Make it so Number 1

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I see California lawmakers are considering a ban on gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.  I think this is great and they should do it immediately, but to be fair about it they should do it by political party affiliation. 

We know Republicans are: a) the minority party, b) climate change skeptics, and c) anti-progressive.  Therefore, don’t let them have the benefit of all this progress.  Make them drive these gas or diesel vehicles until they change their evil ways.  Maybe as a concession to the more moderate evil-doers allow them hybrids.

Only the progressive left should be allowed the benefit of the energy efficient all-electric cars available today.  They should be allowed to trade in their outdated and polluting vehicles for a cash bonus from all the excess money available within the California budget.

All the celebrities living within major metropolitan areas should convert within 30-days of the Governor signing the bill.  I think Rolls Royce must have a fully electric car by now.  Jay Leno should probably be forced to leave the state and relocate all his old gas and diesel cars.  I am not sure what to do with his Stanley Steamer, but that should probably go as well.

All the current gas stations in the state should be forced to convert to charging stations based on the party affiliation of their owners, or corporate sponsors.  For example, if the CEO of Exxon is a Democrat, all the Exxon stations must convert.  If the CEO of Sammy’s cheap gas is a Republican they won’t be allowed to convert until the CEO does.

Let’s let California bask in the glow of climate and identify politics, and make the world a better place.

Respect for Indigenous People and Science

There seems to be a problem on Hawaii.  Scientists want to build a telescope to see the stars, native protesters wish to protect their sacred mountain Mauna Kea.  There are already a number of observatories on the mountain, operated by a number of countries in addition to the US, but this new observatory will be significantly bigger than the rest.  Most of the current telescopes range in size from .9 to 10 meters, the new one would be 30 meters.

The state politicians, including the Democratic Governor David Inge, are on board.  Writers for the New York Times have thrown their support behind the effort.  The only thing slowing it down is protest of the effort as an affront to the sacred mountain, led by native Hawaiian protestors in Hilo and the state’s Supreme Court who halted the development in December 2015 when they invalidated the construction permits.

Recently, the state land use board approved the $1.4-1.6 billion dollar project, while promising to be sensitive to the concerns of the indigenous people.  They promise all the construction workers will undergo cultural sensitivity training before they drive their bulldozers and use their blasting equipment on this sacred mountain, while the consortium will “donate” millions of dollars to the educational programs on the big island.

For some reason, I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this story, but at the same time I don’t think the media will routinely report on the protests unless a Republican politician is involved, but that’s not likely since we all "know" Republicans are anti-science, but then again Republicans are all anti-indigenous people as well. 

Spending Other-People's Money

Tom Price, Secretary for Health and Human Services is gone, long live the Secretary.  His fall from grace was quick and awkward, much like a diver who attempts a swan dive, but ends up doing a belly flop.  His sin?  Spending other-people’s money unwisely and getting caught.  I expect he is not alone in his spending priorities among the Cabinet Secretaries, he just had a wife that needed to show off on Instagram and flag the abuse.  “Arrogance is, as it were, a solicitation on the part of one seeking honor for followers, whom he thinks he is entitled to treat with contempt.”  - Immanuel Kant

But it does detail a long-standing problem with our government.  Not one elected or appointed to government leadership seems to realize we, the tax payers, seek a return on our forced investment.  That return should be in the form of credible defense, sustainable infrastructure, advancements in medicine and science, or the myriad of social safety nets we’ve erected over the past 75-years.  Traveling first class, even for the most senior officials and sightseeing with your wife and kids while on official travel does not seem to fit on what I would like to see as a viable return on my investment, but it is fairly common place for those who feel entitled to it. “When we replace a sense of service and gratitude with a sense of entitlement and expectation, we quickly see the demise of our relationships, society, and economy.” – Steve Marabol

I remember when Representative Pelosi became Speaker of the House.  She demanded the Department of Defense provide her and a few of her entourage their own Boeing 737 to travel home to California on the weekends.  “Life is good when you’re the king!”  - Mel Brooks

I believe Donald Trump was elected for two reasons, both completely simple and understandable, but denied by every career politician alive today.

First, the Democrats made the calculated choice to nominate a candidate with such political and personal flaws that even those who hated the Republican choice could not vote for her with any kind of clear conscience.  They pushed their “it’s my turn” agenda through the rigging of the primary systems and the support of the major media outlets.  Unfortunately for them, their candidate and her advisors assumed historically Democratic safe havens like Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania did not need to be convinced that any Democrat was better than any Republican.

The second reason Trump won is he ran a populist campaign that resonated with all the voters the Democratic Party no longer wanted and had cast aside.  His primary campaign spent a pittance when compared to the PAC funded efforts of his opponents, yet his message resonated with almost everyone that doesn’t call a major city or the west coast home.  The best the Democrats could do was vilify him for his language, and centrist views on the great social issues the Democrats have chosen to embrace.

It is that populist group who embraces the idea of limits on spending other-people’s money.  President Trump seems to understand that, and that is why Tom Price is now the former Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Choosing the Elite

We seem to cultivate elitism.  Separating those who have special qualities, through heritage, education, intelligence, artistic talent, athletic ability, or wealth.  They become models for us to look up to, to emulate, to follow.  But, what really happens when we establish a process that identifies a child or a twenty-something as elite and then build a special world around them to ensure she or he rises to the positions we expect?

Looking at Europe we see the continuation of royalties and monarchs, but the real governing is left to the political elites.  Each of these classes have their own selection process.  Here at home, we have a number of paths into the world of elites, starting with our educational institutions where there are the Ivy League schools and then everyone else.  Within the military there are the service academies as the first door to that pathway within the small segment of the society that chooses to serve as defenders of the nation.

We see in the world of athletics the problems that come to so many who have been sheltered from the reality of life due to their world-class physical ability.  Look at the problems with drugs, sexual predation, or physical violence routinely reported when talking about football athletes here in the U.S.

During my career, I saw the corporate decisions shaping a leadership structure of the Air Force designed to reach down and pick the Lieutenants whose destiny would be guided to the stars.  From those early candidates, some would naturally fall away either through personal choice, or failure.  Those who remained would be the candidates for promotion to the general officer ranks, and the most senior military positions.  The possibility that someone could enter this group while in his or her thirties was never a serious possibility.  It was true those “late bloomers” could rise to credible and important positions but almost certainly not the most senior ranks.

Once, when discussing changes in the officer performance system that obscured the evaluator's ability to clearly rank subordinate readiness for the next grade, I foolishly asked how the promotion boards would know who was best qualified.  The response did not surprise me, only the candor with which it was given.  A candor, which when recognized was quickly corrected.  But what happens when the candidates for these highest positions are chosen so early and sheltered throughout their careers until they arrive at the most important position of Commander/Senior Leader?

The US Army seems to be trying to sort that out now, after a number of scandals among their Pantheon of the Stars.  See: Army looks for new ways to address misbehaving generals.  While I wish them good luck, I don’t expect they will alter their process for deciding who should be elevated to the Pantheon in the first place, for at the end of the day the reason the Army is considering this program has less to do with the individual than with the institution.

“We have tolerated people doing things they shouldn't be doing because we say all of them are extremely competent and really good at what they do. And that's not good enough now because you're not only damaging yourself, you're damaging the institution,” Cardon said. “We have great trust with the American people, every time one of these things happens, you're putting a nick in that.”

Are Political Protests an American Right?

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There is a resurgence of protests in the nation these days, similar to what I saw as a young man in the 1960s and early 70s.  Then, as now, the protesters were condemned by their opponents, just as the protesters themselves condemned the establishment.  In the 60s, we had the civil rights movement seeking equality for blacks in the nation, led by Dr. King’s group protesting in the South.  They were supported by young liberals traveling from the north to show support.  Opposing them were the various state, county and local governments as well as the white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan that continued to thrive through the political acquiescence of sympathetic whites in power.

Then, of course, we had the anti-Vietnam war movement, led by student political groups in the major urban campuses claiming a variety of righteous reasons to oppose the war.  They claimed to be protesting Americas involvement in an internal Vietnamese struggle, or rallying against the oppression of American Imperialism.  Perhaps I am being cynical, but I think the biggest reason the student elites protested was the potential they could be drafted and forced to fight. In the course of those protests; the young men and women who answered their nation’s call were cast aside, and their lives forever affected.  Some through exposure to herbicide known as Agent Orange, others through the exposure to the stress of combat, and others through the rejection or apathy of the American public.

Each of these movements had both moderate and extreme participants, for that is the way we humans are.  Take for example, the Black Panthers in comparison to the NAACP or the Southern Christian Leadership Conference led by Dr. King Jr.  The 1968 Olympics is remembered for the “Black Power” salute offered by Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal presentation.  For the anti-war movement, we saw actions range from marches the major cities to bombings. For example, the Sterling Hall bombing at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, or the weather underground bombings of NYC police buildings and the Pentagon.  Bill Ayers, as a member of the weather underground, still defends the bombings as a legitimate form of protest. 

We come now to the present.  We see a resurgence of racial protest either in the streets or now the sporting events.  At the same time, we see a counter protest movement from a significant number of sports fans, and politicians.  Including now, the President.

When Colin Kaepernick first took a knee, a friend thought the Commissioner of Football would quickly put a stop to the whole affair.  I was not so sure, for his business model has about 85% of the organization made up of African-American athletes.  If he had – perhaps the protests would have stopped, but he didn’t and we can speculate all day over what might have been.  With the President’s engagement through that wonderful medium of “Twitter®” we can now expect a greatly expanded group of protests.  Whether they have a legitimate beef or not is irrelevant at this point.  They will be supported by the political opposition to the President, including both politicians and media personalities.

What I find almost amusing is how those who are upset with these actions seem to be equally upset when the protesters shut down the speech of people like Milo Yiannopoulos, Ben Shapiro, or some other conservative speaker.
ADDED:  I find the left's position equally non-nonsensical (or hypocritical if you prefer), all on-board with protesting the symbols of our country,  while deeply offended by those who view freedom differently than they  do.

If we think political speech is to be protected, like the Constitution requires – then it should be an all or nothing approach.  If you don’t like the speech, don’t watch or listen to it, but just let it flow without comment.  Unfortunately, with “Twitter®” and student indoctrination, that seems an impossibility.

Everyone has their own opinion on what is acceptable for free speech, but if you think only one form of protest is acceptable, and not another, then why is any protest acceptable?  If universal healthcare is now a right, why isn’t free speech?

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One last point, free speech is not the same thing as speech without consequences.  There are always consequences to our choices.  That is an entirely different conversation.

So you decide, should we allow political protest or not?

Life in a Tone-Deaf World

We have replaced journalists with opinion(ists), and we only tune into the opinion(ist) we like, as a result I expect to see the continuing rise in what Scott Adams refers to as Cognitive Dissonance, where the world does not match your expectations, so you create illusions.  Little that I say here will be new, but I’ve nothing better to do so let's recap.

For better or worse we have been set on a path where identity politics is the fashion of the day.  We’ve forsaken even the most meager attempts for balance in our discussion of the issues.  The ideas of compromise and persuasion have been replaced by blunt force use of the media and its celebrities to shove ideas forward without concern or consideration for opposing views.   

To illustrate, we can look at the idea of universal health care as a right guaranteed by the government.  The Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act in 2008, with nary a Republican supporter.  In the years since its implementation individual costs have sky rocketed, insurance exchanges have faltered, and court cases have risen to the Supreme Court where they found this was really a legal tax scheme.

After 8-years of complaints and condemnations from the Republicans, when it came time to do something they failed miserably because they never had a real vision to move to.  Of course, there is the usual finger pointing and condemnation, for it appears that is all they are capable of.

It is much the same these days with the Democratic leadership and the vilification of the President.  Rather than concentrate on the positives, finding places they can persuade the President towards their views, the voices we hear from them are shrill and self-serving. 

Morning Musings (Inspired from the annals of Facebook)

1.     I wonder where they store the money for social security?  People tell me there are trillions of dollars in the account, so there is no problem with the diminishing labor force paying in, and the account will last forever.

2.    Why is the national debt limit such a big deal?  Our representatives in the Congress have no problem raising it based on political whim or will, so at what point do we declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy and just start over.

3.    A friend pointed out that many of today’s senior college professors went into the business of college during the Vietnam war as a way to avoid the draft.  When the war ended, they were all tenured and became anti-government indoctrinators of the young.  I wonder how true this is?

4.    If we believe the judicial system is rigged, who defines what justice is?  Should we return to earlier versions like trial by combat, or binding hands and feet, and casting into the moat, where if you drown you are innocent?

5.     There seems a great deal of confusion over the word “Free” as in Free Speech.  Many on the left seem to think the words “safe” and “without consequences” are somehow linked to the concept, while many on the right think it only applies to confederate statues and not political protest or bad art.  (Since I don’t live in the big cities where all the protestors like to gather for good TV coverage, or watch that good TV coverage, I remain pretty neutral in my support or condemnation of political protest, with the exception of noting most of the violence I read about seems to come from one side.)

6.    The calls for and against a “single-payer” healthcare system seem divided along income lines.  Those who don’t have a great deal of income want one, those who do, don’t.  (the exception would be our elected representatives who have a great deal of income, but would exempt themselves if they approved one).

7.     Shouldn’t bank executives who drive their bank into bankruptcy be tried by a jury of their depositors? (see points 2 and 4 for cross reference)

8.    All the people who think churches should be taxed should reread the 1^st Amendment and explain how they would do that and keep the church and state separate.  Remember, when we started out we didn’t have income tax.

9.    It is easy to appear a hero to your followers when you know the President would veto anything you did, much tougher to be one when your vote counts.

10.  Where have all the cat videos gone?