King Lear, Not Rome

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Monday October 30, 2017 · 11:23 AM PDT

2017/10/30 · 11:23

I watched Casablanca a couple of nights ago and wept. I was struck by how much we have lost. When Casablanca was made, we were admired, and respected. People across the world looked to us, a beacon light in midst of the darkness that was engulfing the world. And we lived up to that respect.

Now we are feared, distrusted, and the butt of the joke. We're distrusted by our allies because of our attacks against them by our President and our chaotic, inconsistent, and contradictory policy. And our enemies are emboldened by the same and our new found isolation in the world. Alliances that have been the pillar of strength for more than 70 years now crumble placing, not just us, but everyone at risk - all in the space of less than a year. We are now the darkness.

This had been buzzing in my head for several days. The temptation is to compare us to Rome. Well, they were the worlds first great super power and everybody likes to think they're big. But I think another comparison can be drawn to King Lear. Lear, in a fit of vanity, divides his kingdom between two of his daughters, disowning his youngest, Cordelia, because she failed to flatter him appropriately. In the end, Lear's kingdom is shattered by civil war. And, a broken man, Lear discovers, too late, that Cordelia, disowned and denigrated was the only daughter that truly loved him.

History, it is said, is written by the victors. So, only a history written from outside can hope to accurately show who the villains and who the heroes are in this piece - if any are to be found. In a democracy, we are all our Lear. And our Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia.

Some may take exception to this bleak assessment of our standing. Few like to think in terms of greatness lost. Fewer still are willing to accept culpability in that loss. And many have conflicting ideas in where true greatness lies. So be it.

Remember the Confederacy

WinterOfDiscontent

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Tuesday May 09, 2017 · 3:22 PM PDT

2017/05/09 · 15:22

New Orleans has begun the process of removing Civil War monuments within the city. This has sparked protests and even violence with the promise of more. Recently, in an interview, Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, opined that the monuments should be left to stand, that we should remember the Confederacy. In some respect I have to agree with her. We should not engage in historical cleansing. We need to remember the Confederacy. But let’s remember all of the Confederacy. We must keep the focus clear and bright on everything the Confederacy stood for.

We need to remember, first and foremost that the Confederacy was the first act of treason committed against the United States; the second since Benedict Arnold tried to hand over West Point to the British during the Revolution. It was a four year act of violent and bloody insurrection against the United States.

The claim is that the Confederacy was formed out of a need to protect State’s Rights; that the cause was economic in nature. But we must remember that the State’s Right the Confederacy sought to preserve was the “right” to own human beings as slaves and treat them like animals. We must remember that the South’s economy was based on the most inhuman treatment one person can inflict on another. So let’s remember the 750,000 that donned the grey and fought, killed, and died to defend that right. I, for my part, will remember the 2.75 million who donned the blue and fought, killed, and died to end that crime against humanity and stop the spread of that deep, abiding, red stain on our national soul.

And let’s not forget the after party, orchestrated by a man who might be a relative of mine, Nathan Bedford Forrest. The man who organized the Klu Klux Klan and galloped across the south committing acts of terrorism, kidnapping, and murder – the 19^th century Boko Haram. We must remember the lynchings and the burning crosses.

We must also remember the era of Jim Crow that followed the Civil War. We must remember its rampant voter suppression and violent intimidation of blacks. Much of which still goes on today, subtler but still just as effective. It is ingrained in the genetic makeup of the South.

By all means, keep the monuments. Wave the Stars and Bars. Sing the songs. We must remember the Confederacy.

The True Tragedy of Orlando

WinterOfDiscontent

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Tuesday June 14, 2016 · 12:50 PM PDT

2016/06/14 · 12:50

Within the next day or so, the massacre at the Pulse club in Orlando will pass out of the news cycle. It will be replaced by the next political outrage, sex scandal, dead white blond, or what ever shiny object attracts the attention of the chatterati. The lens will move away from the detritus of mass shootings and the tear stained faces of the anguished friends and relatives to focus on the next object of horror and fascination.

Moments of silence will be held and platitudes will be offered. Then, as the candles have guttered and sputtered out, and the flowers wilt, and the ribbons fade in the sunlight and the rain, calls will be made for something to be done. Verbal assaults will be launched against this or that religion, ethnic, or other demographic group. Demands will be made to curtail some of our liberties in the defense against terrorism. But the freedoms offered up for sacrifice will be those in the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. We must give up our right to free speech, our right to assemble, our right to a trial by a jury of our peers, our right to know the charges against us and to face our accusers, our right to an attorney, our right to not testify against ourselves (torture). We will be told these are the things we must give up so we may be safe.

All these will be willingly offered up on the altar of protection. All our most cherished traditions, except one — the Second Amendment. This untouchable sacred cow will be shielded though thousands of innocents will fall (and it is always the innocent that fall). The Second Amendment is our national religion — our One True God. And it is a religion, complete with holy text, bibles, missals, high priests, acolytes, objects of veneration, acts of devotion, and houses of worship. The God of the Gun has no other gods before it.

The true tragedy of Orlando is not the 50 dead, nor the 53 wounded, nor the grieving anguished friends and relatives. The true tragedy of Orlando is not that the victims were gay, or that this was a religious / homophobic hate crime. The true tragedy of Orlando is not that the perpetrator was of any particular religion or claimed allegiance to any particular terrorist group. The true tragedy of Orlando is the same as that for Newtown, Blacksburg, San Bernardino, Aurora, Fort Hood, and the countless other points of amnesia that dot the national map.

This is normal in America. Hardly a week goes by that there isn’t mass shooting somewhere. And these are not the coordinated attacks of a determined enemy, but the random violence of various people who perpetrate these attacks for disparate and unconnected reasons. The killers are of different religions and different ethnic backgrounds killing for different reasons. Before the blood dries at Pulse, another mass shooting will take place. And then another, and another. Just another day in the death of America.

And amid the clamor and blamestorming and cries for action, the true tragedy of Orlando is — nothing will change.

And The Winner Is ...

WinterOfDiscontent

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Friday October 02, 2015 · 12:13 PM PDT

2015/10/02 · 12:13

In the category: Most Irresponsible Reporting (I won't dignify it by calling it journalism):

The award goes to: The New York Times

In response to the mass shooting at the Umpqua Community College in Oregon, the New York Times chose to publish the name and picture of the shooter, thereby giving him exactly what he wanted, his 15 minutes of fame. Nothing says responsible reporting like cocking the hammer on the next mass murder.
I won't post the link here because I refuse to abet their buffoonery.

Congratulations New York Times!

In the category: Most Irresponsible Legislation

The award goes to: The United States Congress

In response to the increase of mass shootings in America the United States Congress introduce legislation to block the CDC from accumulating statistics on gun deaths. The NRA proved to be a deeper well than the public interest.
After all, nothing fuels informed public policy like blind, stupid, deliberate, willful ignorance. It's not in the Bible, but willful ignorance is the greatest sin because it empowers all others.

The United States Congress' cowardice in the face of the NRA is well documented and world renowned. It is exceeded only by their avarice for all the Gun Lobby money that lines their pockets.

Well done United States Congress!

WinterOfDiscontent

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Sunday May 10, 2015 · 3:44 PM PDT

2015/05/10 · 15:44

(Sung to the tune of They're Coming to Take Me Away by Napoleon XIV.)

[Refrain]
He's coming to take them away, ha ha.
He's coming to take them away, ho ho, he he,
To the ATF, where things are beautiful all the time.
And I'll be happy to see those fine young men
In their Kevlar vests.
And he's coming to take them away.

We ride around with guns in cars,
And proudly fly the Stars and Bars,
And open carry in coffee bars,
And he's coming to take them away.

[Refrain]

Hugging ARs from sun to sun,
We only want to have some fun,
Jade Helm makes us polish our guns,
And he's coming to take them away.

[Refrain]

We live in fear of colored folks,
And laugh at Nugent's racist jokes,
But, Obama's who we fear the most,
And he's coming to take them away.

[Refrain]

(With apologies to Napoleon XIV.)

WinterOfDiscontent

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Sunday March 01, 2015 · 4:41 PM PST

2015/03/01 · 16:41

Verizon had a temper tantrum over the FCC’s decision to regulate the Internet as a utility under Title II. So devastating do they think this decision that they decided to demonstrate its dire nature by publishing their missive in Morse code to demonstrate the archaic, barbaric, and onerous nature of the regulations that will be forthcoming (handy link to translation provided at bottom of document). In this warning, they predict that Internet service will collapse due to government overreach and burdensome regulation.

As one who lives in the telecommunications ghetto, courtesy Verizon, AT&T, Charter, Comcast and all the other telecommunication giants, I have to say, “How could things get any worse?”

Charter, after sending me a letter advertising their great business Internet service, sent me a snotty email explaining how I wasn’t worth their business.

AT&T’s DSL service to my house is so slow it barely qualifies as dial-up. And in spite of repeated requests for faster service, AT&T can only offer feeble excuses as to why there’s nothing they can do. But that’s not quite correct because AT&T did manage to increase my internet fees 50%.

My wireless phone provider is Trakfone because neither Verizon nor AT&T / Cingular can manage to provide a signal to my house yet still manage to charge monumental fees for service.

Both these companies have a lock on the area I’m in, based on the 1996 Telecommunication Act, preventing me from finding an alternative (so much for competition and the magic hand of the market place). So obviously the market place is all about competition, until it comes to actual competition.

The Internet is a utility, just like telephone, electricity, gas (for those that have it), water and sewer (for those that have it). Don’t believe me, just try running your business without it any more. Setting aside advertising and online sales, the ability to do research, banking and ordering of supplies online is sufficient to make the Internet a vital tool to making a business profitable.

Like the telephone at its inception, the Internet was a toy in its early days. But, also like the telephone, the Internet has grown up to become a vital communications tool. Today, there is hardly a person over the age of 10 that doesn’t have a telephone in their pocket. Today, there are few businesses that don’t make use of the Internet to some degree.

So, suck it up Verizon. The free ride is over. Now it’s time for you to provide service for all those exorbitant fees you’ve been charging. So my reply to you Verizon is:
..-. -.--.- -.--.- -.- / -.-- --- ..- / ...- . .-. .. --.. --- -. / .- -. -.. / .... --- .-. ... . / -.-- --- ..- / .-. --- -.. . / .. -. / --- -. .-.-.-

WinterOfDiscontent

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Wednesday November 05, 2014 · 12:12 PM PST

2014/11/05 · 12:12

In the midst of all the doom, gloom, weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth that occurred for the Democrats yesterday, something wonderful happened. It wasn't very big. Many people probably didn't even notice it.

The people of Richmond, California reaffirmed ownership of their town. You may know the story. Chevron operates a refinery near the city of Richmond and, a few years ago had a major fire that caused a lot of damage. The city of Richmond sued Chevron to recover the costs of those damages. Not wanting to chance the outcome in the courts, Chevron seized upon the municipal elections to run their own candidates that would be more Chevron friendly.

Leaving nothing to chance, Chevron pumped $3 million into the campaigns for their candidates compared to the $58,000 spent by the legitimate candidates for those offices. Chevron (through PACs) used the money to buy up all the available advertising - billboards, radio, TV, and print. Their $3 million bullhorn was immensely loud.

In spite of this (or maybe because of it) the people of Richmond rallied behind their candidates and elected them over all of the Chevron candidates. It's a small thing. So was the birth of Jesus.

When the Supreme Court declared through Citizens United that money is speech, they sought to change our participatory government from each person having an equal say, to the corporate model where you have as much say as the stock you own (your ability to pump your view into the conversation over shadowing all other views). What Richmond shows is that people can see through that. People can see past the blinding light and blaring noise of big money advertising and see the simple truth of what is right and what is wrong. There is hope for us.

P. T. Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute."

Abraham Lincoln said, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

Richmond shows us that we may be more under the influence of Lincoln than we are Barnum. And that is something wonderful.

Health Insurance Takes Business Plan From Mafia

WinterOfDiscontent

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Thursday September 18, 2014 · 11:00 AM PDT

2014/09/18 · 11:00

I received a letter from my health insurance provider the other day. As is the usual case, these letters tend to provide information about my account, but this one in particular angered me beyond all belief. Not content with the merely obscene profits they make driving our health care costs through the roof and serving as the nation's national health care death panel, my insurance company has decided to take a page from the mafia playbook - they've branched out into extortion.

Now, to be fair, there are caveats in the letter that mitigate the extortion from total illegality to threatening while leaving an out. But this is about as blatant an assault of fear mongering as any I have seen, including those used during the Bush reign of error. This letter falls just short of threatening to shoot my dog, burn my house, or kneecap me (although they'd have to pay the claim on the kneecapping). Below is the relevant text that represents the threat.

This letter is an urgent notification. Your medication listed below is part of the Mail Service Member Select^SM program. This program includes a limited number of fills of the medication you take on a regular basis at your retail pharmacy. As of [DATE], you are approaching your final retail fill and must take action or you may pay 100% of the cost of your medication at a retail pharmacy.¹ [bold original]

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll extend two observations.

There actually is merit to a program that provides prescription medicine through the mail. For many people getting to the pharmacy is an ordeal because of incapacity, distance, or other reasons I can't think of. For these people having their medicine delivered to their mailbox makes a lot of sense.
The letter does provide the ability to opt out of the program. However, one must take the active steps to contact the insurance company to opt out and you are required to opt out every year. In other words, they'll keep nagging you.

The opt-out provisions are buried deeper in the letter.

If you prefer, you can choose to disenroll from mail service and continue to fill your medication at a retail pharmacy for your standard copay or cost ...

And at the bottom of the second page, in 8 point type is the end note marked in the dire paragraph.

¹If you choose to disenroll from mail service you will need to confirm that decision every year, however, if you choose mail serve you only need to transfer your prescription once.

For some reason Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy floats to mind.

A good idea, and for many this actually is a good idea, sells itself. It doesn't need threats or blackmail to get people to use it. Simple advertising, or even aggressive (as in energetic) advertising is enough to get people to flock to a good service.

But this goes beyond even aggressive advertising. This letter is holding people's insurance hostage to force them to engage in the plan. Even with the opt-out, the penalty for inaction is the loss of benefits.

There is a line between aggressive advertising and extortion. My health insurance company did not simply cross that line with this letter, they pole-vaulted it. Holding one's insurance benefits hostage to force them into a program is unacceptable behavior. To me this is just one more reason why we, as a people, need to join the rest of the intelligent world, fire the health insurance companies once and for all, and replace it with a functioning system of Medicare for all.

I'm including copies of the letter, redacted for privacy, below the fold.

WinterOfDiscontent

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Tuesday July 01, 2014 · 12:51 PM PDT

2014/07/01 · 12:51

The BURWELL v. HOBBY LOBBY STORES, INC. Supreme Court decision has redefined the fundamental nature of our society. While the Supremes attempted to back-peddle the ruling, claiming its narrow application, the implications of the decision define a new relationship between the employer and employee, and creates a two tier interpretation of the protections under the Constitution. Regardless of the promises and caveats set in the majority decision, BURWELL v. HOBBY LOBBY STORES, INC. will be used as a basis for further law suits and further Supreme Court decisions.

Here's just a few of the implications this ill-considered ruling has to offer:

Employers' religious belief trump the employees'. As an employer you may now assert your religious beliefs onto your employees even outside the workplace.
Employers may claw back into justly earned compensation of employees. An employees compensation is not limited to the salary they receive. It includes the benefits such as vacation time, and health care. No one would sit still for an employer that dictates how one may spend their salary. Yet, in essence, this decision allows Hobby Lobby to do just that. Hobby Lobby is now able to direct how health care may be used because the Supreme Court failed to recognize that, as part of the employee's compensation for their labor, the health care benefits belong to the employee, not the employer.
Other religions will use this to impose constraints on employees. Despite pronouncements by the Supremes to the contrary, this ruling opens the door for other religions to argue against providing portions of the health care benefits. Everyone gets to practice medicine without a license.
The relationship between the employer and the employee has been redefined. By allowing employers to reach into employees' private lives and control how their compensation is used, the Supreme Court has altered this relationship from a coequal partnership trading labor for wages to that of master and slave.

WinterOfDiscontent

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Tuesday December 10, 2013 · 2:31 PM PST

2013/12/10 · 14:31

According to the NPR the tax credit for mass transit will be cut nearly in half at the end of the year. This tax credit operates like the flexible medical spending accounts. People who use mass transit, may set aside pre-tax dollars to cover the cost of rail and bus tickets. Commuters who drive and use a similar tax credit will see their benefit increase.

If one's desire is sell more gasoline and increase pollution, a more perfect way to achieve this goal could not have been found. If on the other hand, your goal is to reduce the number of cars on the road, reduce consumption and importation of petroleum, reduce pollution, reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road, etc., the lapse of this bill will have disastrous consequences.

Unfortunately for all concerned, fixing this problem requires getting a bill to extend or even increase the credit through the House. I think my chances are better if a buy a lottery ticket.

National Fly the Eagle Day

WinterOfDiscontent

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Tuesday August 21, 2007 · 12:36 PM PDT

2007/08/21 · 12:36

In honor of President Bush using military satellites to spy on American citizens, I suggest we declare October 26th as National Fly the Eagle day. October 26th was the day the U.S.A Patriot Act became law. It is the day America fell to the terrorists.

On National Fly the Eagle day, at noon Eastern, 9 am Pacific time, everyone should go outside, stand in a clear space, flip the bird to the sky and smile for the cameras.

Let George know just what you think of him.

Tsunami Warning Center Relocation

WinterOfDiscontent

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Wednesday July 12, 2006 · 11:37 AM PDT

2006/07/12 · 11:37

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is located near the beach at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Realizing that it might be useful if the Tsunami Warning Center could survive the first onslaught of a tsunami, it is being relocated to Ford Island, a small island in the middle of Pearl Harbor. "But that's ok." they said, "We plan to put it on the third floor."

At the time I thought it was just another example of typical bureaucratic bungling until I remembered one thing - AccuWeather. Read More

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King Lear, Not Rome

Remember the Confederacy

The True Tragedy of Orlando

And The Winner Is ...

Ode to Jade Helm 15

Verizon's Latest Temper Tantrum

Something Wonderful Happened

Health Insurance Takes Business Plan From Mafia

SCOTUS Has Rewritten the 1st and 14th Amendments on the Back of a Napkin

Tax Break For Mass-Transit Commutes May Soon Be Slashed

National Fly the Eagle Day

Tsunami Warning Center Relocation