A few Lessons from 2020

 

 So 2020 is behind us and before we congratulate each other, let's remember a hell of a lot of people didn't make it. 2021 is getting off to a grim start. Covid it totally out of control, one of our political parties wants to shred what's left of the Constitution and fear is winning. All's not lost. The Constitution will hold. Vaccines are on the way. The racists, xenophobes and conspiracy nuts will soon crawl back under their rocks and into their caves. At least, that's my hope. But this is about the year that just passed. Let's look at a few lessons. 

1. There is no going back to normal.

The old normal sucked anyway. We bullshitted ourselves into thinking the economy was wonderful. Sure it was for some. However, for too many the struggle was paycheck to paycheck, massive debit (credit cards, student loans,cars, housing etc etc...). How many people you know who loved their jobs? Too many companies pay lip service to a safe, happy and fair workplace while fighting tooth and nail against anything to improve living conditions for workers, like a livable minimum wage or job security. 

The wheels were going to come off sooner or later, what Wall Street types call a "Correction." And come off they did! Covid-19 beat the market to the punch and derailed the economy (with a lot of help from our government's totally inept response). The notion of paying people through state unemployment systems was a disaster. None of those state systems were remotely ready for a tsunami of new claims all filed within a few short weeks. Some, to this day never got anything. The expansion of who's eligible and $600 extra were good but then they let it lapse while the pandemic was / is still raging. Our fearless leaders them played hot potato with more economic aid until January costing 45 four more years. Soon it will all be on you, Joe.

I think Joe will at least take Covid more seriously and maybe have it more under control by this spring or summer (2021). The carnage of small businesses lost will not last forever as some seem to think. They will come back but it is going to take a long time. We will not all settle for jobs as soulless, mindless drones for Amazon, Walmart and Uber. People who can work from home will continue to do so. We can only hope our society has learned the value of cashiers, stockers, drivers and other service workers who essentially take care of us. 

 

2. Global Pandemics are equal opportunity killers.  

Yeah, if you have a bigger bank account, you have a better chance to live. Big bank accounts cannot always fix stupid. Going around maskless, putting off treatment / testing with the virus multiplying away inside you will not end well even with the best medical treatments. Too many were too self-important to let a little thing like a global pandemic put a crimp in their day, still insisting on eating out, church services, beach parties and mass biker rallies. Fine, if you want to risk yourself but you have NO right to risk my health, your neighbor's health or your grandma's health. We learned being self centered can be a killer. Why not politicize a common threat as well? That's gotta help, right?   

I think the biggest mistake we made was politicizing Covid-19. If all states don't lock down and we still allow interstate travel no one is locked down. Some where I read it is akin to having a peeing area inside a swimming pool. This was not hard. Stay home for just two to three months, pay everyone three K a month until it is over and Covid-19 is a small footnote in a medical text book twenty years from now. Oversimplified you say? Not all that much. When viruses cannot spread they die out. Instead, we made it political. You cannot tell me what to do! I need to work! This is understandable with no help from Uncle Sam. I want my nails done! I want to shop! Let's invite everyone for Christmas and Thanksgiving! How's that worked out? Let's see... Over 300K dead. The economy is in shambles. Education is struggling and our entire healthcare system is at risk of collapse. USA number one, right?

Yup, most deaths, super high infection rates and an obliterated economy. So how did these small female lead counties do so much better? Well, they took Covid-19 seriously, shut down while paying their citizens and had no time or tolerance for bullshit conspiracy theories. Check this out... 

3. American Racism and Ignorance

We spent the last four years learning just how racist we are. Non-whites already knew. I, as a white dude, had no idea how many of my fellow Americans are just straight up racists. I had this illusion that it was mostly a southern backwoods redneck thing. Nope, it is nation wide. Northern cities, eastern cities and even out west they all came out to bask in the new light of the Glorious Leader, Donald Trump. In a twisted way, it's one of his biggest accomplishments, shinning a bright shinning light on how far we still have to go. In what universe is anti-fascist considered a bad thing? This one! In what universe do we have to remind people Black Lives Matter? This one! Why? The American Oligarchs like it this way. Let me see if I can explain it. 

It is better to have poor people pointing the finger at each other than towards the top. Here are a few narratives they use on poor whites; "Blacks and illegals get a free ride from the government, advantages in hiring (Affirmative Action) and they are inherently violent." Poor low information whites buy it while the elites send their jobs overseas, suppress wages, defund schools, take their pensions, and literally kill them with unsafe working conditions and opioids. Meanwhile, they run off to the bank with all the money. And keeping people stupid also helps.                     

     

Now What?

 

 Wow, what a strange election! Biden did get in but we have 70 or so million who voted for Trump. The Blue Wave turned into the Blue Mirage with little meaningful change in the legislature. I think it was good to ditch the Donald before he politicized the entire Federal workforce, replacing professionals with political stooges. I don't know about you guys but I kind of scientists working for the CDC, NASA and NOAA. These are no places for political for YES men. I passed on the Greens this time. The Donald just had to go. Why? Ask Noam Chomsky Sadly, he still barely won my state. We will have a few months of 45 whining the election was stolen, mad dashes to various courts arguing baseless claims (only to be shot down) and yes even a few acts of political terrorism from his fellow dead enders. Then, like a miracle, he will gone from the White House. I have low expectations of Joe Biden. 

Unless he (and the Democrats) suddenly grow some balls, we will stumble on (slower) to environmental, economic and artificial intelligent catastrophes that will render our current civilization a fond memory of old people. Casino Capitalism and a clean environment are mutually exclusive. Our government (Yes, both parties) is incapable of understanding much less dealing with this fact. Income inequality (a big part of the Trump phenomenon) will continue to worsen (more slowly hopefully) and the next Neo Fascist will prove to be more competent and dangerous than Trump. Artificial Intelligence at the very least will be disruptive bring on changes (dangers?) we cannot even now imagine. Rumsfeld would say unknown unknowns. By going more slowly toward these challenges (there are many more), we buy a little time to figure out what to do about them. So what CAN we do? 

Protests, boycotts, sit ins (Occupy) and general strikes need to become a part of the American landscape. We cannot think our guy won (hint- he's not our guy. He, like Trump, belongs to the oligarchs) and all will be well. Biden will do the master's bidding defending the elite at the expense of the rest of us. If we sit back and accept that, shame on us. Enough hell raising can bring about positive change..

PEOPLE TRUST NOT IN POLITICIANS BUT YOUR OWN POWER. 

I'm hopeful Biden will be more responsive to civil unrest than almost any Republican. 

Caution: violence plays into the narrative of the bad guys. Nobody on Earth does violence better than Uncle Sam. That's his game. Challenge him and you will loose... badly. 

Note: anyone in your group protesting for positive change who calls for violence or terrorism most likely works for Uncle Sam.                          

And for the love of God: stop insulting, demeaning and looking down on those who voted different than you. Rather, reach out, listen, acknowledge our common humanity to gain ground. No minds have been changed or hearts won by petty social media insults or dehumanization of mass swaths of any population.  

What is Neoliberalism? Readings.

 

Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems

 

What exactly is neoliberalism?

 

 

The Consequences of Neoliberalism in the Current Pandemic

 

 

The neoliberal era is ending. What comes next?

 

A Brief History of Neoliberalism
A book.

 

 

 

 

The Eve of Doomsday?

 

2020 is just the gift that keeps on giving. What do we have so far? A global pandemic filtered through political tribalism (mostly here in the U.S.). Cops murdering brown and black people setting off protests, riots and looting the likes of which we have not seen since 1968. Once again politics moves in and we miss the forest through trees. Instead of addressing concerns, we yammer on about lawless thugs, looters and the new bogeyman on the block, Antifa! Yes! that's right in today's America it is criminal to be Antifascist. I don't know about you cats but my Granddad, and two great uncles fought fascists and imperialists in World War II. Here in the Trump-side-down world of the Trump years people are actually learning to be afraid of Anti-Nazis, young people taking to the streets for justice and even the Democratic Party. You've seen the ad's. Will the police come when you call in Biden's America? "They" burnt down my business and the cops could not help me! Fear, Fear and yes more Fear...

I only dislike one thing more than Democrats and that's Republicans. How do they want to govern? They don't. They only want to abolish taxes for the richest among us, defend their own very narrow view of freedom (It is against my religion to insure your sexual health) and sew fear and hatred of anyone non-white and or anyone who makes under 30K a year (basically poor people of any color). The Republican Party has been the party of FEAR and NO for my entire adult life. They have given us staggering levels of income inequality, wars of choice and kick and scream "socialism" whenever it is suggested government do something to actually help people. Where is the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act? NO, that might help somebody! How do they respond to protests? Oh yeah, ridicule and water cannon. Never a single word about why they are protesting is spoken. Stagnant wages for the last fifty years / crushing personal debit? More tax breaks and cuts for the richest corporations and people will fix it! Republicans have phantom problems to solve like voter fraud. I'm sure this is more dark work of Antifa. Where is our opposition party, 

The Democrats? They, for the most part, go along with much of the above offering a little hand-wringing here and there and low-grade   grade school level political theater. See, they too are paid for by the same people to keep the existing power structure in place no matter the cost to the world for as long as possible. In any sane country (country with a healthy democracy and a critical thinking populace) the Trump Crime Family would have never got into power in the first place. Our brave Democrats have done little more than jump up and down and turn red faced. They have been totally ineffective. I'm sorry if this is news to you but here we are looking at a possible four more years (or more?) of Trump family rule. If this is good news to you, careful what you ask for. What are the alternatives? 

Vote for the Green Party? Stay home and do nothing? Vote for Trump and a quicker and painful death? Vote for Joe Biden to buy a little more time before complete collapse? Most likely, I'll vote for Joe. I like the Greens because I'm voting FOR something. But Trump has to go. One party rule is not for me. The Democrats are the only viable alternative. I have no illusions they can be reformed. I do think they will provide more stability and thus give us time to figure out better ways forward. I'm hopeful young Americans, given the chance, will completely reject the party of "NO," tax cuts for the rich and _____phobia. Stay home and do nothing is lame. How will you explain that to your grand kids? "Yeah, I figured the problems would just solve themselves." Do something! Even if it wrong! Just try! 

And Remember-----                   

The sun will rise on November 4th no matter the outcome. The wheels of life will keep on turning. I don't like the "fight" analogy so many are fond of. Keep fighting, fight harder and so on are worn out. We need a new approach and time to figure it out. Hate can and often does win in this world. I, for one, think we can and must do better.    

Quiet Trepidation

I feel the covid / 2020 blues almost as soon as I wake up. I can go places at my own risk. I worry for my brother, a paramedic, running Civid patients everyday. I think about my old work family going in every day to help the unemployed. I often wonder is it only a matter of time before I get covid. Will it the mild asymptomatic version or the express lane to the cemetery version? What about you? I know you are fighting your own battles and have your own worries. It only human. We like things to run smoothly. We like regularity. We may not admit it but we like certainty. 2020 is doing it's best to turn everything upside down. I can feel it in traffic via less courteousness and over aggression. I can see it in the eyes of fellow shoppers both masked and unmasked. Don't want to wear a mask? Fine but let your kid go without one? That is some kind of crazy ass narrative flowing through that cat's skull. "Look at all of these sheeple-(a term I detest) all masked up and afraid. Not me, not my kid." Yeah fine go ahead and risk your own life but your kid's? That kid is gonna be sure pissed off if he reaches adulthood and reads a history book about 2020! Corona cannot wait until fall!

Our national government is doing nothing about the pandemic or all the dire economic fallout. They decided to leave town and maybe deal with it or not when they return to Washington D.C. Meanwhile, cops keep being cops continuing to gun down black and brown people with impunity. When those people protest and loot to express their outrage, they are met with militarized police and white national types itching for a new "civil war" utterly clueless what such a calamity would really be like. (As someone with a Master's Degree in Conflict Resolution, I think this is highly unlikely. Our economics and demographics does not point toward civil war... yet.) Should the protesters stop until after the election? NO! Then Emperor Donald will lie about how he alone put down civic unrest for another bump in the polls. I'd like to see even more protests and better yet a national strike of some kind. Just keep in mind violence only benefits the state as they wipe the streets with your remains to the cheers of the crowd as fascism puts down deeper and deeper roots. If you are a protest organizer and some jackass starts talking guns and shooting cops, that individual is a cop in all likelihood. Send them packing! Want the elites to really squeeze their ass cheeks together, I recommend very large PEACEFUL protests and work stoppages. Shut Shit Down! This is a long process and about far more than this year's election. Now there are even questions about the peaceful transfer of power.

The peaceful transfer of power is one of our keys to stability. That seems under threat. The closer the election the more dicey it may be. The economy depends on a stable government and the rule of law. If we allow the crime family another four years, kiss any positive goals for our country good-bye. We can only expect more tax cuts, more deregulation and even more outlandish behavior. That's if we are lucky! The path to complete destruction is full of pain, violence and mass murder. Not a place we want to go. And can somebody / anybody wake up Joe Biden and the sleeping Democratic Party?

"I'm not Trump," is not a slogan for victors. I thought we learned that last time! Low on enthusiasm? That's fixable. Lead from the front, Joe- give us something to get excited about. Time's wasting but it is not too late. Have a dialogue with protesters. Pick an issue and run with it; taking climate change seriously, not just police reform- justice reform, a real national plan to deal with covid and his friends waiting their turn (the next covid / pandemic) or economic inequality. There are tons more! But you gotta lead from the front. Why the Democrats always let the Republicans frame the issues and dominate the news cycle is beyond me...

One last thing... If Trump does win (unlikely but damn sure possible), the world will not end. Sure it will be a major setback, but not the end of history or time. We will do what humans always have done when faced with adversity; adapt, adjust, improvise, rethink, organize and overcome.                      

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!!!!!

People with Disabilities and Employment Post Covid

I'm a person with a physical disability. I owe any success I've had to my parents, those who helped win disability rights and a good education. I had the good fortune to be born after the time most anyone with a disability would have been institutionalized and soon forgotten (were we Great then?) No, this is not a political blog post. But just ask yourself the question Great for whom. At a very young age, I was taken out of my "special school" and tossed head first into public schools. Mind you, this was all the way back in the 70's. Over all, it worked out well for me. I went on to earn a bachelor degree, a requirement for two jobs I got still later that kept me independent for my adult life. I'd be dishonest if I did not thank North Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation as well. They paid for much of my education. That's just to give you an idea of my experience with employment as a person with a disability.        

The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is far higher than the national average. It runs about double the rate for non-disabled people. It has always been far behind. I think we can change this for the better. With technology and investment things can and will change for the better post covid-19.

With new technology, the employment rate for people with disabilities should improve greatly. One thing we have learned from Covid, it is possible to do many jobs from home. The days of stuffing envelopes and piecemeal production as the only work for the home bound are thankfully over. Here is one site offering plenty of opportunities to work from home, ratracerebellion.com.  The keys are education and training. These are far better investments than small, monthly disability payments and subsidized housing possibly leading to a lifetime of poverty and unhappiness. Even paying for a bachelor degree is a small investment to get someone beyond the month to month struggle on disability payments for life. Not every worthwhile skill requires a four year degree. There are numerous certifications in the computer world that take less time yet are still well paying. This can give people with disabilities much more control or agency over their own lives. There is one more thing I think could be very helpful.

I think entrepreneurship among the disabled should be encouraged more. We can learn the high demand skills that interest and excite us. With the right skill sets it is possible to be in control of our days and destinies. Not everyone can work an 8am to 5pm fixed schedule job across town. Being self employed, we can set our own schedule as well as where we choose to work. Here is a good example, toddcecil.com (used with permission). Todd has worked solo almost his entire adult life, owns his own car, house and does tons of traveling. He truly leads by example.

I'm in no way saying all people with disabilities can work. There still needs to be disability payments for those who need it and it should pay enough to keep people out of poverty. I'm hopeful as technology improves, less people will feel disability is the only way forward.

Personally, I found this video very helpful, Locus of Control. It is how we view the world and our place in it.        

What a Time to be Alive

Friends, what a time to be alive! We are living through massive changes here at home and around the world. It seems every generation can say the same. My granddad lived an exemplary life as one of the greatest generation surviving the Great Depression, World War II in the Pacific, seeing people on the moon and the start of the internet age. Everyone says there will never be another generation like that. I disagree.

We always rise to face challenges. Our challenges are different. I'm impressed by the fact nuclear weapons have not been used since 1945. That's 75 years as of this writing. There have been some close calls, some more well known than others. But here we are. The over all number of nuclear weapons is lower but the danger is still clear and present. No, we cannot put the genie back in the bottle but we can and must keep working to avoid catastrophe. I hope we will.

I think it is also important to remember the world is a much more peaceful place. Yes, there are still wars raging but nothing like the scale of the two world wars. When was the last time all of Europe was at peace for 75 years (except the Balkans War)? Were the Romans in charge? It has been awhile. With the right documents, you can travel, tour and do business pretty safely in much of the world. Just do your homework! Despite all the scaremongering, crime is dawn. These times are overall safer.

Yes, covid-19 is still raging but it will not go on forever. Sooner or later, it too will be defeated. Most people are listening to medical professionals and taking precautions to protect themselves and the community. Try not to worry about those who are not, just take care of you- wear the uncomfortable mask, don't go out more than you have to and give others a lot of space when you do. Changes are going to come about as a result of covid. Let's do our part to make those changes for the better.