CAPITALISM

This is not unique to me: At its core, capitalism=greed.  To be clear, I'm not talking about the mom-and-pop stores, or small businesses.  Rather, businesses who trade on the stock exchanges.  Their sole raison d’être is to maximize profit.  Business 101.  I first noticed this about forty years ago, but it was probably going on long before that.  Rather than be happy with making a healthy profit, businesses started moving their operations overseas, mainly to China.  Corporate raiders and hedge fund managers are involved but not part of this basic narrative.  CEOs were evaluated on maximizing profit and stock prices.  Investors were prized more than employees, to the detriment of employees.

The counter to this corporate greed were unions and government.  Unions have their own demons (corruption, violence) but they acted as a check on the businesses.  They demanded a piece of the pie, so to speak.  Paid vacations and sick leave, among others, came about in business because of union pressure.  Non-union companies had to offer these in order to attract qualified applicants.  Middle-class thrived.  But corporations didn't give up and with a combination of anti-union laws and the unions own failings, unions became less dominant. 

The worker also had the government to give them help, passing laws to protect them, setting safety standards for instance.  But the corporations then pressured or seduced lawmakers into passing laws favorable to business (unfavorable to employees).  A tsunami of out-sourcing washed lots of jobs overseas or to Mexico, and judicial decisions were handed down that further went against employees. 

And that is where we are now, with the country being run by an unethical narcissist businessman surrounded by incompetent sycophants that do his every bidding.  We are on a slippery slope and need either unions or government, or both, to bring the corporations back to valuing their employees.  

One more spurious thought just wandered through my mind: I can't understand why a CEO who bankrupts his company can be awarded millions of dollars in severance when the board of directors has finally had enough.  Similarly, why does a board award a bonus when the business shows a profit by not paying their employees a decent wage?

GRANDPARENTS

 One of the functions of grandparents is to impart the knowledge/wisdom they have acquired in their lives to their grandkids.  This is fraught with peril.  In my opinion, maybe half of their advice is obsolete/irrelevant.  It is the responsibility of the recipient (kids) to dutifully listen and then politely discard that which no longer applies.  Of course, who is to say it really is obsolete.

For instance, I remember quite distinctly one evening at supper (not dinner), my grandmother advising that we should chew our food twenty-six times before swallowing.  So for about half of that meal I counted my chews, all the time wondering how she came up with that bit of information.  About fifty years later I read an article in the paper indicating that well-masticated food (that is, saturated with saliva) is much easier to digest.  It didn't give a number of chews, but still validated my grandmother.  But she also advised my sister not to eat pork while pregnant.  This is an old wive's tale (you can actually look it up on Google) and not borne out by science.  She also advised not to pull up my socks by the top elastic.  I totally ignored that.  Back then socks were not as sturdy as now, and truthfully, my socks started drooping long before they wore out.

She also advised that every seven years our taste buds change thus we should always be trying out new foods and not dismissing old ones that we previously didn't like.  My grandkids can attest that I tell them the same thing.  Science doesn't verify every seven years, in fact, they change every two weeks.  But other factors come into play.  For instance, when I went on my plant-based diet, I severely restricted processed sugar.  Within three days carrots, as an example, started tasting much sweeter.  In the end, it's the brain that ultimately determines whether or not you like what you are tasting.  And, of course, when you become a senior citizen, distinctive taste fades.  That's a blessing and a curse.

So when you kids hear an old wives tale, take it with a grain of salt (don't throw salt over your shoulder) but don't dismiss it out of hand.

TWITTER

 Back when Twitter was new, my friend, Ben, joined and convinced me that this was how he would be communicating, so I joined also.  I think I logged in twice before realizing I wasn't as social as I thought and ceased.  I tried logging in this morning (yes, I keep all of my passwords) but couldn't.  Perhaps I actually quit Twitter, it's been a long time.

In any case, from what I'm seeing, I'm not really missing all that much.  I have no FOMO, if it's worthy of my attention it will get to me eventually.  Mostly what I see in the headlines is someone making a ridiculous statement and then getting roasted for it.  I suppose eyewitness account of a disaster might be helpful in some situations that are time sensitive.  But really, this is just one more tether to your phone.  I spend too much time staring at it anyhow.

I have a Skype account, but now am more inclined to use Messenger.  Truthfully, I'm not inclined at all.  I use whatever whoever (son, Kurt) is calling me.  We've used Face Time a couple of times.  Covid has forced Marilane to use Zoom, but I think they've moved on to something else.  I don't anticipate any such meeting-type communication.  Just to wrap this up, I think I have a Linkedin account that I set up when publishing my first book and an Instagram account that I set up to post pictures but stopped after a few weeks.  I'm just not social.

VOTER SUPPRESSION

 This started out to be about what is happening to the Post Office, but as I pondered it came to me that this is just another form of voter suppression.  From there my mind went to the phony reasons and false information that mail-in ballots were rife with fraud.  From there my mind jumped to the phony reasons Republicans were giving for reducing polling places and similar.  So I ended up with any voter suppression as being fraudulent.  Makes things easier to lump together.  After this blog is posted I will continue to update/change it because while I like to get to the root of things before expressing an opinion, this is going to take a lot of digging.

Let's start with why anyone would deliberately take actions to deny a vote.  Probably because they can't win on their own merits.  Lying and cheating is part of the game as parties try to  paint/brand the opposition in an unfavorable light.  That's been understood all along, but until recently when a person was caught lying and cheating they faced some consequences.  Now they deny it, says it's fake, or ignore it and continue unabated.  And apparently without consequences.  

The latest news has the Ohio Secretary of State limiting absentee ballot drop boxes to one per county.  This is probably a tempest in a teapot because there is plenty of early day voting and most likely won't affect many people.  But my question is, why issue that order at all?  Seems like each county can handle the situation any way they feel is best.  

There was some assertion by the administration of lots of mail-in fraud in LA County.  But their basis was full of half-truths.  Just because you mail a ballot to a dead person doesn't mean that it is fraudulent.  LA County had 1.5 million ballots mailed to people who had either moved or died, or maybe was actually a dog.  None of those ballots were cast, so essentially there was no fraud.

In 2018 Dodge City moved it's only polling place out of town to make it more difficult for less affluent (that is, Hispanic) people to get to it.  Another county in Kansas reduced polling places from 23 for the primaries to 11 for the general (There will be a separate post about Kansas and the mid-west).There are lots of other examples.  Strangely enough, they are only happening in Republican led states. 

The only real case of fraud came from a Republican operative in North Carolina, which was so extensive and egregious that they re-held the election.

 But getting back to the Post Office, let's start with the fact that in 1970 Congress out-sourced the Post Office (sort of) and made it a separate corporation owned by the government.  That way Congress can hold up their hands and claim innocence but in fact still make the decisions (like a board of directors).  Trying to make it a profitable business is impossible.  That is one reason rural America still has their post offices even though they don't generate their fair share of revenue.  Efficiency is not the same as profitability.  It needs to be efficient, but since it can't sell shares, it is up to Congress to provide funds.  In 2006, on his way out the door, President Bush signed a law that made the Post Office pre-pay health care costs for retirees 75 years into the future.  This poison-pill law saddled the Post Office with a $72 billion debt.  Without this the Post Office would have shown a profit for the last six years.  And since it is "losing" money, that is the basis for the justification of service cuts and the call for privatization.

Moving on to mail-in ballots and cut services.  That could affect states like Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Hawaii, among others.  From 2000 to 2019 Oregon had 15 cases of fraud out of 15.5 million votes.  Washington from 2004 to 2010 had 12 cases out of 10.6 million.  Similar numbers for the others.  So fraud isn't a problem. I use these states as examples since they already have vote-by-mail installed. But if you install a Postmaster General (with no postal experience; the previous PGs were career postal employees), with an apparent conflict-of-interest, and with a desire to inflict as much damage on the post office as possible, then you might be able to suppress the vote.  And intensify the call to privatize.  His reorganization displaced or removed 23 career managers.  I suspect one of his "operating units" will manage to increase rates on Amazon, something Trump tried to get the previous PG to do.  He has cut employees, frozen hiring, and is refusing overtime for the remaining over-worked folks.  Naturally, the result is some mail will be slowed down.  There is concern that mail-in ballots will be treated as bulk mail rather than first class.  That could take an additional week to deliver, or sit in the post office for weeks.

GOING MASKLESS

 Some things I understand, others I don't.  It is very clear now that if you are out in public without a mask you are doing it on purpose.  You are just itching for someone to make a remark or to ask you to put one on so that you can 1) Yell invective at them, 2) Spout your conspiracy theory, or 3) Actually assault them.  In the latter case, it is my opinion that if you go into a retail establishment without a mask and are carrying a gun, and get into an argument and kill someone, you should be charged with first-degree murder.

I understand employees who are tasked with the unpleasant duty of enforcing the mask requirement, and I'm sorry it is so onerous.  What I don't understand are folks who gratuitously accost the miscreant.  They have got to know it will lead to push-back, and probably an altercation.  This is a misplaced sense of justice.  There have always been a few such folks but recently it is becoming all too common and accomplishes nothing positive.

I am trying not to stereotype those who don't wear a mask, but it is very difficult.  For instance, if you don't wear a mask you apparently don't believe the seriousness of the illness or you don't think you will succumb to it. And you obviously give no thought to infecting others.  In order to hold this belief, you have got to be listening to far right commentators, or in the case of Fox, half-truth commentators.    You are an advocate that anything that Trump doesn't like is fake news, or fake science.  Even Van Horn, Texas, with a population of 1,902 has 17 cases and 2 deaths.  I've been to Van Horn, how did the virus find it?? 

So here is my advice: Wear your mask, don't go on Mask-Patrol, avoid those who won't wear a mask and treat them like the pariah they are.  

BACKGROUND

 I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE!!  This latest political move, attacking the Post Office so as to 1) force it into privatization and/or 2) disrupt vote-by-mail, has pushed me over the edge.  I think age has something to do with it also.  Old people tend to lose some of their filters.  But rather than use Facebook to vent, I am choosing to do it in this blog.  I feel this is good for my mental health and perhaps writing it down will clarify my thoughts.  Also, I try to avoid confrontation; I'm not really wanting to debate a subject.  Comments are not encouraged and will be moderated.  

I've titled the blog "musings" because it will encompass whatever wanders through my mind, not just political crap.  For instance, there are ads on TV that have me wondering about the person who approved them and why they shouldn't be fired immediately.  Some I know I'm not the target audience, but others are just stupid.  I have a few conspiracy theories that'll come out.  

But this first post is political, so you know from whence I am coming.  When I first arrived in Texas in 1964 it was mostly Democratic.  But those in office became 'way too liberal and what seemed to be in the blink of an eye, a whole lot of Democrats became Republicans (I know this is a simplification, bear with me).  Texans didn't change their views, the political party did.  I voted Republican from 1964 to 2002, because in the beginning I agreed that the Democrats were too liberal in their policies.  But in 1994 I felt my vote was hijacked by Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America.  I voted Republican but certainly not because of that.  This was the first crack in my beliefs.

Things were happening at work.  I began noticing that wages were flat, and had been for quite some time. Rather than blindly believing the political pundits, I started digging into who was responsible for certain changes.  Slowly but surely I was finding that the things I didn't like or thought were going in the wrong direction were mostly the result of Republican programs.  I voted for Bush in 2000 because I didn't like Gore.  Then came the hanging chads.  Then came 911 and the lying that went on to get us into war.  In 2002 I voted for John Carter, a local judge with a reputation for being fair and honest, for congress.  He was a disappointment.  That was my last Republican vote.  Since then I've been anti-Republican.  I do not identify with the Democrats even though I actually agree with some of their programs (a separate post) and of course they get my vote.  I'm staunch anti-Republican.  

I  have to make a distinction between Old Republican and Trump Republican.  The old guys knew what they stood for and knew if they couldn't get it, they could compromise, get part of it and keep America moving forward.  Too bad they've been ousted from their own party.

One last thing: cable news is partisan (all of Fox News is partisan).  I get it, people like to hear stuff that agrees with their beliefs.  But in order to get the whole story (remember, a half-truth is the same as a lie), you might have to dig deeper, go to another source.  So if you know you are only getting half the story it is incumbent upon you to search out the other half.