Not necessarily bliss

Ignorance is seemingly the new smarts in Iowa.  During an NPR interview this morning various and sundry residents of a rural town in the western part of the state opined they were very worried about terrorism.  Most of these benighted souls have more of a chance of being struck by a meteorite or drowned in a tidal wave than being killed by terrorists.  It is a tribute to the republican noise machine and its chief trumpeter, Faux News, that 99% white Iowa feels it is on the front lines of the fight against ISIS.  Comparing the relative virtues of the Donald and Ted Cruz brought out the very worst and most ignorant comments although some of them were so far around the bend, they almost reached a level of "truthiness".   Trump, the egotistical reality TV star and Cruz, a first term senator whose claim to fame is a campaign to shut down the federal government are touted as wise men, while Hillary Clinton, "has no clue" about how to keep these fools safe.  She will, they opine continue the policies of the dread Obama and try to take away their guns... Please, tell me these people are from another planet, rather than what they apparently are, frightened, ignorant people who are evidently about to answer Trump's question, "How stupid are the people of Iowa".

Farming in the future

Between the twin perils of drought and deluge, farmers around the world are facing more challenges than ever before.  The El Nino we are presently experiencing is decimating crops in South Florida with non-stop rain.  Rain in California is simultaneously welcome and worrying as it prevents timely planting for the spring and summer crops.   Areas in Australia are reeling from weeks of triple digit temperatures and no rain.  What this means for agriculture is not clear, but some growers are exploring indoor growing as a possible cure for climate disruptions.  In temperature controlled and artificially lighted warehouses spinach and lettuce crops are now being grown.  While the economics are not yet competitive with outdoor growing, as the climate disruptions grow, we may see more and more growers, especially in urban areas turn to man made growing environments.  The ramifications for our future are huge and so far unexamined. 

Watering he tree of parasitism

The latest iteration of the Bundy Show looks to be near its conclusion after the arrest of Cliven's offspring by the FBI when they ventured off the wildlife refuge they had occupied in Malheur, Oregon, yesterday.  A 74 year old fellow traveler was killed in the confrontation.  This will probably redound to the Bundy's reputation as stand up critics of government overreach.  At the previous standoff, the Bundy patriarch managed to rally a motley collection of militia extremists, gun nuts and so called "sovereign citizens" to defend him from government seizure of his cattle due to failure to pay grazing fees.  It is easy to dismiss this whole fiasco as the actions of a bunch of parasites who would like to use government land free of charge.  Of course their argument is they are patriots who are being oppressed by government tyranny.  Between these extremes the truth resides.  A government bureaucracy based  in Washington cannot be responsive to local needs and concerns 3000 miles from their office.  Meanwhile, the Bundys represent the fringe of a movement of appropriators of land which belongs to all citizens for their own interests.  Plenty of ranchers pay the grazing fees without protest.  That even one of these parasite patriots had to die is an unnecessary distraction which will delay a solution to this problem.

Hillary or Bernie

Kevin Drum, who blogs at Mother Jones said it way better than I can.  Basically, if I believed Bernie Sanders could get his agenda enacted after winning the Presidency, I would vote for him in a heartbeat.  While Hillary is to my right on many policies, I believe it is partly because she has been in the arena for 40 years, fighting for the possible, not the pie in the sky.  I think she could possibly do more business with a republican congress than Bernie and besides, she is the best shot at having a woman president in my lifetime.   Bernie's supporters will be disillusioned after his first legislative defeat or compromise.  His "revolution" will crash and burn shortly thereafter.  Meanwhile, if Hillary is able to mobilize the majority of the electorate (women) along with a few progressive men, she will have more influence than any president in recent memory.   I vacillated in 2008 and finally supported Obama, but this time I think Hillary is the best choice for the Democrats and the country.

First they came...

If robotics enthusiasts are even mildly successful in their latest endeavor, strawberry pickers will soon be out of a job.  A company is testing prototypes of a robotic picker which uses cameras and GPS technology to locate each strawberry on a plant, assess its ripeness and defects and decide to pick it in a matter of microseconds.  Until now, strawberries were the poster child for manual labor.  Human beings were the ultimate arbiter of ripeness and no machine could be as gentle...until now!  I was a strawberry picker during many a summer morning in my misspent youth.  Trying to move the leaves aside, gently picking the berries and not getting dirt on them was the mantra from dawn til noon.  I'm sure there are many small farms where child labor and migrants will continue to pick berries until the mechanisms are scaled to smaller acreage.  But the majority of supermarket fruit will soon be picked by robots.  When even illegal immigrants lose their jobs to mechanization, the future is looking bleak.  When will the robots come for your job?

Basic incivility

In a rather weird op-ed piece in the NYT this morning, former McCain-Palin spokesperson, Nicole Wallace simultaneously celebrates and mourns the phenomenon of Sarah Palin and its reincarnation in the person of The Donald.  While admitting Palin has managed to channel the rage felt by the base of the republican party, she laments that political discourse has been coarsened by this type of pandering to the ignorant.  She celebrates McCain's finest moment in the campaign, when he confronted a woman who called Obama "an Ayraab" and assured her he was a loyal American with whom someone may disagree without denying his patriotism.  This contrasts with rallies where Palin actively encouraged her followers to indulge their inner bigotry.  I agree with Wallace that the Palin phenomenon led to the success Trump has had so far in his campaign, but I take issue with her easy acceptance of the politics of hate and what it is doing to democracy.  Our form of governance depends on an informed citizenry who are prepared to participate in political discourse.  By pandering to ignorance and prejudice, Palin and Trump are opening the door to mob rule and the death of constitutional government. 

Snowpocalypse and the aftermath

As people continue to dig out of the great storm of 2016, life is slowly returning to normal.   The web of transportation and delivery schedules along with airline flights will be the last things to straighten out.   Most people take easy availability of life's necessities  for granted, but that roll of toilet paper or head of cauliflower you picked up was delivered to the store after a complex series of maneuvers on several different trucks.   The produce at this time of year generally is loaded in California or Arizona, then delivered to a central supermarket warehouse, then parceled out on local delivery vans to your neighborhood store.  The weather occurring between our area and the west coast does not usually impact deliveries, but the weekend storm has delayed many trucks and closed some businesses.  With the return of more clement weather, most people will notice only minor inconveniences, but the potential for a much more serious interruption remains possible.  Our civilization rests on many factors we take for granted and the timely delivery of life's necessities is one of them.  The difference between civility and savagery is an empty stomach in many cases.

Clinton Derangement Syndrome, update

Not happy that Bernie seems to be stealing Hilary's lunch money, the press is now promoting the candidacy of former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg.  Aside from his supposed technocratic prowess, all Bloomberg has to offer is a gun control agenda.  Since Clinton has already staked out the gun control issue, it would seem Bloomberg's candidacy would further splinter her support in the general election, leading to a Trump presidency.  To some on the left, this would be preferable to a Clinton victory.  Bloomberg is a one trick pony whose appeal is limited to the east side of the Hudson River, but his vanity candidacy, backed by up to one billion of his own money would siphon enough votes on the democratic side (See Ralph Nader in 2000) to effectively hand the election to the republican.  If this is where we are headed, it's time to start looking at Canadian property.

Climate chaos

It looks like Senator Imhofe will be able to toss snowballs and mock climate change on the Senate floor again.  With a couple of feet of snow predicted and blizzard conditions as well, the megalopolis will be paralyzed this weekend after cherry blossoms were seen in December and golfers roamed the fairways as far north as the NCR.  El Nino may be to blame for some of the crazy weather we are seeing, but the variability is also in line with what scientists have predicted regarding climate change due to a warming world caused by greenhouse gas emissions.   Any grower with seeds in the ground has experienced doubt this season.  Heat and rain in Florida, frost and wet weather in the western desert areas and now excessive rain in the spring and summer growing areas are threatening the stability of vegetable markets around the country.  Consumers are likely to see extreme gyrations in their supermarket purchases this year as the weather visits havoc on each growing area. 

Poverty

Listening to the local NPR station on the way to work is usually an exercise in frustration.  The Nice Polite Republicans on the national station are ever ready to explain why the Dems are wrong and the GOP is right about virtually everything.  However, when the local station sends reporters into the field, something like the truth sometimes occurs.  Today's story was a piece about the reaction of workers and employers to Gov. Cuomo's proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15.00/hr. over a period of 4 years.  Predictably, the business owners and their lobbyists predicted a falling sky and mass unemployment.  Meanwhile the workers marveled at the possibility of possibly cutting the ties to the numerous safety net programs which subsidize their employers.  The irony of the state and federal government making their business models work by keeping their employees from homelessness was lost on these "hard headed business men".  Meanwhile, a think tank at MIT estimates the "living wage" for a family consisting of a single parent and two children in the North Country is a little over $32.00/hr.  I doubt most of the small business owners in the area make that much.   Which brings us to the question of what is the actual cost of doing business less the largely invisible subsidies which make small enterprises possible.   As far as I can see, it's a strong argument for a guaranteed income.  Let's make the subsidy transparent and then decide if many of these small businesses can survive.

Feeling the Crazy

What do you get when you put Donald Trump and Sarah Palin in the same room?  I'm not sure, but it is certainly a piece of performance art.  Palin's endorsement of Trump is the latest episode in the self immolation of the modern GOP.  The "base" of the party has been lied to and used by the establishment for more than 30 years.  Trickle -down economics and globalization have decimated the Archie Bunker wing of the party, leaving them with slogans and little else.  As Palin gloated, the base is proud to be left with their "guns, god and gays" slogans, although they have been disappointed even on their prejudices, except for the guns.  With Trump and Palin, the base can indulge its inner racist, misogynist and gun fondling child.  The "establishment" candidates are left to figure out if they can pander to this demographic the way Trump and Ted Cruz can and the answer is in the poll numbers. 

Changing of the Guard

Another rock legend has moved to the great stage in the sky.  Glen Fry of Eagles fame died at  67 from complications of a lifestyle he would have been the first to admit was extreme.  Along with David Bowie, the Eagles and Fry helped define the music scene in the late 70s.  As a young adult in that time period I didn't really care for glam rock or the country rock played by Fry, but certain songs, like "Hotel California" were the ear worms we all took for granted.  Certainly his single "the Heat is On"  was the essence of cool in the 80s.  I guess the passing of rock icons like Bowie and Fry and the English actor Alan Rickman, all in their 60s is another reminder of the mortality we baby boomers have struggled against ever since we reached our 30s.  Most of us naturally figured we would live forever, but the passing of so many contemporaries must give us pause.  Maybe we will check our of this hotel after all...

Moving forward

Like many Democratic voters, especially progressives, I am torn by the choice I will have to make during the primary season.  My head tells me Hillary is the strongest candidate with the intelligence and fortitude to stand up to what is likely to be a hostile congress after the election.  My heart says Bernie is about a new and populist politics which could propel the country to another level.   The best example of the divide is health care.  Bernie talks about single payer like an evangelist.  Just elect me and it will happen is his mantra.  But after thinking about the bruising battle led by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to get Obamacare passed and the subsequent defeat of the party at the polls, Hillary's plan to protect the progress already made and build on it in the coming years makes more sense.  I see Bernie's supporters as idealists who will be severely disappointed by the sausage making of the legislative process.  Hillary went through this in 1994 and I think she knows how the system works.  Nevertheless, I signed Bernie's petition to appear on the New York primary ballot yesterday and will probably contribute the his campaign.  The prospect of the filth the republicans will throw at Hillary in a general election nauseates me, but I will support whoever gets the party's nod.  To not do so is to endorse the dark vision of a country militarized within, hostile to immigrants and the poor and extorting support from our supposed allies to prop up an increasingly unlikely American empire.

The stupid....it burns

Wandering the internet can be a maddening experience.   The lack of intelligence, empathy and compassion is breathtaking.  A case in point is the argument for and against the minimum wage.  Most people who work at minimum wage jobs are doing it as a last resort.  Very few employees at your local Mickey Ds made working at a fast food restaurant a career decision.  Even the managers work for subsistence wages.  Most of these people in turn depend on food stamps, Medicaid and other safety net programs to get by.  In other words, the financial model of  the fast food industry depends on massive subsidies from the rest of us.  It is similar to the subsidies big oil gets from American military might protecting and expediting the flow of oil from the middle east.  When this is pointed out in a blog post, the indignation is almost instantaneous.  I think some lower and middle class people feel the need for a destitute stratum of poors to feel better about their own plight.  Others just display a gross ignorance of economics and a total lack of empathy.  Of course, the solution to the whole problem is a guaranteed minimum income for everyone.  That will level the playing field and we'll find out just how many "minimum wage" jobs there are and what that wage would be.

Slapfights and the real issue

The Donald and Tailgunner Ted finally took the gloves off and started slapping each other last night.  As usual, the republican debate was long on personalities and short on substance.  Most people know where all the candidates are coming from; the same tired prescriptions of concentration of wealth, militarism abroad and further shredding of the social safety net at home.  Whichever of the prima donnas on the stage last night should make it to the Oval Office, the results would be the same.  As we saw with the recent incident where Iran took some of our sailors into custody when they entered Iranian waters, the candidates fell all over themselves to blame the President's weak foreign policy for emboldening foreigners to mess with us.  When they were promptly released, no credit was forthcoming.  Meanwhile, the pace of wealth concentration continues to accelerate and except for Bernie Sanders, no one seems to notice or care.  If anything, the GOP celebrates the growing inequality as the necessary price to reward the "job creators".   When confronted by the fact there are more business startups per captita in Sweden, which has an extensive welfare state, than the US, all you hear is crickets.  Most of the 1% were born to parents who gave them every advantage, or in the case of the few self made men on the income gravy train, they were in the right place at the right time and made the most of their advantages.  There will always be inequality, but as Paul Krugman puts it in his column today, the wealth concentration in the US is not inevitable nor is it necessary. 

approaching the abyss

It is almost the middle of January.  I hate this time of year.  People move about less, there is less demand for almost everything and the pace of life in general slows to a crawl.  The motto her on the NCR is to embrace winter, but the ski slopes are barely open, most lakes feature thin or no ice and the forecast for the weekend is sleet and rain.   Vegetable prices are sky high in the stores, but falling fast in the growing area as everyone on the retail side tries to make up for previous weeks' high prices.  It's a recipe for gloom and doom.  I wonder if this weather influences the peoples' choice in the upcoming primaries for the presidential nomination.   The relentlessly downbeat campaigns by most of the republican field mirror the depressing weather.  Meanwhile, Bernie is trying to sell revolution and Hillary is trying to catch up.  Wake me up when spring comes....

Which America

Do we live in the America described by President Obama; a hopeful nation with the world's strongest economy and military where citizens look out for each other and politicians strive to include everyone in their plans.  Or do we live in the nation inhabited mostly by Republican candidates for President and their base;  a depressingly dark place where everyone is armed and fear is the watchword and America can only be great again by imposing its will on the rest of the world by force of arms.  The President did not directly portray this dichotomy in his State of the Union Address, but he left it to his listeners to fill in the blanks.  I got the feeling he finally decided to call out the flock of republicans who would like to become the next president.  The relentless negativity without any specific plans to revitalize the nation aside from "bombing the shit out of them" finally cracked the usually urbane Mr. Obama and allowed him to show the earnest idealist who has finally confronted the reality of a irreducible core of racist, misogynist old white men who drive most republican policy discussions.  After laying out the achievements of his years in office, he challenged his successor, democrat or republican to build on the policies of inclusion and compassion in domestic matters along with the realism he has displayed in foreign affairs.  Considering most of the television audience was probably believers already, I doubt last night's address will change any minds, but the effort was made by a man who has fought the good fight for all of us.

Unleashing America's ID

The ID is that part of the subconscious that is unfiltered and uncensored.  Basically, it is the Donald Trump of the mind.  The Donald has somehow figured out America is ready for a candidate who represents all the urges most of us keep on a tight leash.  His readiness to insult and demean his opponents.  The over-the-top proclamations of his ability to "Make America Great Again" without any concrete proposals to do so and the thinly veiled racism which makes hating the "other" a sanctioned activity appeal to the dark side most of us control in polite society.  Ted Cruz, Chris Christie and to a lesser extent the other Republican candidates rely on this politics of anger and insult and to judge by the polls they are betting on a winning strategy.  On the other side, Sanders and Clinton have avoided insulting each other and have actually proposed policies to move the country forward.  Whether real politics can compete with the primal need to demean and dominate is an open question.  The republicans have unleashed our collective ID, but can it be recaptured before it does irreparable harm to our commonwealth?

Still crazy after all these years

After checking the lottery tickets last night, I determined I would still be working this morning.  Even at my advanced age, the minor thrill I get from spending illusory lottery riches is certainly worth the $2.00 price of admission.  I promptly bought another, so I can have 3 days to spend the more than one billion dollars at risk for Wednesday's drawing.  What can inspire an otherwise sober and anti gambling person to even fantasize about winning a lottery?  I wish I knew, but along with millions of fellow Americans and Canadians, I will take another shot at nearly 300,000,000 to 1 odds.  The easy answer is that someone has to win, and it might as well be me.  Or, as a bygone lottery motto put it, "You've got to be in it to win it".  However, I think there is a deeper answer to this addiction.  I wouldn't even consider entering the contest for a mere $40,000,000, even though the difference between that sum and one billion dollars wouldn't make a significant difference in my remaining years on this earth.  The lure is the shared conviction with many others that this is our chance to join the 1% and share in the mostly unearned wealth that they have accumulated.  For most of us, the lottery, even at fantastic odds is the only way we can gain entry to that rarified company. 

Taking it to the streets of Burlington

The Donald and his show arrived in Burlington, Vt. last night and it was as entertaining as advertised.  Not so much what the man says as the way he says it and the visceral reaction his schtick inspires in his hapless followers.  Building a wall on the Mexican border, belittling any rivals for his nomination, quoting useless poll numbers and finally telling security to get rid of his hecklers is the standard stump speech for this latter day Kingfish or as some would speculate a doppleganger of George Wallace.  Telling people it is all right to hate the "other" has been a staple of right wing populist candidates throughout American history.  What makes Trump so dangerous is his mastery of the media and his willingness to say anything to get the attention he craves.    After reading the first person account of the Divine Mrs. M's sister, who actually attempted to infiltrate the rally, I was struck by the banality of the whole proceeding.  Both sides seemed to be in on the joke.  Whether Trump was also party to the humor is an open question. 

Market Paranoia

The NYSE is plunging as I write this, mostly in response to the losses in the Chinese stock market.  The herd mentality which drives this selling spree is fascinating.  Despite the analysis of the US economy which says the Chinese economy is not a large enough factor to affect us, the institutional investors who make up the largest share of the stock exchange activity are selling madly.  I have always been told and Warren Buffet is the biggest exemplar of the strategy of buying and holding stocks whether the market is up or down.  It would be interesting to see how many erstwhile Buffet acolytes are participating in today's market sell off. 

The tyranny of guns

According to the NRA and the mindless hordes of gun toting, 2nd amendment quoting yahoos who subscribe to that organization's mantra, good guys must have guns to stop bad guys with guns.  That most bad guys with guns can use them with impunity in most situations does not give these people pause.  That much of the insanity we have witnessed over the past 7 years is driven by fear of the President's racial makeup is the unacknowledged truth which commentators studiously avoid.  Even minor adjustments to our inadequate gun regulations are zealously opposed by all republican office holders while a majority of Americans are for tighter rules governing access to firearms.  Recent research has shown that while there are enough guns in the US to supply every man, woman and child with personal firepower, the majority of guns are owned by a shrinking minority of zealots.  Hunting was once the major use of weapons, but no longer.  "Personal Protection", whatever that means is the reason most new gun owner cite for buying weapons.  A deep loathing for our commander in chief is the common denominator for most of these people.  The NRA and gun manufacturers are probably rubbing their hands in anticipation of our first female president and the fear and panic it will generate among the gun toting crowd.

The dangers of Sovereign Citizens

The takeover of a few federal buildings in rural Oregon has sparked massive press coverage, but no in depth reporting of who these yahoos actually are and what they represent.  The Bundy clan, which is driving this scenario is part of the "sovereign citizen" movement.  At it's most basic level, these people feel they should have all the benefits of government without having to pay for it.  Especially in the western U.S. where much of the land is owned by the Federal government on behalf of all citizens.  For some reason, they feel they have priority to despoil these lands for their own profit.  Granted, there may be some "government overreach" as the media reports, and protest may be the only way to shine a light on these practices.  But the overriding goal of Bundy and his ilk is to claim ownership of land which is being managed for the benefit of all citizens.  How can you deal with people who feel no connection to the fellow inhabitants of our commonwealth?  They are the cockroaches of society and if they can't be educated about what a civilized society requires of its members they should be dealt with as the freeloading pests they are.