impediment

I was just conversing with an old family friend and she had a charming way of expressing the lack of progress in the world:

Some people are impeding the rotation of the planet.

Nicer than I would put it.

Bernie disappointed

I don't donate to political campaigns... because sooner or later, a politician will always disappoint me. Bernie did when he gave way to Joe Biden in the 2019 Democratic primary. I have 2 theories of why Bernie gave way:

1. Bernie's asshole quotient isn't high enough to attack his opponents as needed to win a political campaign at this level.

or

2. Bernie decided he didn't actually want to be president... possibly his heart condition was a more significant warning call than he signaled to his campaign or supporters.


Regardless, he let down everyone who donated, volunteered or spoke on his behalf.

And now, weeks after Bernie's acquiescence, in the middle of a rampant protests against the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, Bernie has been largely out of sight. Another disappointment... :(

The COVID-19 economy is Alive!

To put this rant in context, we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic (recall pandemic means entire planet is affected) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. U.S. intelligence services had been warning "POTUS" DJT for months that the growing epidemic in China would become a major problem in the U.S. In those same months, DJT and Republicans raised no alarms to the American public nor did they make any preparations for the oncoming epidemic. In fact, one Republican warned rich donors of a possible economic downturn and he, along with other public servants sold stocks ahead of the recent stock market decline.

It wasn't until March 13th that DJT declared a state of emergency... after tens of people died in Washington State, after hundreds of Americans tested positive, after the lack of testing became an international embarrassment and even now, we do not know the extent of the problem due to lack of infection data... So the Administration was seemingly taking the problem seriously (I can't even talk about the lie filled clownish daily Coronavirus media events staring "POTUS DJT").

But with the past two days, three media statements:

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick: 

“No one reached out to me and said as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren. "And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.”

DJT tweeted/said:

WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!

“We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself”

From Buzzfeed:

President Donald Trump suggested Monday that he may encourage businesses to reopen and encourage people to stop isolating “very soon,” contradicting public health experts who say businesses may need to stay closed and workers stay home for several months to help contain the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s bad, and obviously the numbers are going to increase with time and then they’re going to start to decrease,” the president said at his daily coronavirus press conference, before quickly pivoting to say, “We’re going to be opening our country up for business because our country was meant to be open and working with others.”

DJT wants the economy 'working' again... because his rich friends and donors are losing money from falling stock prices and most of the Trump brand hotels are closed and losing money from stay-at-home and social-distancing recommendations.

My issue with so called 'getting the economy working again':

1. The economy is working. (Most) Essential goods and services are being produced and delivered on a timely basis. Shortages are due to panic buying and not a supply problem. The shortages of protective equipment for medical staff are the result of larger global production trends - outsourcing all production to cheapest producing countries. This could be addressed by invoking the Defense Production Act to force private industry to make essential goods/services.

2. The stock market is not the economy. Economies exist and function without stock markets so stock prices are a moot point in terms of economic activity.

3. Economies are emergent properties of human interactions. So long as two or more people exist, an economy exist from the exchange between them. Neither epidemic nor pandemic endanger the existence and/or function of economies.

4. People engage in exchange to benefit each other; to improve their lives; to improve their standard of living; to live longer and safer. If stock prices are the reason to justify the end of life-saving social-distancing, then stock markets are endangering people's lives; stock markets are doing the opposite of what economies exist to deliver... stock markets are anti-economic. Stock markets should either be banned from trading during the duration of the emergency or perhaps eliminated altogether for the benefit of humanity. [A standard debate question has long been "Has religion been a benevolent or malevolent influence on mankind?" ... A much more important and relevant question would be "Have stock markets been a benevolent or malevolent influence on mankind?"]

Asshole quotient

I don't expect or want to be friends with my political representative. I want them to have a high asshole quotient and be somewhat ruthless in pursuing my political agenda.

Bernie Sanders is not doing well in his second run for the Democratic nominee for president... I wonder if his asshole quotient is too low for the job. With the COVID-19 pandemic, he's had to cut back on rallies which he admits he enjoys holding. But he seems to cringe from hard hitting attacks of his opponents. He may just be too decent a human being to be president... it would be a shame because his policies would improve the lives of many Americans and non-Americans. If he doesn't win, I hope he continues to communicate with the American people; we need to hear his ideas.

minority voting hypothesis

Super Tuesday was this past Tuesday and Bernie had a poorer showing than polling predicted.

3 facts stand out:
-black voters supported Biden over Bernie
-Bernie had higher Latino support than Biden
-young voters did not turn out as Bernie had hoped

Hypothesis:

A larger number of Latinos are immigrants. Children of immigrant families are the window to the outside world. Adults who don't speak the language rely on their children to navigate and understand the culture, customs and politics of foreign country in which they now live. Youth outreach worked for Bernie in the Latino community because Latino youth have more power to inform and influence decision making of the voting adults. 

African American (AA) family dynamics are very different. Highly racial policing have forced AAs into highly defensive parenting meaning exert strong control (most likely discipline) over children... a top down authoritarian family structure. Compared to Latino households, youth in AA homes have very little influence over adult decision making. The effect of AA youth outreach does not tend to penetrate the households.


If true, Bernie needs a strategy that targets adults in minority communities, not just the youth.

Difference between Democrats and Republicans...

... from the perspective of the 2020 elections:

planet earth = terminally ill cancer patient suffering great pain

treatment options from Republicans/Democrats:
Republicans: assisted suicide
establishment Democrats (party organization): non-prescription analgesics and smiles
progressive Democrats: try to push patient into remission... that will buy time to try to find a cure

Data Hacking Elections

Democracy Now has an interview with a Cambridge Analytica whistleblower and others about data hacking of elections on the lines of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook. The cost to democracy and even self autonomy is very high... we are all being manipulated by our information consumption in ways we cannot untangle. It's very much worth viewing.

https://www.democracynow.org/2020/1/7/the_great_hack_cambridge_analytica