Tuesday, September 12, 2023
I remembered. September 11th. Twenty two years ago. For probably half the population this is history, not experience. One commentator yesterday spoke of the sense of we-are-all-in-this-together spirit that prevailed, not only in this country, but around the world. And then we blew it. I see the image of Dick Cheney. What ever happened to those six safes in his VP office? What was in them? Never mind.
We had Mr. Mayor uniting the city and the nation. We had a nice guy – sort of – as President. Not terribly bright who stood on a pile of rubble with a bull horn. Then? They went about the business of using 9/11 as an excuse to start not one but two wars, and we went back to business as usual.
Another commentator said when 9/11 happened Al Qaeda was three or four hundred guys. Now, it’s 30 to 40 thousand. But our biggest terrorist threat comes from inside our country.
We saw the shining beacon on the hill and we turned back. The great wave built and dissolved.
In other realizations. I realized that Tayor Swift makes more in fifteen minutes than I will make in a lifetime. ($13 million a show at 3 1/2 hours per show – you do the math. Okay maybe 30 minutes.) I saw Michael Bloomberg on the Sunday Morning Show. He was in New York at The World Trade Center’s new performing arts center. What a cool place. They can literally change the configuration of the auditorium at the press of a button. Stage with rows of seats? No problem. Theater in the round? Bingo. The show mentioned he was worth 94 billion. I remember during his brief run for president that he was reputably worth 34 or 39 billion. What did he do to make fifty billion more?
And finally, a little FB tag that I saw mentioned that GM made 22 billion last year. If they gave each of their 50,000 employees $80 grand that would be 4 billion and they would have made 18 billion.
Morocco – earthquake, Haiti – humanitarian crisis, devastating hurricanes: east, west, the Pacific.
There is still talk about Burning Man by people who have never been and a few by those who have. The people who actually know what they are talking about are getting drowned out by the know-nothings.
I heard an interesting discussion about insurrection the other day. Two takes on Jan 6th: 1) the people at the Capital did not think they were participating in an insurrection. 2) Regardless, of whether you think those people were participating in an insurrection, they were there to stop Congress from carrying out one of its Constitutional duties. The question then becomes whether the instigators of what happened at the Capital that day should be held to account, not for insurrection but interfering with a Constitutionally mandated action of Congress.
Meanwhile, Trump leads all other Republican candidates. The problem for the Republicans is they have embraced a way of thinking that is not trying to address real problems and their candidates are all unlikeable. I just listened to Asa Hutchinson who is being touted as one of the more sane candidates. It a three way supposed sanity race between him, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley.
Asa was asked about crime and what he would do to combat it. He said we need to enforce the law. Great. And if a city is not willing to do that then take away their funding. What? Let’s make a few wild assumptions: 1 – Jurisdictions want to enforce the law. 2 – If they don’t, maybe it’s because they don’t have the resources. Wouldn’t it make more sense to see if they need funding? Okay, there is the possibility that an AG doesn’t want to prosecute people for possession of marijuana or put a child in jail for having an abortion, but that isn’t the issue here. It’s violent crime.
Most of the time the thing that reduces crime is enforcement but also providing alternate opportunities to a life of crime. This would require compassion and innovation, something the current GOP sadly lacks.
Fig production is slowing. I crossed the 80 pound mark. But now a report from the pumpkin patch! Houston, we have a pumpkin!
Hope. Has sprung again.
I listened to that same broadcast on whether it was insurrection or not. I came out thinking it was. Ah but a lawyer or PhD I am not. How they come out with convoluted thinking is beyond me. They must think in circles or spirals. Ya, spirals.