To those with eyes to see and ears to hear that Donald what's-his-name is not well.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Monday, May 29, 2017
Ugh
Rebecca Traister has a superb essay in the New York Magazine on the woman who should be president. It took a perfect storm to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House - Russian interference in our election, wide-spread voter suppression and voting irregularities, a bumbling FBI director and a weak and complicit main stream media.
It was always going to be a challenge to elect a woman as president:
It was always going to be a challenge to elect a woman as president:
"But postmortems offering rational explanations for how a pussy-grabbing goblin managed to gain the White House over an experienced woman have mostly glossed over one of the well-worn dynamics in play: A competent woman losing a job to an incompetent man is not an anomalous Election Day surprise; it is Tuesday in America."It is a very well written, somewhat nostalgic, somewhat bittersweet read. Because at the end of the day, Donald what's-his-name is president and Hillary is filling Easter baskets:
"It was all very ordinary and small-talk-y until you remembered that Donald Trump is president and Hillary Clinton is discussing the merits of Peeps versus jelly beans."
Another Angle On Debt
Imagine this: You and I have just started our own country! It will be a peaceful little place, making Luxembourg look like a terrorist haven.
The challenge is, we need a currency to assist our citizens in the exchange of goods and services. What do we do? Well, like all other sovereign currency issuers (Britain, US, Japan to name a few) we print up our own buckaroos. Now what? We have stacks of these in our basement, how do we distribute them and provide any legitimacy to our newly printed currency?
Here's how. We do two things simultaneously. We both spend the currency and create a need for the currency through taxation. The spending can be on labor-intensive infrastructure or care of our children. It matters none - get the currency into circulation. The tax serves only to provide legitimacy to the currency - you want to live in our country, pay your taxes, and, oh by the way, we only accept our buckaroos as payment.
Done. As you note in the very simplified example of our new country, taxes have nothing to do with the issuance of our sovereign currency. In fact, taxes come after the spending, which is how all sovereign currency issuers do business. This is not theory - it's a description of our monetary system.
There is no debt. It is an outdated concept based on gold-standard accounting practices that has embedded and grown roots in our culture.
The challenge is, we need a currency to assist our citizens in the exchange of goods and services. What do we do? Well, like all other sovereign currency issuers (Britain, US, Japan to name a few) we print up our own buckaroos. Now what? We have stacks of these in our basement, how do we distribute them and provide any legitimacy to our newly printed currency?
Here's how. We do two things simultaneously. We both spend the currency and create a need for the currency through taxation. The spending can be on labor-intensive infrastructure or care of our children. It matters none - get the currency into circulation. The tax serves only to provide legitimacy to the currency - you want to live in our country, pay your taxes, and, oh by the way, we only accept our buckaroos as payment.
Done. As you note in the very simplified example of our new country, taxes have nothing to do with the issuance of our sovereign currency. In fact, taxes come after the spending, which is how all sovereign currency issuers do business. This is not theory - it's a description of our monetary system.
There is no debt. It is an outdated concept based on gold-standard accounting practices that has embedded and grown roots in our culture.
Abiding Sense Of Tragedy
Getting older has disabused me of the idea that age brings wisdom. At least not directly. If you're paying attention, age brings with it a sense that you've seen the play before. There are fewer surprises and even fewer reasons to interfere with the nature of things. There is an acceptance of what is and what will be.
My view of human behavior has also changed with age. It is not a generous view - I think people will take the course or path causing the least amount of effort regardless of the outcome. Not true for all people, obviously, but most. This makes it much more challenging to assemble good teams and influence the machine. Maybe near impossible for the latter, because the machine has no interest in our inactive frustration.
For me, this has meant learning how to navigate the environment without tremendous hope for positive influence. Trust me when I say this is a feature, not a bug - it keeps me going despite the probability of an unfavorable outcome. It just makes it more difficult to motivate other citizens who are seeing the same landscape and prefer to check out. Perhaps it's the combination of national and local political circumstances and micro-local personnel challenges, but I've developed a healthy cynicism of how much people are willing to tolerate before they are willing to take action.
And what I've come to realize is this is the normalization process as part of the human condition. Unless you've been radicalized, which carries its own dangers, it is far more appealing to stay on the float than to jump in the water.
When people like Donald what's-his-name and Chris Sununu are piloting the float, that is the tragedy.
My view of human behavior has also changed with age. It is not a generous view - I think people will take the course or path causing the least amount of effort regardless of the outcome. Not true for all people, obviously, but most. This makes it much more challenging to assemble good teams and influence the machine. Maybe near impossible for the latter, because the machine has no interest in our inactive frustration.
For me, this has meant learning how to navigate the environment without tremendous hope for positive influence. Trust me when I say this is a feature, not a bug - it keeps me going despite the probability of an unfavorable outcome. It just makes it more difficult to motivate other citizens who are seeing the same landscape and prefer to check out. Perhaps it's the combination of national and local political circumstances and micro-local personnel challenges, but I've developed a healthy cynicism of how much people are willing to tolerate before they are willing to take action.
And what I've come to realize is this is the normalization process as part of the human condition. Unless you've been radicalized, which carries its own dangers, it is far more appealing to stay on the float than to jump in the water.
When people like Donald what's-his-name and Chris Sununu are piloting the float, that is the tragedy.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
"All Men Are Frauds."
"The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it." H.L. Mencken
Random Musings
- My mom died in my arms on this date in 2004. I miss her. I plan to visit tomorrow.
- I just finished a book titled, "Why Unions Matter." by Michael Yates. It was solid but new ideas were conspicuously absent.
- Trump's back from overseas. This sucks.
- I'm starting, "Hegemony How-To" by Jonathan Smucker. He was an early organizer with Occupy so I have high hopes here.
- How is it even possible for there to be outrage over Clinton using a private server for email and no outrage for Trump's son-in-law attempting set up illegal communication channels with the Russians? WTF? I get that Republicans are held to a different standard, but this is crazy.
- There was a great street musician outside of Bagel Works this morning. He made my morning coffee and bagel a bright part of my day. Thanks, man.
- I think I'm going to buy a Nissan Murano.
- Trump's back from overseas. This sucks.
- I facilitated a 'Blue and You' discussion on community policing at UNH a week or so ago. It was a long and rewarding day. I read today in the Times that a few police departments are releasing body cam videos of police officers performing near-heroic deeds. I understand the criticism of this tactic, but support it nevertheless. There are good police officers out there who deserve to be recognized.
- Trump's back from overseas. This sucks.
The Scam
Here's another way to look at economic systems. Again, a gentle reminder that economics are a physical concept and a free creation of the human mind. Economics does not exist on its own in the natural order.
We share this small planet, orbiting the sun, with approximately 7 billion humans and untold other living species. To the best of our knowledge, we have clawed our way to the top of the food chain and can even protect ourselves from some natural calamities.
The planet is full of resources that need to be responsibly managed. We have not, however, developed a system of living to do this. Instead, we have gone far in the opposite direction and aligned the resources of our planet with human greed. The result is we have most of the 7 billion human inhabitants living in abject poverty and suffering, and a small percentage enjoying an exorbitant lifestyle.
We have done this by legalizing the feudal system. We've artificially carved up the land areas into countries, and within countries even further stratified the land with private ownership tied directly to our economic system. Political systems, particularly in the US, are tilted far in favor of the wealthy minority through a disproportionate representational system. Even within this system, the rules are further skewed to favor the minority, for example the use of the filibuster in the US Senate.
Compounding this, of course, is the corruption of the political and economic systems. They are so integrated in the 21st century that you cannot see where one begins and the other ends. Corporate captains are writing our public policy and paying off legislators through campaign contributions and independent expenditures. Hell, the Koch brothers are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars in to the system to get the results that benefit them.
The wealthy elite benefit tremendously from austerity policies and privatization. One leads to the other. So the defenders of this system, the protectors of the status quo, continue the propaganda about national debt without pause, including the myth of the rugged American individual. You know, if you can't make it, it's your fault, not the system.
We're left with a system that produces exactly what it was designed to produce. More money for them and screw the rest of us.
We share this small planet, orbiting the sun, with approximately 7 billion humans and untold other living species. To the best of our knowledge, we have clawed our way to the top of the food chain and can even protect ourselves from some natural calamities.
The planet is full of resources that need to be responsibly managed. We have not, however, developed a system of living to do this. Instead, we have gone far in the opposite direction and aligned the resources of our planet with human greed. The result is we have most of the 7 billion human inhabitants living in abject poverty and suffering, and a small percentage enjoying an exorbitant lifestyle.
We have done this by legalizing the feudal system. We've artificially carved up the land areas into countries, and within countries even further stratified the land with private ownership tied directly to our economic system. Political systems, particularly in the US, are tilted far in favor of the wealthy minority through a disproportionate representational system. Even within this system, the rules are further skewed to favor the minority, for example the use of the filibuster in the US Senate.
Compounding this, of course, is the corruption of the political and economic systems. They are so integrated in the 21st century that you cannot see where one begins and the other ends. Corporate captains are writing our public policy and paying off legislators through campaign contributions and independent expenditures. Hell, the Koch brothers are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars in to the system to get the results that benefit them.
The wealthy elite benefit tremendously from austerity policies and privatization. One leads to the other. So the defenders of this system, the protectors of the status quo, continue the propaganda about national debt without pause, including the myth of the rugged American individual. You know, if you can't make it, it's your fault, not the system.
We're left with a system that produces exactly what it was designed to produce. More money for them and screw the rest of us.
Saturday, May 27, 2017
There Is No National Debt, Part The Infinity
Close your eyes. Suspend the idea you have any clue about how money works.
Now, explore this concept:
There is no such thing as the national debt. At least in the traditional sense you and I understand debt to be. Effectively, this means our country is not broke.
First, remember two things: 1) Our economic system is a free creation of the human mind. It is not governed by any of the laws of nature. 2) The US currency is not backed by any precious metal. No gold or silver standard. It's paper, and backed only by our belief in it.
I'll pause here for a moment and share with you that my wife thinks I sound like a lunatic when I talk about the US monetary system. Please bear with me and judge for yourself.
Keeping in mind the two important points above, also know you have been trained since birth in the balancing of accounts. It's bad to spend more than you earn (it is) and you must pay all your bills (probably a good idea.) Unless you've been raised by grifters, you've had this coursework drilled into you for years, and it's mostly true. For you, me and any other entity operating in the horizontal banking system. But it's not true for the federal government, which is the sole operator in the vertical monetary system as the provider of a fiat, sovereign currency.
In practice, in reality, what this means is every nickel that 'is owed' by the US government has been paid. What? Yes. We have multiple modes of transactions. Most of us mere mortals use cash or credit cards to pay what we owe on goods or services. The other method is bonds, which are nearly the same as cash - simply a different vehicle of payment.
So, we're not 'borrowing' from anyone, or any country, in practice. The US Congress passed a law many years ago forcing the Treasury to sell bonds in the amount representing the difference between tax receipts and federal government spending. But there's no need. In fact, the US spends first and the bond sales happen well after the spending.
Then why do we pay taxes you ask. Good question. There are two reasons for taxes: 1) they provide a legitimacy for the currency. If we are taxed in dollars, we need to go out and participate in the monetary system to get the dollars we need to pay our tax bill. 2) As a governor on the national economy. If the economy is in a slump, decrease taxes and put more money in the hands of consumers. If the economy is hot, and inflation is approaching, raise taxes and take money out of the hands of consumers. Simple.
Remember, this only applies to the feds as issuers of the sovereign currency. All other players in our economic system must play by the balanced account rules.
I used to think otherwise. Like 90% of the country. Like my wonderful wife who thinks me a lunatic. But I read Warren Mosler and others and now I know better.
There is no national debt.
Now, explore this concept:
There is no such thing as the national debt. At least in the traditional sense you and I understand debt to be. Effectively, this means our country is not broke.
First, remember two things: 1) Our economic system is a free creation of the human mind. It is not governed by any of the laws of nature. 2) The US currency is not backed by any precious metal. No gold or silver standard. It's paper, and backed only by our belief in it.
I'll pause here for a moment and share with you that my wife thinks I sound like a lunatic when I talk about the US monetary system. Please bear with me and judge for yourself.
Keeping in mind the two important points above, also know you have been trained since birth in the balancing of accounts. It's bad to spend more than you earn (it is) and you must pay all your bills (probably a good idea.) Unless you've been raised by grifters, you've had this coursework drilled into you for years, and it's mostly true. For you, me and any other entity operating in the horizontal banking system. But it's not true for the federal government, which is the sole operator in the vertical monetary system as the provider of a fiat, sovereign currency.
In practice, in reality, what this means is every nickel that 'is owed' by the US government has been paid. What? Yes. We have multiple modes of transactions. Most of us mere mortals use cash or credit cards to pay what we owe on goods or services. The other method is bonds, which are nearly the same as cash - simply a different vehicle of payment.
So, we're not 'borrowing' from anyone, or any country, in practice. The US Congress passed a law many years ago forcing the Treasury to sell bonds in the amount representing the difference between tax receipts and federal government spending. But there's no need. In fact, the US spends first and the bond sales happen well after the spending.
Then why do we pay taxes you ask. Good question. There are two reasons for taxes: 1) they provide a legitimacy for the currency. If we are taxed in dollars, we need to go out and participate in the monetary system to get the dollars we need to pay our tax bill. 2) As a governor on the national economy. If the economy is in a slump, decrease taxes and put more money in the hands of consumers. If the economy is hot, and inflation is approaching, raise taxes and take money out of the hands of consumers. Simple.
Remember, this only applies to the feds as issuers of the sovereign currency. All other players in our economic system must play by the balanced account rules.
I used to think otherwise. Like 90% of the country. Like my wonderful wife who thinks me a lunatic. But I read Warren Mosler and others and now I know better.
There is no national debt.
Infrastructure And The Public Good
Our corporate democracy has done a number on the value of the concept of public. Today, through propaganda and marketing, all that has value is the concept of private. Study after study prove that public sector employees deliver more for less and show how corporations fleece taxpayers in the long term.
We seem to have the same debate about our infrastructure and the public good. Congress, especially with Republicans in charge, do not have the political will to invest in either. Our roads, bridges and parks are deteriorating, yet we invest very little. I've thought for years we should put the military in charge of all of this and there would be no funding problems. The Pentagon seems to get the cash it needs, and most times more.
Why don't we have free internet for the public good? Free college? Mostly because there's a buck to be made.
It got me thinking about rural America in the 1930s. Very few rural communities were electrified back then. Imagine living without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing or a central heating system. Yet, that's how half the country lived at the time. And it cost lives, or at least years of life. In Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson, he writes about the life of a woman in the Texas hill country. According to Caro, women walked hundreds of yards to gather water, further to gather wood for the stove, and it was worse on wash day. At night, they worked by dim kerosene lamps.
No private company would electrify the hill country in Texas, or any other rural community in the US. There weren't enough consumers in each area to pay the construction costs, let alone the delivery distribution. Johnson changed all that. He wrangled money from the Rural Electrification Administration (a great New Deal program) and brought electricity to western Texas.
It's hard to overstate how this changed lives in Texas. Refrigerated food and electric lights were game changers, mostly for women. Electricity brought with it other conveniences and eased the burden for rural families.
Almost overnight, the life expectancy for women in the Texas hill country grew significantly. In Caro's book, he tells us the most popular birth name for boys in Texas in 1940 was Lyndon.
We could do this today, if we had the political will.
We seem to have the same debate about our infrastructure and the public good. Congress, especially with Republicans in charge, do not have the political will to invest in either. Our roads, bridges and parks are deteriorating, yet we invest very little. I've thought for years we should put the military in charge of all of this and there would be no funding problems. The Pentagon seems to get the cash it needs, and most times more.
Why don't we have free internet for the public good? Free college? Mostly because there's a buck to be made.
It got me thinking about rural America in the 1930s. Very few rural communities were electrified back then. Imagine living without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing or a central heating system. Yet, that's how half the country lived at the time. And it cost lives, or at least years of life. In Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson, he writes about the life of a woman in the Texas hill country. According to Caro, women walked hundreds of yards to gather water, further to gather wood for the stove, and it was worse on wash day. At night, they worked by dim kerosene lamps.
No private company would electrify the hill country in Texas, or any other rural community in the US. There weren't enough consumers in each area to pay the construction costs, let alone the delivery distribution. Johnson changed all that. He wrangled money from the Rural Electrification Administration (a great New Deal program) and brought electricity to western Texas.
It's hard to overstate how this changed lives in Texas. Refrigerated food and electric lights were game changers, mostly for women. Electricity brought with it other conveniences and eased the burden for rural families.
Almost overnight, the life expectancy for women in the Texas hill country grew significantly. In Caro's book, he tells us the most popular birth name for boys in Texas in 1940 was Lyndon.
We could do this today, if we had the political will.
Worldview
I had an interesting conversation about worldview the other day. The context of the conversation was not routine, but yet I left with a better understanding of how worldview interferes with empathy and understanding.
The point of knowing, exploring and challenging worldview is that you open space for self-awareness. You see all of you - your past, your environment, your religion, ethnicity, the color of your skin - and how it fits in with the rest of the world. Understanding even the concept of worldview allows you to accept constructive criticism and to see how your actions and behaviors, regardless of intent, impact the world around you.
Exploring and challenging your worldview is an attempt to align your deep values with the world. It is more than simply respect, which, if you are unwilling or unable to dig deeper, is the basic standard. Challenging your worldview creates the moment that empowers you to change your mind about something you hold to be fundamentally true. Once you experience that shift - where your intellectual self displays momentary mastery over your intuitive self - you begin to search for it. It creates a hunger for it.
Much work has been done on how we settle on concepts and worldview. Jonathan Haidt posits that our limbic system acts first. This is the reptilian part of our brains responsible for our survival - our lizard brain. Once the lizard brain creates a position, the executive function (frontal cortex of the brain) goes into action to rationalize and protect that position. According to Haidt and many others, this is why facts very seldom shift a person from a position fundamentally held to be true. In many cases, it hardens the lizard brain position.
Finding ways to challenge your worldview create opportunities to de-link, even for brief moments, the limbic and frontal cortex. It opens you up to constructive criticism, new ideas, change, breaking bad habits and a whole new world of empathic understanding. The crazy part of this is, that if you don't understand this, you are unable to experience it at any level. This puts any challenge to your worldview into the wheelhouse of your limbic system where your survival instincts take over. You are unable to absorb the new idea.
Hamlin Garland once wrote, "the sun of each person's truth shines on the earth at slightly different angles."
We're all shadow dancing with each other.
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Sun Day
To me, the sun is equal parts puzzling, amazing, powerful and mysterious mixed with a little bit of anxiety. To think the sun has been at the center of our solar system for 4 - 5 billion years, burning with enough heat and light to sustain life on this planet is incredible. That it will be there for approximately another 10 billion years is almost unimaginable. It is nearly impossible for me to believe there is enough fuel within that giant star to continue burning for that long.
It is not new to celebrate the life-giving force of the sun. Cultures have done so for thousands of years - most have days named in honor of the sun. Simply put, we are here because there is a sun.
Today, at least from my limited US view, Sunday has become a weekend day. Don't get me wrong, it's a great day and I'm not giving it back. But I am going to celebrate each time I feel the warm rays of the giant orb, being grateful for the unseen photosynthesis that sustains our planet.
Senseless
A friend of my son succumbed to addiction yesterday. Nate. My son and Nate were friends in high school and have kept touch through the years.
My son is taking it hard. Those who know us understand.
It is always difficult for those left behind to make sense of such a senseless disease. It's self-inflicted, yet it's not. No more so than any other disease.
I'm thinking about Nate's family today. They've been waiting for this day, no doubt. Every knock on the door, every late night phone call brings with it a creeping anxiety that one of your lights is being extinguished.
You fight that feeling for years - thinking you caused, controlled or had the cure. You don't and it is such a hopeless feeling. At first, you detach and you use anger to make the initial thrust. But if you continue to use emotion to detach, you haven't really detached and you risk losing so much more. Finally, with help, you can reach a point where you detach with love and support, knowing that all our stories end the same.
Some of those stories are sad. Some are tragic. Some are tragically sad. Senseless.
You were enough, Nate.
Saturday, May 20, 2017
All Quiet On The White House Front
I'm only a headline surfer but it was mildly surprising for a Saturday afternoon to have no leaks from inside the White House about Trump's incompetence/rage/flatulence.
Then I read Trump is in Saudi Arabia.
Two days without a catastrophe will have the MSM writing about the Trump comeback!
Put Something Right
My Google box tells me rectify means to put something right. I suppose it's as good a title for a television series as any, but it still feels so very understated. Much like the show - powerful yet understated.
I'm not a trained reviewer. It is impossible for me to capture all of what Rectify shared with the audience over its four year running. Kell and I watched it over a few months and its sat with me for the past month since we finished.
The plot is simple but not easy. Daniel Holden (Aden Young) serves nearly 20 years on death row in Georgia for the rape and murder of his then 16-year old girl friend. Daniel was only 17 at the time. Years later, through the efforts of his younger sister (who never gave up on Daniel) and a determined young lawyer from a death penalty opposition legal firm, Daniel is freed based on newly discovered DNA evidence.
The show tracks the Holden family and the community of Paulie, GA. Those who think Daniel is guilty and those who think he wasn't. Daniel is the central character, obviously, and Young is truly superb in his role. Combined with excellent scripts, direction and musical scores, Rectify became the show I did not want to end. After 20 years on death row, Daniel had detached emotionally from the world. The depth of his suffering and the root of his psychological damage is not really known until near the end of the series. This is a feature not a bug. Part of the beauty of the show is the effort Daniel puts in to make connections with other characters and the viewers.
While I didn't want the series to end, it was an elite finale, totally satisfying. An ending that pays homage to the Holden family's quest for some sense of resolution and to close the circle they have been desperate to close - never giving up on Daniel as he stumbles while trying to make sense of the outside world. Rectify is a once in a lifetime show.
If that's not enough to peak your interest, the sound track is incredible. I discovered The Drive By Truckers watching the show, which led me to Jason Isbell (formerly of the Truckers).
I'm not a trained reviewer. It is impossible for me to capture all of what Rectify shared with the audience over its four year running. Kell and I watched it over a few months and its sat with me for the past month since we finished.
The plot is simple but not easy. Daniel Holden (Aden Young) serves nearly 20 years on death row in Georgia for the rape and murder of his then 16-year old girl friend. Daniel was only 17 at the time. Years later, through the efforts of his younger sister (who never gave up on Daniel) and a determined young lawyer from a death penalty opposition legal firm, Daniel is freed based on newly discovered DNA evidence.
The show tracks the Holden family and the community of Paulie, GA. Those who think Daniel is guilty and those who think he wasn't. Daniel is the central character, obviously, and Young is truly superb in his role. Combined with excellent scripts, direction and musical scores, Rectify became the show I did not want to end. After 20 years on death row, Daniel had detached emotionally from the world. The depth of his suffering and the root of his psychological damage is not really known until near the end of the series. This is a feature not a bug. Part of the beauty of the show is the effort Daniel puts in to make connections with other characters and the viewers.
While I didn't want the series to end, it was an elite finale, totally satisfying. An ending that pays homage to the Holden family's quest for some sense of resolution and to close the circle they have been desperate to close - never giving up on Daniel as he stumbles while trying to make sense of the outside world. Rectify is a once in a lifetime show.
If that's not enough to peak your interest, the sound track is incredible. I discovered The Drive By Truckers watching the show, which led me to Jason Isbell (formerly of the Truckers).
Brady's Done This Year
I've written before about my struggles with American football. It is a violent game. To produce the product that millions consume on television, thousands of young lives are laid waste. To create the infrastructure that supports professional players, tens of thousands of boys and sometimes girls are exposed to serious, debilitating injury or death. It's not just the cream of the physical crop that make it to the National Football League, it's also the winners of the survival roulette wheel.
Which brings me to Brady. I have no special insight - I'm a marginal fan whose enthusiasm for the sport wanes with my age. But as I scan the articles about the Patriots off-season moves and the recent comments from Brady's wife regarding his health, one plus one equals two for me.
The local football team has loaded up to defend the Super Bowl title. Brady and team winning a 6th title would be a masterpiece of Da Vinci proportions in sports culture. Back to back and championships in 3 of 4 years, crafted in a career spanning 18 years where the average career expectancy is between 3 and 6 years.
Walking away, while and if he can, at that point is the only thing that makes sense to me.
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Their Finest
We went to Red River last night to see Their Finest. It was good. I give it a solid B, although I ate far too many Granite State Chocolate Covered Raisins and feel the effects today. But that's not what I'm writing about.
The movie takes place in 1940s London, during 'The Blitz' as the German bombing of London was called by the British press. A young woman is hired to improve the narrative quality of the female voice in propaganda films. Similar to most vocations during this war, women were thrust into non-traditional jobs because the men were busy killing each other.
The plot is centered on the relationships between the script writers, including our heroine protagonist, the actors and the ministry of propaganda. It is simultaneously light and dark, funny and sad, and portrays the stoic response to the bombings that we so associate with the Brits.
It was enjoyable, although I think I would have written a different ending. And maybe that's the point. War does not make sense in any rational way so why should the stories about war finish with logical conclusions?
The movie is equal parts love story, love endings, propaganda, loss, redemption, loss and awakening. It is also part Rosey the Script Writer, deftly and quite possibly too subtlely reflecting the class differences in an elite, patriarchial society.
I should also mention the propaganda film the team is working on is about the evacuation/rescue of the troops at Dunkirk. There is a significance, although I'm still ruminating on it. Dunkirk, and the colossal incompetence of the field generals leading to it, was a British national embarrassment. But from the ashes of the debacle was born a different story - one of heroism and sacrifice, as a country rallied to the aid of countrymen in distress. It is a remarkable story, soon to have it's own modern-day movie at a theater near you.
The movie takes place in 1940s London, during 'The Blitz' as the German bombing of London was called by the British press. A young woman is hired to improve the narrative quality of the female voice in propaganda films. Similar to most vocations during this war, women were thrust into non-traditional jobs because the men were busy killing each other.
The plot is centered on the relationships between the script writers, including our heroine protagonist, the actors and the ministry of propaganda. It is simultaneously light and dark, funny and sad, and portrays the stoic response to the bombings that we so associate with the Brits.
It was enjoyable, although I think I would have written a different ending. And maybe that's the point. War does not make sense in any rational way so why should the stories about war finish with logical conclusions?
The movie is equal parts love story, love endings, propaganda, loss, redemption, loss and awakening. It is also part Rosey the Script Writer, deftly and quite possibly too subtlely reflecting the class differences in an elite, patriarchial society.
I should also mention the propaganda film the team is working on is about the evacuation/rescue of the troops at Dunkirk. There is a significance, although I'm still ruminating on it. Dunkirk, and the colossal incompetence of the field generals leading to it, was a British national embarrassment. But from the ashes of the debacle was born a different story - one of heroism and sacrifice, as a country rallied to the aid of countrymen in distress. It is a remarkable story, soon to have it's own modern-day movie at a theater near you.
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Reaching Higher
There was a time period in my life where I worked with the most positive, energetic, brightest and caring people at every project I was on. Hard to believe, right? Building community-built playgrounds brings out the best in communities and citizens. Everything about it serves a higher purpose.
People volunteered for these projects - sometimes as many as 700 over a 7-day period. My role was to create teams, and teams of teams, each chartered with a specific task on a very large project. Without fail, the process brought the best out in people - their skills and their attitudes - serving the higher purposes. I never worked with a bad person and was always part of an incredible team. Every project.
I've spent a number of years trying to re-create that experience. I sometimes catch glimpses of it but am unable to replicate in any consistent way. Without a higher purpose, you begin to notice a degree of individualism and entitlement that separates people rather than bring them together. Without the unifying theme, there is a dedication to the minimum standard rather than aspirations to achieve something great as a team.
This is not a judgement. I have begun to view this as a survival mechanism in our quasi-libertarian US political environment where our culture is training citizens to look out for themselves. Homage is paid to the system which can do no wrong. Everything is the fault of the individual - the myth of the rugged American individual. You're not making it? You're not trying hard enough.
And it's not everyone. I believe most people want something to believe in and to be part of a great team doing inspiring work. Our best work. On the other hand, it only takes a handful of people to sow the seeds of cynicism and work against the greater good. Especially in any system where the minority are protected.
Go team.
Idiocracy
Trump fired FBI Director James Comey yesterday. Just when I think I've seen the depths of Trump's insecurities and narcissism, he digs deeper. Over the past two weeks, Comey has publicly embarrassed the president with statements about the Russia-Trump ties investigation and about the role that Comey might have played in the presidential election.
This is a nakedly political decision. Again, I'm not holding my breath for repercussions. The electorate has seen a Republican party incapable of governing (at least going back to 2000) and have rewarded them with more power. From my biased view, the more audacious and brazen the GOP is in disrupting political norms and traditions, the more support they get from the base.
Perhaps there's a tipping point. If there is, and we have not yet reached it, I both wonder if we ever will, and the damage that will have been done to get there.
Stuff is messed up.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
The Center Holds
Speaking of French, I want to at least acknowledge the new French president, Emmanuel Macron. He handily defeated the candidate from a white nationalist part - looks like a 30-point plus trouncing.
The downside, if there is any, is Macron represents in France what we refer to here in the US as 'No Labels'. I'm not a fan.
I do not think this a harbinger of any sort, but it sure beats the alternative.
Vive la France!
The downside, if there is any, is Macron represents in France what we refer to here in the US as 'No Labels'. I'm not a fan.
I do not think this a harbinger of any sort, but it sure beats the alternative.
Vive la France!
Ca Va Pas Mal
For now, for the near future, I've chosen not to pursue a connection with other family members in the area. Through a series of clicks on my Google machine, I learned of the recent death of my sister in Manchester (half-sister, technically). I did not know of her existence other than some sense that my biological father had started a new family and there were children. Apparently five of them, now four, unfortunately.
There's no fear driving my choice. It just seems right. I have nephews, nieces, aunts and uncles whom I've known for decades and with whom I have trouble keeping a current relationship. If there's work to be done, it's probably right here in my back yard.
There's no fear driving my choice. It just seems right. I have nephews, nieces, aunts and uncles whom I've known for decades and with whom I have trouble keeping a current relationship. If there's work to be done, it's probably right here in my back yard.
Dream Comfort
I need to design a tree fort fairly soon. Pop asked me when I was going to build it and when I told him soon, he asked, "When I am all growed up?"
Man, they learn young. He's only 3.
Man, they learn young. He's only 3.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
The Intent Of Fake News Claims
It's important to understand why Trump and friends keep hammering away about fake news. Here are a few advantages to this tactic:
He is a dangerous demagogue. His lies must always be met with truth, even if we have difficulty keeping up.
- These claims undermine media credibility, especially among Trump supporters and low-information, low-education citizens. I suppose I'm being redundant there.
- As the media reports on the impact of Trump policy, Trump can continue his prodigious lying campaigns to create an alternate reality for his supporters. According to the WaPo Fact Checker, Trump lied 493 times in his first 100 days - this is an average of nearly 5 times per day.
- His lies target the fears and anxieties of vulnerable citizens. The lies then enter the echo chamber of the far-right media machine where they are reinforced and taken as gospel. His supporters are worked up into a fever pitch, and nothing Trump does will impact their support of him. Thus you get candidate Trump saying he could stand on 5th Ave in NY and shoot people and not lose a single vote.
He is a dangerous demagogue. His lies must always be met with truth, even if we have difficulty keeping up.
Some Humans Ain't Human
So goes the title of a John Prine song that seems somehow fitting to me tonight. The passage of the ACHA, the replacement bill for the ACA, in the US House is haunting me. Republicans don't give a shit about people.
Prior to passage of the Affordable Care Act, 45,000 people died each year as a result of limited access to health care. These were people who were uninsured or perhaps not insurable under previous regulations that allowed insurers to charge exorbitant rates for pre-existing conditions. The ACA has now provided insurance to approximately 25% of those who were previously uninsured or uninsurable. The ACA is costing less than expected and is also effectively lowering health care costs.
Republicans passed this bill in less than a week. It had no public hearing. Debate was limited to 3 hours. The one amendment they allowed did nothing for pre-existing conditions except provide talking points for Reps who will be ducking for cover during recess town hall meetings. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill will remove 24 million Americans from health insurance and put millions more with pre-existing conditions in peril. It's a shameful catastrophe.
Almost unimaginably, the bill slashes Medicaid to the tune of $800 billion and stuffs those Benjamins into the pockets of the 1% through related tax breaks.
In a healthy democracy, there would be outrage from elected officials from both parties. The media would be reporting on the devastating impact on poor families, women and children. Instead, we have the game-show president tweeting about fake news and CNN hand-wringing about Democrats jeering Republicans for passing the bill.
In a healthy democracy, any elected official who voted for such a monstrosity would face certain defeat at the ballot box. Instead, congressional districts are so gerrymandered to make elections a mere formality. Democrats won 47% of votes cast in congressional districts and won only 44% of the seats.
What the electorate has taught the Republicans is, politically, there are no repercussions. Don't hold a vote for Obama's Supreme Court nominee. No problem - we'll send you back. Grab women by the genitals. No problem, Mr. President. Pull health insurance away from 24 million Americans - we'll see but I'm not hopeful.
These are dark days.
Prior to passage of the Affordable Care Act, 45,000 people died each year as a result of limited access to health care. These were people who were uninsured or perhaps not insurable under previous regulations that allowed insurers to charge exorbitant rates for pre-existing conditions. The ACA has now provided insurance to approximately 25% of those who were previously uninsured or uninsurable. The ACA is costing less than expected and is also effectively lowering health care costs.
Republicans passed this bill in less than a week. It had no public hearing. Debate was limited to 3 hours. The one amendment they allowed did nothing for pre-existing conditions except provide talking points for Reps who will be ducking for cover during recess town hall meetings. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill will remove 24 million Americans from health insurance and put millions more with pre-existing conditions in peril. It's a shameful catastrophe.
Almost unimaginably, the bill slashes Medicaid to the tune of $800 billion and stuffs those Benjamins into the pockets of the 1% through related tax breaks.
In a healthy democracy, there would be outrage from elected officials from both parties. The media would be reporting on the devastating impact on poor families, women and children. Instead, we have the game-show president tweeting about fake news and CNN hand-wringing about Democrats jeering Republicans for passing the bill.
In a healthy democracy, any elected official who voted for such a monstrosity would face certain defeat at the ballot box. Instead, congressional districts are so gerrymandered to make elections a mere formality. Democrats won 47% of votes cast in congressional districts and won only 44% of the seats.
What the electorate has taught the Republicans is, politically, there are no repercussions. Don't hold a vote for Obama's Supreme Court nominee. No problem - we'll send you back. Grab women by the genitals. No problem, Mr. President. Pull health insurance away from 24 million Americans - we'll see but I'm not hopeful.
These are dark days.
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Abi Will Know
My daughter called me today. She wanted some feedback on a challenge her family faced. Her son, who is 3, does not enjoy the one afternoon he spends each week with a babysitter. In fact, he cries, complains and causes general mayhem on the days when he is supposed to go.
Digging deeper, he has shared with my daughter that the four year-old son of the sitter is mean to him. Takes toys away, pushes and plays a little rough. This is all normal behavior, I'm sure, and my grandson is no angel - I've seen him in action with my granddaughter, his older sister. But it's real to him and is causing him serious distress. When your vessel is full, your vessel is full.
He and my daughter were talking about it this morning, and my daughter told him, "I just don't know what to do, Pop." using his nickname. He looked up at her and said, "Abi will know." Thus the call from my daughter.
Using my best coaching skills ("What's your heart telling you?"), I listened as my daughter worked herself through the challenge. She solved it.
Then, Pop and I had a great conversation about toy trucks.
Abi does know.
Digging deeper, he has shared with my daughter that the four year-old son of the sitter is mean to him. Takes toys away, pushes and plays a little rough. This is all normal behavior, I'm sure, and my grandson is no angel - I've seen him in action with my granddaughter, his older sister. But it's real to him and is causing him serious distress. When your vessel is full, your vessel is full.
He and my daughter were talking about it this morning, and my daughter told him, "I just don't know what to do, Pop." using his nickname. He looked up at her and said, "Abi will know." Thus the call from my daughter.
Using my best coaching skills ("What's your heart telling you?"), I listened as my daughter worked herself through the challenge. She solved it.
Then, Pop and I had a great conversation about toy trucks.
Abi does know.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
In Spite of Ourselves
The Affordable Care Act was not my preference for health insurance in the US. I support universal health insurance as delivered by every other first-world country on the planet. When I realized that universal health was not going to happen in 2009, I supported a robust public option as part of the exchanges on the ACA. When that was taken off the table, I supported lowering the qualifying age for Medicare to 55. Thanks to Joe Lieberman, that crashed too.
When all was said and done, and as a realist, I became a full supporter of the ACA. I worked to implement it in NH and became a Certified Application Counselor, providing application assistance to those who needed it. Through my employer, we funded and staffed enrollment fairs when NH Republicans effectively blocked early fed dollars designed to implement the health plan.
I did this understanding it was not what I wanted. It was the right thing to do and I'm so very proud of all the work and take great joy in the lives we helped. We brought access to health care to 24 million Americans who had not had it.
These were not just anonymous lives, either. I have a very close family member who has greatly benefited from the ACA. He now has access to quality medical care and has the treatment he needs for several issues. The ACA has saved lives - I know this from first-hand experience.
Through a series of unfortunate electoral events, we are now facing a Republican majority in the US Congress and a Republican president dedicated to repealing the ACA. The primary reason for the repeal is to create a bundle of money to give tax breaks to the 1%.
I don't know what's going to happen. Honestly. I know that my family member will be at risk without a public policy supporting affordable health care. He's just one of 24 million.
The survival of democracy is not preordained.
When all was said and done, and as a realist, I became a full supporter of the ACA. I worked to implement it in NH and became a Certified Application Counselor, providing application assistance to those who needed it. Through my employer, we funded and staffed enrollment fairs when NH Republicans effectively blocked early fed dollars designed to implement the health plan.
I did this understanding it was not what I wanted. It was the right thing to do and I'm so very proud of all the work and take great joy in the lives we helped. We brought access to health care to 24 million Americans who had not had it.
These were not just anonymous lives, either. I have a very close family member who has greatly benefited from the ACA. He now has access to quality medical care and has the treatment he needs for several issues. The ACA has saved lives - I know this from first-hand experience.
Through a series of unfortunate electoral events, we are now facing a Republican majority in the US Congress and a Republican president dedicated to repealing the ACA. The primary reason for the repeal is to create a bundle of money to give tax breaks to the 1%.
I don't know what's going to happen. Honestly. I know that my family member will be at risk without a public policy supporting affordable health care. He's just one of 24 million.
The survival of democracy is not preordained.
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