Rousseau and Dumb Donald

The latest New Yorker contains a quote from Rousseau about the British parliament. “The English people think it is free. It greatly deceives itself; it is free only during the election of members of Parliament. As soon as they are elected, the people are enslaved and count for nothing.”

I haven’t studied Rousseau—I’ve read he liked to expose his genitalia to passing women, who were, in his view, “specially made to please man.” But don’t some of us believe that, once an election ends, we count for nothing? Certainly the followers of Dumb Donald Trump feel that. I suspect that many Latinos and Black Lives Matters activists might agree. Even Henry Adams, directly descended from two Presidents and one Speaker of the House, wrote that a friend in power is a friend lost. Rousseau thought that the situation was an inevitable result of how our capitalist representative democracies work. And here we are. 

Dumb Donald with his fists up

Yesterday Dumb Donald Trump, a hulking, old, unhinged geezer, told the world on TV that he wanted badly to punch former Mayor Bloomberg in the head. Bloomberg is twice as smart as Dumb Donald and half as big. I suspect in a fist fight he'd stomp on Dumb Donald's foot and make him run home screaming for momma. But what kind of Presidential candidate is this? Dumb Donald has the attention span of a bucket of fat. He can't sit still. He can't read three sentences in a row. If he hadn't been born in a silver bed, he'd be sleeping under a tree along a rails-to-trails conversion. We have never seen his like get nominated before. The sorry thing is that he did not invent the voters who support him. They have always been there, waiting for someone with cracks in his mind to lead them. 

Media Matters

You may recall that after the first Nixon/Kennedy debate, people who watched on TV thought Kennedy had won and people who listened on the radio thought Nixon had won. Nixon had been ill, and he looked it. Something a little like that happened to me this week. I was on the road when Hillary gave her speech. I heard it on the radio, and I thought it was excellent. Later I saw parts of it on TV, and it seemed routine. The difference was marked, and I don't know why.

The Best Prepared Candidate for President

I think that the best prepared candidate in our history was James Madison, the father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He served as the leader of the House of Representatives and later, for eight years, as Secretary of state for Thomas Jefferson.  

Number two was probably John Quincy Adams. His father had been President. John Quincy Adams served in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and as Secretary of State. In that capacity he and Great Britain settled the border with Canada. He negotiated with Spain for the annexation of Florida and drafted the Monroe Doctrine. He also negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. 

Dancing Backwards

The claim that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did but backwards in heels is an old one. It's been traced to a Neanderthal  village 30,000 years ago, found on the wall of a large cave in France, and it has remained  popular since. This week alone, I have heard it 174 times, once in a Presidential address. Of course, strictly speaking, it's not true. Astaire created the dances. Rogers did not. Astaire did all sorts of acrobatic leaps and flips. Rogers did not. 

I know that Hillary, not Donald, must be our next President. But let's retire the old Ginger story and find a new way to express the superiority of women. 

The Obamas and the Clintons

In the last week we've heard from many Democratic speakers. I haven't listened to any of the speeches from start to finish--I have things to do--but I've been considering who speaks well and why. I refer to Michelle, Barack, Bill and Hillary. 

The Obamas are--to my way to thinking-- conventional thinkers, and you never get a new idea from them. But they are the real thing, authentically conventional, authentically Christian in the best sense, genuinely and earnestly centrist.  They speak with brilliant conviction; they mean what they say. 

Bill Clinton is excellent at faking authenticity and empathy, so skilled that he's on his way to a half-billion dollars. A Snopes-like figure, he has occasional moments of authenticity--that's when people cringe. The real Bill is not a pretty sight. Hillary Clinton confines herself, with great discipline, to intelligent talking points. She's not an interesting speaker, but compared to the typical pro, she's less apt to lie. At worst she may exaggerate or take something out of context. On the rare occasions when she allows herself to be herself, she becomes more likable. 

(Also on FB)

The Naked Chomsky

When I was young, academic friends told me that Noam Chomsky was the man. He had, they told me, an answer  to a central question: What made humans the masters of language? Before Chomsky, that had been a mystery. Chomsky had figured it out. Chomsky, they said, might well be the greatest thinker the world had yet produced. 

Chomsky’s argument was that language was not something you learned. Instead, you were born with a built-in “language organ” that thumped away in your brain the way your heart thumped in your chest. This physical organ conveyed  “deep structure”   and “universal grammar” and had a “language acquisition device.” The organ was physical and biological. 

In short, Chomsky offered a physical explanation for how humans generate languages. He was turning linguistics into a real science. 

What struck me immediately was that the organ Chomsky had discovered was imaginary.  

Despite this minor flaw in his argument, Chomsky dominated American linguistics for the next 50 years. If you wanted to be a professor of linguistics in the United States, you were trained in Chomsky, you upheld Chomsky's imaginary organ and you wrote for publication variations on Chomsky.  

Chomsky was a brilliant spokesperson, and when he came out against the Vietnam War he became doubly famous. His opposition to the war made his imaginary organ more central  in linguistics departments, and his fame in the Untied States  as the greatest linguist in history made his antiwar message more compelling. Chomsky became—for Americans—as illustrious as Plato and Tolstoy combined. (On other continents, other thinkers led linguistics.)

Eventually Chomsky dropped his big theory, the one my friends had sworn by, and came up with a second big theory, which was, unfortunately, soon refuted by people looking at actual facts. Today Chomsky’s official position is that the physical basis for how we acquire language is a mystery.

That's 50 years of American linguistics we won't get back. The question I ask is why can't we see nudity when the emperor has no clothes? 

Gary Goss
http://www.garygossblog.blogspot.com/

Recess Appointments

According to some radical right blogs, if the Senate is not in session, the President can make recess appointments without the Senate's consent. That's why the Republicans have kept the Senate continually in session for years. But the Senate is not now in session. Many senators went to a convention; others, to visit hookers. 

 I don't know if the nutters are right about this. Why would they be? Or is something interesting  about to happen? 

Another Chump

The Republican candidate for Vice-President recently stated that he was a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order. He was, of course, mistaken.. Religion, political philosophy and party platforms are three examples of wordage. The candidate is actually a husband, a father and a friend, in that order, or I hope he is. I hope he values his wife more than party loyalty (and he probably does). He’s kidding himself. He has no idea what his real priorities are. 

I’ve already forgotten this chump’s name—who remembers the names of losing Vice-Presidential candidates?  

Police Deaths Decline

Today the newspaper printed some interesting statistics. During  President Reagan's eight years in office about 90 to 100 police officers were killed each year, and during Obama's two terms about 60 officers a year have been killed. I don't have the facts, but I am fairly sure that countries like Japan, Great Britain, France and Germany lose a few officers each year and in good years lose no one. I don't believe that reducing the number of American officers killed by 30% is good enough, but obviously we have been doing something better. What is it? Why has the number declined that much?  What can we learn from this?  Why aren't our leaders talking about it?

A Youthful Misstep

You might want to know why Michelle Obama agreed to write a convention speech for Donald Trump’s wife, Malarky. What I understand is that Michelle felt sorry for Malarky because of her embarrassing youthful misstep.  As you know, anyone--ranging from uncle to schoolchild-- can look up Malarky on the ‘net and see her unbosoming herself. 

I am now in a position to testify that Trump’s potential First Lady is actually an honest-to-God woman. Donald, of course, has been enraged by the whole episode; Seth Meyers reported exclusively last night that Trump has taken the advice of Chris Mathews and fired Michelle Obama.  Watch this space. 

(also on FB)

Second Rate

Today I needed a same-day appointment with my doctor. I called several times and could not get through. As instructed, I left a message. No one phoned me back. This morning I was informed that my rental insurance had lapsed, so I called my agent. On the phone I learned that I actually did have paid-up insurance, but for unknown reasons my insurance company was keeping that fact to themselves. I walked to the apartment's business office and got their fax number so my insurance company could make good on their lapse. 

Here's the thing.  Some of the businesses I deal with get nothing done right the first time. I have tried to guess why. Some businesses are understaffed to save money. The clerks are underpaid to save money, and the business hires mediocre staff that turns over rapidly, so no one really masters a job or has any reason to care. 

 I lost my passport in a fire, so I went down to the post office to fill out some papers and have a photo taken for a replacement passport. I paid up and sent all that in. Six weeks later I received  a notification from the State Department that the photo--taken by the government--was too overexposed. I returned to the post office, got another photo and mailed it in. There has been no response. I no longer expect to get a passport. Maybe next year I will try again. 

Payback

You hear a lot of pseudo-smart analyses on TV. I’m thinking of Brian Williams’ comment after the murder of five police officers in Dallas that what happened there was ironic. Irony is saying something to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning. Brian Williams doesn’t get what the word “irony” means. Three is too many syllables.  Another doofus is David Brooks. Today he blamed the unspeakable murders in France on “the dark side of globalization.” 

Yeah, right, I said ironically. I’m not going to defend unspeakable murders by ISIS males who can’t interest women. If I could push a button and erase all of them from the planet, I’d push the button. But these suicidal maniacs haven’t surfaced because of globalization. In part they represent their own personal frustrations. More important, they are reacting against a thousand years of imperialism. They come from cultures that have been subjugated so the North can get at their natural resources. That has been going on for centuries, and no end is in sight. The murderers—warped beyond the point where they murder children one at a time—want payback.  Why not admit it?

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Ruth and the Truth

In 2000 the Republican members of the Supreme Court made George W. Bush President of the United States after he had lost the election. The reward for installing an incompetent rejected by voters was a deep recession and an enflamed Middle East. Today we have only eight people on the Court because a Republican Senate will not consider ruling on a nominee made by an Democratic President. Maybe more to the point, each of the eight judges on the current Court is a secret voter with a secret bias, half-hidden from the nation, in the Presidential election coming in November.  I’ve know dogs who were more impartial. In short, everyone with her own brain understands that the Supreme Court is supremely political, but Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been forced to apologize for telling the truth about Donald Trump, a sociopath. According to hypocrites, the judge lost her right to free speech—which she used to defend her country from catastrophe—when she went on the Court. The always priggish New York Times, in support of the absurd myth that the Supremes are above politics, was one of hypocrites calling for this apology. They made the judge shut up. Shame on them.

Black Lives Matter, Too

At this point we should be supporting Black Lives Matter. There are a few folks who read the slogan as "only black lives matter."  That doesn't make a good slogan, does it?  The right way to read it is "black lives matter, too."  We see incidents on the news where black lives are not valued; we need, obviously,  to get beyond that and beyond slavery, Jim Crow and voter suppression.  

Pension or Prison?

Our local newspaper, the Corporate Democrat, is known for its despicable editorials, but that’s a little unfair. In Sunday’s paper the editors called again for cutting back the pensions offered to county workers. Pensions are “continuing to eat into funds needed for such things as road repair and public safety.” That makes sense once you understand that the richest country in world history cannot afford both pensions for public workers and road repair. It’s one or the other. Public safety is another issue. How can we afford to hire deputy sheriffs if we continue to give pensions to retiring deputy sheriffs?

The solution to this problem is obvious . We should convert pension plans into prison terms. When county workers retire we can arrest and try them for loitering  and commit them to prison campuses for life. Once imprisoned the aged workers will be guaranteed food, clothing, shelter and the right to death with dignity. This plan deserves support from all classes of people. The rich will save on taxes. Many members of the building trades will find useful employment constructing the holding campuses, and there will be plenty of jobs for guards. That might sound as if we’d be creating more government workers, but when a guard retires, she will simply turn in her badge and gun and put on a prisoner’s grey uniform and mingle with the other old and useless inmates. Everyone wins. 

Color

We’ve had a week of death, nearly all of it race-related. What can we do now? 

There are African-Americans who want nothing more to do with white folks. I knew a professor who didn't allow white folks in his home, because they made him feel uncomfortable. He couldn’t relax and be himself around people with pale skin (and white privileges). Black separatists and back-to-Africa movements aren’t new. There once was a town in the Santa Paula area that was entirely black. That’s fair, and I don’t go where I’m not wanted.

At the end of his life, William Faulkner was writing that the long term solution to American racism was intermarriage. Eventually we will all be a tan color like President Obama. Given climate change in  America, that is a twice-useful idea. In the meantime, my view is that adults of good will might want to team up and that we should care about the feelings of each individual person we encounter, even if her skin is a different color.

Terror In Dallas

Last night an assassin murdered five white police officers during a peaceful protest in Dallas. Our police are always walking targets for a sniper or any coward who hides in the night to shoot a man or woman in the back. Taking that risk is part of an officer’s job. 

Everyone might not  know that many big city police departments require recruits to have at least two-year college degrees. Becoming a sergeant often requires a bachelor’s degree. My experience in teaching police officers was that they were good students and good friends and quick to help others. And they were interesting—they had astonishing stories to tell. On the street, they might be wary or unpleasant, not schooled enough in how to reduce conflict. Women officers seem better at conflict reduction, so we know it can be done. But it can’t be done with a sniper who shoots from a dark  corner. 

We are left to consider the five murder victims in Dallas, unknown men taken from their families because of the color of their uniforms and the color of their skin. The government might not call that terrorism, but I do. 

Hillary's Emails

Today I watched a half hour of the House committee's emergency hearing about the FBI decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton. About half the time I was looking at some loathsome creep making an argument too stupid to repeat. What Clinton did was not criminal. What Gen. Petraeus did was criminal because he sent classified material to someone not in the government (to his girlfriend who was writing a book about him). Clinton's communications were with other members of the United States government, not to the Chinese or Russian governments. 

This is a fake scandal. The worst we can say about Hillary is that the secretary of state was unwise to use a private server, and that we don't know why she did it. My guess is that the Clintons are a little paranoid, which has made them obsessively secretive; of course, they do have genuine political enemies of a sort that make human people's skin crawl. What it comes down to is this. The Republicans and the Clintons have engaged in a 20-year-long battle over who deserves the Oligarchy's backing, and few things get worse than siblings fighting over an inheritance.

Again? Already?

Yesterday I wrote about a video we saw on TV of a police officer executing a helpless African-American as he lay pinned to the ground. That happened on Tuesday. On Wednesday it happened again in another state. A young black man, apparently a model citizen, was executed by a police officer in front of his girlfriend and her young daughter, all of this caught on streaming video by the girlfriend. The dead man had a permit to carry a gun, for all the good that does. My wife noted that black people have learned to turn  the video on the instant an officer approaches them. That way they can record the deaths of one another. 


From yesterday:

"The white to bear arms is a fundamental American principle. We were reminded of this on television today. We watched two videos of several police officers pinning a black man to the ground, holding his arms, and then someone noticed that the black man had a gun in his pocket, so they shot him, killed him as he lay there on his back. The Second Amendment doesn’t apply to African-Americans." 

The White To Bear Arms

The white to bear arms is a fundamental American principle. We were reminded of this on television today. We watched two videos of several police officers pinning a black man to the ground, holding his arms, and then someone noticed that the black man had a gun in his pocket, so they shot him, killed him as he lay there on his back. The Second Amendment doesn’t apply to African-Americans. 

Attention, America

Since childhood I have been told that our American attention span has been shrinking rapidly because we spend so much time reading novels, talking on the phone, going to movies, listening to the radio, watching television, snap-chatting on computers and smart phones or walking to the bathroom. As far as I can tell, though, each of us has a long attention span when engaged in something that interests us. Maybe the human attention span is determined by DNA and has not changed much in the last 100,000 years. I see my ancient ancestor emerging from a cave with her eyes darting in six directions, looking for bears and snakes and suddenly remembering that she forgot to put her hat on.

Bang, Bang

Yesterday Gov. Brown signed into law six gun-control bills and vetoed five others. Marc Levine, a member of the state assembly, said that “military assault weapons have no place on our streets.”  I’m uncertain how to define “military assault weapons” but I understand that long guns (rifles and such) account for 3% of all deaths by firearms in the United States. Reducing gun deaths even a little is worthwhile. Meanwhile 97% of gun deaths are associated with handguns. Bang, bang.