We

In the last century, linguistic philosophers and linguists focused in part on how language itself can mislead us.  

In Genevieve Guenther's recent THE LANGUAGE OF CLIMATE POLITICS, I found an example I understood. 

Suppose Susan Goss said, "We are all responsible for climate change." I've said that myself hundreds of times. 

"We caused climate change." But did we? 

Americans do contribute to climate change. I eat pears shipped from Mexico. The shippers use fossil fuels. 

Pear-eaters created climate change. Or did they? 

Guenther points out that when we agree that all  of us are to blame, we support an ideology that protects the deeply guilty, the fossil fuel producers and their employees and their vast network of supporters. If we are all guilty, then no one is really at fault.

But we are not equal offenders. That gets hidden by the "we."

Human scum, the oil and gas people driven by greed, are making parts of the Earth uninhabitable. They do it for money. They block needed changes. They buy all the support they need to keep drilling.

 

Oliver's

Steve Maass founded a small supermarket chain called Oliver's in Sonoma County in 1988. He started with 13 employees. Today the chain employs about 400 people, and as of November 1,  they own the whole thing. 

Maass arranged for his employees to buy him out.  He could have sold to a major chain. He chose to keep the chain local and part of the community. 

Part of why American voters elected an idiot to lead western civilization was anger at our social/economic system, which has partly failed them and their children. The idiot, of course, will fail them more profoundly.

About ten percent of Americans own 95% of our wealth. The oligarchs suck up the profits. Maass has shown us one door we could open. Let employees benefit from committed work. Let them profit, too. 

Up the Rebels

What science tells us about Irish DNA keeps getting updated. Some years back, experts told us that the Irish ended up culturally Celtic but had little to no Celtic DNA. So where did the Irish come from?

One answer is that they came from almost everywhere. The original settlers had dark skin. Four or five big waves of newcomers came after them. The lasting DNA core of the modern Irish came from a migration from the steppes of Ukraine, scientists say.  

The Loss

We elected an idiot to lead America and western civilization. He defeated a competent black woman thanks to support from a combination of white men, white women and Latino men. 

Trump's absurdly painted white skin was a factor. But Obama won election twice.  

The number one reason Trump won, according to Susan Goss, was sexism. The percentage of voters with a powerful aversion to women--to mothers, sisters, rivals, wives--isn't known. But it is big enough to elect a convicted rapist to lead western civilization. 

Cuisine

Northern Californians take pride in the French Laundry in Yountville. Some rank it the best restaurant in the United States. I have it on good authority that the mac and cheese they serve is first-rate. And if you doubt they serve mac and cheese in their $1,000 meals, think again.

But Southern California has a strong claim in some of the lower apartments in the tower of cuisine. Consider a few of the dishes invented in Los Angeles. The hot fudge sundae. The California roll. Smoothies. The French dip sandwich. The Cobb salad. Chinese chicken salad. 

The pride of San Francisco may be the Mission burrito,  invented in 1961. This burro consists of a large wheat tortilla filled with rice, beans, meat and many other fine items. It comes wrapped in shiny foil. A complete Mexican meal, the mission burrito can now be found in all the blue states.  

Jodenjacht

There are reasonable Europeans who disagree with Israel's policies, who support human rights for Palestinians, who reject Zionism. Some make a careful distinction between Jews and Israel.

And there are growing numbers of Europeans who shout or write on walls "Jodenjacht" or "kill Jews." What they have in mind is pogroms, mass slaughters of an ethnic group they call cancerous. 

 

Why I Voted

I live in California. In a sense my vote in the last election was pointless--Harris was going to win California without me or my wife, Susan.  

There was no practical reason for me to vote for president. 

I voted in early November because I remained committed to the constitutional system. By casting a ballot I agreed to the rules that make up our politcal game. I agreed to accept the outcome.  

Fascist Americans now control all branches of our federal government: supreme court, presidency, house and senate. Their goal is to create a permanent one-party state, a Turd Reich.

I don't agree to be part of that. 

  

The Revolution

Some time back I read that during the American revolution about a third of the population actively favored the democratic cause. Another third preferred to be ruled by a British king, and a third was indifferent. 

Susan Goss is not sure how to compare that to what voters prefer today. Her guess is that support for democracy has grown over the years. Today it may approach 40%.

Folly

America just elected a rapist, a felon, an old man ruled by personality disorders, to lead the western world. 

Perhaps this is America's version of Brexit. We might end up paying a steep price for an obvious folly. 

Freedom

 Who knew that democracy was so unpopular?

Fascism

Does Donald Trump hope to make America a Fascist state? Is Putin a Fascist?

A Fascist state has one viable political party and often one ruler, an authoritarian. Its capitalist economy is subject to the dictator's control. Opposition is violently suppressed. The ideology supports racism and nationalism. 

In Fascism, I once said to Susan Goss,  the outcome of elections is fixed in advance, and voting for the lesser evil is not a meaningful option.  

 

Hitler's Good Deeds

In the White House, Trump commented that Hitler did do some good things. No-one has asked him to name them, so here are two good things I've heard other people mention.  

1. As a youngster in Austria, Hitler attended grammar school with Ludwig Wittgenstein. They weren't in the same grade, so maybe they didn't know each other well. My point is that Hitler did not kill Wittgenstein as a school child. Hitler spared him, although the philosopher had some Jewish grandparents. 

2. Nearly everyone now agrees that most positive act in the dictator's life came near the end when he swallowed a cyanide capsule, then grabbed a handgun and shot Hitler in the face. 

w

The Abortion Rate

Why haven't we seen brave medical doctors going to prison for performing illegal abortions? 

A few doctors are openly breaking anti-abortion laws, and they are not being arrested. 

Roe was overturned in 2022. Since then the abortion rate in the USA has increased. 

About half the states have laws imposing penalties on doctors who perform abortions. Doctors are often unsure what is legal and what is not. 

Before death with dignity became legal, some doctors helped desperate patients die, but they did it surreptitiously. It seems likely that some doctors are secretly disobeying state anti-abortion laws today. 

We also have doctors who will stand around and watch a young woman die rather than risk breaking an anti-abortion law. These medical watchers are cowards.

I wonder if district attorneys are reluctant to risk their careers by trying abortion providers. 

This is what happens when a Supreme Court loses touch with reality.