August 2024 Blog

8/16:There is no real choice this November

"No one was ever born who agreed to be a slave, who accepted it. That is, slavery is a condition imposed from without. Of course, the moment I say that, I realize that multitudes and multitudes of people for various reasons of their own enslave themselves every hour of every day to this or that doctrine, this or that delusion of safety, this or that lie. Anti-Semites, for example are slaves to a delusion. People who hate Negroes are slaves. People who love money are slaves. 

"We are living in a universe really of willing slaves, which makes the concept of liberty and the concept of freedom so dangerous.” — from James Baldwin in a 40-year-old interview with Ken Burns as presented by Burns in his Brandeis University commencement speech.

"He knew, just as Abraham Lincoln knew, that the enemy is often us. We continue to shackle ourselves with chains we mistakenly think is freedom." continued Burns.

"There is no real choice this November. There is only the perpetuation, however flawed and feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249-year-old experiment or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route. 

"The presumptive Republican nominee is the opioid of all opioids, an easy cure for what some believe is the solution to our myriad pains and problems. When in fact with him, you end up re-enslaved with an even bigger problem, a worse affliction and addiction." 

"Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation. We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives. This is a choice that could not be clearer."

This essential message was excerpted [emphasis is mine] from a powerful undergraduate commencement speech by honorary degree recipient Ken Burns delivered at Brandeis University's 73rd Commencement Exercises on May 19, 2024. Please listen to his entire speech here.

8/14: Costco is my least favorite shopping experience. 

Once I zero in on something I really like and get to rely on, they discontinue it; the location of items are constantly being changed; the country of origin are not always shown on Kirkland products; the bumps in the exit walkway is a nightmare— always knocking around delicate items; I never get out of there for under $500!

8/9: China is economically a capitalist economy locked within a communist autocracy. 

Because it’s populace can be totally loyal and dedicated they can be easily manipulated. 

From ancient times to the present, they have contributed so much to the progress of the world. They are very ingenious and inventive engineering and producing great products. It is unfortunate that the government reins them into an adversarial position,, versus the Western world. Whereas working together in partnership we could quickly solve many of the worlds major problems. And we all would succeed in life.

On the other hand is the western world’s intensely competitive capitalism the reason for our adversarial situation?

“If they had the proper leadership, there are no limits on what they could accomplish,” Mr. Walz said at the time. “They are such kind, generous, capable people.” — Tim Walz 1990 upon return from a year teaching high school in Foshan, China 

It’s no longer The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it’s The Chinese Authoritarian Party (CAP)

8/8: “I feel so part of the food chain.” 

“You’re safe and top of the pecking order as long as you stay close and take care of your human benefactors. “ re: My Dog Talk & Outtakes 

8/6: This quote from Graham Moore’s great best-seller, The Holdout 

relates to the trial and jury of the primary plot but it also aptly applies to today’s politics.

“Maya wanted to tell Lou that this need for vindication had become the mire of their whole petty country. Every day, they woke up fervently hoping for the headline that would prove, definitively, that their guys were the virtuous ones and the other guys were the absolute worst. 

“But news of that certainty would forever elude them. Every new revelation that seemed to damn the people with whom they disagreed would be followed by a new rationalization. For every failed prediction, there would come a mitigating circumstance. They would double down on their most weakly held convictions because the alternative felt unbearable, and the bums across the aisle would follow suit. 

“She wanted to say that the only thing worse than being wrong was having a bottomless need to prove that you never were.” ― Graham Moore, The Holdout

8/6: Walzing Kamala. 

It sounds like a down-under political campaign. And Vance Trumps his opponent  sounds like a card trick.

8/1: Ethnic diversity 

is an essential source of America’s strength. — Kamala Harris