Fear of terrorists put to good use

Oh, boy, does TPP love Tom Tomorrow! One of the worst aspects of USA culture is its fear of what might happen, no matter how remote, or how unlikely they are to be harmed.  TT nails it.

A Mirror on American Culture

The Phactor does not like most politicians, but shooting them is not right, and not a solution to any problem. At such times more citizens of the USA need to see ourselves as others see us. One of the unlikeable things about politicians is that very few are brave enough to tell it like it is; most tell people what they want to hear even if it means telling out right lies. Not very many people in the USA have lived overseas; many travel to other countries, but most often in ways that isolate them from the local culture and people. You don’t get a sense of the world by using taxi drivers, baggage handlers, and tour guides as exemplars of another culture. The Phactor has many well-traveled friends who always go on tours so they never have to “deal” with people. Even worse tours are well scripted travel and usually overly scheduled travel; you just can’t poke around enough or take more time if you find something interesting, or if all you want to do is sit in a café with a drink and watch the passers-by. As a university professor not only do we have many opportunities for significant overseas travel, we also come into contact with many people of foreign birth, many are students, some become colleagues, but they offer diverse perspectives, and often thoughtful perspectives, real insights, on the peculiarities of our culture, things that too many 'Mercans think of as normal SOP that other people find incomprehensible, like our county's love of soft doughy bread. People in the USA suffer in part from the problem of being a citizen of a large country with a very homogeneous culture, at least on a superficial level, where you can drive 3000 miles and always be able to speak the same language, and if they don’t speak our version of English, well, they damned well ought to because they’re in “our” country after all, and you want to super size those fries? So that’s why different perspectives are so important. Generally when you have in depth discussions about world issues in other countries you end up being down right “un-American” by apologizing for exporting the worst aspects of our culture and the actions of our government. This is important because the rest of the world can be right, and the USA wrong.

Predictions for 2011 - Divide between rich and poor will increase

It hard to believe what can be accomplished in a great country like the USA; you can become wealthy and enjoy the fruits of your labors. But one thing seems to be missing and the thought occurred to me while walking home from campus. How wonderful that you own a house or apartment house, but does that not include responsibilities as well? And one such responsibility would be to shovel your sidewalk clear of snow. In a similar manner you may well ask what are the responsibilities that come with great wealth? In the past 30 years, and especially in the last decade, the gap between the richest and poorest has grown ever wider, and yet the political policies that not only allow this, but promote this, are arguably supported by the majority of citizens because they vote for politicians who have produced this inequity of wealth while at the same time placing more and more of the citizenry, nearly the majority, into the poor category. Why vote for people who continue to hose you? It would seem that social issues provide the glue that binds and blinds people to economic policies that do not help them at all. And as Sam Harris points out so well, the rich have never had it better. If Reagan trickle down economics were going to work, by this time you would certainly know it. All the data indicate this is a falsified economic hypothesis, and yet still the cry is "tax cuts, tax cuts". For a very small % of our citizens, 2011 will be a very good year. So until more people figure this out, there will be more of the same.

Congratulations - Award Winning Republicans!

Congratulations to Republicans; this is a richly deserved award. Yes, the Politifact website has awarded them the Lie-of-the-Year for the phrase “government takeover of health care”. This honor comes with a cute lapel button proclaiming “My pants are on fire” with flames flickering in the background. The cynical nature of the politics of obstruction allow key talking points to be totally divorced from reality and truth so much so that the laughably ignorant, unfortunately this time around the voting majority in many races, carried signs saying “keep the government out of Medicare”. Where did they think those benefits came from, a health insurance fairy? The real sadness of this is that the USA has way too many citizens who don’t do enough critical thinking for themselves. Here's my hint; you can never go wrong by starting with the premise that if it’s a politician and their lips are moving, of course they are lying, or distorting, or misrepresenting, or misleading, or smearing whenever it seems it will help their political fortunes to do so. Another reason for the award is "there was a uniformity of Republican messaging that was disconnected from facts; the sheer discipline . . . was breathtaking." Many citizens of the USA like to pride themselves on having good old fashioned common sense street smart intuitions about political intentions. Well, this time you got hosed. Start thinking or get used to it.

Politics 2010 - Words of Hope and Cheer

This political season has exacerbated my cynicism about politics and the American public more than a little. The political ads all appeal to the worst in people, they attach their opponents, they distort or present out and out falsehoods. But who are we to complain? Politicians simply reflect the general nature of the American public today, which by any and almost all accounts is less knowledgeable, more apathetic, more reliant on others to think for them, more susceptible to simplest thinking and simple answers, and therefore more easily exploited. Buzzwords and slogans are substituted for serious discourse, and as a result we get what we deserve, so that just when we think things can sink no lower, people arrive upon the scene to lower the bar some more. Politics is about selling you a product from a particular ideological manufacturer, and unfortunately at present we only have two, the Dimbulbocrats and the GnopeP, neither of which is fielding any awe inspiring candidates this season, especially here in Lincolnland. How appalling to hear so many candidates railing away about freedoms as they promise to take yours away. How galling to hear policies and programs criticized by people who offer no alternative or workable solutions. Truly if ever we needed the NOTA it is now. None Of The Above has a chance of winning many races this election, too bad they aren’t on the ballot.

Lincolnland 47th – one of least corrupt states!!!

How can our dear state of Lincolnland be one of the least corrupt states in the USA? What an outrage! Our state has more politicians in prison than any other state, well, except maybe New Jersey. And we rank only 18th in racketeering and extortion! This state elevated racketeering to an art form! Does the name Capone ring a bell? Let's face it, this ranking can’t be true, so how did anyone decide Lincolnland was 46th in the nation in fraud, 50th in the nation in forgery and counterfeiting, and 51st, dead last, in embezzlement? 51st! How can you be 51st out of 50? What we beat out DC? No way DC beats Chicago at anything (especially hockey!)!! Did the citizens of Linconland give back their pay because they took long coffee breaks rather than steal money from their employers? Well, we won’t stand for this! Who do they think they’re dealing with!
It helps you understand this travesty if you see what they are using for data. These rankings are based on the number of arrests for forgery, racketeering, fraud, and embezzlement. Duh! 46 states have arrested more people for all these crimes over the last 10 years or so and so theose states are more corrupt? You must be kidding! All those crooks are still running around free here in Lincolnland you morons! No one arrested them! Apparently our state doesn't arrest anyone for embezzlement. These other states are cleaning house; our crooks are still cleaning up. You idiots have got the rankings exactly backwards! And when you realize that, it puts Lincolnland in 3d place just about where it belongs! After all, New Jersey has to have something to brag about.

Oldies but goodies

Margaret and Helen are a couple of bloggers that make the Phactor feel downright young, which he most decidedly isn't. You have to feel good about two 80+ year old women commenting on current events, and offering a bit of perspective.

With respect to the "angry" mobs demanding to have their country back, "I fear that the America they want back is the one where black men don’t become President." Oh, the Phactor thinks the girls have hit the nail right on the head.

HT to the F1.

Reasons for gardening

A recent article provides 10 reasons for planting your own garden: preserving seed diversity, self sufficiency, thoughtful gifts, exercise, cut fossil fuel use, save time, lessons for kids, nutrition, harvesting, save money. The Phactor finds most of these completely unrealistic and even a bit naïve. Come on this is the best they could do? Who plants a garden to have thoughtful gifts? Giving away excess zucchini is hardly thoughtful. Maybe throwing an over-ripe tomato at your neighbors' barking dog might count as thoughtful , from a certain perspective. Makes you wonder if the author of this article gardens? Real gardeners aren’t motivated by such reasons, so here’s the Phactor’s 10 reasons for why you should have a garden.
Reality check – Gardens provide a means of keeping in touch with reality. You watch plants sprout, grow, prosper or dwindle, and die. Some things do well, others flop. That’s life in a microcosm.
Taste – Fresh from the garden fruits and veggies tastes so much better than the aged offerings in stores. Only farmer’s markets come close. I doubt there is actually any significant nutritional difference, but who cares.
Berries – Nothing is better than fresh berries, other than value added berries, like a berry pie, especially for breakfast. If you don’t understand this refer back to taste, and of course, marry someone who knows how to bake a pie.
Weather – Gardening puts you in touch with the weather more than any other activity, other than maybe sailing, but that’s hard to verify here in Lincolnland. Highs, lows, rainfall, storms all begin to matter in ways you never noticed before. If you don’t understand refer back to reality check.
Asparagus – Nothing says spring more than fresh asparagus. Oh, this stuff is what it’s all about. Asparagus grows well along fences and borders, but plant it far enough inside your lot that your neighbor can’t reach it. Check the link to improve on something that doesn’t need improvement.
Snap peas – Yes, your kids may decide it’s fun to watch things grow (mine didn’t), and it may be a way to teach them to eat better, but I recommend not even giving kids the good stuff. They’re happy with McNuggets, so why share something as good as snap peas with the little ingrates?
Bragging rights – Gardeners really really like to brag about how big this grew, how many peppers they got, how early their first tomato was. It’s like comparing gold scores, except golf is the antithesis of gardening, unless you go to pick raspberries along the edge of the fairways, and I grew more anyways.
Vine ripe tomatoes – Tomatoes purchased from a store are indistinguishable from red plastic. Lightly toast buttered slices of a baguette under a broiler. Rub them with the cut surface of a garlic clove, and the surface of a dead-ripe just-picked warm-from-the-sun tomato. Toast just a bit more. Eat this toast with a glass of cold bone-dry Spanish champagne. Don’t understand? Refer back to taste. Then go get yourself some McNuggets.
Hmm, that’s 8 reasons. But what does it matter? You shouldn’t need any more stinkin’ reasons; gardening is just what the best people do, no matter what, no matter where! Maybe some real gardeners can suggest a couple reasons more.

Gardening hope

It is a wonderful day, particularly for mid-February, when those first seed catalogues arrive. They provide hope and give you something to look forward to. April is only 2 months away; it seems like you can hold your breath that long, and you begin thinking about the seeds, the flowers, the trees, you want to plant.

The analytical part of my brain knows that those catalogue pictures are promissory notes, and like bad investment schemes, some of them will simply not pay off. And yet, a gardener knows that some good things do come from these small packages. So while grounded by pragmatism, it takes a certain degree of optimism, a certain confidence in the future, a certain ability to envision things that may grow and develop from small beginnings, to plant a seed or stick and be able to envision a bounty of fruit or a tree in flower.

I wish we had more politicians that were gardeners. I'd have a lot more confidence in them if they actually took time to look through a few seed catalogues. But there is something about the type of person that wants to go to law school, play golf in their spare time, and run things that sort of precludes gardening. Golf may actually stunt their plant aesthetics to the point they think a monoculture of grass is attractive. Let's look at their lawns before voting.

For one thing, most politicians want an almost immediate reward or payoff for their investment, be it monetary or some other effort. Gardeners know that it takes planning, and work, and investment, and patient nurturing to get rewards from plants. Gardeners also don't ignore the little things, like a some sprouting weeds, or some little spots on the leaves, or a few spider mites, because these little problems can become big disasters if not attended to. But very few politicians have time to deal with the little problems when they are still little. This is partly because they are not looking very far ahead. Their temporal near-sightedness means they can seldom look beyond the next election, so their solutions are often flawed, doomed in the long-run.

And of course our politicians live in big cities because this is where the power resides. They don't live in smaller places where there is enough land to garden. In cities people are out of touch with the processes of natural life, and rain is an annoyance, not something to be measured in a gauge. I wonder how many of our representatives in DC have ever picked their own tomatoes? Yes, a lot of people with misplaced priorities are running our country, and you wonder how it ever came to be this way.

At the dawn of civilization, was it the hunters, whose lime-light was fading as the game became scarce and gardening became all important, who became the politicians, the community leaders, when it should have been the gardeners all along. But the gardeners really don't like running things and they were busy planting, and weeding, and harvesting, and storing, and planning for next year's crops, and you had to find something for the laid-off hunters to do, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. But now, a few thousand years later, we might be better off if we pressed a few more gardeners into positions of power.

But enough of that. That new violet is hardy in zone 5 and is supposed to do well in the poor soil and shady conditions under trees! Wow! How many of those should I order? Enough to stimulate the economy, of course.

Just getting by in hard times

My heart goes out to people suffering in these hard times. I'm so fortunate to be largely isolated from the economic down turn. Living well within your means buffers you from hard times. Hardly a day goes by without some sad report of people in financial trouble. And as the hard times spread it touches everyone. But I can barely stand to read about some of these stories. I just don't know how they manage! Scraping by on $500,000 a year is just so difficult even under normal conditions, but when the economy turns south, well, things get really tough.

And here you thought you had it bad. Well, this just shows you how difficult things are for people all over.

Can you imagine the hardship of having to wear the same designer gown to two different functions! Can you imagine having to send your kids to a public school? Or, having to fire the nanny or housekeeper and discovering that dishes and kids do not clean themselves? And, just think about (oh, the horror of it all is almost too much for decent people to bear) having to use public transportation!

Their sense of entitlement boggles the imagination. Or maybe us mere peasants just don't understand our society's aristocracy. Most certainly our economic aristocrats don't understand the pain and suffering of real people. Anyone for a piece of cake?

Hat tip to the F1 for sending me the link to this article.

Remembering when gasoline was $3.59 a gallon

A combination of flu and field work, experienced separately, certainly have kept me away from the Phactor.

A funny and illuminating realization came to me yesterday while gassing up the buggy for a trip to my field site. Since the last time I had filled the tank, the prices had increased by over 50 cents a gallon. Yes, they are going up fast, but since I do not drive on a day to day basis at all, I only have to fill up the tank about once a month.

As I was beginning the fill, a fellow on the opposite side of the pump said, "Yikes, have you ever seen anything like these gas prices?" And as I looked at the $3.59, I remembered that yes, I had seen such gas prices before. The interesting and illuminating thing is that I encountered those prices nearly 23 years ago. OK maybe you are too young to have memories that old, and if such prices are setting records, what could I be talking about?

Well, here's a hint. It was called petrol and it was sold by the liter. And I was living in far northern Queensland enjoying my very first sabbatical leave. The reason that I remember the price so precisely is that to get reimbursed for my research travel from an NSF grant I had to calculate the price in dollars per gallon. At that point in time the US dollar had a very favorable exchange rate against the Australian dollar too.

So here's the point I want to make to the citizens of the USA. Welcome to the real world. Citizens of other countries have been living, successfully, with gasoline prices like those that you consider outrageous for decades. People in the USA have been living in a never-never land of cheap gasoline because after WWII our government decided to support the automobile industry and everything that goes with it: cheap fuel, interstate highways, sprawling cities, paving paradise for parking lots, no investment or support for public transportation, atrophy of legs, suburban malls and decline of city centers, and so on.

The transportation policies of the USA were very short-sighted, and now reality is finally arriving in the USA. The cost of gasoline is going to go higher still, but the cost of playing catch-up in building efficient public transport is really going to be shocking. People are going to have to rethink their decisions about where to live, and assess the real costs of country living.

Many of my colleagues protested when parking fees for reserved spots on our campus were increased over 10-fold to pay for construction of parking ramps. Rather than sign their petition, I wrote a letter to the university pleading with them to increase parking fees several times more to promote use of transportation alternatives. Since I live within walking distance of the campus, I had never purchased a parking permit. But most of my many colleagues living in the same neighborhood drive to campus. The most amusing thing is that the only tangible benefit from having been employed by this campus for more than 25 years is a free parking permit. They give me the one thing I had never used. Talk about irony.