War has played a major role in human history, whether war is raging or not. During peace-time the military prepares for war, while society absorbs the cost. Some theories consider war to be an integral part of the essence of humankind while others consider war to be the result of specific economic or ecological conditions. Philosophers have wrestled with the concept of being “human” for centuries. Do we have an essence, a nature, which causes us to start wars and . . .
Category: Politics
Why Join a Political Party?
An independent can be defined as someone who votes for candidates on issues rather than on the basis of a political ideology or partisanship. Let’s think for ourselves. Why rely on a political party with its lobbyists selecting a position on a list of issues from healthcare, military spending, gun control, income gap, or climate change? What if you love your guns and are also worried about our response to climate change? Why are these issues tied together? Because that is how the . . .
Sanctions: Blunderbuss Diplomacy
Sanctions are penalties applied to countries, organizations and individuals because of economic, political, military and social disagreements. Sanctions typically include trade barriers, tariffs and/or restricted access to money and are administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an agency of the US Treasury Department. The effectiveness of sanctions is debatable: In a report to the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights in 2000, Marc Bossuyt suggests “these international economic sanctions are based on the assumption that economic pressure . . .
Time For Metric?
8 ounces in a cup, 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard,16 ounces in a pound, 4 quarts in a gallon,43,560 square feet in an acre What a Number Stew! The US is the outlier. The other 95% + of the world use the metric system. Canada established a Metric commission in 1971 and over Labor Day weekend in 1977 every speed limit sign in the country was changed from MPH to KPH. US Metric History 1968 . . .
Save the GOP!
We wait as four years of embarrassing histrionics come to an end, before a normal transfer of power on January 20 as called for by the 20th Amendment of the US constitution. Fraudulent Election? A joint session of congress will open on January 6th, 2021 to record the electoral votes from each state and District of Columbia in alphabetical order. But, most of the GOP Representatives and eleven GOP Senators plan to object to the results from several key . . .
Profits and Common Good
Obviously, we live with and depend on business corporations to provide us with what we need. Competitive markets encourage innovation and invention to our benefit. What motivates these corporations? According to Milton Friedman the only purpose of a corporation is to make a profit for the shareholders. There are some well-known companies that pursue a broader and socially responsible agenda: Patagonia and Ben & Jerry’s are prominent examples. But corporations are run by a variety of people who sometimes make . . .
Short Term Decisions
The outgoing administration has a self-served view of the world. Behind the obvious distractions and pandering to the benighted, are destructive tampering with relationships and regulations and short-sighted decisions. Purged Cuban Doctors The US along with Brazil’s Bolsonaro (“Trump of the Tropics”) expelled 10,000 Cuban medical workers from poor areas of Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and El Salvador months before the Covad19 pandemic struck. This was done to curb Cuba’s most important export, medical experts. How the doctors and nurses get . . .
Anti Fascism
Is the US descending into fascism?What would be the indicators? Fascism: authoritarian ultra nationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, as well as strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe. Chicago Anti Fascism Rally 9-5-20: I wanted to learn more about the current anti-fascist movement which is worried about encroaching authoritarianism in the US. So, I attended an anti fascist rally in Chicago sponsored by a few different organizations. There . . .
Cost of Poverty
Poverty Here? A 2017 study by OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) measures the US poverty level at 17.8%, which is worse than Mexico (16.6%),Russia (12.7%), and Denmark (5.8%) . When it comes to child poverty, things are even worse. A UNICEF report found that the United States ranked 34 of 35 developed countries – only Romania had a higher child poverty rate. Inequality? It is interesting that when comparing income inequality before taxes, the US is similar to . . .
Warp Speedster
An ironically named committee is being assembled to conquer the new corona virus. What is warp speed? There is the science fiction concept first introduced by John F. Campbell in his novel from 1931, Islands of Space, as a technique for traveling faster than light. Then there is Einstein’s theory of special relativity, which, upon casual interpretation indicates that matter (having mass) cannot travel at the speed of light. It would require an infinite amount of energy. So here we . . .