Irony

It seems a tad ironic that Trump is threatening big tariffs on foreign countries to protect the US market,  since a significant % of Kentucky branded spirits manufacturers have been bought-up by foreign companies. 

I asked my AI Copilot about this: 

" The exact percentage of U.S. alcohol owned by foreign companies isn't available, but foreign ownership is significant, especially in the spirits industry. Many iconic American brands, such as Jim Beam, Makers Mark, Bookers (owned by Japan's Suntory), Four Roses (owned by Japan's Kirin), and Bulleit (owned by the U.K.'s Diageo), are under foreign control. Additionally, international companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev (based in Belgium) dominate the beer market in the U.S."

What will Trump do when he finds out that his asinine trade wars are are making foreign investors rich at the expense of American consumers?  Whose gonna tell him?

Found this in my desk

A Vignette  (May 2023)

I am constantly telling my wife:
"I'm going to work outside. Please don't lock me out."  
Typically, I go out to the garage where I keep my work boots and gloves.
through the den door then I go out to the yard. through the outer door

Inevitably. she decides to clean the cat litter box
or take out the trash, or perhaps
searches for something stored on the garage, 
then, out of habit, turns the deadbolt to the locked position. 

This occurred again for the hundredth time just yesterday.  
I had come into the garage after working in the garden, 
 taken off my boots, and ... surprise!
found the door to the den locked. 

I knocked petulantly, then pounded a bit harder,  But no answer. 
Standing in the darkened garage in my stocking feet 
I had no choice but to keep pounding on the door 
or put the boots back on, go back out the outer door 
and walk around to the screen porch to enter 
through the (hopefully) unlocked back door slider.  

55 years of marriage  has taught me to take the easy road.  
So I stopped pounding and put my boots back on.  
Went into the porch and took the boots off 
and made it into the kitchen through the slider.

Inside, at the other end of the house, 
Judy was on the computer playing Mah Jong. 
 "You locked me out!" I complained.  
"Oh, sorry, I wasn't thinking." she answered,  
for the hundredth time.  
And that was that.   

Cutting Revenue to save money.

I read an news article today in the NYT  that likens Trump/Musk firing 6,700 IRS employees in the middle of Tax season to a business CFO deciding to cut the size the accounts receivable dept., in the middle of a successful sales campaign.  Cutting-off revenue is the last thing a competent businessman would do.
The CFO, however, would likely be fired for such a stupid move. 

What shall we do with Trumsk?

STFU if You Don't Agree

A drinking buddy of mine who has clearly imbibed too much Trump Kool-aid recently remarked that the Progressive Democrat Commies want to censor free speech. He cites Europe as an egregious offender, enacting laws against hate speech and even prohibiting criticism of government leaders, and even denying the Holocaust.    

I did some fact checking: In Europe, it looks like they are jailing offenders of "Hate Speech" when there is a threat attached. That seems reasonable to me.  

In general I'm not a fan of political correctness, especially when it inhibits normal expression of feelings or opinions.  Some of the recent censorship laws do seem Draconian to me: e.g., laws against Disparaging a public figure, without fear,  is a capstone of a free press. 

 Just calling someone a midget or an Indian should not be a crime by itself. I'm not certain, but I think that that it's legally okay (though morally wrong) to call someone a "dirty Jew" or a "Fag," even when there is no threat, but I would not support a general law against name-calling.

During the time when the people who were running Facebook and Twitter were censoring obvious misinformation and what was generally considered hate or threatening speech, I thought those platforms were more balanced and more pleasant places to exchange thoughts. 

Why they stopped monitoring is mysterious to me. (I don't log in  anymore to either site, in protest)

I am a fan of censorship when it comes to suppressing disinformation. The problem is in the execution. Who decides what is a fact? To me this is the existential crisis that we have today: People don't trust "trusted" sources anymore.

So it is that we cannot intelligently argue, because neither side will accept the other's source of any "fact". I blame Trump and his ilk. They have sown the seeds of distrust --with unsubstantiated claims -- in our legal system, election integrity, and any person or organization that disagrees with them. Trump makes claims with no evidence, and none of his claque dares to say him nay.

Funny that most of the witnesses during the Jan 6 hearings were Republicans who worked in government. And the majority of his first administration staffers said publicly that he was "unfit" to be president again. These weren't Dems, mind you. The only reason the 2nd impeachment didn't stick is that the Republican senate majority simply ignored the facts revealed by Jan 6 witnesses.

But of course, no self-respecting MAGA would believe any of that. They say, "The First Amendment guarantees free speech, so shut the fuck up!"

Phony Christians

 I don't disagree that the government is bloated and ineffective.  But the phrase "Throwing the baby out with the bathwater" comes to mind,  when you look at what the Trump team is doing.  Instead of taking a considered approach and cutting stupid and wasteful programs, they want to eliminate USAID, which in fact keeps a lot of people in the world from starving to death.

Where are the so-called Christians who think every glob of protoplasm is sacred?  Or, does that only apply to the unborn? 

How can they sleep at night -- knowing that they helped to elect a would-be Emperor  who refuses to take the time to do his homework,  and now is letting people in Sudan and other countries die as a result?  

Did Jesus limit his vision of the responsibilities of his followers to the boundaries of the United States.  I did not see that in my copy of the New Testament.   

When judgment day comes, if there is any justice, I expect to see them in hell.

How to Fix a seized Impeller

 Today I fixed my snowblower.  It had been out-of-commission during the recent snowstorm.  Oh, the engine started-up okay, and the axel drive gears worked just fine.  But the impeller (the part that throws the snow) was seized-up.  Every time I tried to engage the mechanism the belt would screech like a banshee and, if I forced it, the engine would quit under the strain.  

Hmm what to do?  Like any halfway intelligent modern man, I went to YouTube and typed-in "Craftsman snow thrower."   As expected, there were dozens of videos covering various problems with Craftsman snowblowers and how to fix them.  After watching one that seemed to be my problem, I deduced that the problem was either A) something (like a stone) got stuck in the impeller mechanism, or B) it was frozen.

I immediately decided that my problem was B, a frozen drive.  This is where the wisdom of old age guides the problem-solving process.  I reasoned, that it was unlikely to be that something got stuck in the mechanism because the last time I used it, I had no problems with that mechanism working.  Since the temps had been well below freezing since the last use, icing-up was a more probable cause.  Until today.

Noting that the forecast for today was an unseasonable warm-up (mid forty degrees) I decided to go out and crank 'er up.  Voila, everything works perfectly!

Not to brag, but a more impetuous soul might have rushed to call someone to fix the machine.  But, by waiting for a natural thaw, I did not waste any physical effort or money.

I must admit that I was forced to face the reality that "Old Trusty" might not be repairable for a reasonable expense.    At our age, we can't count on living in this (or any) house for enough years to make the investment in a new machine make sense. An existential crisis indeed!  The plows do a shitty job.  There are no neighborhood young people interested in making $20 bucks.  (These kids probably have more walking around money than I do)

In the end, procrastination once-again  saved the day!   I'm thinking of making my own YouTube video showing me literally doing nothing but looking at a thermometer and cranking-up the now perfectly working snowblower.

 

Sound Familiar?

Historian Lawrence Britt studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile) and found they had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. (Thanks to my friend Bruce G. for finding this)

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, and long incarcerations of prisoners.
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists…
Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation.
Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation or by sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Government censorship and secrecy, especially in war time, are very common.
Obsession with National Security
Fear of hostile foreign powers is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.
Protection of Corporate Power
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
Suppression of Labor Power
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Sound familiar? Fact: Historically, things did not turn out well either for the citizens or the Fascists.

Tuning Out, Again

 

I have deleted my social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter and have stopped wasting my time watching the talking head shows on cable.  My plan is to hide my head in the sand (like an insurance ad  emu), to avoid having to deal with further unpleasant political realities.  

I’m chagrined to see that both Biden and Trump have further eroded our trust in the justice system with their blanket commutations and pardons for violent criminals.  That makes a mockery out of the judicial system of costly investigations, courts, juries and sentences that put the felons behind bars.   

Trump threatened to slap a 25% tariff on Colombian goods because they refused to let the Deportation Plane land (probably because it was filled with a bunch of Illegal murderers and drug dealers.)  This is awful because now we will have to pay more for Starbucks.  Such short-term thinking worries me.  I would just drop them by parachute into the jungle. (If they can pay for the chute)   

How’s that for genius thinking?  Maybe I should apply for a government job?

Zen and the Art of Snowblowing

 

It’s been a cold winter hereabouts, as it has been everywhere else, even the Florida contingent is experiencing a bit of unseasonable frigidity.  So, where the heck is global warming when you need it?  

We had about 6 inches of snow last week – a good excuse to get my trusty Craftsman 5HP Snowblower out of the shed and cranked-up.  I find clearing the driveway a most satisfying activity, displaying my mastery of machinery as well as the psychic reward of seeing the results of my efforts.  

After a long career as a corporate minion, most of the companies where I was employed have gone away, and none of the systems that I helped build are still in use.  I sometimes wish I had taken up carpentry or masonry, so I could go and look at my work and perhaps get a feeling of fulfillment and pride.    

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not feeling that I wasted my career, or into philosophical musings about the meaning of life.  I’m just saying that I get a warm sense of satisfaction when I can see the results of my labors.   

Narcissism

 Narcissism is prevalent in politics, public celebrities, teen agers, and especially in the performance and creative arts.

I believe every famous artist I've met or read about is a narcissist to some extent. How else can one justify excluding the rest of the world from one's proximity when in the act of creation? Creation of art (painting sculpture, writing, composing) is the act of mental masturbation -- is it not?

I define a narcissist as someone who wishes the world revolved around them. Most of the sane ones know that it doesn't, but they secretly believe that to be a flaw in the system. It should be all about them.

Many artists are not totally sane, as we define normalcy. We like to describe them with positive tinged adjectives like, quirky or eccentric, but at the heart of it, they tend to march to the beat of a selfish drum.

We find a lot of these types on a college campus. Businesses and governments do not tolerate quirky behavior, but academia has a high tolerance for abnormal behavior. So the campus is the last bastion for the less-sane among us.

In a writing group, the alpha narcissist will usually start their analysis of the piece you just read about oversalted french fries at McDonalds.   "That reminds me of the last time I was in Paris …" they will intone.  Then, they will hijack the conversation to those fond Paris memories.  

As a hack writer, I am probably a bit of a closet narcissist myself. But I am also highly social, and, recognizing that most people find narcissists irritating, I try to hide the fact that I am primarily interested in discussing my favorite topics. 

 If I were more successful and famous, I most certainly would have a higher sense of self importance, and would let my inner narcissist roam free. But I am in touch with reality so I keep my delusions of grandeur under wraps.