National Public Radio

Every time I turn on NPR, I hear whining. I have gotten so that I can't stand NPR. All it ever talks about is politics, the latest Trump brouhaha or how awful white people are. Where is the science, history and culture? I thought NPR was supposed to be educational. Instead, it is just the liberal propaganda machine. And it doesn't work very well at the intended purpose. If racism is such a huge problem that it deserves all the NPR coverage, even in 2018, then it will never get fixed. I think the constant pointing of the finger at whitey is the main problem. The only real racism we see today is against white people. White people are presumed guilty, by mere fact of being white, regardless of their political beliefs, and never permitted to demonstrate their innocence, under any circumstances. Meanwhile, take a look at what has happened over in Zimbabwe, for an example of a black-majority country.

I think that NPR should focus more on science and education, because there is a real hunger and need for that. Just pressing the enrage button constantly makes people miserable and dumbs people down. I wonder what good NPR is, if that is all it ever does.

Amazon

Look at what people do, not what they say. For years, Amazon's CEO has been hyped as this great liberal figure, but in reality, Amazon treats its employees like dogs, skimping on air conditioning, salaries and benefits, and underpays the U.S. Postal Service, and gets away without paying taxes in most sales. Admittedly, the U.S. Postal Service is run by fools, all of whom should be fired for undercharging Amazon all these years. The price to deliver packages needs to be increased not today, but ten years ago. Bribery is the most likely reason the USPS has given Amazon such a princely gift, worth billions. Someone in management is being paid off. As for Amazon not paying sales tax, it should be charged, not just for future sales, but for all the past sales that it failed to charge sales tax. That would solve the financial problems of most local and state governments. Perhaps Amazon's corporate management can sacrifice their personal home and wealth to pay off the back taxes.

So this is the real reason that Amazon's owner is hyped as this great big genius. In reality, he is just a selfish, cruel tycoon very willing to take advantage of anyone and everyone. He is farther right-wing than Trump. Trump is a liberal next to Amazon. The only reason Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post was to use it as a tool against Trump, because he feared that the U.S. government might act against Amazon's selfish interests. Well, it should. Congress should pass legislation to make sure that the Postal Service is paid, not just what it needs for current costs, but to ensure that Postal employees are getting the health benefits and retirement savings that they need long-term. Postal employees are temps with no benefits, work long hours and suffer long-term hearing loss from their dilapidated jeeps. Congress should see to it that Amazon pays its fair share to local and state governments, who have been short-changed for years. How is the government supposed to get funding, when people are buying everything from Amazon and not paying a dime of sales tax?

Trump was Right about Africa

Africa is composed of s-hole countries. Are there exceptions? No, can't name a one. The latest news from the one supposedly advanced country, Kenya, is that their high court ruled they won't conduct forced anal exams of gay men. Wow, big progress. Just a bunch of savages in Africa. The amount of immigration from the blighted continent should be zero or negative. The only thing Africa contributes to the world is a hand. A hand out, that is, and always asking for more.

But I'm sure it's all the fault of whitey.

Crapple Claims It Is Made in America

Crapple's CEO claims Crapple builds its junk in the U.S. If that were even half-true, then the Iphones would say "Made in U.S.A.," but they don't, they say "Made in China." A tariff on Crapple imports would be the right approach to making Crapple change its ways. It is a Chinese company, not an American one, and should be treated as Chinese. If a company does not hire American workers, then it is not an American company, and its products are imports.

Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke is such a good writer of science fiction. His prose is clean and concise, and he has proven prescient. It is a symptom of cultural decadence that our world leaders do not read from and quote him.

Trump is entirely unacquainted with either science or scientific thought, and to be fair, the same applies to many world leaders, who view science merely as a tool for military weapons or economic gain, if they think of it at all. Elevating the bullies of the world into positions of power has had a deleterious effect upon our future prospects. Putin, Trump, Xi--and then the nitwits of Iran, North Korea, and really most all of Africa. I think there is a great case to be made for pessimism over the future of H. Sapiens, given that many of these leaders have vast arsenals, including biological, chemical and/or nuclear weapons at their disposal. Probability will run its course, and there is a distinct probability one of these nitwits will miscalculate at some point in time and set off a most regrettable chain of events.

Therefore, what is an ethical person with sense to do? Enjoy life, I suppose, and try not to dwell upon the coming end of humanity, and try to secure little pockets of knowledge and culture into safe havens that can endure, perhaps, the coming nuclear/biological/chemical Apocalypse, when vast numbers of the human race will perish in suffering and death, slowly or mercifully quickly. It is well to stockpile cans of pinto beans and dried milk, as I know many folks that do, but also stockpile books and data, because much learning could be lost when the Internet is no more, and libraries have burned to the ground.

Give a care, not just to the immediate needs of current life, the avoidance of hunger and thirst and so forth, but also to the knowledge-base of the human race. Imagine having to discover all of our science and technology all over again. Imagine being without all our fiction and prose. We could well be sent back to the Stone Age, depending on the severity of the Apocalypse. It would be well to have many treasure-chests hidden around in various locations with a wealth of knowledge.

Perhaps if all is lost, and most all our species perish, there is yet hope, if not a hundred years after, then a thousand, or even ten thousand, or a hundred thousand. I imagine a secure and timeless repository like the Pyramids of Egypt, something that can endure, in a desert perhaps, or some remote place far from the beaten path, hidden from thieves and wild animals, safe even from rot and decay, microbes, humidity and solar radiation. It is a technical problem that demands a technical solution. It would be worthwhile to invest a million dollars in securing hidey-holes around the globe for future wanderers to uncover, that our civilization might be reborn in a future age, after the radiation has died down and open spaces are habitable by human beings again.

In Education, Bigger Isn't Better

One reason there are so many school shootings is schools are huge mini-cities nowadays. The only reason is people are cheap as hell and want to maximize their investment in education by herding kids into the biggest possible cattle farm. The kids don't know each other anymore and don't much care about each other, either. Every other kid is just another zombie in a video game shoot-em-up. It is a situation that was well-designed to create mass-murderers. When folks know one another by name and know what is really going on in a small school environment, that is when you nip these problems in the bud, rather than letting them fester.