Party time 103016

Party time is lots noise, music, balloons, confetti and free flowing champagne.  All true but the celebration for this years election finds the noise confused, music off key the balloons popped, confetti littering the floor and champagne flat.

In the United States the two political parties have put forth mutually despised candidates.  With little choice voters have fallen back on party labels to cast their votes.  The problem is that neither candidate reflects the tradition philosophy of their parties.  The reality is that the parties themselves are unsure what their philosophy now embraces.  Parties shot themselves in both feet by establishing procedures that limited open choice candidates.  Under the two party system viable candidates were unable to get traction for nomination.  Even before the conventions the outcomes were forgone conclusions.  The reality is that party conventions are relegated to expensive media shows that have become politically irrelevant. 

The shows do serve a purpose they delude masses that their opinions matter.  The show builds hysterical excitement but allows no choice, candidates and platforms are already determined.  It's a campaign extravagance hold over from the old days when state delegates actually openly debated platform planks and chose candidates.  The result is that the United States' two party system has evolved into umbrella parties where the loudest control the message, owning both the candidate and platform.  The public's lack of free choice is obscured by the professional showmanship.  The two party system has actually become a major step away from democracy.  A major step to the right where people are given little choice in the next four years of government.  Voting a party labels are no help as the labels no longer reflect philosophy.

Third parties may be true to their philosophy but lack the funding to blitz a jaded public.  It maybe time for a multi-party system where voters know what candidates really stand for, or at least a ballot option for "None of the Above."

Before embracing multi-party systems take a look at the options.  Many countries already have multiple parties which fare little better than the U.S. two parties.  Whatever the label, party leaders follow their own agendas that often diverge from that of the rank and file.  Membership continues to vote the label out of past loyalty even when party leaders go in a different direction.

Question what the party stands for and if candidates support the platform.  Candidates now are independent of party and establish their own agendas forcing allegiance of party loyalty.   The news media, enjoying campaign champagne, fails to inform by feeding the horse race excitement.

It is time to reform the two party system or voters must get use to crying over fallen confetti and swilling stale champagne.  The bubbles no longer tickle the nose but you can still get drunk over your winner.

Few remember when we voted for someone rather that the lessor of two evils.  Wouldn't it be nice to vote for someone?  We would really enjoy that party.

Sad state 081016

This is the time for all good men to come to the of their country.  An old typing drill phrase that has taken on new relevance in American 2016 electioneering.  It is truly a sad state of affairs for democracy when the will of minority extremes can leave the majority with only bad options.  The majority's sadness may lead to an end of the two party system that served as moderator of the electorate's emotional swings.

A key axiom of democracy is that it reflects the will of a well informed majority, it is sad that the majority isn't well informed and abandons honest information for minority rants.  How is this possible in the information age?  It may actually be a product of the information age that has led to the sad state of the "fourth estate" (journalism).   Thoughtful print journalist are a dying breed whose graves are being dug by a public to busy to think or even read, seeing only misleading, flashy sound bites.

Television news opened with great promise as respected print reporters provided depth to the 15 minute news window that interrupted the revenue flow of entertainment.  The networks discovered that TV news provided prestige offsetting poor ratings and expanded the news window.  Competition between networks' news programs began generating a revenue flow, which lifted news out of public service category.  Its new status didn't lead to a better informed public but rather a less knowledgeable  one.

Craggy old reporters began to age out of talking head shots replaced by a new breed of "beautiful people journalist."  Unable to phantom dynamic news the beautiful people embraced entertainment formats, sadly the sound and fury of sound bites that replace substance mesmerized viewers.  "It's not news without video" with spectacular visuals coloring editorial judgements.  Conflicting on screen messages where voice, video and visuals don't match confuses viewers.  Even if TV journalists manages to get the story they add wild-eyed speculation mudding perceptions. Sadly election "16" is the product of news windows where bad jokes, speculation and self-promoting chitchat of news personalities seeking stardom in larger markets color the news.  Sadly this self-aggrandizement also limits the available minutes for even the misleading sound bites. `

All the news that's fit to print died with the broad sheet.  News execs quote Thomas Jefferson as the guru of free press but ignore the fact that as president he tried to censor the news and control the message.  It's sad that is the only message that came through to politicians was demonizing truth and a free press, works

While newspapers struggle with TV, it struggles against the new Internet news, now competing with social media for market share.  Media theorist applauds the proliferation of news outlets as the ultimate guaranteed of democracy.  Sadly when tested the theory fails the test of informed polity.  Despite all the new outlets the 21st century public is less informed than 19th century's publics.

Social media was credited for the "Arab spring" which failed to bring democracy, only instability.   Social media has demonstrated a certain degree of democracy since anyone can incite a mob and fan hate, but mobs go in unexpected direction. In England an unexpected outcome was Brexit, in the United States the results of election are still to be determined but lack of a well-informed electorate results in two despised candidates chosen by social media minorities.  The sadness will continue to play out as the voices continue to twist mob opinions.  The real sadness is our heritage to the future is destabilization of orders as media flails public knowledge with colorful fun entertainment. States are really in a sad state as they crumble before social media mob voices.

Hallelujah 012216

I checked my wife into a hospital for quick sliced and dices (out patient surgery).  She had just gotten into a lovely back less gown and slipped into bed when a wild eyed bible thumper burst through the thin privacy curtain demanding to know what religion we were.

I'm not sure if he was searching for Muslim terrorist, Jewish money lenders, Hindu fakirs or his own private brand of disciples lining up for a turn at his punch bowl.   Taken aback by the unexpected demand I blurted out that I was a "Reluctant Christian."  With an evil glint in his eye my interrogator pounce, he had discovered a backsliding heretic and was already stoking the fires for a public stake fry.

As he began to gather his inquisitor tools I realized my precarious position and decided the best defense was offense, and Christianity provides a complete arsenal of counter strike weapons.  The first being that a desire for a God (under what ever name) has nothing to do with religion.  Religion is something created by some politician come Priest, Preacher, Imam, Mullah etc. uses in gathering a flock.  The larger the flock the more extreme and dogmatic the religion become.

It's possible that the Holy Land's barren state is due to early Christianity felling trees to feed the demand for fake holy relics by the flood of pilgrims.  The Christian Bishop of Rome used Roman Legions' swords to chop down competing branches of the Christian tree.  A call to counter the rise of Islam was over the loss of pilgrim spending rather than objection to Islam. The then Roman Pope seized an opportunity to consolidate religious power in Rome by calling for a Crusade.  Crusader focusing on loot, private fiefdoms and political glory: raped, pillaged and plundered their way into the holy lands.  Muslims were shocked by Christian blood lust for Islam protected women, children, non-combatants and prisoners.  Crusaders may well have slaughtered more Christians and Jews than Muslims while growing rich on their seized possession.  Driven from their looted kingdoms Christian Crusaders rampaged across Europe as Popes unleashed Inquisitors that devised torture methodologies still used as models by good Christian interrogators. 

The Inquisitors first focused on suppression of heretics, Jews and later Protestants.  Although pogroms were common before the inquisitions, all Christendom now sanctioned Jewish Ghettos and pogroms.  Ghettos were a place where good Christians could demonstrate their piety by breaking a good many heads.

Bored with raiding the Ghettos and fighting among themselves good Christians "sailed the oceans blue" for loot and new peoples to annihilate.  Good Catholic Christians practiced genocide in the southern hemisphere while good Protestant Christians went after native North Americans with ethnic cleansing, torture and genocide.  Nightriders spread their nooses wide burning crosses in black, Jewish and Catholic yards before lashing and hanging the owners.  Lynch mobs knew ever Christian hanging tree and preachers often blessed the ropes.  It was good Christian preaching that spread damnation across the country and later, the Pacific, destroying native cultures and eventually the native peoples themselves.  Good Christian missionaries became rich plantation owners on looted land.

The late 19th century saw the rise of good Christian excesses of burnings, lynchings and looting.  Christian armies went on to establish good Christian empires.  Eventually this led to good Christian run concentration and death camps as good Christians battled other good Christians. Wars opened up the world to good Protestant Missionaries backed by good Christian bayonets.  Basic survival of native populations rested on  their ability to shout a loud  Hallelujah.  Good Christians didn't know the word came from Hebrew or there would have been a rush on mouthwash.  Onward Christian Soldiers opened the gates of death camps and continued an imperial march over native populations with forced Christian conversions or ethnic cleansing of nationalist movements.  Resistance to Christian goals is met by good Christians calling for more crusades.   Modern crusaders, like their ancestors, are met by a fast spreading fire around the globe.  Non Protestant resistance has led to more good Christian demands for eradication of non-believers.  Campaign 2016 sees not so good Christian politicians pandering to good Christians with promises of ethnic cleansing.  Good Christians are already gunning down minorities with impunity.  Can death camps be far behind?

By this time the bible thumper had backed to the wall and was frantically searching for an escape.  When a doctor appeared and thumper used the diversion to slipped out, no doubt reporting me to the good Christian thought police.  Presidential candidates are so locked into good Christian evangelical demands that I'm a marked man.  As soon as all the votes are tallied I'll quietly fall victim to night and fog of the new religious police and disappear forever into a good Christian "re-education camp" until good Christian ovens are built.

Good Christians create their own devils and in the 21st century those devils know how to raise an army on the social media.  Beware of a backlash to Christian fanaticism, the world is not your own.

Unfair 122015

I recently suffered a personal loss that demonstrated the five stages of grief were publish or perish theory, and not my reality.  On hearing the news I went directly to an angry response of “It’s not fair.”

It wasn’t fair, but my mind slipped quickly from the cliche “life is not fair” to all the unfairness of today.  Partly this is an analytical mind distracting itself from pain.  It was also a reach for solidarity with all the others struggling against the unfairness of it all.

It’s not fair that protection under the law has evolved to shoot first and don’t ask any questions.  It’s not fair that the legal shooters can’t even hit their seven-foot target despite filling the air with hundreds of bullets that take out innocents as bad guys strolls away.

It’s not fair that voters are subjected to a two year comedy of horrifying electioneering that will throw them twisting into a purgatory of regrets for four more years.  It's not fair that politicians spend more time electioneering than governing.  It's not fair that they spend more money to gain power than they can hope to honestly earn in a lifetime.

We can live with “good guys finish last,” but it’s not fair that the bad guys always finish on top.  How about a President who took great pride in getting away with lying to the public.  Or the academics who manipulates research to support political biases for government grants.  Then there are the public persecutors who railroad the innocent for political advancement and deny redress to the persecuted..

It's not fair that rich nations have large populations of starving children and homeless.  It's not fair that there are even larger segments of populations that live in fear of their own governments.  It's not fair that the super rich are able to buy elections.  It's not fair that a growing marketing industry's sole product is deception.  It's not fair that the television industry has deteriorated to an opiate for the masses.  It's not fair that the social media now trumps reality.  It's not fair that cheap reality television now passes as quality art.    It's not fair that stores get away forcing you to buy what they have rather than what you want.  It's not fair that customer spend more on gas searching for what they do want than the item is worth.  It's not fair that sales persons know nothing about the products they sell, and only know how to demand cash or credit.

It's not fair that students can graduate on credit for standardize testing and still are unable to read, write or compute.  It's not fair that teachers are not trusted to fairly grade students but are allowed to send them to jail on their emotional fears. It's not fair that the former greatness of public education is falling under the weight of for profit schooling.   It's not fair that as more money is spent on education literacy rates falls.

It's not fair that in the 21st century that the majority of people must even think about life's unfairness.  IT JUST AIN'T FAIR.

Poke 100115

The current world leader of Roman Catholicism is the direct link to Pope Peter (St. Peter) the apostle of Jesus.  According the Catholic Church Peter was personally appointed as the first Bishop of Rome by Christ. Over two thousand years of Christianity passed before Pope Francis was elected to follow Peter and lead the church forward. 

Francis is known for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, concern for the poor, and commitment to interfaith dialogue.  To further his ideals Francis continues to reach out to people in the Western Hemisphere.  Throughout his visits to Latin America and Cuba he was met by joyful and respectful crowds.  In meetings with national and church leaders he spread good will across the region.  The Pope and the Church knew that the United States was a unique case even before he arrived in the country.  What they had not realized was that they would encounter Saint Kim of Kentucky and her mouthpiece who repeatedly poked the Pope with PR stunts.  A man who lives on honesty can't understand the scam lessons taught on Madison Ave and streets of Hollywood.

This encounter cast a dark cloud over all the Pope had accomplished on his trip and may even destroy all of Christendom.  St. Kim and the mouth made allegations that not only had the Pope meeting privately with Kim but blessing her martyrdom just short of canonization.  According to the allegation the Pope was attempting to influence the U.S. policy and the court system.

Faced with a slippery slope the Church was quick to deny the allegations as the Pope beat a hasty retreat from the country.  Not satisfied with casting the Pope's tour into the gutter, St. Kim and the mouth called the Pope and the church liars pushing all Christianity down that slope.

Consider if the Pope and the Church are lying now what else have they lied about.  Did the lies go all the way back to St. Peter?  What if Peter had lied about Jesus and he wasn't divine?  What if Marx was right and religion was created by the elite as an opiate for the masses? The very rock on which Christianity is anchored on crumbles and Christians are cast adrift with the reality of their 2000 years of crimes against humanity no longer have divine forgiveness.  Judaism acknowledges Jesus as important and Islam claims him as a prophet both without divinity.  Anchorless Christians must now reach out to religions they have persecuted for centuries to save their souls.  A new Dark Age engulfs the world with Muslims again protecting the world's light.  Fear of lost souls drives many to embrace Islam

The mouth and the Kim Unity Movement draws lost evangelicals tightly around the Kentucky courthouse that is now the center of their religion.  As they consolidate power they replace democracy with an evangelical theocracy that drives Jews, Muslims, Democrats, Romans Papist and other heretics into the rising seas. 

Long live Kim!  Careful what you wish for.

Displaced 092915

The news of the day is that Europe is facing a migrant crisis. Reality is that the crisis lies deep in Africa and Asia where displaced began to seek stability and safety in Europe. 

Germany enacted the most liberal refugee and immigration policies in post WWII, opening its doors not only to Europeans but also the displaced from other lands.  The present masses of displaced however find the German door hard to open. European nations are attempting to bar their doors in face of a growing migration.  Border States are accepting the displaced from humanitarian concerns but are unable support the large influx or pass the migrants through locked doors while States debate the crisis.

The Twentieth Century was the century of displaced brought about by major wars and global economic depression.  World War One displaced masses not only in Europe but also Africa and Asia.  The Bolshevik Revolution added Russians to long lines trudging across Europe and Far East.  Before these refugees were settled a global financial meltdown swelled to ranks of displace.   Chinese and Spaniards joined the march while the depression was still generating wanderers.  The States created by the Versailles treaty were unstable, sending more people in search of safety. Japan invaded Asia already at war with itself and the political collateral damage was more displaced.   The classic displaced haven was the United States but even it was beginning to limit immigration.  Without options the displaced wandered, living a marginal life to survive.  Then came WWII where countries were destroyed with survivors becoming the new global displaced.  WWII did not really end but became a cold war of very hot proxy wars with more displaced from remote regions, swelling the ranks of the unwanted.

It is probable that there will never be a reliable estimate of the vast numbers of Twentieth Century's displaced.  Whole families died along the road; often no one was left to count.  Others just disappeared, some resettled in their own countries, and still others were lost in foreign lands.  The United States deludes itself that it can never happen there, but it has during the great dust bowl and depression along with ethnic cleansing of minorities.

That's the last century, the displaced of this century might exceed its flawed estimates.  Great power politics and war has already sent millions of displaced wandering in search of a home.  They are met with little sympathy even hostility as they arrive on to distant shores.  The problem is not resettlement of the displaced but rather addressing the dynamics that forced them to take extreme measures to survive.

As they wander across the landscape even more villages are bombed daily swelling the endless stream.  Disease and poverty are rampant in remote regions.  Nations complaining of the masses at their door should address the causations that forced migration.  Stop destroying cities and villages, assist peace, health and development efforts in regions generating much of the migrations.  With the right turn and militarization within the developed States this is unlikely in the short term. Their humanitarianism wears thin and migrants are told to move on, they and their culture is unwanted.

Nostalgia 092715

People appear to love the game of " what if-if only,."  Academics entertain students with what if: what if the south had won the American Civil war; what if the colonial powers had broken up China instead of trying to own it all: what if Al Smith had been a Protestant rather than a Catholic; what if the Indians had beaten back the white man's land grab or Santa Anna had defeated the Texans.  Give it up prof it didn't happen, it's not going to happen and the outcomes would have been totally different than expectations.

If only is a more egalitarian game, everyone plays at some point in life.  If only you married your high school sweetheart or if only you hadn't.  If only you knew then what you know now.  If only you had invested in APPLE when it first opened.  If only and what if are exercises in futility generated by "publish or perish" and deep disappointment of paths taken.  The games look backward at choices as if they were a "Y" in the road, but you can't go back to that "Y" it no longer exist.  Life travels from where you are not where you were. Different choices equal different outcomes, change one, change future options; the past is not reversible.

Nostalgia also looks back but for pleasant memories of what was rather than with disappointment.  Nostalgia is a game of the elderly, remember when!

A gallon of gas, a pack of cigarettes, a working man's lunch and all day movies were all ten cents.  Even panhandlers welcomed a dime.  Phone calls were a nickel, at phone booths everywhere and MA BELL's helpful operators were romantic visions of beauty to lonely GIs.

Kids walked to school in safety, the boys carrying girls' books, by high school they would be holding hands.  Local cops knew everyone on the street stopping to chat while keeping neighborhood kids in line.  He earned his flat feet and took great pride that he had never shot anyone.  After 20 or so years they might get a three wheel Harley for their beat but they would get off to still talk with their old friends along the street.

The Dodgers actually played in Brooklyn and farm teams reach out to kids playing pickup games on vacant sandlots where kids actually played for fun.  Almost everyone paid cash and debt was low.  Radio ruled the airways sending imaginations soaring while selling beer and soap.  Shade tree mechanics could fix anything and taught generations to repair cars and invent the future.  Boarding a plane was pleasant experience; the stews were young and beautiful.  The meals were good and flying at 8,000 feet gave window seats a real view.  Ethics and integrity were honored traits in business and politics.

A nostalgic view doesn't generate a desire to return to a distant past.  What ifs and if only and a return to some mythical past are the new conservative political game.  Their political game interpretations ignores the realities of the past.  The past had nostalgic high points but its reality incorporated more deep dark points.  The future begins from where we are, not from were we were.  Politics should look to the future not to a mythical past that never really existed.