Russian Invasion

Some ramblings...

Why, Russia? Why? I cannot see whatever Putin sees. Ukraine is not a threat and a ways off from NATO consideration. Even as a NATO member, Ukraine is not a threat to a nation with over 6,000+ nukes. Nah, it's not about that, never was. Putin cannot stand having a growing democracy on his southern border. A nation run by autocrats and oligarchs sucks. (Please take notes America.) Russians seeing happy people in a land of basic freedoms and growing opportunities might begin to ask their own government uncomfortable questions. So in Putin's mind turning Russia into a pariah state shunned by everyone but China is worth clinging to power. Remember the tighter you hold on, the faster power slips away. Unleashing a war, with all the unknown unknowns, is a very risky bet indeed. 

Wars take on a life of their own and no one can control the outcome (USA- Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and countless other small missteps and miss-adventures). Whoever. told Putin the Ukrainians would simply roll over and surrender lied to him. Whoever said it would weaken NATO also lied. And whoever told Putin Biden would give him a pass, like our oligarch, Trump, also lied. Oh, about the Donald. 

If Trump had successfully stolen the 2020 election, this invasion would have happened before now. If I may borrow from LBJ, Putin had Trump's pecker in his pocket. Shady business deals, Trump being simply star-struck by Putin or a gaggle of whores; Putin has something on Trump and thus control of Trump. Let's not forget Trump wanted the US out of NATO and never ever challenged Putin on anything. The average 8th Grader has more understanding of geopolitics than the Donald. So to say Trump would have stopped this invasion is... laughable. Trump's gone now, get over it. 

Now Biden has to find an endgame short of thermonuclear war. It is very early in the conflict but it looks like there will be no quick victory for Russia. The Russians can ill afford we we Americans call a quagmire. It may cost Putin his bleak, klepto regime. Who knows what horrors await afterward. The longer this goes on, the more costly the recovery will be for all of us. The longer it goes on, the higher the risk of it spreading. And putting your nuclear forces on "HIGH ALEART" only makes you look weaker, Putin. Your new friends, the Chinese, are not impressed so far.       

Help Ukraine

Thoughts and Prayers you say? 

Well, I thought about it and we need to be the answer to someone's prayers. Here's how YOU can help.

UN Crisis Relief

United Help Ukraine

Nova Ukraine 

Doctors Without Borders

The Kyiv Independent News. 

There are many more ways to help. These are just a few. I'll keep this page up. 

 

Readings 2.23.22 Conflicts Around The World

The big conflict sucking all the oxygen out of the news-scape is Russia-Ukraine. Click the link for an explainer. Once the media fixates on something, any other news falls by the wayside. The US will not get directly involved in this one. Fighting a nuclear armed power is never a good idea, especially one with over 6,000 nukes. 

What conflicts are we not talking about (as much anyway)?

The On-going war in Syria? 

Libya?

Afghanistan? 

Iraq?

Somalia? 

And threats of war.

Iran- Israel 

India- Pakistan 

China- Taiwan 

North and South Korea

United States- anybody we don't like. We're always up for a new war.  

Knowing that many of these potential conflicts involve nuclear armed powers, we would do well to keep them in mind. A regional nuclear war, deadly enough in it's own right, can quickly escalate beyond control. All of these tensions warrant attention and work towards resolutions.   

   

2.22.22 Thought Flash

2'sDAY!!!!!!!

Yeah, I like the cool date today. I'm a simple creature.   

But we are far short of the ultimate 2's day, 2/22/2222. I doubt there will be anything like blogs and social media then. You see, we are busy slowly cooking ourselves to death in a frothy broth of industrial waste, water poisoning / pollution and blissful ignorance. It will be a roaring boil by then. Our legacy will be faded plastic stuff, a few glass bottles and a constellation of dead satellites orbiting a baked dustbowl of a planet run by cockroaches and ants...  

HUMANITY, PROVE ME WRONG!!!  

Fouling the Water

 

"Why clean the bird-bath? They're so dumb, they shit in their own water." 

Well well, looks like we need to look at ourselves. We are doing our level best to trash all the oceans in record time... Here have a few reads. 

Plastic pollution in oceans growing dramatically, WWF warns 

Extreme heat and plastic pollution push oceans to brink

Research reveals 45,000 marine species are at risk due to climate change, pollution

How chemical pollution is suffocating the sea

You get the idea. We are treating the oceans as a giant waste-water treatment facility. The only problem is we are overloading it. What happens when oceans can no longer support life, cannot absorb all the extra carbon we are adding and the great currents stop or change course? I think it is safe to say nothing good. Sooner or later, there will be a cost. How bad does it have to get for us to take action? Ocean pollution is related to climate change, another problem we try to wish away. The longer we put off real solutions, the worse the suffering will be. Pretty simple. 

The good news is it's not too late to make better decisions on our own behalf as well as life on earth.      

Food

 

Ah yes, the family farm! Just those magic words can fill your head full of images of dad up before dawn to milk the cows, mom and the kids up early to head out to the fields, feed the animals and maybe work on the barn. It is not an easy life but fulfilling, working through the seasons, being available 24/7/365 to deal with any emergency that sooner or later comes up. Yes, here in America, farmers are high up on the hero pole alongside veterans, police, paramedics and firefighters of course. Running for office, just add some serene family farm scenes to attract the "family values" and "hard work pays off" crowd. He / she supports farmers, they gotta be good. Farming also makes for great corporate branding (and greenwashing) as well. Who doesn't like "fresh from the farm" ingredients? Sounds good, right? I've only known one farmer, Don. 

Yes, Don was a hard worker taking care of cows, hogs, chickens and maybe a few crops here and there. He also worked as a truck driver and could build just about anything. Don was one dude you wanted around after the apocalypse to rebuild and even thrive. Oh, and he never raised his voice or lost his cool. So yeah, I think he deserves to be thought of as a uniquely American kind of hero. If other farmers are at all like Don they to deserve the unique status. The problem is cats like Don are getting harder and harder to find as time goes on. They are being replaced by big agribusiness. We hang on to the cool imagery via the marketing yahoos selling this or that candidate, juice brand, chain stores or food brand. For good or bad, family farms are slipping into the mythological past.            

So just where does our food come from? Please let me introduce Big Ag! Family farming is not dead but it is worth noting many families have traded in the over-alls and know-how gained through experience for coats, ties and business degrees. Farming is no longer an art mastered by working within nature to produce quality, safe and tasty food for a given community. It is now a complex system of producing commodities to be sold all over the globe with as little input from Mother Nature as possible thank you very much! What's a little industrial farm waste or some people getting crushed when there is money to be made this quarter? Animals abused? People living as modern day slaves? Towns being depopulated? But all that money... Nature cares not.

When we have cut down all the trees, ruined the soil and poisoned the water; then we will realize the real value of money. Yup, the whole circus grinds to a halt. Even the fun stuff will be gone; no more beach trips, skiing, cookouts or music. We leave behind a mostly dead world waiting to be swallowed by a dying sun. That's just bleak... We can do better! Learn to grow your own food. You can grow a lot indoors even. You can become just a little less dependent on the grocery store. Go to your local farmers market. Support food growers in / near your community. Meet cool people like Don. Pay attention to what's going on in your community and hold the local politicians accountable. Why stop there? Hold the national politicians accountable. Learn more! Do more! Let's fix it! 

Unto Caesar

 

Some things belong to the state and state only. When I use the term "state" I mean government. The government's role is to maintain the status quo along with the existing power structure. In theory democracies can bring about change by the vote. That's becoming less so here in the USA with the passage of time as both parties become more and more right leaning. The Democrats are so far right, the Republicans have gone off the scale abandoning conservative values for an authoritarian cult. The Democrats with a few exceptions, are also paid for by the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (FIRE) titans along with energy conglomerations and defense contractors. So they usually talk a good game while actually doing little about everyday issues like healthcare, income inequality and climate change. They are bought and paid for in order to keep the status quo going as long as possible. Will they fuck up so bad that the authoritarian party uses the tools of democracy to retake power? Then what happens to the status quo? 

If you follow the money, the Republicans are not getting the same corporate support they are accustom too. I think some of the powerful business types are a little nervous when it comes to transitioning to an authoritarian system of one party rule. For one, they don't like change. It is also less stable in the long run. When the strong man dies, a power vacuum ensues with an unclear outcome. Business does not like instability. At least a few business types, like Mark Cuban, understand the growing instability caused by increasing income inequality. I think some see the Democrats as doing a better job of keeping the game going. Will that be enough? Of course real change always comes from the bottom but it is not easy or a given.     

If I say I recognize no higher authority than my local occupy assembly, militia group or fringe church, the government will sigh with disinterest. "Whatever, just remember to pay up on April 15th." It's cool and all unless you decide to try and take over state functions. They really don't like that idea at all. Even if it is trying to do something that's good, positive and helpful, like free food for homeless people, they will pass laws against it. Just ask the Black Panthers. When feeding kids is wrong, do we really want to be right?  

It may be okay to set up a neighborhood watch but an independent police force? Nope. Police are tools of the state there to enforce the status quo. They protect and serve those in power.  The police are allowed to use violence and you are not. You cannot detain, try or jail people. Those are state functions. Now companies are encroaching on state functions like running prisons with disastrous results. Pay rates based on how many cells are full is just asking for corruption and does nothing to reduce crime. Companies creeping into military roles is also problematic. Are we going to privatize war? 

Well, we tried a little in both Afghanistan and Iraq. KBR, Blackwater, Custer Battles cashed in becoming synonymous with war profiteering, corruption and murder. It is not a good idea to combine war fighting and profit. The military (along with foreign policy) should belong to the state. Otherwise, there are too many legal gray zones. Some may think they can operate without any legal constraint at all. Somehow, I don't feel like we learned anything. We will continue misuse the profit motive in and for war fighting. 

Some things must belong to the state. Ideally, the state should belong to us- all of us. Government of the people, by the people and for the people can work. We need more choice than center-right and extreme-right. It's not much of a choice but a path to more choice is shorter from center right.         

What is Missing in the News?

 

Remember opportunity cost from economics 101? No? It's not too complicated. By writing this blog now, I cannot go for a walk, drive or read a book at the same time. So while we hear all about the latest covid news, Ukraine, January 6th, jobs and inflation what are we not hearing about? Well, here's one interesting list to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. "For profit" news is bad enough about limiting the discourse. They're an additional two problems as well, media consolidation and removal of the Fairness Doctrine.  Here's a little experiment you can do right the comfort and relative safety of your own couch.

 Channel surf the national news and watch how they all basically cover the same "big" stories of the day. You can also observe each one's particular slant on the event as well. For added entertainment, repeat the exercise but with the "local" news. With six corporations owning 90% of news outlets, we have only the illusion of choice. Less competition, less alternative views and most importantly, less questioning are the result. These companies also have a huge online presence as well. The internet can be a good source of information if you know where to look. Here's a pretty good list. How can you avoid falling down the rabbit hole of propaganda, false news and extreme bias? 

Here a few tools you can use.     

Not Real News

FactCheck.org

And for more information SpotFakeNews.

I like to look beyond US news outlets to see what the rest of the world is talking about. BBC, Al Jazeera and Asia Times are three I like to check out. It can be a way to see what our own media is not covering. If a story seems off or slanted, se what other sources have to say. No source can be 100% objective but some may get closer than others.   

Civil War 2.0? Not so fast...

 

The great hot air machine has been in over-drive telling us how divided we are. While I think there may a scattering of nut job sponsored acts of political violence ahead, the idea of full-blown civil war is very remote in my opinion. Here's a good article to help explain why. Allow me to add a few of my own reasons. People are too busy just trying to stay afloat in this strange economy of socialism for the rich and casino capitalism for the rest of us. We are too old and out of shape for the rigors of war. It is one thing to go play dress up make believe in front of a Starbucks as this veteran tells us while real war is something very different. The Republican base is aging out ie dying. Yeah, that old dude was a badass in the Vietnam war fifty or so years ago. How long can he last being hunted not by Charlie but Apache Gunships with night vision? He knows the answer, not long. On the left is the mythical boogie-man, Antifa. Antifa simply means “anti-fascist.” It is more of an idea than an organization with meetings, trainings and news letters. If you want to learn more, look here. They are not completely innocent but hardly rise to a "side" in a new civil war. Our demographics are also off for an internal large-scale conflict. 

There needs to large scale unemployment among young, educated and uneducated alike. By high, I mean like greater than 20%. It got close to that during the Great Recession but fell pretty fast according to this graphic. In addition there has to be a pervasive feeling of hopelessness. While there is a feeling of the system being heavily rigged for the rich, we are still pretty far from third world levels of unemployment, corruption and scarcity. For the time being, we  still have a social safety net with things like food stamps, unemployment, disability and medicaid. They help take the edge of desperation. Have a place to stay and something to eat you're less likely to take up arms and or become a political terrorist. Mom and Dad's basement or your old room is preferable to a foxhole in the middle of the woods hoping the police don't show up and that helicopter in the distance does not start getting closer. The back woods are also a far cry from hamburger row, microwave pizza and two liter sugary drinks. Our youth get most of their calories via junk food. Youth mental health is another unresolved issue that is getting worse. Civil War 2.0 is not a good idea for improving mental health outcomes. I think there is something else also. We are just too busy. 

The unemployment rate keeps falling despite the great resignation. People are not quitting work, they are finding new jobs or creating their own jobs. House mortgage payments, car payments, credit card payments and student loans are not going away because you want to go fight the other "side." Most people want to pay off their loans, even the student debit. Student loan forgiveness might be nice but that's not happening anytime soon. Until then pay up or be hounded to the grave by Uncle Sam. Now add to the bill pile a few kids. They need to eat, hopefully more than just junk food. They got kid stuff to do like football, baseball practice, dance classes and piano lessons. You, the adult, has to help make that happen. Becoming a full time militia member may not be the best notion for an improved family life. There's are more variables; the US military, and the rest of the world. 

Every member of the military takes an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. They don't take oaths to generals or presidents. They are taught to NOT follow unconstitutional orders. This includes state national guard units as well. Guard units don't follow illegal orders. Here's a related example. So you want to start a rebellion or insurrection? Good luck with that going against the US military. Ask Uday and Qusay how that worked out. Such a conflict would not happen in a vacuum. How will our neighbors both north and south react? What about NATO? Are China and Russia just going to watch? Nobody wants a huge nuclear armed power destabilized. The whole notion of civil war 2.0 is an oversimplification of a myriad of complex and interconnected problems. 

Yes, the problem of massive and still growing income inequality is legitimate cause for concern. It is unsustainable and never ends well. Our crumbling, overpriced healthcare delivery system is another worry. What good is great healthcare if people cannot afford it? Our government no longer responds to the needs and wants of the people. They jump at any chance to further the interests of the donor class or the military industrial complex. The media seldom tells us the news. Instead, they chase ratings and advertising dollars leaving us less informed too often simply scapegoating another group for very real problems. One our political parties has become a cult only offering tax cuts for the rich, deregulation and NO to anything else. The other political party simply forgets average workers, minorities or anyone else who cannot write a good six figure donation check. On top of these, there's the creeping specter of climate change. I have no doubt you can add to this list. All of these problems are solvable by making better decisions but none are going away fast. Talk of civil wars, revolutions and civil strife might help ratings but do little to nothing to resolve real-world issues facing us. That's going to take informed citizens each doing their part to co-create  a more just world.            

Change, The Future, Me and You!

 

A different kind of post for today! This is a bit of a ramble but hopefully you find something useful.  

Somebody, smarter than I, said something like "The only thing that stays the same is change itself." Things in life are always changing and evolving. Don't like where you are or how things are going? You have two choices, do something different or do nothing. Even if you decide to do nothing, change will still come given enough time. The problem with just hanging around is the change may not be what you want. But if you truly don't know what to do, it can be best to simply stop and let change come to you. Slow down and or stop and let the path forward open up on it's own. "When you don't know what to do, do nothing." Here's the thing, we always have a choice. No matter the size of a challenge or situation, we are free in how we react to it. People often fear change because it ties in with the unknown. Some look backwards.

We like the good old days because we know what happens. Our minds are naturally programmed to suppress or forget bad  memories like a few wins at the card table make us forget all the lost hands. "I sure am good at cards!" I tell myself while in truth, I suck at card games. So it goes when we remember so-called golden ages be they '50's, 60's or 70's. I guess in the near future we will learn to love the 80's and 90's! The times are the same. There's always good and bad most often mixed in together. Our minds, still working the same, will weed out many of the bad memories giving rise to shifting time frames for "The Good Old Days." I don't know about you, but I'm more interested in what happens in the future. If you want me to follow you, tell me how bright the future can be and how we are going to make it happen! Yeah, sure the 70's were cool and all but that does not mean I want to return to disco and leisure suits! I'm content listening to old music, remembering my good times while exploring new music and looking forward. No, today's music does not suck! Ask around, find new places / ways to find stuff to listen to and try new genres; I'm sure you can find plenty of sweet new sounds to soak in. The wheels are going to keep turning, time only goes one way. 

There is no way back to the simpler good old days. I deify you to tell me a leader who wanted their society to go back in time and turned out to be the good guy / gal. Let's look for leaders (be leaders) who want to accomplish big things (think Kennedy's moon commitment). Let's find people / be people who want more out of life than fame, cash and power. Let's find / be those who want the future to be more just. It will never be perfect. I'm not sure what that is or even looks like. I just know we can do better, must do better.

On the macro scale the whole world is rapidly changing. How and who different nations align with are evolving, the so-called war on terror is shifting to competition with Russia and China and the world is growing more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. The challenge of climate change can bring us more together or play a major part in breaking up the international system as we know it. I'm sure it will do some of both. That does not mean we should all run for the hills with seeds, tools and guns. Not yet anyway. Remember today's radical idea will be tomorrow's norm. It's only a matter of time before gas powered cars and clear cut industrial farming are things of the past. They too, like the racism and conformity of the 50's, will be forgotten when the 20's become the good old days of the future. A better future cannot create itself. There are indeed plenty of challenges and dangers ahead. 

I can only speak for myself on a micro level. I'm letting the change come to me. I'm not being totally still while riding out the pandemic. I simply want to do and be a little better than yesterday so when the big changes do come, I'll be ready. I read, write and exercise almost every day. I want to stay optimistic and even more important, teachable. I know I don't have all the right answers but hopefully, I can ask some of the right questions. Some I'll try to answer here on this blog. What about you? What do you do to stay positive and work for a better future?