A better 2014?

Is life getting better or worse.  The signs of it getting worse are everywhere.  Drones are used in warfare, millions of people actually spend time with “Duck Dynasty,” teenagers have the attention span of gerbils, terrorism is routine in parts of the world--you can make your own list.

On the other hand, if I had been born in 1842 instead of 1942, I would have died at least twice and maybe four of five times by my current age.  The 20th century was the first century in which the average U.S. life span exceeded 50 years.  I’m reprinting a small portion of the causes of death in the Catasauqua area.  The prevalence of train injuries immediately jumps out, but many of those injuries would not be fatal today.  

Causes of Death--Reported in the Catasauqua Dispatch--1882

jumped from train platform, legs cut off

ate wild parsnip

pneumonia

inflammatory rheumatism

foot crushed between train bumpers

ulceration of the stomach

hit by train, leg amputated

landslide at Wharton’s ore mines

stroke of apoplexy

shot himself in hand with toy blank cartridge

fell under train cars

drunk, fell from train platform between moving cars

hit by passenger train

fell through opening in hay loft, hit head

hit by passenger train

shot himself with toy pistol, lockjaw set in

thrown off spring wagon, hit head, congestion of the brain

run over by train

fell under train, legs crushed

dropped dead in harvest field

suicide, poison-paris green

suicide, hanging

run over by train

possible epileptic fit, found dead in outhouse

Be glad you are living in 2014.  Happy New Year!

Dumping old files

Tonight I chucked out my notes from my Ph.D. dissertation.  This should have been easy.  I was awarded the degree in 1974, I haven’t even looked at the notes in over 20 years, and I never published an article based on the research.  

All that material on obscure colonial possessions, on U.N. Decolonization Committee votes, on places you’d have a hard time finding on a map, like Cabinda--all dumped into the recycling bin.

I don’t know why, but it makes me a little sad.  

(Cabinda, by the way, is located just north of Angola, and is considered part of Angola, although there are a number of people in Cabinda who would give you an argument about that.)

Foods to avoid

It’s almost time for New Year’s resolutions.  According to my latest issue of Sierra (Jan./Feb. 2014, pp. 6-7), here are five foods to avoid in 2014. 

Bluefin Tuna.  They are long-lived and don’t reproduce easily.  They are overfished and declining fast.  If we don’t stop eating them now, in a few years we will all stop eating them because they will be extinct.

Conventional coffee.  Buy organic coffee and choose shade-grown coffee.  And get off your fancy kick.  A cup of black coffee at Starbucks has a carbon footprint of about 30 grams; a venti caramel latte has one of about 420 grams.

Burgers.  If you must, and some of us must, try to eat grass fed beef.  And not so much.  And not so often. 

Genetically modified corn.  Do you really need high fructose corn syrup?  GMO corn is depleting bees, uses more pesticides, requires more fertilizer, and reduces biodiversity.  

Palm oil.  Some of these foods sound so benign, but 8 million acres of rain forest have already been cleared and burned to grow palm trees.  In Indonesia deforestation-related carbon emissions--most of which are from expanding palm plantations--annually surpass the amount of pollution from ALL U.S. cars, trucks, planes, and ships. Palm oil use in this country has increased by about 500% in the past ten years.  

Federal District Court Judge Issues Ridiculous Ruling

Earlier this month a panel of experts appointed by President Obama issued a 300 page report with over 40 recommendations to protect Americans’ privacy as well as the country.  The report noted that mass collections of phone records had not actually helped to prevent attacks.

Now we get Judge William Pauley III who issued a decision approving mass surveillance.  He wrote:  “The effectiveness of bulk telephony metadata collection cannot be seriously disputed.”  Well, yeah, it can.

Pauley used as precedent a 1979 Supreme Court case “Smith v. Maryland.”  In that case the Court ruled that a robbery suspect had no Fourth Amendment protection in the telephone numbers he dialed.  OK, I can go along with that.  What I can’t do is make the leap from that case to daily sweeps of millions of phone calls.

The judge also said that government almost always acts in accordance with the law and corrects itself when it doesn’t.  Sure it does.  It’s so benign and trustworthy that we could eliminate the 4th Amendment entirely.

Inequality for all

On Thursday, January 16, at 7:30 p.m., Richard Reich’s award-winning documentary on the shrinking American middle class will be screened at the Mahoning Valley Cinema, Carbon Plaza Mall, Route 443, Lehighton. The film, rated PG, lasts 89 minutes.  If you would like to see the trailer, go to <inequalityforall.com>.

The show costs $6. If you would like a ticket, contact Linda at 610-377-0235, or you may purchase your tickets at the door.  Out-of-state attendees will be admitted free.

Dr. Reich, the man behind the film, is currently Professor of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley and has discussed the current state of the economy on various talk shows as well as the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The Affordable Care Act explained

Let’s assume you believe that a modern economically-advanced society has a moral obligation to provide basic health care to its inhabitants, no matter what their income.  

Assume also that the existing health care system isn’t really a system at all, but a mishmash of workplace insurance plans, individual plans, no plans, emergency room services, Medicare, Medicaid, and HMO memberships, 

To give everyone health care, the government could institute a system in which it will pay a certain amount for various medical procedures.  You might be asked to pay something toward your bill, but the government will bear most of the burden for treatment of major illnesses.  This is the so-called “single payer plan,” advocated by many liberals, but seen as “socialism” by many on the right.  Politically it’s a no go.

The only other option is to patch a program together using private insurance companies, with government help in paying for the insurance.  There is no way that can be done without an amazingly complicated set of rules.  That is a major drawback with the Affordable Care Act.

Now overlay that complicated law with:  (a) a website that didn’t work from day one; (b) deliberate attempts to sabotage the entire law by not instituting state exchanges; (c); a lack of community spirit among young people, who don’t want to pay anything toward insurance; (d) an overly optimistic administration that minimized the problems; (f) a congress which doesn’t have any desire to fix the bill, but only to kill it.  

The Presidential Character

In 1972 James David Barber published The Presidential Character, basically a typology of presidential attitudes and behaviors.  Here’s how it works.  Draw a line across the middle sheet  of paper.  Label the space above the line as “active” and below the line “passive.” 

    

 Barber says that some presidents are activist, proposing major legislation, attempting to influence Congressional policy, and taking a lead on major issues.  FDR springs to mind.  Other presidents do very little while in office, basically warming the seat.  Calvin Coolidge is one.  When told Coolidge was dead, Alice Roosevelt Longworth exclaimed, “How could they tell?”

Now draw a line in the middle of the paper from top to bottom.  Label the left side “positive” and the right hand side “negative.”  Positive presidents are those who love the job and get a kick out of being president.  Again, FDR springs to mind.  Negative presidents hardly ever smile; when they do it seems forced.  They run for president out of a sense of duty. Think Nixon or Wilson.

So now you have a matrix with four cells: active-positive, passive-positive; active-negative, and passive-negative.  While we could argue about individual presidents, we probably would agree on a number of them.  FDR--active-positive; the first George Bush--passive-positive;  Nixon--active-negative; Coolidge--passive-negative.  The last cell would have the least number, I believe, since if you don’t like the job and you don’t want to change policy, why even run?  (Coolidge took over when Harding died, and although he could have easily won re-election in 1928, he chose not to run.)

Beyond providing for interesting discussions, does any of this matter?  According to Barber, active-negative presidents are potentially a problem.  They don’t enjoy the job, but they see a need to change policies.  They tend to be testy, They do not play well with others.  

Barber thought that active-positive presidents were the most desirable.  Note that Barber was not concerned with what policies the president pursued.  I would put Reagan in the active-positive cell, but I certainly didn’t like his policy proposals, which have been a national disaster.

So in which cell does President Obama fit?  Justify your answer.

The other 364 days

I gave a small donation to the “Toys for Tots” program, and I commend the people who organize that activity, but I can’t help thinking that if we lived in just society with less disparity between the upper tier and the rest of us, and if we had a decent safety net, we could scale back that program considerably.

Congress has cut food stamps for millions of people and will end unemployment benefits for over a million people just a few days after Christmas.  The Toys for Tots is a sweet thing to do, but it is not enough.

Yellowstone wolves

Naturalist and Sierra Club founder John Muir once wrote, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”  The winter issue of Earthjustice has an example of what Muir was talking about.  

In the 1920s U.S. government policy allowed the extermination of wolves in Yellowstone, which caused an ecosystem collapse.  Here’s what happened.  Elk populations exploded.  The elk overgrazed the aspens and willows, which were used by beavers for food and dam material.  Scavenger species, such as bears and ravens, declined, since they no longer had wolf kills on which to feed.

Coyotes became the apex predator, but they eat rodents, not elk.  As a consequence, smaller animals that eat voles and mice, such as foxes and hawks, began to decline.

In 1995 wolves were reintroduced.  Coyote numbers dropped by half, elk numbers dropped, beaver colonies in the North range increased from 1 to 12, and scavenger species again had wolf kills to eat.

On another subject entirely, I had my root canal this afternoon.  It was almost painless--thank you Lehigh Valley Endodontics.  

Toothache

What are the two most dreaded words in the English language?  “Root Canal.”  I have all kinds of subjects to write about, but I have a molar that needs a root canal, but the infection is not quite responding to the amoxicillin, and I can’t concentrate, and I’m going to bed.  Maybe I’ll feel better tomorrow night.  The procedure is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Back from the abyss

Periodically the U.S. goes through periods of paranoia, its citizens frightened and willing to set aside the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution.  In the 1840s the fear was directed against the Irish and in the 1870s against Chinese.  After both World Wars we experienced what has come to be known as the Red Scares.  That is a very truncated list; I could add many more.

Our latest descent into fear and paranoia involves “terrorism.”  Beginning with the illegal roundup of hundreds of Muslims after 9/11, and including Guantanamo and torture, the fear has also prompted lesser annoyances, such as over 900,000 people on restricted fly lists, the necessity for passports to drive into Canada, and the tapping of friendly foreign leaders’ conversations.  

Terrorists are real. I know that.  What I don’t see is how that justifies the N.S.A. recording the phone calls and emails of ordinary Americans.  In the last two days, I’m proud to say, we saw some pushback in three different areas.

On Monday a federal district court judge, Richard J. Leon, said the N.S.A. recording of all Americans’ phone calls was “almost Orwellian.”  He said Madison would be “aghast.”

His opinion, of course, will be appealed by the Justice Department.  The Justice Department is an executive department under President Obama.

Secondly, when President Obama met with some of the nation’s leaders in the tech industry to discuss the health care website problems, those leaders were more interested in discussing the privacy rights of their users and customers. 

Third, a panel appointed to review the surveillance activities of N.S.A. released its report on Wednesday.  It made 46 recommendations, many of which called for limiting the N.S.A. activities.  The President is said to be open to many of the proposals.

Incidentally, we would not even have known how extensive the N.S.A. taps and recordings were if it had not been for Edward Snowden.  

A Marxist Pope?

Pope Francis, discussing the world’s economy, said, “In this system, which tends to devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which becomes the only rule.”

He went on to say, “Inequality eventually engenders a violence which recourse to arms cannot and never will be able to solve.”

Rush Limbaugh called this “pure Marxism.”   When told that people were calling him a Marxist, the Pope replied that he wasn’t a Marxist, but he knew many fine people who were.

I love this Pope.

Current events quiz

The Carbon County Democrats for Change held their annual Holiday Party tonight.  I had prepared a quiz consisting of 16 questions for the party-goers.  I won’t give you the whole quiz--just four of the questions.

1.  Senator Ted Cruz was born in:

     A.  Cuba.

     B.  Kenya.

     C.  Dallas.

     D.  Canada.

2.  Republican representative Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania compared Speaker John Boehner to:

     A.  Jesus on Palm Sunday.

     B.  Charleton Heston parting the Red Sea.

     C.  Sitting Bull at the battle of Little Big Horn.

     D.  George Washington crossing the Delaware.

3.  The number of women currently serving in the U.S. Senate Is:

     A.  6.

     B.  20.

     C.  32.

     D.  40.

Bonus point:  How many of those women are Republican? ____

4.  Santa Claus and Jesus were both white guys, according to:

     A.  Megyn Fox of Fox "News."

     B.  the Hallmark Greeting Card company.

     C.  recent legislation adopted by the Slovak Republic.

     D.  the Tea Party caucus in the House of Representatives.

Answers:  1-D; 2-A; 3-B, bonus point-4; 4-A.  How did you do?

Blaming the Affordable Care Act

When I was young and foolish, I drove my grandfather’s jeep into a deep snowdrift near our house.  The  drift was deeper than I thought, and the jeep rolled over.  My Dad got the tractor and a chain, and we drug it home.  The only damage was a broken windshield. Nonetheless, from that point on, when anything went wrong with the jeep, including a dead battery, my grandfather would nod his head and say, “That’s because Roy rolled the jeep over.”

I was reminded of that when my aunt, an elderly Democrat who voted for Obama, began to rail against the Affordable Care Act.  Her doctor evidently was worried about her use of pain pills, and told her he would not prescribe any more.  He told her it was because of Obamacare.  She had been getting visits from a home health care nurse, but that ended.  She blamed Obamacare.

Since she is on Medicare, neither of those developments had anything to do with the Affordable Care Act.  Medicare would not affect her pain pill prescription, and it limits the number of home health care visits after a hospital stay.  It is just so convenient to blame everything unpopular on Obamacare.  Every time someone’s insurance rates go up from now on, we know what to blame.  

Wine in the News

Item 1:  The British wine industry is booming.  Sparkling wines from Britain have been beating Champagnes at competition.  According to an article by George Kantchev in yesterday’s Times, the British wine industry has doubled in the last 30 years.  Why?  It’s because of global climate change.  Republicans can deny it all they want, but it is here, and its effects are obviously being felt.  Just ask British vintners.

Item 2:  Willam I. Koch of Koch Brothers fame has filed suit against Rudy Kurniawan, a rare wine dealer, who sold counterfeit wine.  Mr. Koch paid 9,000 bucks for a 1949 Chateau Lafleur, and $30,000 for a 1947 Chateau Petrus.  They were fakes.

Mosi Secret, writing in the Dec. 14 issue of the Times, noted that Mr. Koch spent up to $2.1 million dollars on 219 bottles of counterfeit wines.  Mr. Koch was really upset to find out the wines were bogus.

I don’t like William Koch, but I will give him some free advice.  You can buy two bottles of Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc (2012--a very good year) for under 18 bucks at the State Wine and Spirits store, and by the time you have finished both bottles, you won’t care about fake wines or anything else.

A well-regulated militia

Since the Newtown murders last year, over 11,000 people were killed by guns in the U.S.  This was reported in the on-line publication Slate, and you can see the carnage on a day-by-day count at <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html>.  

As Slate points out, this is the number reported in publications across the country. It is an undercount, since suicides by guns are generally not reported.

For comparison, this month the American death total hit 2000 in the Afghan war.  That is 2000 too many.  So is 11,000.  

Belgian Senate votes to allow euthanasia for children

Belgium has allowed euthanasia for adults since 2002.  Now the Belgian Senate has voted to allow euthanasia for children who are afflicted with “constant and unbearable physical suffering” who have a “capacity of discernment.”  The vote to was 71-17.

The law must still be adopted by the lower house, which will probably happen.  The bill does contain all sorts of safeguards, including parental approval.  

It must be wonderful to live in a country where legislators are willing to put the interests of suffering children above the interests of religious dogma.  

If you want to read the complete article on the vote in the Belgian parliament, go to <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/world/europe/belgian-senate-votes-to-allow-euthanasia-for-terminally-ill-children.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0>.

Republicans win

There’s been a good deal of focus on the divisions in the Republican ranks over the budget deal.  Paul Ryan is receiving kudos for bucking the Tea Party wing of his party, and, of course, Mario Rubio and Ted Cruz are decrying the “compromise.”

Nonetheless, the Republican philosophy reigns supreme.  While the Democrats will be able to cancel some of the sequester cuts and add #31.5 billion to transportation and education, there are no increases in taxes on the wealthiest Americans.  Federal workers will have to pay more for their pension plans.  Money is not provided for cities and states to undertake infrastructure repair.  Airline ticket prices will rise. 

Worst of all, there will be no extension of jobless benefits that expire on January 1.  That effects approximately 1,300,000 Americans.  

Happy New Year.

Deregulating phones and electricity

Reader George sent the following letter to our state legislators Yudichak, Argall, and Heffley regarding two bills now before the PA legislature.  With some slight editing, here is what George wrote:

Subject: HB 1608 & SB1121

The proposed HB1608, by Rep. Warren Kampf, would eliminate traditional telephone service. Sadly legislators who propose these bills do not listen to what people have to say on how they would be affected. There were many seniors like me calling and expressing concerns with examples of how they would be affected. [The bill would allow phone companies to eliminate land line service.]

Somehow when things like this happen it’s not for the well-being of people but for the well-being of companies and legislators.  This industry must not be de-regulated. We must keep PUC control in place.

Another subject was SB1121, electric suppliers.  This is an attempt to eliminate one’s default supplier of electric service and allow it to be auctioned off as if we were slaves to the highest bidder.

It seems like an attempt for government finding another way to tax us. With electric companies paying the state $100 for each acquired customer,  they will just find a way to pass this expense along to us customers.  I for one do not want to be told who will supply my electric service.  

Please vote NO should any of these bills ever come for a vote.

Let’s do something positive and get these guys on board to eliminate property taxes and do something good for once to help PA grow again.

Sincerely,

George.

Health care exchange

Here’s a headline I really like:  “Health Care Exchange Is Vastly Improved, Users Say.”  That was in today’s New York Times, and I was really happy to see it.  Unfortunately, the article did say that while people were being enrolled, they were still encountering delays and problems.

It is so frustrating that one of the major achievements of the Obama presidency is being derailed by computer problems.  

Note to readers:

Yesterday I posted a “want ad” for a person to run for the state House.  For some reason it was published before previous postings.  I don’t know how to correct it, since I don’t even understand how it happened.  I need a computer savvy person to live in our house (fresh eggs available every morning) to post for me.  I’ll sit in a little room and type out content on an old Underwood typewriter and hand it over to my expert.  Any takers?

Job Opening

Wanted:  A Democratic candidate to run in the 122nd Pennsylvania House District.  

Qualifications:  Applicant should be intelligent, an environmentalist, pro-labor, supportive of small business, respectful of the rights of women, a backer of public education, and a supporter of gay rights.  Applicant should recognize that selling the Wine and Spirits stores will lead to alcoholism and teen drinking.  Applicant should know that being a state legislator means more than photo ops.

Applicant should be willing to raise funds, walk door to door to meet voters, and work 14-hour days.

Applicant must have lived in Carbon County before November 2013.  Applicant may be an Independent, Libertarian, Green, or Republican, but must be willing to re-register as a Democrat before January 1, 2014. 

Benefits:  If applicant wins the November election, the citizens of Carbon County will gain a legislator who represents people other than the one percent, who supports adequate funding for education, transportation, and health care, and who puts the interests of the people of Carbon County above an out-of-touch governor.

Undetectable Firearms Act

I’ve written about the federal law that bans undetectable firearms, scheduled to expire this month.  The House did pass an extension of the law, but two chicken-shit items are worth noting. 

First, the extension passed by voice vote.  Members of Congress are so afraid of gun wackos that they did not want to go on record as opposing plastic weaponry.  Secondly, they did not include 3-D printed guns.  I have no idea how that works, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tested one of those 3-D guns and found it could fire metal .380-caliber bullets.

Why do the 2nd Amendment fanatics always forget the phrase “well-regulated”?

Nelson Mandela

At one time in my life I was an expert on obscure African liberation movements.  I knew about Frelimo and Swapo and the ANC.  I attended meetings in Berkeley in support of revolutionary organizations.  I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation on the efforts by the United Nations to hasten the decolonization of Angola and Mozambique and South West Africa.     I predicted that Portuguese colonies would gain independence when the Portuguese dictator Salazar died, which is exactly what happened.  

I also knew that South Africa was on its way to a race war that would result in thousands, if not millions, of casualties.  After all, this was a country which Gandhi had his first failure.  This was a country that was trying to herd blacks into “homelands” within its borders.  Its apartheid policies made Mississippi look liberal.  It had the closest thing to Fascism since Hitler.  But I was wrong; the race war never arrived.  

The reason I was wrong was because of one man--Nelson Mandela.  I know South Africa still has immense problems--housing segregation, corruption, crime, income inequality--but it is still the most prosperous African country, its government is reasonably democratic, and its people are united.  Nelson Mandela was truly amazing, and the world is so much better for what he accomplished.

Happy Holidays, Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin has written a new book entitled Glad Tidings and Great Joy, decrying the “War on Christmas.”  She says that people are afraid to say Merry Christmas, and that we have secularized the holiday with way too much commercialism.  

The book is available in hard cover for $13.95.  Profits do not go to charity.

Tired of Republicans

I really am.  

•  they do everything to discourage people from signing up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, then complain it doesn’t work.
•  they cut food stamps for the poorest Americans and then blame them for not working harder.
•  they hold hearings in the House Judiciary Committee about impeaching the President .
•  they criticize the attempts to diffuse the Iranian nuclear program, but offer no alternative except war.
• they complain about the Democrats voting to govern by majority rule in the Senate, after they held up votes for years on the President’s nominees.
• they are doing their best to rig elections by voter suppression and gerrymandering.

I could go on, but it is late and I’m going to bed.  I really think that a major party in a major democracy has been hijacked by unpatriotic fanatics.  Whether we can survive this onslaught of stupidity and silliness is open to question.  I hope so, but I am beginning to have doubts.

If, by a remote chance, you are a Republican reading this, my question is, why are you still a Republican?  If it is so distasteful for you to switch your registration to Democrat, become an independent or a Libertarian or a Green.  Do you really want to be in a party that thinks climate change is a hoax, that thinks gay marriage is a sin, that is willing to deny food to children, and that believes our system of health care than denies coverage to millions is just fine?  It’s time to reregister.  I am quite serious.

Zero Tolerance Revisited

I hope you will be impressed.  Last night I wrote about the absolute stupidity of “zero tolerance” policies.  Today a New York Times front page headline read:  “Seeing the Toll, Schools Revise Zero Tolerance.”

The article discusses changes in school policy in such places as L.A., Baltimore, Chicago, and Denver.  Instead of kicking kids out of school and putting them into the streets, schools are now using counseling and special help.  Incidentally, 70% of the kids getting kicked out are black or Hispanic.

Which brings us to my attempt to provide a small portion of the bail requirement for the 18-year-old now in county jail for taking an air rifle to the Jim Thorpe High School last week for the purpose of impressing a girl.  Bail has been set at $100,000.   I thought it would be fairly simple--find out the name of the parents, make my offer, and congratulate myself for being a bleeding-heart liberal do-gooder.

Didn’t happen.  I called the County District Attorney’s office, who said Magistrate Lewis was handling the case.  I called that office, and was told yes, the student was in jail, did not have an attorney, and they couldn’t tell me anything about the case because of privacy requirements.  They referred me to the Jim Thorpe Police Department.  The officer was polite and apologized for being short with me, but said he could not legally give me information.  He referred me to the Jim Thorpe School District.  That got me to Superintendent Conway, who was most helpful.  

Ms. Conway told me that the student did not have parents in Carbon County but was under the care of a social service agency known as Child First.  I called my friend Kara for help, and she suggested I try Carbon County Juvenile Probation.  The director explained that since the student was 18, it was not a juvenile case, but did give me the number of Child First.  The woman there told me this was a referral from Philadelphia.  She called the Philly agency, and they gave her permission to call me back to let me know the student did have a case worker and would receive legal help.  The hearing will be later this month, and presumably the attorney will ask for a reduction in bail.  

Since I’ve gone this far, I will try to attend the hearing if it is open to the public.  Since I am neither attorney or relative, I don’t know if that will be possible.  In the meantime, an 18-year-old high school student who made a really dumb decision will remain in jail.

Deer Season

Our regular Monday garbage pickup is postponed until Tuesday, Dec. 3.  This is because Dec. 2 is the first day of deer season, and all the Township employees are out hunting deer. 

I am fully behind this.  Both Linda and I have run into deer on the highway, and they do major damage to our truck patch.  Since wolves and mountain lions have been exterminated in Pennsylvania, deer have no natural predators. They are not Bambi.  They are rats with hooves.  Go hunters.

This just in--Catholic Church not anti-gay

On “Meet the Press” David Gregory asked Cardinal Dolan about the Church’s stand on gays.  I’ll quote the entire first paragraph of an article in today’s New York Times entitled “In Interview, Dolan Says Church is ‘Caricatured’ as Anti-Gay.”

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said on Friday that the Roman Catholic Church was being “caricatured’ as being anti-gay,” even as he lamented the continued expansion of same-sex marriage in the United States and vowed to keep fighting it.

That is beyond irony.

The N.R.A. can kiss the butt of my 16-guage shotgun

On November 20 I wrote about the early December expiration of the law banning plastic guns and speculated on the N.R.A.’s position on extending that law.  I will now explain why the N.R.A. is so powerful, even though many of its policies are opposed by an overwhelmingly majority of Americans.

It all has to do with the concept of “intensity.”  In public opinion studies intensity is the term given to how strongly people feel about a particular issue.  The first thing to realize is that a small portion of the public is not even aware of many issues.  How many people can tell you much about milk price supports, or nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain, or the Citizens United decision, or the Delaware loophole?  On that type of issue small groups with good lobbyists and some targeted campaign contributions can exert disproportionate influence.  They have “intensity,” while the rest of the public couldn’t care less.

On some issues, of course, intense groups exist on both sides of the issue.  Anti-abortion groups are somewhat balanced by people who feel strongly that abortion should be a matter between a woman and her doctor.  As long as there is a large cushion of people in the middle of an issue, democracy can handle that kind of intensity. 
When the country becomes too polarized, however, democracy breaks down.  (30% think slavery is necessary, 20% doesn’t care, and 50% thinks slavery is an evil to be ended--well, you know what happened in 1861.)

Now let’s look at the N.R.A.  Most people think you should have background checks for anyone purchasing an assault rifle.  They think assault rifle owners should register their firearms.  They don’t understand why assault rifles, which you can’t use to hunt anything except people, should even be allowed.

But they don’t feel any intensity.  They don’t have any equivalent bumper stickers to counter “The only way you’ll take my gun is from my cold dead fingers” or “Gun control is sighting with both hands.”  

N.R.A. members write letters.  They vote on one issue only.  They give money for campaign contributions.  They are vocal.  They are intense.  And they win.

As an opponent of the N.R.A., I have also become intense.  When some N.R.A. member tells me Obama wants to take his guns, I’m going to tell him he is an ass who is playing into the hands of arms manufacturers.  When somebody tells me about the 2nd amendment, I will point out the words “well regulated.”  And I will note that I, too, have a shotgun, and I, too, know how to use it.  I’m really getting tired of the crap pedaled by the N.R.A.

Quest for the New York Times

Every day I drive four miles to the Kresgeville Deli for my New York Times.  Last Sunday  the Deli didn’t get its normal delivery.  There’s some problem with the distributor.  That meant a 14-mile trip to Jim Thorpe, where Dugan’s on Broadway had a copy.  On Monday I was able to buy one at the Sunoco station on Delaware in Palmerton.  On Tuesday it was back to Dugan’s.  Today no one--Deli, Dugan’s or Sunoco--had a copy.

At this point most readers will be shouting, “You can get it on line.”  And I did.  It’s not the same.

First of all, the on-line edition does not have all the news the paper has.  Secondly, you have to hunt for stuff.  You have to click on the article.  You can’t just turn the page and scan headlines.  Third, there’s all kinds of distracting crap along the margins.  Finally, Linda and I like to work the crossword puzzle during lunch.  That won’t work on the screen.

If my various outlets don’t have copies by Friday, I’m driving to Manhattan and raising some hell.

Note:  Under the terms of the Bloggers’ contract, I get Thanksgiving off.  I’ll be back Friday.  In the meantime, have a nice Thanksgiving.

Black Thursday

Suppose there was a country where people cared more about each other than about saving a dollar or two.  Suppose in that country shoppers were disgusted that stores like Lowes and Wal-Mart stayed open on a holiday traditionally centered around family activities, denying their employees Thanksgiving with their loved ones.  And suppose those shoppers boycotted those stores that stayed open to teach them a lesson about just what was important.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that country is the United States.

Wyoming and Texas

In continuing with my comparison of states (last night it was liberal Minnesota and right- wing Wisconsin), tonight I will discuss Texas and Wyoming.  

Wyoming is not a blue state.  In some counties it is difficult to find a registered Democrat.  The license plate has a cowboy on a bucking horse, and, for all I know, gun ownership is mandatory.  Nonetheless, Wyoming way ahead of Pennsylvania in its fracking regulations.

In 2010 Wyoming became the first state to require drilling companies to disclose the chemicals used in fracking.  A Times article on Nov. 23 (“Strong Rules on Fracking in Wyoming Seen as Model” by Kate Galbraith) quoted Republican Governor Matthew Mead as saying, “I am not going to accept the question of do you want a clean environment or do you want energy.  The fact is that in Wyoming, we want and need both.”

Get this.  A newly adopted water rule will require oil and gas companies to test wells or springs within a half mile of a drilling site, before and after drilling.  The tests will measure such items as bacteria, dissolved gasses like methane, and 20 chemical compounds.  Drilling companies must also monitor air pollution at drilling sites.  Wow.

And now Texas.  Members of the textbook review panel that looks at science books is concerned that the Genesis version of creation is slighted.  You know, the one that says a god created the world in six days, which evidently tired him out so much he had to rest on the seventh day.  I believe in this version fossils were put down by the devil (evidently also created by god) to confuse us.

Lordy, Lordy.

Minnesota v.Wisconsin

Don’t you love it when reality conforms to your expectations.  An article in the Sunday Review section of the New York Times compared the economic performance of Minnesota and Wisconsin.  

Wisconsin, as you probably know, elected the right-wing anti-union tax-cutting governor Scott Walker and a Republican legislature to do his bidding.  Minnesota, on the other hand, elected liberal Gov. Dayton and a Democratic legislature.  Minnesota raised taxes on the top 1%.

Wisconsin is now behind Minnesota in job growth.  Minnesota put money into schools; Wisconsin cut state funding to education.  Minnesota expanded Medicaid, Wisconsin refused, and many of its poor lack health insurance.  Minnesota is doing well economically; Wisconsin, not so much.

Bottom line:  liberal polices created jobs, expanded health care, and created a good business climate.  Right-wing ideology in Wisconsin excited the Tea Party but wrecked the state.  

By the way, Gov. Walker is now contemplating a run for the presidency.  His campaign slogan is “Let’s screw up the country the way we screwed up Wisconsin.”

Dallas Buyers' Club

My friend Jeremy stopped by today to teach me how to add pics to my postings.  He asked me how I decided what to write about, and I told him I usually didn’t decide until fairly late in the evening.  

Tonight, for example, I could have written about:

1.  how poaching for aphrodisiacs is depleting an already small stock of rhinos (listen, you impotent guys, one word--Viagra); 

2.  how the N.S.A. was planning to tap even more emails and calls;

3.  the visit by a Pakistani to various members of Congress to get answers about why his innocent relatives were killed in a drone strike;

4.  an article in the latest Nation about the progressive victories in the November elections;

5.  an article in Lancaster Farming about how big agribusiness is trying to pass a law that would override state laws on  caged chickens.  (I have a personal interest in that one--my chickens are NOT kept in cages.)

Instead, I’ve decided to write about the “Dallas Buyers’ Club,” a movie about the AIDS crisis in the late 80s and early 90s, before we were sure how the disease actually worked and what drugs might be helpful in alleviating the disease.  Linda and I saw it tonight at the Pocono Theater in Stroudsburg.

I had a Poly Sci major who had AIDS in the early years of the disease.  He sat in the back of the classroom away from other students. I made it a point to shake his hand, but I think he was afraid that other students might be reluctant to sit near him.  Now people with AIDS live long lives, but at that time the diagnosis was a death sentence.  He died a semester before he would have graduated.  San Jose State, to its credit, awarded him his B.A. posthumously.  

I don’t think you will “enjoy” the “Dallas Buyers’ Club,” but I think you will benefit from seeing it.

Why was Jerry Knowles elected?

“People didn’t elect me to implement the largest gas tax increase in the history of Pennsylvania,” said state representative Jerry Knowles of Schuylkill County.  

So why did they elect him?  Perhaps they expected him to make some hard decisions.  Perhaps they expected a representative who didn’t slavishly follow Grover Norquist.  Perhaps they wanted someone who was thoughtful and governed by reason rather than soundbites.  Maybe they expected political courage.

Too bad they got Jerry Knowles.

"Naked Power Grab"

Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa called today’s change in the filibuster rule on judicial and administrative appointments a “naked power grab.”

Here’s what’s a naked power grab.  When a Democratic President, with a Democratic Senate, and a House in which Democratic candidates received more votes than Republicans cannot get a qualified court appointee approved, that is a naked power grab on the part of the minority party.  

I’ve read that this will come back to haunt the Democrats when the Republicans are in power.  If you have been watching the Republican shenanigans over the past few years, do you think for one minute the Republicans would allow a minority of Democrats to block appointments?

Republicans are the party of voter suppression and of gerrymandering.  They are the party that encourages people not to sign up for health care and tells stories about how awful the Affordable Care Act is, ignoring the hundreds of thousands of people who die because they don’t have insurance.  They do not play well with others.

I am so glad the Democrats in the Senate did this.  I just wish they had done it years ago.

Plastic guns

An editorial in the Times today notes that December 8 is the expiration date for a law that bans the manufacture, sale, import, or possession of guns undetectable by metal detectors or X-ray machines.  This ban was first signed into law by President Reagan in 1988.  It was renewed in 1998 and 2003.

This time there could be a fight.  After all, the Second Amendment doesn’t mention plastic guns.  Any bets on what the N.R.A.’s position will be?

By the way, in last night's posting I noted that the Transportation Bill had been voted down in the Penna. state house.  It was brought back and passed.  Rep. Heffley voted no on the reconsideration.

Corbett's good deed--shot down

Gov. Corbett’s transportation bill was voted down yesterday by a combination of very liberal Democrats, who were concerned about changes in the “prevailing wage,” and by very conservative Republicans (i.e., Doyle Heffley), who objected to an increase in the gas tax.

The Democrats who voted against this bill were wrong.  Flat out wrong.  The project threshold for “prevailing wage” to kick in was raised from $25,000 to $100,000.  Given that almost no road project can be done for less than $100,000, that was a reasonable compromise.  The Laborers’ and Electrical Workers’ Unions, among others, recognized this and supported the bill.

The projects must be paid for, and the bill would have added a 25-28¢ a gallon gas tax.  This is where the conservative Republicans balked.  They give their loyalty not to Gov. Corbett or the people of Pennsylvania, but to Grover Norquist, who opposes any tax increase.

All the reasonable people in the middle lost out.  Pennsylvania roads, bridges, and mass transit lost out.  Workers lost out.  

I’m pretty sure Doyle Heffley is proud of his nay vote.  He ought to be ashamed.

Doyle Heffley-One of Us?

We’ve been doing a little research on Rep. Doyle Heffley’s campaign contributors.  In 2012 he received $15,000 from a hedge fund manager in New Jersey. Interestingly, Mr. Heffley’s campaign slogan was, “He’s still one of us.”  I think the “us” in that slogan must have been referring to hedge fund managers.

We also learned that Mr. Fred Reinhard of Palmerton donated $5000 to the Heffley campaign.  I wonder if that is the reason the Times News never prints my letters crtitical of Mr. Heffley.  Probably there’s no connection.

China's one-child policy

The globe has too many people.  We are changing the climate, we are polluting our atmosphere and our oceans, and we are using up our resources.  Humans are already beyond the long-run carrying capacity.  One bright spot in our over-population was China, which had a one-child per couple policy for decades.  

Now China has announced an easing of this policy. Couples will be allowed to have more than one child.  This is being celebrated in the west as a step forward freedom.  It isn’t.

It may be that the 1.34 billion Chinese will have two million more births on top of the approximately 15 million births per year.  I don’t see this as a cause for celebration.  I see this as another nail in the coffin of human habitation on this planet.

Clarence Thomas and Forrest Gump

Clarence Thomas spoke to a fundraiser for the Federalist Society, a group of conservative attorneys.  I’m not commenting on the inappropriateness of a sitting Supreme Court justice helping to raise funds for a political group, although it is totally inappropriate.

Nor will I comment on the fact that Thomas never says anything on the Court, but now speaks out for a conservative group.

What amazes me is that, according to an article in today’s Morning Call, Thomas compared himself to Forrest Gump.  He was quoted as saying,”One thing led to another, and I wound up on the court.  It was like totally Forrest Gump.”

If I remember correctly, didn’t Forrest Gump’s mom sometimes say  “Stupid is as stupid does"?

19th century mind in a 21st century world

You may have noticed that I’m having some trouble posting.  Last evening when I opened Sajeonogi to check my latest posting, I noticed I had, in addition to the actual post, two extra drafts.  

I didn’t set up this blog.  My friend Rene took the picture of Beltzville Lake, took the picture of the goat on my profile (I really do look like that), and explained how to post.  All I do is type in what I want to say and then click on a box that says “publish” and it’s done.

Lately, however, my blogger program tells me I have problems.  I have no idea how to fix them, and Rene lives in Harlem, so I can’t just ask him to drop by.  I also know that I could add pictures, but I have no idea how to do that either.  My friend Chris told me that if I were on Facebook, I would increase my readership, but the whole idea of having “friends” is distasteful to me.

What I will do is stumble along.  It could be worse.  I could be the guy in charge of the Affordable Care Act website.

Doyle Heffley

My latest letter to the Lehighton Times-News:

Rep. Doyle Heffley recently voted for a bill (HB1576) to give legislators a greater say in how and when Pennsylvania wildlife is considered endangered.  Currently the Fish and Boat Commission and the Game Commission decide whether or not a species should be listed.

Mr. Heffley was quoted as saying that scientists can’t always be trusted, and that in a democracy lawmakers must answer to the citizenry.  Heffley said, “I find it amazing that we put scientists on a pedestal.”

While it is true that in a democracy citizens rule, we do not depend on majority vote to determine that trans fats are bad for one’s health, or to predict the path of a hurricane, or to gauge the strength of structural components of a bridge.  We hire scientists and engineers for that.

I don’t want some legislator to declare bald eagles are no longer endangered because a campaign contributor wants to put a fracking pad on a nesting site.

Let's see if it gets published.

Redskins

The Allentown Morning Call today ran an article about the Neshaminy HIgh student newspaper’s decision to no longer will use the name “Redskins” when referring to Bucks County sports teams.  

High school students are showing us the way.  I find it hard to believe that in 2013 a NFL team still refers to itself as the Washington Redskins.  This is not about “political correctness,” an overused term.  This is about respect for native Americans. 

Although I don’t often post about NFL teams in this blog, if I do have occasion to refer to the Washington team, I will call it “the Washington NFL team that never wins Superbowls.”

Typhoon Haiyan and the Warsaw U.N. talks

As the sea level rises, Pacific coastal nations like the Philippines, Vietnam, and Bangladesh will experience more disasters from surges resulting from storms.  An article in New York Times entitled “South Florida Faces Ominous Prospects from Rising Waters,” (Nov. 1, 2013) is evidence that developed countries are also in trouble.

Currently U.N. delegates are meeting in Warsaw to discuss ways to strengthen the Kyoto Protocol, an earlier effort to slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.  The new standards would take effect in 2020.

Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated much of the Philippines, has given urgency to the talks.  Reaching agreement is not easy.  What should rich countries do to reduce greenhouse gasses?  How much money should they set aside to help poorer nations cope with climate change?  What about developing but still poor countries like India?

I don’t know what will come out of the Warsaw talks, but I will predict that 100 years from now, the humans left on this planet will not be talking about the Affordable Care website or the Kardashians or the Syrian civil war.  They will be wondering why an article about the climate talks in Warsaw were relegated to page 13 in the nation’s premier newspaper, and why the House of Representatives included over a hundred Republicans who thought climate change was a myth.