AN OLD MAN WITH OLD WAYS

 The Vladimir Putin directed Russian invasion of Ukraine is clearly the brainchild of a meglomaniac obsessed with the outdated idea of a new European empire led by Russia. The man obviously thirsts for the old Soviet  Union.

Such a world view and a desire for domination reeks like overripe garbage. It is a concept whose time has come--and gone. Such thinking has its roots in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and is as outdated as witch hunts, religious crusades and bloodletting. Putin--an old man with old ways of thinking--has thrown in his lot with the ancient and corrupt views of past villains like Napolean Bonaparte, Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolph Hitler and Joe Stalin.

The 21st century has descended upon us, and yet Putin refuses to acknowledge that fact. He desperately clings to the old ways in order to feed his own hunger for power and glory. He seems oblivious to the fact that such military action will not bring him that glory and power. The world has moved on. Values have changed. Putin, however, has failed to move with the times.

There is no longer a drive to conquer other nations, to launch total warfare, or to subjugate foreign populations. Men like Vladimir Putin need to adhere to one simple tenet: No group or individual has the right to initiate the use of force against another group or individual. To do so is blatantly inhumane and immoral.

The drive to control other human beings is a powerful aphrodisiac to which Putin has succumbed.  He is an old man rooted in old ways of thinking. Until these outdated and outlandish ideas are put to rest, the the peace and wellbeing of all who reside on this planet is in jeopardy.

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST VS THE MEDIOCRE

In this presidential election year, one question should loom above all others. In this nation of over 150 million eligible adults, are the 3 leading candidates, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden—the best we have to offer? Instead of the best and the brightness, we have assembled the mediocre and the inept. That gives rise to one more vital question Why?



Looking back on over 200 years of US history, it is glaringly apparent that the best and the brightest rarely seek political office. For example, Warren Buffet has spent his life as an entrepreneur and investor. Bill Gates and the late Steve Jobs developed the personal computer and software. Elon Musk is hard at work developing the environmentally perfect automobile. Richard Branson is preparing to launch private citizens into space. Going back over half a century, Dr. Jonas Salk developed the vaccine that ended the scourge of polio. And the list goes on and on.



Do you detect a trend? The truly gifted and talented use their abilities to create a safer, world, a healthier world, a more efficient and functional word, and in the process create jobs, wealth and raise the living standard for society.



What motivates the best and the brightest? It is the freedom to invent, innovate, experiment, to feel the rush of achieving their dreams, and in the process, raise us all to another level.



What motivates people to enter into politics? First, it must be noted that many principled, intelligent, caring people jump into the political arena. The problem is, these individuals are in the minority.



The majority of politicians are drawn to politics by 2 primary factors: power and control. They are enticed by the opportunity to control the lives of others, and to impose their beliefs on others.



Politicians do not invent, innovate, do research or perform surgery. What they do is tell other people how to live their lives. Their sole function  is to exercise control over their fellow citizens. That is the narcotic that draws certain people to politics. To control the lives of other human beings and impose their will upon society.



If you refuse to shop at Walmart, Walmart cannot force you to change. If you refuse to buy a Ford, Ford is powerless to force you to change. Dislike cable? Just disconnect.



But government doesn’t work that way. Tell your elected officials that you no longer want to participate in Medicare, and see what happens. Tell your elected officials that you refuse to pay into Social Security, and see what happens. Tell your elected officials that you no longer want to pay taxes or register for the draft, and see what happens.



Government is about force and coercion, and the people who hold political office hold those positions because they embrace the idea of controlling the lives of others. Their role is not to create or produce; their role is to enforce their will on the lives and destinies of their fellow citizens.


The best and the brightness among us follow a higher calling. The mediocre among us seek political office because this is how they gain their stature in society: by bullying us to achieve their self-esteem. It is who and what they are.

YOGA PANTS AND CASHEW CHICKEN: THE NEW RACISM

So you think you know the definition of a racist. They are the people who stand in the doorways of schools to prevent minority children from attending. They  stop minorities from being served in restaurants. They make people sit in the back of the bus. Sometimes they turn into a lynch mob.

But in this crazy world of identity politics, there is a new definition of a racist. In today's steamy political climate a racist is someone who wears yoga pants and attends yoga classes. Or maybe it is a non-Asian chef who cooks Asian cuisine. And it could be a non-Asian who eats in a Chinese restaurant.

A University of Michigan professor named Shreena Gandhi had this to say about racism: The modern day trend of cultural appropriation of yoga is a continuation of white supremacy and white colonialism. White people who practice  yoga are contributing to "white supremacy" and to a system of power and oppression. 

Who knew that performing the "downward facing dog" position was so evil?

Matthew Terrell, a journalist who writes in the Huffington Post, recently said, My soul weeps every time I smell the waft of  mall court Chinese food...the only way to solve the dilemma of culinary appropriation is to ban all ethnic food that is not 100% authentic, and people can only enjoy  food of their own race.

After  reading these pronouncements, I am not sure if I want to laugh, cry or choke on an egg roll. After decades of listening to sermons and lectures about the evils of segregation, I was under the impression we were all supposed to come together in the brotherhood of man. Was Rosa Parks, Martin  Luther King Jr. and JFK all wrong?

Absolutely not. It is people like Shreena Gandhi and Matthew Terrell who are revealing their intellectual shortcomings by embracing a new segregation. We need to open up our lives to the banquet that is humanity,  not build barriers between ourselves like members of some prehistoric tribe. The more we taste, the more we hear, the more we feel,  the more we explore vastly different cultures, the richer and fuller our lives become. We sift through  and filter out the bad so as to gain better access to all that is good and uplifting.

To be free to sample what the world offers is the definition of freedom. To open our minds to differing viewpoints is to better understand ourselves. Eat what brings you nourishment and pleasure. Listen to the music that brightens your day.

Let no self-proclaimed cultural watchdog narrow your vision, or darken your life, or make you a prisoner of cultural traditions that confine you like a straightjacket.

To reject the dictates of race, culture, religion and ancient traditions  is to liberate your mind, heart and soul. Always strive to be you.

Everything else is bullshit.

THE SPACE RACE: GREAT MINDS VERSUS GREAT BUREAUACRACIES

July 20, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. First, let us recognize the lunar landing as one of the greatest--if not THE greatest--achievements in the history of humankind. It wasn't accomplished via magic, or voodoo, or by spiritual incantations. It was a colossal achievement of the human intellect at its highest level.

In JFK's speech after he took office in 1961, he pledged to the American people that we would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. That pledge was fulfilled, as the US Government made the moon landing Priority Number One. No doubt impetus was given to the project by Kennedy's assassination as a testament to his legacy. It also showed the upside to government initiatives. NASA rolled up its sleeves, and with the aide of some of the brightest scientific minds in the country, the moon landing became a reality.

After the moon landing, there was talk of NASA colonizing the moon, and by the end of the 20th century, perhaps accomplishing a manned Mars landing. Exhiliration was in the air. Our national ambition boundless.

Then reality set in. The usual torpor associated with government bureaucracy took over. Rather than taking off into space, we spun our wheels as if stuck in mud. NASA's goals were splintered in numerous directions. Budgets were cut. Political games were played. Those exciting and heroic plans to conquer space gradually fizzled out amidst bureaucratic infighting. The last manned moon landing was on December 7, 1972, nearly a half century ago. Forget colonization. Forgot a Mars landing.

NASA did build a space station and space shuttles. A first step to go where humans had never gone? Not hardly. Today the US no longer has a space station. Instead we share one built by the Russians, our former nemesis. To get there, we have to hitch rides on the spacecraft of our former enemy. If that doesn't indicate the pathetic state of our government space program, I don't know what does.

But do not despair. We may be on the verge of a new era of space exploration, thanks to entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Richard Branson.

Musk, the developer of the Tesla, started Space X in 2012 for the purpose of shipping cargo to the international space station. Musk is now developing spacecraft to fly Mars missions for the purpose of colonization.

Richard Branson is the owner of Virgin Airways and 400 other enterprises. He is developing spacecraft for the express purpose of flying tourists into space. His spacecraft has already made a successful suborbital flight, and he hopes to begin shuttling tourists into space within a year.

What does this all prove? That big, bloated government bureaucracies run by self-serving politicians are no match for free enterprise and the innovative minds that the marketplace spawns. When the lean and hungry compete against the bloated and arrogant, the lean win hands down.

In this case, the frontiers of space will belong to the bold and inventive minds free from the shackles of government.

DUMB IS AS DUMB DOES

If anyone had any doubts about the idiocy of government and most elected officials, Illinois legislators are helping to erase all doubts.

For years we have been bombarded with nonstop warnings concerning ecological doom. According to many  politicians, the biggest threat to the environment is the automobile and the use of fossil fuels. They pollute the very air we breath by filling the atmosphere with destructive carbon emissions that cause global warming. Not surprisingly, oil companies are a favorite whipping boy of politicians, as they constantly remind us of Big Oil's greed and criminal disregard for the environment.

One of the favorite weapons in government's arsenal to defeat climate change has been electric cars .It's easy to see why: no pollution; no burning of fossil fuels; no carbon emissions, and no huge profits filling the coffers of Big Oil. In terms of fighting pollution, electric cars would appear to be the perfect solution. That is one reason there are already 15,000 electric vehicles registered in Illinois. The only thing an owner has to do is pay a $17.50 annual fee to the state.

The politicians down in Springfield--in their infinite wisdom--want to change all this. They are considering raising the annual fee on electric cars from $17.50 a year, to one thousand dollars a year. How could anyone with an IQ higher than a tennis ball think this is a good idea? The first and foremost unintended consequence of raising the fee would be to stifle the sales of electric cars in Illinois. The second consequence would be another obvious one. No doubt thousands of current electric car owners would dump their vehicles in favor of gas powered cars and immediately save a thousand dollars a year in fees. We might also see an exodus of electric car owners taking up  residence in nearby states to avoid this outrageous fee.

Apparently Illinois politicians are more concerned with raising revenues than protecting the environment, proving that as far as Illinois politicians are concerned, dumb is as dumb does.

TOBACCO 21: THE MORON'S LAW

The state of Illinois recently passed Tobacco 21, a law making it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to buy cigarettes, proving that intelligence has nothing to do with passing laws. Here are the some of the things that citizens ages 18, 19, and 20 are permitted to do:

1) They can enter into legally binding contracts.
2)  They can marry without parental permission.
3)They can exercise their Constitutional right to vote
4) They can join the military
5) They can have the government shove a rifle into their arms and order them into a war zone to kill or be killed
6) They can be ordered to engage in a suicide military mission where they have their limbs blown off or maybe their lives brutally ended.

But in Illinois they can't walk into a goddamn convenience store and buy a pack of cigarettes. Only shortsighted morons could see the logic in such a law. We have seen the enemy, and the enemy is politics.

EXPLAINING WHITE PRIVILEGE

More and more we hear and read about the concept of "white privilege." The term is bandied about to suggest that all white Americans had the world laid at their feet; that no pain, hard work, or sacrifice was needed to make their way through the world.. If your are white, you go directly to the front of the line, no questions asked, no effort required.

To prove the validity of this belief, I will list the "white privilege" milestones in my own life.

1. In the late nineteenth century both my maternal and paternal grandparents immigrated from Poland, where they came from a background of peasant farmers. What privilege!

2. When my mother was nine, she lost her mother to the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918. Two years later she became a total orphan when her father--a steelworker--was killed in an industrial accident. Fortunately, she had an older brother who took her into his family. She lived with them until she was married in her twenties. More privilege.

3. My paternal grandfather worked as a janitor until  he died of kidney disease in his forties. Still more privilege.

4. My father toiled for  40 years as a steelworker. When he was in his thirties, he nearly lost his leg when a load of steel fell on him. Thereafter, he bore a scar the length of his leg. Definite privilege.

5. We didn't have money for me to attend a big university, so after high school I attended a local junior college that my father paid for. During my second year of college, my father had a severe heart attack that forced him to take a disability retirement. Because his income was drastically cut, he sadly told me he would no longer be able to pay for college. I told him I fully understood. Unmistakable privilege.

6. At the end of my second year of college, I quit to work full time at the US Steel Southworks plant where my father had worked. My plan was to work full time for a year to earn enough money for college tuition. I miscalculated. When I quit school I lost my 2S student draft deferment. Eight months later I was drafted as the Viet Nam War heated up. Sweet privilege.

7. While in the army I got married. Upon discharge, I held a series of low paying jobs before finally settling at the US Postal Service until I retired  thirty years later. Since nearly half of the employees are African American, the job can hardly be considered "white privilege."

To suggest that all white people have been given the gift of "white privilege" is erroneous, ridiculous and insulting. It ignore the fact that millions of successful, accomplished whites fought their way out of poverty and achieved wealth and security through sweat, risk-taking and ingenuity. Many failed along the way. Could it be that "white privilege" is the invention of individuals who needed to create an excuse for their own shortcomings? That their shortcoming are due to the unearned success of others?

If it makes you feel better to lie to yourself, then lie. Just remember that a distorted view of the world will inevitably distort your life.