On October 1, 2017, a man whose name I will hot honor through mention, acted by shooting upon a crowd of innocent people who were attending a Country Music concert. He indiscriminately shot into the crowd, killing over 50 people and wounding over 500 more. This unspeakable atrocity is the greatest loss of life of its kind that this nation has seen. This should be a time of sadness, mourning, empathy, and support for the families of the wounded and deceased. Our condolences and our prayers go out to those families.
As follows any tragedy of this type, families will mourn their loss, people of faith will offer up their prayers and their assistance, and politicians will grandstand on the graves of the victims to push their agendas and to gain talking points. The amorality and insensitivity of those politicians should incite outrage among their constituents and lead to the end of their terms of service; but sadly it won't.
This article by James Summers appeared in The Morning Journal, p. A4, June 26 2017 (Lorain, Ohio)
Dr. Summers is a scientist and engineer with 55 years experience in the generation and analysis of data in the plastics industry. He used the same scientific techniques to analyze environmental data provided by others.
With the United States exiting the Paris agreement, there is much political discussion on global climate. Because scientific information is complex politicians and reporters seldom dig deeply. I will attempt here to explain the complex facts in a way to be understood by nearly all readers.
Have you ever amused yourself by watching a cat chase the red dot from a laser pointer? It is really funny. You can get the cat to chase itself in circles or run around the room, or sometimes even try to climb the walls to get to that elusive little red dot. No matter how long you play, or how often, the cat still responds in the same way. Even when you stop moving the dot, it can’t seem to realize that it has not accomplished anything. With all due respect, dumb cats!
That is exactly how it is with the mainstream media (MSM). No matter what President Trump tweets, says, or does, the MSM continues to go crazy chasing that little red dot. Without any thought as to what they are doing or why, they go into chase mode and get nuts.
What is more important; what you think or how you think?
When you ask someone, "What do you think about (enter subject)?", you will always get an answer. You may or may not like the answer that you get, but you will always get some kind of answer. In almost all cases, the answer that you will receive is based upon the most recent information that the respondent has received that is in agreement with his underlying philosophical biases. An interesting experiment for you to conduct is to rather ask someone, "How do you think about (enter subject)?" You will probably have to explain what you mean by the question, but it may produce some interesting responses.
There have been several articles published recently that approach the important question of which is more important; what you think or how you think. It would be wise for you to consider the question in regard to your own positions on the important issues of today, as well as how you approach discussions with others that may not believe as you do about those same issues.
The developers of Meetup have taken steps in response to President Trump's Constitutional, Legal, and Moral actions to try to restrict immigration from countries that support terrorism. Their actions are outlined in the quote below;
"Meetup has always served as an organizing platform for a wide range of political views, welcoming everyone from the Howard Deaniacs to the Tea Party. Meetup will always welcome people with different beliefs. But after the recent executive order aimed to block people on the basis of nationality and religion, a line was crossed. At a time when core democratic ideals feel under attack, we feel a duty to spark more civic participation. Last week, we created 1,000+ #Resist Meetup Groups to act as local hubs for actions on behalf of democracy, equality, human rights, social justice, and sustainability. Already 50,000+ people have joined. These #Resist Meetups are open to anyone who want to create a bright future that's rich with opportunity and freedom for all."
The Washington establishment was stunned.
A political outsider with few connections in the nation’s capital, but wide national celebrity among the American people, was going to be the next president of the United States.
Washington, D.C., residents were unprepared for the wild scene that was about to unfold when the new president’s advocates—and a few detractors—poured into the city. Some compared this enormous mass of people to an invading barbarian horde pillaging Rome.
This scene may sound familiar in 2017, but it describes Andrew Jackson’s inaugural celebration in 1829. At the time, such large-scale fanfare at an inauguration was unprecedented.
In the 60's and the 70's, Baby-Boomers were actively challenging the establishment. While the rebellion against the establishment had actually begun quietly with the veterans of World War II because of their disillusionment with the government that had gained so much power during the war, it was their children who took that rebellion public with their "make love not war" movement. It was the Vietnam War that brought much of the rebellion to a head…a war with little justification, no path to victory, and little support from the public.
So what? Well, for one thing, the movement in opposition (anti-) to the establishment has developed enough cohesiveness to become a movement (–ism) as evidenced by the results of the 2016 election.
It is likely that the rejection of the Washington establishment is a reflection of the same disillusionment that was brewing in the 60's and 70's. We are engaged in wars that have little justification, little support, little purpose, and no plan for success. Our moral fabric has been attacked. Political correctness has replaced common sense. People are demonized for having any kind of traditional belief system.
It will be interesting to see how this rejection of the establishment develops.
The election of 2016 will be recognized as a unique event in our history, for several reasons.
It will be recognized as an election where no political party was able to present a truly viable candidate. We had the option of choosing between a Democratic narcissistic congenital liar, a Republican narcissistic business tycoon with an itchy Twitter finger, an under-informed Libertarian pot smoker, and a gorilla-loving eco-fascist.