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Dispatches From Dystopia

~ "What man by worrying can add one cubit to his span of years?"

Dispatches From Dystopia

Category Archives: American History

Peach Excursion

25 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by David in Aesthetics, American History, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#Charlottesville_Virginia

We did go buy peaches in the mountains. We found the nearest convenient mountain with a peach orchard, Carter’s Mountain Orchard.

It is on the East side of Charlottesville,very close to where famous slaveholding, political philosopher, architect, and Dead White Man Thomas Jefferson built his residence, the architectural gem, Monticello. I took a picture of Charlottesville and, if you know what to look for and where to look, you can see the dome of the Rotunda, another Jeffersonian desugn.

The peaches are great. We bought some corn, squash and cucumbers too. This orchard offers a “pick your own” option that we did not exercise. Had we three or four children to wear out, we would have picked our own, actually had them do the picking.

On the other hand, Charlottesville is a gigantic blob of sprawl spread across Rte 29 for about 20 miles. Yuck.

The University In The Information Age

11 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by David in Politics

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#Universities, freedom

Do people still call our current time by this pompous name? Putting a binary coding (not binary that way, different rant) on all that can be seen, heard and recorded gives you information, of sorts. I’m not deriding that classification and organisation of the world. But it requires people who need the world organized in such a way. Suppose you have no need of a binary universe, like a Kalahari bushman, or a Mongolian goat herder? But with the ever expanding digitized universe comes control and power. It follows that autonomy from the digital world creates gaps in the control of the digital masters. Now I’m neither a Luddite nor do I advocate an unrealistic primitivism, but what institutions exist to counterbalance the tech giants? These businesses appear motivated at their core by money and the evermore sinister megalomania of their founders, owners, and top executives.

I’m not really interested in giving the tech plutocrats any more power than they have already. But with every election, this is taking place. High technology tycoons have ready partners with politicians, also blatantly hungry for power. They also have ready accomplices with the officials of the university establishments, both public or private (with a few exceptions). The modern university’s need for ever more money makes the university little more than a satrapy, the academic bureaucrats and professors, the vassals, of the government agencies(through grants), tech companies,and individuals who give them money. The legislature, through its appropriations has devolved into merely another funder. President Ryan, at the University of Virginia, recently unveiled plans for a digital, information science college. Directly, it will produce more qualified workers for the technology field. It will also produce yet another dependent class of workers, perhaps more affluent and better educated than a nineteenth century millhand, but still carrying the risk of being dependent on the fortunes, whims and vicissitudes of an industry. The textile manufacturers of the past or high tech digital industries of the present day suggest merely a distinction with no difference.

Thomas Jefferson is being vilified these days because he owned slaves. His position around slavery is more complex than what his detractors suggest. I suspect the real reason he is “ungood”, in Newspeak terms, goes beyond his slaveholding, but in his social and economic vision.

Jefferson had a vision of a self-sufficient yeoman class, who were independent of the monied interests and their political allies. The powerful could control the independent factions by manipulating their economic environment. Look at a railroad setting freight rates in the nineteenth century, with no free market alternatives to curb their power.*

Senator Kaine and Senator Warner, in Virginia, can scare the civil servants, uniformed service members or federal contractors with the specter of a conservative or libertarian out to eliminate their job, military mission, or contract. They use code phrases like “strong defense” or “supporting military families”, undoubtedly worthy purposes, to maintain both their own power and the size of government. Other worthy and necessary purposes keeping government big are highways and education. The administrative state needs government employees and government contractors, who will always fall prey to the political bully boy/girl. I’m not suggesting merely derailing the gravy train. Rather, I’m saying take up the track, just as railroads abandon obsolete, disused, and,therefore, expensive lines. Thriving economies have a dynamism to them. Shackling them to government or to privileged industries with the risk of ossification and obsolescence hinders that dynamism. The counter balance demands citizens who see beyond a job or an industry. And it is a delicate balance, requiring the discerning skills of a broadly educated citizenry, unfettered to any potentially stifling industry.

At its core is a conflict. Politicians and their financial backers want the economy and the government to grow, Thus the university has morphed into a trade school. Some new graduates will get jobs in government. Alternatively, the prospective college graduate/ employee finds work in an industry (often “high tech”), whose owners regularly and overwhelmingly support politicians who advocate for their agendas. They conflate the needs and values of, say, an Amazon, with the greater public good. The tech giants have shown with increasing frequency that their corporate “cultures” are monolithically authoritarian and leftist, holding political, social or religious conservatives in disdain, if not outright contempt. An employee who must conform to the corporate culture to practice their skill is not free.

All this “education” for work in the administrative state or private sector behemoth creates a dependent or subservient class that would be anathema to visionaries of a free society, people like Jefferson. Higher education has the challenge of educating a free people, not evermore sophisticated serfs. And this challenge to educate independent critical thinkers is not new. Paradigms of conformity have always existed, and always it is necessary to assess the value of these paradigms. Transcendent standards and ideals must be studied.The studies comprise the liberal arts and sciences. It would do well to study tbese disciplines independent of a Marxist analysis.

In the political realm, I would urge voters to make university funding and overview priority issues in the upcoming election cycles. That means seriously looking at just what colleges are up to. That means using funding and the student loan programs to maintain universities as institutions dedicated to the free exchange of ideas. Demand the college presidents go before the legislative bodies to justify their institutions’ existence. The legislatures, while they still can exert a modicum of restraint on the public college, should demand full disclosure of the “partnerships” between the University and contemporary tech companies. If they are reticent to disclose, use the subpoena power. Have tbe University presidents explain why they turn a blind eye to the leftist gangs and their excesses. Have them explain why cronies of Democratic politicians get teaching jobs and conservatives working in Republican Administrations don’t. Have them justify the tenure systems that keeps Marxist ideologues employed in perpetuity, all in the name of “academic freedom”, while, at the same time, they seek to repress dissent. Look no further than the academic monoculture that decries “white male privilege” and villifies Jefferson, to name just one of their bête noir.

The voters can stop this impending dystopia. The politicians and academic officials won’t.

* The exorbitant unchecked rates (power) of the railroads was counterbalanced by a robust government response at the time. So I’m not advocating a toothless lion for government.

“Do-Overs”

22 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by David in American History, loneliness, sleep, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

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#cricket, #Nostalgia

I just saw a headline regarding England’s loss to Sri Lanka in the ICC World Cup match of 21 June. Somebody was grousing about one particular player. England’s captain Eoin Morgan refused to make Mooen Ali the scapegoat for England’s loss. (He is the Captain, for Heaven’s sake. If he won’t stand up for his mates, he has no business being the Captain.)

Morgan Refuses To Blame Mooen For Collapse

“We didn’t deserve to win.”

That pretty much said it all. But somehow, some way, there has to be somebody to blame. Oh please. I’m on my way to becoming an ex-fan of cricket. OK. Stupid commentary is as popular as Sport itself.

That said. It is 2:19 AM. I couldn’t get to sleep. Maybe I’m jazzed up from working out. But last night (Thursday night/Friday morning) I worked out at the same time. Sleep was not a problem. But tonight, sleep had yet to come.

I came back downstairs, put the clean dishes away, moved the dirty dishes from sink to dishwasher. Now I am watching an English urban explorer show us a disused railway line neat Manchester. His Midlands accent is thick enough to slice. But he’s better than anybody on American television.

The people trekking about the countryside in England, America, Ukraine, and other places with metal detectors, or just a simple webcam on a “selfie” stick talking about their corner of the world do so much for improving my understanding of the world. They are true teachers, in my opinion.

I suppose what’s up with me is a true sadness about modern times. So much has been discarded. Some of it, maybe even most of the machines of the past, were obsolete, yet not totally. A passenger train was/is a dandy way to get somewhere. Nostalgia is about the pain of loss. “Progress” is a highly subjective term.

The Grand Budapest Hotel, that delightful film of a few years back was about mourning a lost world. In its fictional way, it was more honest than another film nostalgic for a lost world, Gone With The Wind. The antebellum South was a cruel and brutal world. We all know that. Yet Vivien Leigh and Hattie McDaniel were damn good actresses. They could con us into thinking it wasn’t.

Maybe what we really want in life are “do-overs”. We hope that one day we’ll get it right. The “it” can be a marriage, Thanksgiving Dinner, the England vs. Sri Lanka ODI limited overs match. Sometimes, I think the mind doesn’t know the difference among them. Nor does it care.

Super Rant

07 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by David in American History, Modernism, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#abortion, #globalism

Well shucks, I am still awake. I have a cold pack on my shoulder. I’m watching old cartoons on YouTube. I fixed tacos tonight. From a kit. To tell you the truth, they weren’t bad. I fixed J’s lunch. Tuna salad, mixed fruit compote, some snacks, like cookies,store bought, high end Pepperidge Farm.

Every time I watch the Democratic politicians, I see men and women, whose world is falling apart and they have no way to stop it. I am reminded of then Alabama Governor George Wallace, also a Democrat, standing in a doorway to block integration of the University of Alabama. I am reminded of the Soviet military trying to stop the collapse of the Communist dictatorship in a failed coup thwarted by Boris Yeltsin.

I also think of the brave forgotten Chinese student who tried to stare down a tank in Tienamen Square in 1989. Yeah, sometimes raw naked power still wins. And the Communist state survives in China, ironically supported by global capitalists, and the Holy See of Cardinal Bergoglio (Pope Francis).

It is a crazy world and the narratives that CNN or The New York Times, among others, try to promote as fact are failing to gain traction. People don’t accept what they present as fact without question. Scepticism reigns. And as more of the “Russia collusion” story is shown to be a fabrication, the Democratic Leadership is resorting to bluster and gesture, like their deceased forbearer George Corley Wallace.

The Götterdämmerung of American liberal progressivism is happening now. The repudiation of abortion by Millenials, while pro-choice politicians, like Andrew Cuomo, who support third trimester abortions, is one example. Consider,for example, the success of the film Unplanned or the pro-life rally recently held in Times Square. The liberal progressive decline goes beyond abortion, but abortion reflects so much. China has all but admitted that their “One Child Policy”, that has abortion as the keystone, has set the stage for a demographic collapse. In simplest terms, the abortion ethos is a prescription for cultural extinction, if not other iterations .

What is happening in both the United States and the world at large doesn’t fit the globalist paradigms promoted since the end of World War Two. The global deliberative body, the United Nations, or extranational ruling polities like the European Union are declining. National sovereignty has renewed support among many nations in Europe, Hungary, Poland, Italy, to name three.

The rhetoric used to besmirch the critics of globalism, “right wing populists”, for example, doesn’t turn people away from nationalist parties with the power they once did.

Oblivion is a long road. And a slow trek.

Power

21 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by David in Politics

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

#Money, #Public Debt

There is a story, perhaps apocryphal but I doubt it, that former House Speaker, Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, when asked what he missed most about holding elected office, replied with two words, “The power.”

This is what politics is all about. Power. That is how friends are rewarded, enemies punished.

So whenever some politician talks about “public service”, I immediately know he or she is lying. How many politicians go to City Hall, the State House, or Congress with the intention of putting limits on their power? Very few, I fancy.

And human behavior has changed very little since 1787, when those much-maligned “dead white men” outlined a model for governance that defined, delineated, and limited the power of government.

Fool proof, almost. Except for the money part. Limited government meant the economy could and would grow independently of the hand and control of government. Then the politicians discovered that not only could they tax an always resistant populace, but they could borrow from  unbelievably wealthy individuals and banks and distribute this largesse through contracts, grants, and handouts to corporations, institutions, and individuals. The rich liked the interest income and relative safety of the loans.The politicians could buy loyalty and with that loyalty purchased with government funds came power. Power became entrenched. Robert Byrd (D-WV) made sure federal money went to West Virginia and West Virginians kept re-electing him.

The trick, for the politician, is to make one’s self look noble while doing this. The politician is merely “addressing the needs of his constituents”. Yep. You betcha. In Virginia, for example, the politicians are strong advocates for national defense. This keeps people in the Tidewater area and the DC suburbs employed and more than a few get rich. After all, we need national defense. And they keep voting for incumbents.

It also helps to buy off the artists, writers, performers, composers, and actors, under the public-spirited heading of  “funding for the Arts”. It worked for Roosevelt in the New Deal. The artist types want to be in the vanguard, so they sell their integrity to be allied with “progressive” politicians.

Anybody who comes along wanting to disturb this dynamic will be vilified.

That’s all I am going to say.

Interest On National Debt

29 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by David in American History, Politics

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

The National Debt

I just heard a Congressmember state that in the Federal Government Fiscal Year ending on 30 September 2018, $500 Billion was spent on Interest on the National Debt, while the Federal Government spent $50 Billion on transportation in the same budget. Ten times as much.

This is the uncomfortable and inconvenient truth about the budget. Spending is more and more about paying interest on the debt. It will become worse as long as the Federal Government spends more than it collects in taxes.

Do you want to blame someone? We are the ones who expect the government to allocate money it doesn’t have to fund a plethora of programs people clamor for. Blame yourself.

Birthdays

21 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by David in American History, Depression

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Birthday

Today is my birthday. I am 68 today. I remember 50 years ago, when I turned 18, I went to register for Selective Service (the draft). Richard Nixon was also inaugurated, because January 20 fell on a Sunday that year.

Today I’m going to the doctor to see if I have my diabetes under control with diet and exercise. I lost 25 pounds since my last doctor visit. We shall see.

I feel kind of sad today, not because I’m older, just sad. Too much negativity out there. It is 4:34 AM right now, Eastern Time U.S. I haven’t slept well. It is cold and when it gets cold, the bedroom overheats. Then I wake up.

Negativity. Funny how I cited the atmosphere of negativity in our culture today when I opened with the Nixon Inauguration. That was truly a negative time. I can’t say what era is worse, the age of Nixon or that of Trump. Distinctions like that are very subjective. I will say that the era of Nixon was before the introduction of SSRI antidepression medications. I was chronically depressed back then. At least now I’m not depressed all the time.

I have also given up on the childish notion that humanity is making progress, or, at least, should be. I can say there are positive changes, like the eradication of small pox. But our marvelous digital age that allows me to share this blog with you also means I am constantly under surveillance, not by the government, but by internet marketers. I sign up for emails from T J Maxx and I get deluged with ads from T J Maxx and its related companies on YouTube. When I watch a lot of Russian movies, I see ads from Money Gram. Privacy is dead.

I told you I was sad. Now I think I know why, at least in part,

Working My Way Back

06 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by David in American History, Exercise/ Fitness, food

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#GHWBush

I spent a good part of the day watching President George Herbert Walker Bush’s funeral. It was dignified, and, I believe, an accurate reflection of the man.

After the funeral I went to pay a bill. Then I went swimming. I wasn’t all that eager to go, but I saw that my best time to go was right at that moment. So I went.

I was greatly concerned, about six weeks ago, that I was headed toward some inevitable geriatric decline. But no! It isn’t happening. I have, since October 30, lost eighteen pounds (8.16 KG, or 1.29 stone). I am grateful to weigh under 200lb now.

Swimming today was most gratifying. I swam 2050 meters faster than Monday by a full 2 min 12 sec.

So when I looked at GHWB’s life today, the great lesson for me is that I don’t have to limit my goals or aspirations just because I’m getting older.

The dark phase of this year wherein I “sentenced” myself to be miserable is over. It isn’t worth it. No one is living “rent free” in my head any more.

Doctor, Doctor Tell Me The News

24 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by David in American History, Health Issues, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#JFK. #LBJ

I have had both my medical appointments. The good news is that my back has not deteriorated since the surgery three years ago. The not-so-good news is I have arthritis in my left hip. The calcium deposit in the socket is clearly visible. That’s actually good news because it tells me why I have pain in my left hip.The best course of action and plan for treatment is back to physical therapy. I am happy about this too. PT has brought good results in the past.

Today’s internist visit was uneventful, but the blood work isn’t back. I’m not particularly worried, however. I received a pneumonia vaccination today. That has me feeling a little unwell, but I often respond to vaccinations in this way.

J and I had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. We like the food and the wait staff. Since I wasn’t feeling well, J took me hope whilst she went shopping. I lay down for a while.

I’m reading a book about the John F. Kennedy assassination, The Man Who Killed Kennedy. The Case Against LBJ. by Roger Stone and Mike Colapietro. (Skyhorse Publishing, 2013). For those of you who weren’t around fifty years ago, LBJ refers to President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Kennedy’s successor.

The Kennedy assassination is an American obsession; The Warren Report, (the “official” explanation) has had sceptics ever since its publication. Time has only added more disbelievers to their ranks. Nearly all of the popular theories disputing the Warren Commission absolve Lee Harvey Oswald of any guilt in the killing and attribute the murder to a joint venture of organized crime and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Both organizations had powerful motives to kill The President, such as the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961. Kennedy refused to aid the CIA sponsored Anti-Castro rebels. Organized crime felt that, while they aided the election of JFK, particularly in Chicago, they felt betrayed when Attorney General Robert Kennedy (JFK’s brother) began a vigorous campaign against the Mob. Johnson figures into the story because of a long history of corruption. Two scandals involving him were about to break in the media at the time of the assassination. Many of these legends all sound too outlandish to be believed, but much of what supports the conspiracy “theories” is fact.

The legacy of the assassination remains with us today. The idea of a “deep state” working outside of the governing political party(ies) are in the back story of the JFK assassination. The CIA had been functioning with little oversight, from any branch of government, since it’s creation in the late 1940’s, At the time of the JFK murder, we saw the FBI engaged in domestic intelligence gathering on any American politician or public figure whom its Director, J Edgar Hoover, did not like. The close relationship between Hoover and Johnson fostered a quid pro quo that allowed Hoover to stay in power after the mandatory retirement age, whole Hoover fed Johnson with material for political blackmail.

Within eighteen months of the Kennedy assassination came the introduction of American ground troops into Vietnam. LBJ’s judgment about the war was clouded by a corrupt relationship with defense contractors, who profited from the war (and, by implication, gave Johnson kickbacks). It was an ugly era in American History,

Mark Twain Quote 

01 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by David in American History, Animal Baby Cuteness, Big Business

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Mark Twain

“Show me where a man gets his corn pone and I‘ll tell you what his opinions are.”

To those of you with gender issues substitute “person” for “man”. 

Corn pone was a very basic food for people who grew up on the frontier West, as Twain did. Basically it’s corn bread.

Next consider everything said by every, and I mean every, journalist and news talking head in the country, from Wolf Blitzer to Sean Hannity. 

Follow that consideration up by asking why the information technology companies never run afoul of the antitrust laws. Does the money they give to the politicians affect their treatment by the Antitrust Division of the DOJ?

Happy New Year.  

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