December 24, 2021

Dinosaurs once roamed the earth. They were incapable of adapting to a new environment, and were wiped out by a meteor and subsequent climate change. In a similar vein, companies that don’t adapt, die. The corporate landscape is littered with the ruins of companies that were unable to embrace creative destruction. According to economist Joseph Schumpeter, the “gale of creative destruction” describes the “process of industrial mutation that continuously revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one.

Adapting involves change, and most people resist change as if it were a plague. They engage in denial, and refuse to accept a harsh reality. The belief that all will be well if you just give it time is a sure sign of denial. Another sure sign is the belief that conditions have not changed, or at least have not changed enough to matter. Denial is a necessary stage in grieving the loss of a loved one. It has no place in the running of an enterprise.

The progressive left believes that we need to adapt to new realities, and engage in creative destruction. The most obvious example are the challenges presented by climate change, and the right’s abject denial of its very existence. The left believes we we need to develop clean alternatives to fossil fuels. We need to rethink the energy paradigm. Republicans, the corporations that rely on fossil fuels, and Joe Manchin are holding up much needed climate change mitigation legislation and funds in the mistaken belief that everything is fine, and they are not part of the problem. Ask Tyrannosaurus Rex and his friends how that turned out for them.

December 22, 2021

Sadly, 2021 was another staggering year in the U.S. for mass shootings. While the nearly 50 percent jump in mass shootings in 2020 was appalling, this year will notch a further increase. And the rise in gun violence in America has gone well beyond mass shootings (defined as four people shot or killed, not including the shooter). Homicides, which rose by about 30 percent in 2020, recorded another rise in 2021. And at least 12 major American cities set homicide records. This comes from an op-ed by Steve Ratner in the New York Times.

The left will focus on mass shootings. The right will focus on crime. This doesn’t even include the Kyle Rittenhouse’s of the world, who was shamefully lauded and applauded recently at a conservative convention. Politicians glorify guns, and gun culture. Right wing pundits use gun imagery to attack health experts. Regardless, the one thing that these twin crises have in common is guns. The United States is apparently incapable of controlling situations that don’t exist anywhere else in the world. We are, in fact, number one. We can propose all the gun safety measures we want. We can defund the police, or we can refund the police. It will make no difference. Until we disarm, our only defense is to either buy more guns or more flak jackets.

December 22, 2021

308 is the number of rounds of golf Trump played while in office.

2 is the number of vaccine shots Trump received, 1 is the number of booster shots, and 0 is the number he admitted to while in office.

10 is the number of civil cases pending against Trump. The lawsuits, involving allegations that his security guards roughed up protesters outside Trump Tower in New York and allegations of defamation by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, respectively, are just 2 cases in the mass of civil litigation Trump faces post-presidency.

3 is the number of times Trump has been married, and 5 is the number of children children he has, 3 with Ivana, 1 by Marla, and 1 by Melania. If things hadn’t worked out, he could have been an NBA basketball player.

0 is the number of books Trump reportedly read while in office, which is the same number he reportedly has read in the last 50 years.

5 is Trump’s reported handicap, which everyone knows is fake news.

244 pounds is what the President claimed to weigh according to the results of a physical performed in June 2020. This means the President is considered clinically obese and has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30.3.

December 18, 2021

Random Gleanings

I was struck by a series of short news stories in today’s (Saturday) Springfield Republican on page A8, and how they encapsulated the times we are living in.

State picks both bidders for offshore wind project. Looks promising. Utilities are trying to secure 1600 megawatts of clean energy.

Shrimp fishery to stay shuttered. Looks disappointing. New England commercial shrimp fishery will remain shuttered…amid warming temperatures.

Regulators: Financial threats remain elevated. Looks scary. The Financial Stability Oversight Council listed climate change as an emerging risk because of such factors as potential loan losses from floods and forest fires.

Melania Trump announces NFT venture: Looks like a grift. Trump will be selling non-fungible tokens that must be paid for with Solan cryptocurrency. An undisclosed portion of the proceeds will go to foster children.

December 17, 2021

You can’t make this stuff up. In the 1956 movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” Dr. Miles Bennell, played by Kevin McCarthy (I kid you not), is baffled when all his patients come to him with the same complaint: their loved ones seem to have been replaced by emotionless impostors. Dr. Bennell soon discovers that an alien species of human is duplicating from plant-like pods, and is taking over his small town. Sixty-five years later, this invasion is now being replicated all over America, but, this time, Kevin McCarthy is no hero because he has already been infected.

People who at one time seemed reasonable and responsible are now spouting nonsense about COVID and vaccines, and they are led by Kevin McCarthy and his ilk. There are 60,000,000 of them. Podsters with podcasts spout lies with deadened expressions because they know they are lying. What were they like before the aliens took them over? They utter utter nonsense about climate change. Clearly, their objectives are to destroy democracy, deplete the Earth of all of its worthwhile assets, and then move on to another planet. Hopefully, our marvelous superheroes, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Greta Thunberg can save our country and our planet from the pandemic spread of alien stupidity.

December 15, 2021

After each mass shooting, including the most recent one in Michigan, proponents of gun safety measures say if not now, when? Second Amendment defenders, while offering their thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families, immediately accuse proponents for using a tragedy to further their own political ambitions. The defenders will say that it is too early after a tragedy, and we should be mourning instead. And, as a result, nothing ever gets done.

I know that officials in Kentucky are still looking for bodies. However, in addition to providing relief, comfort, thoughts and prayers to the victims, we should also be talking about the devastating consequences of climate change, and how to mitigate them. The science may be inconclusive about the direct link between climate and tornadoes, but how much more evidence do we need to see? We should be supporting President Biden’s Build Back Better bill. From the American Progress website:

“The $1.75 trillion package proposes monumental investments in building a clean future, including renewable energy and electric vehicles; historic investments in cleaning up pollution in underserved communities; and expanded opportunity through the creation of high-paying, family-sustaining jobs in the United States. These investments will put millions of Americans to work, cut household energy costs, save lives from the ravages of pollution, and resume the United States’ involvement in global efforts to address the climate crisis. The Build Back Better Act’s investment in climate and environmental are $555 billion in total. They meet the so-called climate test: putting the United States on a clear path to cut economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.”

This is something Kentuckians and all Americans should get behind, or is it too soon?

December 14, 2021

I recently returned from a quick golf trip to Florida. I have to report that the weather was perfect, but that’s another story. One of the political stories on the ground was about what a good job Governor Ron DiSantis was doing. He is smart, well-educated, a veteran, and reasonably photogenic. For many on the right, he is Trump-lite, and a legitimate presidential candidate. Unfortunately, he is no Charlie Baker.

He ordered all flags lowered to half-staff when Rush Limbaugh died. That honor is usually reserved for well-known public officials, members of the military and law enforcement officers who died on duty. He ordered up a million doses of hydroxychloroquine from Israel, which are now sitting in a warehouse somewhere gathering dust. He has formed his own personal militia. Per the Orlando Sentinel, “We have tried to think of a situation in Florida’s recent history where state leaders said “What we really need is a few hundred guys (or mostly guys) — not police or soldiers, different guys — wearing alligator patches with a cryptic logo, ready to do … something.” Florida is now issuing $5,000 fines to businesses, schools and government agencies that require people to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination. He sells “Don’t Fauci My Florida” merchandise on his website to raise political funds. And most recently, he sent out a fund-raising e-mail, urging people to lock up Dr. Anthony Fauci.

He should be more like Senatorial candidate, Val Demings, who spent most of her career fighting actual bad guys. Or, he could do what I do when I am in Florida. Play golf.

December 13, 2021

Days after President Joe Biden took office and the Democrats took control of the U.S. Senate, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., would not unequivocally say that the 2020 presidential election was not stolen and called for an investigation of fraud, without providing evidence. He continued to claim that the election was stolen, and that Joe Biden was not a legitimate President.

Now, ironically, Randy Paul has his libertarian hands out, looking for relief from the same “illegitimate” President and the federal government for the poor citizens of Kentucky, who were devastated by the recent, historic tornadoes. President Biden has authorized, without hesitation and grandstanding, a complete governmental response to help those in need. He will visit the area when it is appropriate. Randy Paul is the Senator from Kentucky, who, more than once, argued against delivering funds to other areas of the country hard hit by tornadoes, hurricanes, and fires. In what has become the new libertarian ethos, when I get mine, it’s earned and justified. When you get yours, it’s welfare.

December 9, 2021

“My fellow Patriots. We have a big game tonight against the Buffalo Bills. They are a good team, and we are playing in front of their fans, who are thirsty for Patriot blood. The weather will be brutal. The forecast is for bitter cold temperatures, wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour, and snow. This will test our manhood. I will be right there with you. Let’s go out there and win one for New England.” Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, hoodie and all, led his team to victory.

“My fellow Rough Riders. Today, we will make an historic charge up San Juan Hill. If we prevail, we will win the Spanish-American War. I will be leading you on my horse, Texas. This will be the greatest day of my life.” Teddy Roosevelt led the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill and right into the Presidency.

“My fellow Israelites. The Egyptians have freed us from slavery, but they are coming for us once again. We are hemmed in by the Red Sea. I will part the waters, and lead you to safety before the chariots arrive. May God be with us.” Moses parted the waters, led his people to safety, and then drowned the Egyptians.

“My fellow Americans. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong. When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules. You will have an illegitimate president. That is what you will have, and we can’t let that happen. We are going to the Capitol to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country. So we’re going to, we’re going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. I love Pennsylvania Avenue. And we’re going to the Capitol. So let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.” Trump never walked down Pennsylvania Avenue. He was driven back to the safety of the White House, and watched the insurrection on television.

December 3, 2021

More than half of young Americans feel democracy in the country is under threat, and over a third think they may see a second U.S. civil war within their lifetimes, according to the 42nd Harvard Youth Poll, released by Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics (IOP) on Wednesday.  In addition, many of the respondents were concerned about the threat of climate change. Half of all respondents also said they struggled with feelings of hopelessness and depression (exacerbated by the pandemic.)

For several decades, I have had the opportunity to interview bright and energetic high school students for college. I get winded just listening to all of the things they accomplish every day. I often ask them what they are concerned about. Overwhelmingly, they are concerned with three major issues…climate change, gun safety, and COVID. I suppose it should not be surprising. This generation will have to live with a changed climate well after many of us are gone. The potential of gun violence is something they live with every day. This is the “shooter drill” generation. They are not concerned about the fake controversies ginned up by the right. They are concerned about survival. They are disenchanted with both parties because they don’t see anyone addressing these issues seriously. Our students deserve better.