And loss.

As hours go by public discussion covers the event. Lessons are posed but not sure of their learning. Time will help with that. Meanwhile the authorities follow their routines and seek culprits and collaborators. They catch a few; arrest them; seek the rest. Some are snared and shot dead in a flurry of defensive action. Their bodies are removed for further study.

And then ISIS owns up to the event, boasting its responsibility.

Well that is settled but not the why. History demands questions and answers be posed and eventually settled. Not tonight or tomorrow but one day this will be.

Meantime we learn to live with the unknowing and make a sort of peace with it until we know more. One thing rises from this misty unknown – for the moment peace is with us.

Later, much later, months and years later, we piece together the thoughts that help us understand the inhumanity of mankind toward itself. A political statement of hate through action. It does not satisfy the need for justice, but it oddly brings a little bit of peace.

We understand the minds of some cannot cope with loss of their own influence. They act in hate to express this. And ever will this be so?

For the rest of humanity we seek to learn the why so we can prevent future violence. We will succeed in greater part; but a small part will remain and violence will erupt. It is like breathing in and breathing out. Life goes on in spite of it all. But peace returns as routine does. The awful informs how good life is.

A twisted way to value the good. But the peace is still ours to have and to hold while those who hate wallow in their horror.

Peace be to all victims. And yes, we are all victims of the hate. But most of us survive to revel in the peace.

August 22, 2017

Bannon is First Step; the Second…

Bannon should never have been associated with anyone running for public office, let alone the presidency. To have him associated with donald trump in both the White House and the campaign that led to White House is a travesty that cheapened the presidency.

So, firing an Alt-Right spokesman and leader from his White House job is the least trump could do. It would have been better if Bannon had not been there at all. But now that he is gone, trump needs to remain separated from him for good.

The second step trump needs to take is to clean the White House of all other alt-right persons and suspected leakers. Let Gen. Kelly do his job. Clean house and build discipline among the troops in the West Wing. But more needs to be done, still.

That task is building a TEAM in the West Wing. This is not a trump White House; it is the American White House and it belongs to all of us. We all have to believe in it. If we don’t, then there is a third step that needs to be taken.

And that step is the resignation of trump himself. This may very well occur a little later this year. I think this step is unavoidable mainly because of trump himself. This is not an ideological view on my part. It is purely practical.

The man elected to the presidency has not done well in the role at all. He has not fashioned legislation. He has not created policy. All he has done is mix things up and sign meaningless documents called executive orders. That is not governance in any way, shape or form.

Talk with any political scientist or historian. They will tell you with academic frankness that trump has been a disaster on the governance scene and done damage to himself and the institution of the White House. It is that bald a statement they will make, and they will be correct.

That is why trump must resign. The earlier steps removing Bannon, cleaning the WH staff of misfits and troublemakers, and finally building a team, are all good; but they will likely fall apart as long as trump is on the scene.

Why? Because he is not a team player. The Republican Party knows this; so do the party leaders – personally and intrinsically. The WH staff know he is not a team player. And even though Gen. Kelly is a team player and a team builder, there is no discipline that will make trump a collaborator or cooperator in or on the team. Period. No way.

That is a sorry state of affairs, but it is a logical conclusion when we note trump’s private corporate status and wealth that gives him his own head in decision making. And then everyone goes along with it.

That’s not how government works. It is team all the way. Leadership directs and pulls the team along a path. It is not done by fiat or decree. Only spoiled kids and wealthy adults think in such a manner. Leaders do not think this way. To make the point, just observe Gen. Kelly. End of argument.

So, there you have it. Second step and third step. No matter how you cut it, trump must resign. That will leave Pence in place but that is another story, another day and yet another playbook to study.

I doubt Pence has staying power. I doubt he has the leadership capability the nation requires. But we will have the time needed to analyze his performance on the job and then conclude what will be concluded after an appropriate time. At least let’s put trump out of our misery. For his own good and ours.

August 21, 2017

Just Desserts

What comes around goes around. Cast your bread upon the water and it will return a thousand-fold. Many other quotes could be included here, all actually saying similar sentiments: be careful what you wish for, you could get it; and of course, the results of your efforts may result in just desserts.

All of these describe donald’s predicament. He has unwisely aired the sentiments of many who do not think clearly, or simply do not have the facts straight. So Donald speaks and events happen as a direct result. Maybe he didn’t wish the outcomes as they unfolded, but this is the nature of how a leader’s – actual or perceived – words result in unpleasant events.

Inciting a riot works the same way. Shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater does the same. Both are illegal acts.

Emotions run deep and have few internal controls. A person reacts to their emotions. Sorrow induces tears. Happiness produces smiles, shouts and tears as well. Anger creates anger; stoking same and the anger grows and grows. It takes very little for the anger to spill over into hostile actions.

The KKK’s march on Charlottesville the other day is a case in point. The KKK was there not just to make a point, but to excite a reaction. That’s their method of operation. Always has been. They focus on a perceived wrong, change the perception and assign blame, and then ask for a show of support.

Joblessness among the middle class is a complex issue. It is not the result of reverse discrimination. It is not the result of jobs moving overseas. Or foreign companies coming to America and unseating working people.

The largest answer to the problems of the middle class is change. Change is always with us. Policies can soften the impact of change, but it cannot stop it. That means those in the path of change need to recognize it and plan to change careers, move to another place and otherwise take control of their own lives. How long did it take buggy builders and whip makers to recognize their industry was dying?

When did the railroads realize trucks were taking their cargoes directly to their destinations? When did interstate bus lines know they needed to make strategic changes? When did the gas and oil industry realize that fuel efficiency rules for cars and the growth of electric autos were reducing their sales?

Strategic thinking looks at the big picture and notices the moving parts and their patterns and algorhythms. Emerging trends are hinted at in the tiny movements of the pieces. Trends grow to themes and shifts of reality in ways that redefine industries and the lives associated with them.

To be a citizen of the modern day world, one needs to be thinking and feeling all the time. To know thyself is one way of stating it; to sense the future is another. But open exploration of one’s surroundings is what it takes to make exciting new changes work for each person. Some will need help; others will provide the help and leadership.

Observe Elon Musk. He envisions solar roofs to actually replace current roofing materials; this will reduce on-grid power use; this will support longer lasting roofs AND lower power consumption without reducing standards of living. So too electric cars and all of the technology required by that industry. He is on the right path. He is helping change the world each day. And that is vital and important. Electric companies beware; partner with him. Oil and gas companies beware, too; and partner with him, too.

Energy companies need to band together, not to expand profits but to explore means of producing and using energy in all of its forms. Let’s find nonpolluting forms, and sustainable ones, too. All I’m asking is that we all figure out what we are each about, and what our organizations and companies are about. Locking into old, stale models doesn’t make for long term security. For anyone or anything.

It’s time to free up our thinking and invent new tomorrows continually. No one and no thing stands still for long – unless it is dead.

This is a job for each of us to do, and yes, to learn to do. No man is an island, but neither does time stand still for anyone. Two old adages that remain true still.

So let’s all get with the excitement and challenge of a new day. Invent our way to a better future. Do as much of this as you can. Rely on only those who are reliable. Let government and institutions do what we cannot do for ourselves, but don’t be too quick on asking for that help. Try inventing solutions first.

If we don’t do this for ourselves and each other, we cannot expect the future to be very good. For any of us. Change will continue its trek through time and space. Either we are prepared for it and driving it, or it will drive us where we don’t want to go. Sort of like some of our people today.

Onward!

August 18, 2017

What's Next?

Having called for the removal of all powers from the sitting president of the United States – at least temporarily – I’m not sure what my next step is. I have written this blog for nearly 6 years; it has given me release of anxiety and frustration. The blog is my vent. I am well and happy with it. But now I’m stumped awaiting the next thought that is constructive and solution oriented.

I’m retired and living on a fixed income – social security only. That’s another way of saying I’m broke. I have little freedom to do anything but eat, sleep, volunteer and write. Oh I read as well; that’s the source of my knowledge of what’s going on in the world. But I want to do more. One thing is to travel by car throughout America and feel the tempo of the nation. I would like to write about that. But there is no money in doing this. No one is willing to pay for this task to be done, let alone cover the expense of doing it. But it remains on my bucket list.

One of the things I loved doing was driving in the country and out of state. My mind was always thinking of how this place is different from home. I wondered what the people felt living here and how they felt about places other than home. Did they feel the separation? Were they concerned about acceptance elsewhere?

Such feelings were heavy in southern states. We northerners know ill will exists among southerners; I just never knew from person to person what to expect about this. I don’t think I ever encountered racism or incivility in the south. I know there is plenty of it in the newspapers but not face to face. Of course, I didn’t talk about it unless someone brought it up in general conversation. Even then manners on both sides of the conversation were keeping us pleasant and on point. One can learn a lot under such circumstances. Fights do not need to be provoked to learn a different point of view!

I had a SCORE mentoring session the other day with a seasoned woman in social services. She is black and also a formidable volunteer in helping ex-offenders in her area find jobs and rebuild careers. Our conversation included talk of current unsettled conditions in America – anti immigrants, America First, white supremacy, and outright racism. I shared with her my early activism for civil rights, through the 60’s and 70’s.  Even during the anti-war days of the Viet Nam era, I was involved in civil rights.

She knew I was serious. She knew I was still committed. But at my age I don’t have the stamina or money to participate in physical activism. I can write and read. I can talk. I can share opinions among people on the internet. And I do that all the time. I just don’t march anymore or appear at rallies. That’s for younger folks.

But what more can I do? What more needs to be done?

If I had more income I would take that trip and write about it. I even went so far as to explore part time jobs for retired people. My career was in strategic planning, and I am still a strategic thinker and writer. I analyze client businesses in my volunteer work, but I know this work is worth something to some who would be, or should be, willing to pay for it. So I answered some internet ads on jobs available.

Guess what? They wanted to pay $11/hour for me to move papers or sit in a chair and say howdy to people walking in the door. What a waste!  For them and for me. I’d probably fall asleep in the first 30 minutes of such a job and it would have nothing to do with my age!

Who knows if my registering with this outfit will develop any meaningful leads. All I know is many businesses today need to rethink their mission and vision and then screw up the energy to do something that will support them. I can help them do this. And they don’t have to pay me much. Just something so I can drive out west to canyon country and talk to people and smell the plant life struggling to live in the sand and the heat. This is where determination and purpose work all the time. Not to, means death, slow or fast.

Something about the southwest draws me to it. I think the future of our nation is there somehow. Maybe I’ll have the chance yet to explore what this means yet.

Keep your fingers crossed.

August 17, 2017

Small Town America

Sunday drives through the country. In Illinois there’s a lot of country. Back many years I had an old, fun convertible – an ’87 Ford Mustang, 5.0 with 5 on the floor. Spiffy and quick. But the best part was the wind through the hair and wind borne aromas. Refreshing. Spirit boosting.

The best rides were in the country. No traffic. Open vistas. The earth as giant producer of food and so much more. Copse of trees and hawks soaring high. Small towns popping up in unexpected places. Rolling landscapes and then town squares, churches, an occasional court house and a teeming ‘downtown’ with howdy neighbor spirit.

We loved those rides. Of course it was our escape from congested streets of a thriving metropolis. Traffic everywhere. Crowds, too. Then there is the crime and incipient danger of large environs with millions of people. Yes, the country idylls were a favorite of the family. Getting away from it all.

All this time a hint was present; one of those glints of an idea that maybe, just maybe, we would live in such an Eden one day? Just the possibility was refreshing. Just thinking of it gave new energy.

As time went on my career was more on-line and portable. I could set up my consulting shop in any bedroom of any house I wanted to buy. Preferably with a very large window looking out on a quiet country scene. When work breaks happened in this dream world, there were plenty of things to do: sleep; walk along a country lane; take more rides; visit the town diner; church happenings; cable TV with all its offerings; and of course reading, listening to music. These all were doable with family, friends and alone, whatever the needs at the time were.

That’s not how it worked out. Advancing age came along with its health needs for doctors and specialists not readily available in remote country towns. Convenience became more a requirement than a want, so landed communities were less accessible as time bore down on us. Uninterrupted electrical power became more urgent. So too the elevator and automatic garage door. The grocery down the block or across the street, those both were now more important than ever. Time was not as urgent, but stamina-saving and safe steps without tripping hazards were now the norm.

Small rural towns didn’t offer these attributes. And so the country drives became less frequent.

Then stories made it on the news. Iowa towns losing their populations, not to loss of manufacturing – they didn’t have much of that in the first place – but farm workers were disappearing. Immigrants felt alone and threatened. Legal or illegal, the hospitality for their presence faded. ICE sweeps for illegal aliens were now a factor, and families were being split up and shipped out of country. Mothers were left alone to cope with children and lesser income. They too were threatened by the incivility of suspicion. Increasingly the harried mother planned her escape to join her husband even though he was unemployed and prospects for her working were even dimmer. To what was she returning with her children? Crime and violence from gangs and drug cartels.

This family’s idyllic home in Iowa disappeared. No towns folk did this to them. But the swell of America First did do this. The political reality of Americans protecting what they didn’t understand caused a rip in the fabric of community life they didn’t even see, let alone understand.

And then, one of the most revered university communities in the nation – Charlottesville, Virginia – was rendered violent and lethal. White supremacists came to town to protest for all-white communities, against illegal immigrants, higher education and intellectual exploration. One person died when a crazed protester drove his car at high speed directly into a crowd. Two state policemen died in a small helicopter crash when law enforcement massed to restore order to the small city.

An idyllic community of education, inquisitiveness, and culture, was attacked by bullies, know-nothings and uncontrolled anger. Innocent people were targeted. Innocent people were injured. Three are now dead. From unthinking, uncontrolled emotions gone wild and amok among peace loving people. In their own community. The marauding deplorables came from outside to protest what they didn’t understand.

And the president of the United States – the man who raised the vitriol of spoken words – did nothing. He who is of law and order and rules and ‘values’ suddenly was mute. No words of sympathy. No words decrying violence. Just nothing.

The country towns are transforming to something we know little of. They are fearful of losing what they already have lost – innocence and rock solid values. Something is lost and one wonders if and when it will be restored?

Oh for the small town America we recall so dearly. Does it still exist? Will its innocence be refreshed?  When?

August 16, 2017

Fear and Ignorance

Interesting. A fear sensed by one person is softened by another and comfort given. Yet another person wields the sensed fear as a tool, a cudgel to heighten the fear within the fearful one. Opposite reactions; opposite ministrations.

Some people are like that: caring and comforting. Some people act opposite and for what gain? Power? Manipulation of perception? Why? Why does the latter person misuse the situation?

The school yard bully we understand. It makes him feel superior to someone else; he uses what he thinks is weakness and threatens his mark for discomfort. Fear and trembling is his aim to have some element of control over the other person.

A nasty boss does this, too; only he conjures the prospect of joblessness to force his worker or workers to do more work for an unfair, low wage. Union busting is an example of this. Bosses did it long ago when unions were not very strong; and they wanted them that way, or gone. The bosses feared the unions and their power to disrupt production and profit generation. So they battled them and worked hard to suppress them.

It didn’t work. Unions grew in size, stature, strength and power. The courts helped level the playing field as well and labor law changed in favor of unions. Then the balance of power shifted the other direction and history has been marked by this struggled for over a century. 

Politicians exercised bully power by ramping up fear of the unknown and pushing forward unrealistic visions of horrible results if the fear were realized. Voter behavior was manipulated in this manner. Hitler’s Germany knew this well. All through the era of Nazism fear and propaganda were used to re-engineer the German history.

So too, Russia. Propaganda has always been a political tool in Mother Russia. For some reason it thrived there. To this day it remains a constant feature of the political landscape.

Corporations have often manipulated truth to gain an upper hand in labor dealing and sales to beat competitors. A social conscience grew in the 1930’s and 1940’s as the nation dealt with World War II. After all, if we were to defeat Hitler and his Nazi Party, we had to trust each other and work together. We did and a social awareness of team and ‘other’ grew to important dimensions.

By the end of the 20^th century American values were well charted. Or so we thought. The age of Clinton – Bill Clinton’s Presidency – witnessed a terrible onslaught of political shenanigans and truth twisting to defeat Clinton. It was an unmerciful attack and it lasted well after his term was over. The value of manipulating facts continued in the Bush W era as our nation was ‘talked’ into two wars when only one, limited one was necessary as a response to Al Qaeda and Bin Laden’s presence in Afghanistan. But then we aimed at Iraq and moved the war machine there. This nearly cost us Afghanistan, and some will say it still did. But Iraq was laid low by our military might. The question remains why? And to what end? That nation is still decimated and destroyed. It is still not whole or healthy or able to care for itself. Only a seedbed of hostility and further nuisance internationally will grow from this debacle.

Propaganda. Bullying. Speaking mistruth as truth. Little respect for history or facts.

Sound familiar? Is this not a good description of the trump presidency? Is he not using corporate culture, power structure and bullying to get what he thinks is right? He feels bullied by North Korea so he bullies back?

International relations doesn’t work this way. We are seeing the result. Point and counterpoint may work in a neatly confined game of debate, but it doesn’t work well in threats of war. There is a reason why so many political games played to control North Korea failed. It was not one president or several who failed. No; it was more than that.

For far too long the global community has viewed America as the military controller of distrusted segments of the global map. As long as they let America be the policeman of peace, they didn’t have to do so. They didn’t even pay their fair share of NATO expenses. On that trump is correct. But America is not the be all and end all of the global community. It is not the peace keeper, either.

That role belongs to all nations working together for common goals. America has helped make that work, but it was carrying too large a share of the task.

This view requires all global powers to weigh in on the debates. China needs to contain its friend North Korea. It has allowed it to play poorly in the nuclear weapons game. Now we have a viable threat to all of mankind as a result. If this threat is to be contained, China will have to play the trump card, not Donald trump. Russia, too, has helped arm North Korea; it has also aided and abetted (along with its pal, Iran, the nuclearizing of North Korea.  America didn’t allow it. America didn’t make it happen. Others did.

Now it is for many others to come together and solve the problem. The entire global community benefits from this. So the power and responsibility is in their hands.

The Donald is not correct in his handling of this matter; but he is right that something needs to be done and soon to curb the nasty, childish behavior of North Korea. Their people are starving and in ill health. The ruling class has the money and baubles of privilege. The heavy funding goes to the military for no good reason but to wield power for ego strokes. It is a dangerous game that spells total ruin for all, not just North Korea.

Donald, shut up and get off Twitter. China, you are moving in the right direction; step in and control North Korea for the sake of all of us, most definitely for your own good as well. Ask Russia to play a part; they are part of the problem and need to be a part of the solution.

Now. Can we all just get along?

August 15, 2017

What Now?

I am not a fan of donald trump. I am a fan of law and order and process. I appreciate cool minds analyzing problems and considering an array of options to pursue, each of them clearly thought out for a number of varying reasons. The array is important; it provides perspective and options to the problem that are healthy and constructive.

I’ve lived my life working in and for many institutions. Over the years the process became crystal clear. And teamwork, too. One person does not have all the answers to anything. But a group of people focused on the desired outcome shared by all (or most!), will assemble the talents and skills embodied in others and pull them onto the team.

That group – that team – is now prepared to do the hard work. They will define over and over again what the problem is to ensure they remain focused on the primary issue. Then they will carefully consider all the options available to them for solving the problem. They will encounter time constraints; some solutions are quick and easy, but not easily overcome or retracted if they need be. Some will take too long to implement. Other solutions will combine the two extremes, and the best option, will provide opt in and opt out opportunities critical to adjusting to a changing scenario. This latter solution will build platforms of possibility to measure and guide progress while retaining additional options to use if needed.

I think we are in a real pickle at this time. In fact, I have never encountered this pickle before. Simply stated: The United States of America is in peril of a massive international mistake; how do we make certain the mistake is not implemented?

The solution in extremis is to remove the sitting president. Surely there is a mechanism in our governance structure to do this! Incapacity by virtue of personality disorder? I think that’s the best bet, but I’m no psychiatrist and thus cannot render this kind of diagnosis.

To state the obvious, we are in a constitutional crisis. The President is acting poorly and not cogently issuing orders that can be followed without violating international law and our own protocols and legal conventions. The president is out of control and needs to be placed in suspension of duties until others can determine what is our next action.

We have a problem that cannot be ignored. The military is at his beck and call to take action he deems necessary. The problem is his deeming faculty is not fully reliable. So, in the name of the American people, I would hope the military would not follow his orders.

Who has the knowledge and expertise to advise and lead in this matter?

I suggest we locate them immediately and take action to safeguard our nation and the planet of peace loving peoples.

This is an action call. When will it be answered?

August 14, 2017

Being Positive in a Negative Time

Not easy. Not easy at all. So much negativity. So much power to do ill. How do we keep positive in such a climate? No; not easily done at all.

I used to have major trouble breathing. Hay fever and asthma shut down much of my breathing apparatus; pills and shots maintained the airways and here I am, surviving still! Along the way new pills, breathing mists helped. Then a machine that forces air into the lungs. And finally oxygen was added to the other machine and breathing is easy and ample.

It is a marvel to lie in bed and breathe normally. I awaken now able to arise and live a normal life. Breathing in daytime is much better than it once was, and now I hardly think of it. When I do, I recognize it as a miracle of our time and technology. I glow with a positive attitude then. Who wouldn’t?

The little things in life to most; huge factor in the life of others. 

For those who have much to eat, hunger is not a part of their lives. Others are starving, though; and even as we create agencies to care for them, those who starve do not know where their next meal will come from or when. That little fact is small to us who eat regularly, but not so for the starving. Let us remember this.

And housing; and clothing; and transportation; and heat or air conditioning when needed; and rest, sleep, realization. All small things to us who have it; not so for the others.

Remember all of that, too. The yin and yang of life is such that positive and negative are brothers and sisters. Remember that as well.

Where there is negative there is also positive; and vice versa. They are wedded. Not separate.

When negative is there, turn the head and look around; the tools and supplies of positive are there – right there – to be used to assuage the opposite. Not far to see or reach.

Best we use it to help those who need help. Right now. Not tomorrow or next week; now.

What can I do in this? What can you do in this?

Stand up and help, of course. Right now.

August 11, 2017

Two Bratty Kids

One was given a fortune to do with as he pleased. He was also enrolled in private schools that would take him, and which wouldn’t with a father like that? Then, through the years business attempts were tried and failed until they caught on. Finally some did; others didn’t, but with a few pumping along OK losing a few along the way doesn’t seem to count. Wins and losses are like that if you string them along.

But something happens with the personality of such people. They get what they want seemingly because they persist; in reality, it is because they have pockets deep enough to take on successive risks. And with that sort of activity there are always others who will risk with the other and invest. Soon whose money is it? An investment pot that is open to chance and experimentation. Some wins and losses are bound to occur. And they do.

The personality expands to include a super ego that thinks the self is golden and unbeatable. With staff and family reinforcing this message the personality grows outside his own skin. And he runs for political office because he can. And he has money to pay for it. And an organization that can be bent to the task as well.

One day, this bent personality becomes president of the united states of America. Now what?

At the same time another kid born with a platinum spoon in his mouth and bolstered by a dynastic family born to power in an impoverished nation, grows up to become the imperial leader of his nation. Always put down by the global community, this small nation insists on building a powerful military machine so honor and glory are rightfully theirs regardless of what the world thinks.

And so this brat of a kid – born without conscience or morals, only privilege – casts himself as the impudent adult on a world stage that contains yet another spoiled brat.

The battle ground is set between these two infantile personalities. Not fully matured in any sense, they engage in a school yard fight that leads to nasty words and threats. Only problem? Both are armed with nuclear arsenals and the ability to deliver them to critical targets.

Should the fight ensue, the smaller will be annihilated. The larger will be damaged badly with generations of nuclear scarred victims and progeny. But also the world community is harmed. South Korea will be damaged to the point of annihilation? If so that, what damage will be inflicted on China? And Japan, and so many other neighboring lands?

What damage in the USA will affect the globe’s ability to feed large populations and fuel their industries? The global community is now interrelated and interdependent on each other. That’s as it should be.

And that’s why it is the global community’s responsibility to quell the childish backyard skirmish before it hurts billions of people who have nothing to do with all of this.

The United Nations has a vital role here. So do the large powers – China, Russia, European partnerships, and America.  But America is not a player in the peace process because now it is involved as a combatant.

How did we get to this sorry state of affairs?

By people not paying attention to the details and the larger picture. It matters. The large and the small. Nothing is insignificant in the day of instant communication, satellites and nuclear missile tips. Nothing is too small.

So, America, get your house in order. Shed the false ‘leadership’ and reform thyself.

And China, Russia, UN and Europe: sit down and make sense of this nonsense. The mantel is now on you. Two brats are fighting an emotional game. They are the cause of our angst. But the adults in the room now have a vital role to play.

Don’t disappoint us. The planet’s future rests on your wisdom and maturity.

August 10, 2017

Little Engine That Does

One of my favorite books I read over and over again when I was a tot was “The Little Engine that Could.” Small and good at the tasks it was designed to do, one day a larger train with a huge shiny powerful locomotive was unable to do its job. The little engine was asked to help; he doubted he could do it. The job was huge. He was so small!

But others urged him to at least try. Although worried, he did try. It was hard work but he worked as hard as he could. He used the mantra – “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can” – and the rest is history, well at least fictional history!

The little train nearly failed at the top of the last hill but he kept on trying and eventually, with one last gasp of effort, he was over the top and accomplished the impossible.

We have another little engine that can and does buried deep in our nation’s culture. What is that little engine, you ask? Well, glory be, it is the small businesses that abound throughout our land!

This little engine creates its own job. Then another, and another until the little business is a little larger and putting several people to work. Multiply that factoid by 100,000 or more new businesses in a year, and you have nearly a million new jobs for the year.

There are those who donate their time and energy to helping people start small businesses. Those same people help create about 50,000 jobs alone last year, and the year before that, and the year before that a whole long way back! The organization that has done this for 54 years, now, is SCORE – Service Corps of Retired Executives – and they number 12,000 volunteers who mentor small businesses into being. Those same mentors help existing small businesses strengthen their operations, and in many cases, save them from failing. How many jobs were saved, you ask? No one knows, but a whole lot; maybe another 50,000 jobs annually? If so, that would mean SCORE helps create and save 100,000 jobs annually by providing expert, free and accessible help to small businesses.

To get help just visit www.SCORE.org. The whole picture for SCORE is available there. More and new mentors are always needed to do the work; if you are interested in helping, get on the website and click on ‘volunteer’. If you need help as a small business person, connect with the SCORE website and ask for help. If you are interested in starting a new business for yourself, go to the SCORE website and ask for that help.

Yes; it is as easy as that. It’s fun and rewarding to volunteer with SCORE. And clients of SCORE have fun with those same mentors. It is a win-win situation. Who could possibly think this would be free? But it is.

Volunteer mentors don’t have to be retired, but it would be easier for them if they were.

I’ve been a mentor for 3.5 years and enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve become quite involved and hold a leadership position or two in the organization. That only helps me know and understand more so I can help others even more.

It’s the story of more, don’t you see! And you can be a part of this, too. Think about it. You can easily help a lot of little businesses become the ‘little engine that could’ and does.

WWW.SCORE.org. Go there now to give or get help.

August 9, 2017

Saying it is So

For many years now I have been saying something that puzzles me. With almost disbelief I hear political thoughts expressed and wonder how those people believe what they are saying is the truth. Maybe another way of saying it is, ‘do they really believe what they are saying represents facts, reality?’

I started thinking this way back in the 90’s. It was just before the Clinton Presidency began. During that election campaign the republican machine was in high gear saying all sorts of things without any proof of fact. That was a new experience for me; oh sure, I’ve been exposed to misstatements and propaganda in the past, but not forceful, programmed discourse that was totally off the beam fact wise.

As the Clinton presidency continued for 8 years, I noticed an increasing fervor, frequency and decibel of political speak that simply was not factual. I began then to see a behavior in politics that was curious but prevalent.

Republicans spoke from a scripted presentation of distortion and un-truth. It was a campaign to discredit their opponents regardless of what was claimed. If a democrat said the sky was blue, republicans insisted it was gray or orange. And they acted on those statements as though they were the gospel truth.

In time supporters of the view rallied behind the script and voted that way – in congress and in the ballot box. In a very odd way it became the truth – the representation of the universe was theirs by simple fiat.

That behavior has continued to this day. Throughout all of the Bush W years non-fact was touted as fact. That’s how we came to fight two wars simultaneously and enrage the world against us. It was also how Muslims came to be hated in America. And how the economy was turned upside down all the while we were told it was the fault of someone else.

Then the Obama years were upon us and they were excoriated continuously for things that simply were not true. But republicans believed this nonsense nonetheless. It went on for 8 years.

During the Hillary/Donald campaigns the same un-truth behavior ran rampant. Hillary was repeatedly attacked without proof, without validity and without logic. Sound bites all. Misspeak and misdirection. Until enough people believed it and the election was up for grabs.

That's how we got the Donald in the White House and everyone is scratching their heads.

Today the same behavior continues. Say what you want as the truth regardless of the lack of proof; say it enough times and it will be perceived as truth. And it is. Over and over again.

So pervasive is this behavior that the news media is now distrusted by half the population of the USA. Unfair, but that’s a fact. All because political imps have mastered the art of propaganda.

That’s how propaganda works. It is how Putin has taken control of Russia. It is why the Donald admires Putin. Saying something is so makes it so regardless of the facts.

This is pure delusion on a massive scale. And we are all pulled into it like the vortex of the planets.

The answer to this? Education. Open a book and read it. Learn how to learn. Learn how to think for yourself and locate facts and play them against other facts. Learn how to discern the truth. Understand your own life and those of others; also learn how to understand history and know what it is.

We don’t have to learn things by rote. We don’t need to memorize vast lists of things. All we have to do is learn some facts, understand how they interact with one another, and then let logic actually work. Occasionally ‘prove’ your conclusions using known facts and data bases. Take hold of your own life and mind and learn what is fact and what is fiction.

And then with a clear and informed mind vote for people who will do the same.

Ignorance is an ugly thing. All you have to do to see that is turn on the news or read a newspaper. All sorts of ugly surround us. Which is true and which is not? Well, that’s not easy unless you have fought off ignorance with a determined spirit to become educated.

If people undercut education and school budgets, you have a clue that something is not right. Follow your nose and you will see what I’m talking about.

Will you help change the tide? Will you do this for yourself and others? Or will we continue to let others steal our nation’s spirit and vision for greed and ego?

I think the choice is clear. How about you?

August 8, 2017

Welcome the Tired and Poor

I am writing this on Friday, August 4^th. I am posting it today, Monday, August 7^th. I will re-edit it before publishing it. It will be interesting to see what occurs today and over the weekend that might change the message!  [Nothing to change!]

Yes. News forms quickly and impacts each of us differently. Interesting dynamic abroad in our land these days. Used to be if we knew the characters involved we understood the news as it unfolded; not so today. None of us know the characters it seems.

Therein lies the uniqueness of our times. Think back on your experiences with governments, policies, political issues, personalities and all of that; think back hard, now. Some of you are too young to have much memory on these matters, but many of us do.

I’m one of those people who has always been interested in public policy and its formation. Not an easy subject to understand; on the surface it seems easy, but once you delve below the surface the rocky shoals appear and loom large. Navigating among them toward a safe landing is difficult. Try it some time and you will quickly learn the lesson of which I write.

That experience informed me long ago that political rhetoric is cheap; it is directed at winning supporters for their vote at the ballot box. Making promises work after the election is another matter. And we have such an example today.

“Build the Wall.” Not practical and not needed. Policy and implementation of the policy is the primary means to achieve the goal the wall was supposed to achieve. The reason: the border is land, sea and air. It is not a line drawn in the sand of a desert separating Mexico and the southwestern states of the USA. Go around the wall by Gulf or Pacific waters. Or fly to another land and enter that way.

Picking and choosing who you discourage from immigrating is another matter. Canada shares the longest border of a foreign nation we have. Period. Think about that. Then measure the coast line mileage of the west and east coasts; add them together; compare that astounding figure with the mileage of the desert border with Mexico. Peanuts.

Policy is the answer. Well thought out policy. And no one person has the answer. All of us together most likely have the answer. It takes combined intelligence to work this out. A Congress of many theories and ideologies can do this with discipline. Without the discipline, however, it will not happen.

Ask John McCain. When George W. Bush was new in the White House, McCain worked with him to define a compromise that would lessen illegal immigrant traffic from Mexico to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada. Both McCain and Bush agreed on the basics. Then McCain was tasked to visit Congress with suggestions. He was resoundingly repulsed by everyone in sight – the leaders of both the House and the Senate, as well as rank and file members. Do you remember those attempts? They were well reported in the press.

The interesting thing is McCain and Bush suggested similar solutions voiced by Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and other political leaders. Because the ideological divide and purity held sway in those days, progress on the issue was impossible. Too bad; we have the same issue today and the solution chosen by trump and his supporters won the argument.

Trouble is: it doesn’t work. It is impractical, too costly, and down right inhuman and inhospitable. America is not like that.

The current RAISE act being touted by trump is similar. It cuts in half immigrant flows by policy. It proposes the antithesis of what the Statue of Liberty heralds – ‘give me your tired and poor, huddled masses yearning to live free’ – and to do so redefines who and what America is.

I understand frustration. But I do not believe it should redefine who we are as a people or nation.

Get a grip, people. Just because you are here and settled does not mean you have the right or moral compass to close the door on others who yearn for what you already have.

Shame!

August 7. 2017

Beginning to Show

Unraveling an establishment is beginning to show. Unpredictability first, then more, until chaos reigns. Decisions made in quiet solitude, tweeted out, and then the scramble of the establishment White House to make sense of it. The press is next to attempt making sense of it. Not much luck there. Sense is not much present.

Foreign nation polls of citizens take measure of their sentiments; about America. Once the reliable partner in most all things – commerce, finance, medical assistance, education sharing, military safety umbrella – now it is eroding.

Tough man image is projected by trump; but is it real? Not very. The image is skin deep and easily crazes and shatters into tiny bits. Too many players to understand their roles; besides, all the roles keep shifting to others with little sense of who is who and what is what. Chaos. Smoke screen? Or reality coming into focus?

Too soon to say for history buffs, but for political buffs and social scientists the verdict is shaping up fairly well: there is no control in the White House. Perhaps Gen. Kelly will impose that on the fractured team, but then there are the family members walking about the ‘palace’ as though they have an official title. They don’t; their presence only serves to confuse and addle the rest of the people on scene.

As I said, chaos. This is no way to run a country.

Especially, not America. We are used to better.

Better thinking, study, consideration, manners, too. Planning and careful ordering of myriad details. Productive operations require order and policy; and informed minds with the discipline to relate many disciplines of thought to one another. Discovery comes from this order of things; control supports leadership and the projection of same. All of this is missing in this White House.

The name trump is building a lexicon of meaning all its own. The brand is dwindling. The reputation is not one of burnished wealth but of dissolution and failure. There were those who predicted this. There were many who said no. Who is saying that now?

Letting Obamacare implode may be more difficult than once thought. Laws require levels of federal support; those are not easily allowed to fade away. And implosion needs an active core of citizens actually hating the program that they abandon it. That is not in the cards today; most rely on the program and fear its dissolution. It will remain for some time and maybe even be tweaked to strength.

What can implode is a meaningless presidency founded on nonsense. This looms larger every day. Facts matter. Opinions fade with time. Only provable facts retain value. And that is the nettlesome reality the trump family is beginning to realize.

Thinking something is so doesn’t make it so.

There’s a lesson for the rest of us buried in all of this.

Ponder it well.

August 4, 2017