Arguing the Case for Hanging

This insect certainly argues in favor of the restoration of hanging as the death penalty in the U.S. There ought to be a scaffold erected about every hundred mile radii where specimens such as this are hung from the neck until the crows get bold and peck at dainty little snacks.

Cold

To be a good operator in this world requires replacing stock H. Sapiens blood with ice water. Sang froid, I believe it is called. For we have many opinions, don't we, about the way things are, but opinions do get in the way, and after all, aren't we wrong some of the time? The superb operator listens to realpolitik, to the sense, not the appearance, of reality. Because reality is not as our opinions seek to make it, but rather is independent of us and our beliefs and preferences. The Universe is greater than any--or all--of us. These things I accept.

This was the reason I stayed fully invested in the United States stock market after Donald Trump became President. I sensed inflation would rise, but so would the stock market. Donald is simple, and it is not difficult to walk though his mind and lounge about on his mental furniture while deploring his atrocious taste in decor. He telegraphs everything he thinks the moment he thinks it, all the time, and is remarkably consistent, and even his many lies are transparent, for he is rather a buffoon. This makes investing easy, even with little knowledge of the market.

Just because I am making money does not mean I support Trump or the Republicans. Money is not everything to me, and I don't think it should be. Money does not equate to morality, as those right-wing Christians that adhere to the Prosperity Gospel seem to think. I know that, a hundred years ago, John D. Rockefeller helped finance the whole theology that linked Christ to the Almighty Dollar. But this idolizing of the rich has a whiff of sulfur about it.

I don't think that removing all of the safety nets from the poor and the ignorant and the stupid is a very nice thing to do. I think that there is a danger that those millions may turn extreme, rather than passing into that good Night gently and quietly. The Opiod crisis, the meth epidemic and the alt-right are warning signals from the poor. There are many guns among the people, more than in the militaries of many nations, and the right to own them is enshrined in our Bill of Rights.

The simple, ultimate and universal answer to the problems of today are both philosophical and technological. We must control the production of our new humans and optimize this production to create the very best from birth. No more defects, no more sub-par, only the very best and the very brightest. This is a very radical concept, unpalatable to many, but will be adopted by other nations such as China even if we do not. This question will decide whether democracy survives, or whether totalitarian dictatorship is the only rational and effective system of government. The United States and its people will be overtaken and enslaved in brutal servitude if we do not adopt a system of Eugenics. This is not to say that the system cannot be humane, gentle and yet effective. There is no need for human suffering or for callous or insensitive treatment of existing humans. There is only a need, and an urgent one, to improve future generations, to be better than me, than you, and better than anyone we know. The brave new world is now, and let's not let China steal it away from us.

The Splendid Serenity of the Dead

My little familiar, Fra, is angry whenever I drink. But she doesn't understand. Thinking's overrated. We drink so as not to think. Or to think less. That is all.

I think, today, people think far too much, and that is why there are problems in the world. Most problems are the result of people over-thinking.

Now, tell me, what problems do rocks have? Trees? Water? Fish? Perhaps trees and fish do have problems, after all, but the problems only result from thinking--aspiring to survival, to prosperity, to reproduction, and so forth.

Were living things to emulate the dead, and not think, then they would be equals of the dead and share in the splendid serenity of the dead.

Suffer & Die

After reading about the fraud and corruption in the new Republican tax bill, I'm persuaded the ultimate objective of the Republicans is to gut Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and basically every other government program out there. It's a rifle-butt to the teeth of the lower and middle classes, a removal of the social safety net, and a return to the way things were in the 1880's, but the change is set in slow motion, not taking effect immediately. In other words, the government is being set up for inevitable bankruptcy and failure to meet all its obligations, because not enough tax will be collected to finance everything. The giveaways to big business will just result in CEO's and investors pocketing the difference and taking it home.

All of this must delight Trump supporters, who want Evolution to take its course and weed out the weak, even if that means grandpa, aunt Suzy or their best friend, Annabelle down the street. Either they love Evolution and the bones that produces, or they don't understand the simple math, in which case, Evolution again, upon the thinker that failed to think. I asked a poor Republican once why he supported the Republicans, and he said it was because of the Abortion issue, and that that was the main, possibly the only, issue for him. Well, abortion in this case is abortion of the sick, elderly, and the marginal types. Basically, society will have a harder edge, with suffering and death being more likely outcomes, without Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid around. When folks get too old or sick to work, and don't have enough money, they will just buy a gun at the corner store, and blow out their brains. Republican Heaven!

Trump the Grump

Trump called a grieving war widow to tell her that hubby knew what he signed up for. That may be the single stupidest thing he has ever said, although there is tough competition from among the many stupid things he has said. One day a book will be published, just a list of all the stupid comments Trump made over the years. If he's the best this nation can put forward, we are in big trouble ahead. Young people look at him and think what's the bother, don't work too hard, don't study, don't care, just lie, cheat and steal, and as long as you don't get caught, you're fine, you can be President.

Republican Tax Bill

I've been reading a pretty good article on the final version of the tax bill. The BBC is really an under-rated news source for Americans. I often find it superior to anything America has to offer. WaPo comes off as too biased, as does FOX. The other television channels just do television well, but don't write anything worth reading, and their articles frequently contain spelling, grammatical and logical and factual errors. I think they let the high-school interns pen the articles. BBC is different.

To my surprise, I like the tax bill, as it effects me. I am less sure about the parts that effect others, like corporations and wealthy people. I don't feel qualified to judge. All of that is out of my league. But I will benefit, because I do not itemize on my taxes. I pay my taxes in a simple and straight-forward way, and I may miss a couple loopholes here and there, but I have never been audited, either. The Republican tax bill doubles the personal exemption, which will help me a great deal.

I support drilling for oil in ANWR, because I'm a realist. We have to get oil somewhere. Period. If not ANWR, then the Middle East, which supports terrorism. I would rather inconvenience the deer up in ANWR then give a bunch of money to Al Qaeda and ISIS. Those raghead idiots over in the Middle East do not deserve a skinny dime, all of that money should be kept here in the United States, which should always be self-sufficient where energy is concerned. The U.S. has so much going against us, due to the stupidity of our leaders, so let us at least gather together what advantages the land offers, in order to offset their stupidity a little bit.