Volcanos and Virgins

This just in: Three seemingly unrelated topics have brought me to this moment. First, I’m reading a book (more on that in a bit). Secondly, the Supreme Court decided that a minority view of the unknowable will of God is correct and thus, a 10-year old rape victim must carry a baby to birth. Thirdly, tomorrow (7/12) we get the first pictures from the James Webb telescope.

Let’s start with the telescope. I saw a preview of one of the new pictures. It shows a portion of the sky equivalent to holding a grain of sand at arm’s length. In it you can see hundred of galaxies. How big is a galaxy? Well, it take about 100,000 years for light to pass from one end of our Milky Way galaxy to the other. For larger galaxies, it can take millions of years for light to make the journey. In short, we on Earth are insignificant.

Now about the book I’m reading…In it, a woman living in the Dark Ages gives birth to a child with a cleft lip. Just as she is wondering what to do, her dad comes home an announces that her husband and his horse died when they fell into a frozen river. That night, the dad comes to her and takes the child. Times are tough and that little boy will make it tougher. Plus, what kind of life could such a child expect. The dad leaves with the child but returns with it later. He had put the child on the ground and left it for the wild animals. However, he quickly went back and picked it up; unable to let it die. The villagers heard about this and drove the family out of the village that night using pitch forks and torches. The boy was obviously cursed and was certainly the cause of the father dying in the river.

Side note: I took a course in Philosophy where the instructor was fond of saying, “Mystery therefore magic.” In other words, if it couldn’t be explained, it must be God’s will.

The villagers feared that the baby may be a demon. Fear makes people do strange things, like drive a family from a village where they had lived for generations. It’s as if they thought, “God will smile on us when he sees how we drove away the demon.”

This is similar to the thought that must have accompanied sacrificing a virgin to a volcano. “We don’t know what God wants but maybe this will do the trick. Best to be safe so go ahead and give her a little push over the edge.”

Back to the telescope. You can look at these pictures and think, “Yes, the universe is really big but God still doesn’t want me to masturbate” Never mind that the more likely reason you are told to behave a certain way is that some people want to control others. This is why religion invented hell after all. The sheep think, “Well, there probably isn’t any hell but I think I’ll push her into the volcano just to be sure. And tithe always tithe.”

So now we have a cornucopia of abortion restrictions. None of these laws are based on science. None. Not one. All are based on control. Control and instilling the fear needed to ensure control. “God will make sure my harvest is good if I make that little girl carry her rape baby to term.”

In my view, the universe notices and so, if there is a God, he/she notices. But, neither the universe nor God cares. The universe experiences our experiences, without judgement. We are stardust. We started as stardust and we will end as stardust. The physical laws of the universe say this is so, thus, it is so. Or….and I’m just saying, you can listen to someone that will push your daughter into a volcano to win an election.

Now for a video…

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Being Republican

This just in: I was at a dinner gathering the other night. One guy was very talkative and after discussing the highlights of his life for everyone, he went on to complain about bleeding liberals.

I kept my mouth shut since these were business associates and my political opinions need not be aired. However, the guy I’m talking about started off with how he lost a job opportunity maybe 40 years ago because he was white. My assumption is that he fell victim to some Affirmative Action program. He is still mad about that.

He rambled on about Liberal Education and such, eventually getting around to describing what we all know to be the policy of G.W. Bush. I’m talking about No Child Left Behind.

This guy couldn’t stop bashing this Liberal policy. Eventually, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and said, “Of course, you are aware that the policy you are talking about was put in by Bush.”

He didn’t even miss a beat. His response was “I know, it is a great policy it’s just that the timing was off.”

Unbelievable.

Let’s take a look at what policies you are currently supporting if you are supporting ANY Republican:

  1. You support racism
  2. You support no changes to gun control
  3. You support no protection of our election system
  4. You support our current lack of an adult foreign policy
  5. You support tax cuts for the rich
  6. You support skyrocketing debt without any public benefit
  7. You support any lack of infrastructure improvement
  8. You support going back to pre-Obamacare healthcare
  9. You support massive student debt
  10. You support unlimited money in politics
  11. You support attacking our allies
  12. You support befriending dictators
  13. You support attacks on our First Amendment rights
  14. You support gerrymandering and voter suppression
  15. You support massive cuts in government-funded science
  16. You support climate change denial
  17. You support tariffs and the $1,000 cost per family we are incurring
  18. You support reneging on international agreements.
  19. You support the United States retreating from the world stage
  20. You support Trump

Now, I know that if you are a Republican, you will look at this list and say something like “Hey! I am just anti-abortion. I don’t support that other stuff.”

My response is that you are wrong. Single-issue voters, like it or not, support everything the Republican Party does if they vote for these guys. There is no way around it.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

The Lazy “Single Issue Voter”

This just in:  Today, in an ongoing attempt to understand why ANYONE would vote Republican, I’ll be complaining about the Single Issue Voter.

Let’s start with this:  A single issue voter is one that is intellectually lazy.  They pick a single issue and then cling to the one party that sings the most promising song with regards to that issue. They are like that horse with blinders on.  They pretend that a candidate that supports their issue does not support anything else.

The biggest Single Issues…

Abortion:  Ignore the fact that no one likes abortion.

Some people actually believe to know the will of God.  They can’t name the capitals of the various countries in the world but when it comes to God…they have complete understanding.  The know for a fact that God, while creating a universe, every now and then looks over to make sure we and not having abortions.  In philosophy courses, they refer to a belief in God as “Mystery therefore Magic.”

Now, maybe they are right and God is anti-abortion.  I certainly don’t know one way or the other.  However, the Republican Party wants this vote so they say, “We will work to stop abortions.”  Score 1 for the GOP.

This ignores that making abortions illegal does nothing to stop abortions.  This ignores the fact that this same God Fearing Party is taking kids from their parents at the border.  They are in a constant battle to stop feeding the poor and needy.  In short, they do what it takes to get the vote “Let that baby be born!” and then turn their backs on it.  The GOP has very little to do with the common good.  They call those efforts “liberal”.  But, this is ignored because Pro-Life people are single issue voters and their intellect stops at the womb.

Gun Control: Ignore the fact that everyone wants to end needless gun deaths.

The GOP has discovered that single issue voters that like their guns, will vote for the party that allows virtually unlimited gun ownership.  The GOP has convinced this type of voter that any effort to stem gun violence is equal to the government taking away everyone’s guns.

The intellectually lazy does not look at the facts.  They don’t want to hear about solutions or how other countries are handling this.  They are too lazy (or fearful) to listen to the other side.  They say things like, “If we make laws to control guns, only the bad guys will have guns.”  By this logic, we shouldn’t have any laws because only the good guys will follow them.

Might = Right:  This is a biggie.  The old white males that make up the majority of the Republican Party grew up in a world where the United States won WWII.  They like it when the U.S. flexes its muscle.  When Trump put up tariffs, they cheer because they see this as being “tough”.  Ask them who is really paying for those tariffs.  Ask them what the basic economic terms “elasticity” or “Marginal Cost” mean and they stare at you like a cow.  They have no idea about economics but they like the idea that we are being tough.

White Superiority:  The truth is that we are a nation of immigrants.  The truth is that one of the major issues holding back our economic growth is a lack of labor.  We need immigrants.  However, there are single issue voters that think we are a nation of White People.  They think whites invented stuff.  Whites won the wars.  Being white means being a true American.  They will vote for the political party that subtly supports this idea.  How is it done subtly?  We blame immigrants.  We build walls.  We back off of treaties.  We call acts of terror by whites….crime and by non-white…terrorism.  Trump sees hate at a rally and claims “both sides are equal.”

Christianity:  I was probably 7 years old, sitting in Sunday School when I had the realization that I was studying a fairy tale.  I would ask, “Why would God want Abraham to kill his son?” and get back, “It was a test.”  I knew that was bullshit.  And yet, there are those that think that they not only know the will of God, they also know that God chose America to be the promised land.  God intended for the United States to be Christian.  Now, again, I have no way of knowing if this is true or not.  But…I’m quite certain that absolutely no one knows this to be true.  However, the single issue voter will vote for the party that will keep the other religions out of town.  That would be the Republican Party.

These five issues alone will bring a lot of voters to the Republican side of the table.  The Republicans don’t necessarily believe in any of this stuff but that act like they do and that’s enough.

There are other issues: Education, Global Warming, World Peace, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Taking care of each other, World Trade, Pursuit of the Truth, Space Exploration, the Disappearing Middle Class, Income inequality, Money in Politics.

There are just soooo many important issues and yet….they are ignored by the intellectually lazy.  The GOP goes after the low hanging fruit that is the Single Issue Voter, because their level of ethics allows for them to do that.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

 

Anatomy of a Republican Voter

This just in:  In California, yesterday, people actually casted votes for Republicans.  This means they voted for a person that took away many of their tax deductions and gave that money to the handful of billionaires that run and fund the Republican Party.  They voted in favor of more expensive healthcare and against social safety nets.

Why would anyone do this?

I have a few answers…

They are racist.  Those that fear America is becoming less white routinely vote Republican.  This is especially true in the age of Donald Trump.  This is the base of Donald Trump that will not abandon him no matter what he does.

or

They are Evangelical.  These are the folks that “forgive” Trump’s behavior which is, on nearly every measurable standard, the exact opposite of what the Bible preaches.  Why?  Because they fear that American may becoming a nation that is not what they believe to be manifest destiny… a Christian Nation.

or

They are uniformed.  These people either don’t follow the news or watch Fox News.  Studies have actually shown that people that rely on Fox News for all of their news, are less informed than those that watch nothing at all.  Fox can pull this off because they know people tune in to hear what they want to believe is true; something that has nothing to do with the facts.

or

They are single issue voters.  These people only care about 1 issue.  This could be a Second Amendment issue or an abortion issue of a size-of-government issue.  It could even be that the issue is “I have always voted Republican.”

I support none of these issues.  With some of these voters, I see room to work.  If you want to vote on a single issue, let’s discuss that one issue.  If you want to watch Fox News, then let’s have a debate where we both come armed with our own perspective and possibly data.

I have no interest in arguing with a racist or an Evangelical.  In my mind, they are the exact same thing.

So there you have it…the world according to Jim.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Big News Day

This just in: Stephen Hawking died yesterday.  This man revolutionized physics in a way that few have.  We should take a moment to remember him.  Science matters.  Without it…we would be ruled by theology…or some other form of fake news.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party’s investigation into Trump’s Russian collusion came out of their hole and said, “Nothing to see here, people.  Move along.”

The Democrats involved in that same investigation came out of the same hole and said, “Looks like Trump did a whole lot of colluding.”

When Mueller finishes his investigation, someone will be proved wrong.  The same Mueller that seems to be charging people in Trump’s “clan” with crimes related to Russia nearly every week.

My bet is that a whole lot of people are going to jail and a whole lot of Republicans will be losing in the midterm elections.

On the “You’re Fired!” page…

The president of the United States fired his Secretary of State…by twitter.  That’s right.  I cannot imagine a more cowardly way to do that.  However, with Trump…it somehow feels normal.  That is how low the bar it.

On the Election front…

The Democrats have three problems: (1) I follow politics and I don’t know what their platform is, (2) They need to be able to communicate their platform when, and if, they get one.  “Not Trump” should not be considered a platform.  (3) Single issue voters.

Single Issue Voters!!??

Yes.  These are the people that vote based on a single issue; usually its abortion or guns.  So, if your party is against guns, and I like guns…I vote for the other guy.  If you are anti-abortion, I vote for you if I am anti abortion.  This means that Republicans can destroy healthcare, prevent people from voting, end Medicare or Social Security or even support a president that works for Russia….just so long as they are pro-gun or pro-abortion.

The “single issue voter” is the best evidence that Democracy doesn’t work; that we are incapable of governing ourselves.

However, Churchill was right when he said, “Democracy is the worse form of government except for all of the others that have been tried.”

Up, up and away…

Jim