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Notice: Since February of 2019, this website has seen very erratic drops in search engine referrals. So if you consider the information on this page to be worthwhile, I recommend posting a link to the page where you can. Otherwise it is unlikely that it is going to reach very many people. For more on that, see About Dave Conklin.net. 2/23/20, last rev 10/14/21. The story behind this page: Back in 2010, I posted a series of pages titled, A Tale of Two Cities, which was a metaphorical reference to the United States and the course it has been on for the last 60 years, or so. I eventually replaced them with the this page (Dave for Pres) in 2018, but taking a second look at A Tale of . . . , the pages might have a certain merit all their own, so I decided to repost them, for posterity. The only change I have made to it since 2014 is that I condensed all three pages into one. For a take on current events, go here: Dave's Daily Blog Dave for President of the United States I certainly hope no-one takes me seriously about this—the part about Dave for President—it just seemed like an efficient vehicle for conveying my thoughts. Anyway, here is what I would do (or try to do) as president, i.e., my “platform.” A couple items might sound like science fiction, specifically a sunlight-to-hydrogen economy and genetically modified babies, but I do believe the groundwork for such concepts has been laid. If it seems unlikely that such things could be acheived in even an eight-year term, I would point out we landed on the moon just eight years and two months after JFKs 1961 moon speech. 1/01/2023: Recently, nearly four years after creating this page, I came to the realization that one particular entry (was #19, now #4) regarding a constitutional amendment declaring the Bill of Rights as rights of the individual rights against any sort of intrusion, probably rendered four earlier entries regarding privacy and the 4th Amendment redundant. So I decided it was high-time to reorganize my entire platform, now loosely arranged by priority. 1 A new constitutional amendment providing for an election to be held late in the year preceding every presidential election year, allowing voters to choose two political parties from a maximum ten political parties. The ten political parties will be chosen by the online petition of registered voters to their respective Board of Elections or Sec. of State, to be tallied at a set date preceding the election into a national total. The ten parties with the highest number of signers will be selected for the ballot. And no one will decide or define what constitutes a viable political party except the voters. The two parties, and only the two parties, with the highest number of votes will then choose candidates for the upcoming caucus, primaries, and for any Congressional seat for the next four years; No party will elect, appoint, or promote any official representative or candidate prior to the party election, rather presenting their platform online, in written form; And all US citizens will be guaranteed the right to choose which of the two parties they can vote for during the caucus and/or primary elections on voting day. 2 Ensure that government agencies such as the EPA, FCC, and CPB are working for us and not “them.” 3 Restore the Glass-Steagall act and continue pushing for the restoration of other consumer/economic safeguards that have been methodically removed over the last 50 years or so. Deregulation was a big contributer to the recession in 2008-10. Clearly, there are those who would continue to push us down the same path and would like to completely dismantle the safe haven for savers/investers which the Glass-Steagall act helped to create. Some of their deregulatory fiddling was reversed by Dodd-Frank (which is under attack), but I would push for more. revised 8/11/23 4 Push for a US constitutional amendment verifying unequivocally that all civil liberties, including the 1st amendment, are rights of the individual, against any possible private sector, as well as governmental, restrictions or intrusions, with the only exceptions being those involving national security secrets, handling of WMDs (4th A), the safety of many (4th A); and that any monopolies or collusions that threaten those rights be subject to timely breakup; and that no subjective exceptions, such as the words “hate speech,” be included in any interpretation of freedom of speech; and that no type of language spoken or penned by an adult citizen that does not blatantly call for physical harm, or involve deceptive authorship, be subject to removal when conducted in proper public circles; and that no physical checkups be conducted unless associated with the safety of many, and never in an unscheduled fashion unless a justifiable reason exists. This proposal, however, is in no way meant to supersede common law regarding liable, slander, divulging of trade secrets, parental authority, or copyrights etc. Added 2/21/22, rev 1/01/23, 1/01/23, 9/01/23, 2/17/25: A page I put together regarding the erosion of constitutional rights and privacy and what can be done about it: what comes after 5 Push for a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood once and for all and ensure absolute transparency regarding all “dark money” currently being funneled into the US election process. There are those who argue that it is up to the individual to separate fact from fiction, and any such laws would be condescending, which is a good point, but truth tellers can also be drowned out by big money interests. Some degree of balance must be restored. And then, of course, there is the disparity in lobbying resources between big money and the average citizen, which never seems to get fully resolved. added 7/14/19 6 Instead of attempting to appease US corporations with any more lower tax rates, tell them if they do not bring their profits back to the US, declare them, and pay their fair share of taxes on them, they will no longer be allowed to do business in the United States. (The United States is a huge market. If they want to take their business and product elsewhere, I’m sure there will be someone else more than willing to move up and take their place). Incidentally, after doubling between 2008 and 2014, a 2016 estimate put the amount stored in offshore tax havens by US corporations at 2.1 trillion, resulting in a total tax deferment of $620 billion. One can only guess what the amount currently is. rev 11/12/21 7 Institute a personal tax structure more like the highly prosperous mid-twentieth century, when the wealthiest paid a much higher percentage than they do now, and use that revenue to lower cost burdens that have been shifted to the middle class, such as rebuilding our infrastructure, higher education, etc. Also create a graduated tax curve--one that does not clobber a person the moment they make over the poverty level with the same rate as the wealthiest, minus all the loopholes--one that then increases exponentially for extremely high income earners, with the goal of decreasing the likelihood of individuals having a few spare millions lying around to spend on lobbyists and/or election campaigns, or just plain taking the country's wealth from the people and giving it to themselves, other countries, and bankers etc. rev 11/08/20, 1/01/23, 7/09/23 8 Stand up to the oil and coal industry and make energy independence for the US a top priority with emphasis on solar energy to hydrogen research. Once there is no need whatsoever for the US to run trade deficits (which have "taxed" the American people, US farmers included, since 1975 to the tune of some 6.25 TRILLION dollars as of July 2018) and perpetuate dollar hegemony, tariffs will be implemented to correct trade imbalances, counteract unfair trade practices and offshoring etc. A key part of this is to ensure that the bulk of solar technology is manufactured here, and not China, to help offset job loss. added 8/03/18 9 Implement a single-payer health system, and relegate the existing health insurance industry to a much less prominent role. The trick will then be to keep any social-nanny-type restrictions designed to protect the individual from him or herself from creeping in. Modern medicine has gotten very complex and sophisticated and continues to do so, while the population is growing older. The US needs a health care system that is as simple, streamlined, and cost efficient as it can possibly be; not the disjointed, complicated mess it currently is. As large a country as the United States is, it could be the best and the most efficient in the world, by far, as opposed to the least efficient. rev 5/26/19, 6/22/19, 8/07/2020, 11/08/20 10 Make sure the US has a well funded and unhindered genetic research program (unhindered by any goofy restrictions on stem cell research, or embryonic stem cell research, etc.) with the goal of engineering people who are—on average—more intelligent, healthier, have longer lifespans, are less superstitious, and are less violent. This may require genetic samples of many thousands or even millions of people, and the collection of personal data, all of which should be completely voluntary. 11 Make any such discoveries and the gene splicing technology (potentially the greatest tool mankind could ever utilize - if used wisely) necessary to implement it available to the entire planet, and indeed to every person on the planet, so that any couple on earth—regardless of social status—can select the latest and best DNA sequences for their child. (The DNA sequences—a very small percentage of the human genome—would be added to their own to create a unique embryo.) 12 Outlaw the use of credit score to discriminate against any job applicant, and make sure its only legal use is as a tool for banks in the money lending process. A few states have already passed their own laws to this effect, but a national one is needed. 13 In the near term, strengthen the US-Mexican border to stave off any rapid influx of people that may strain health care and other tax-based resources, affect wages and the job market for certain US citizens, include some very bad guys, and cause a very unfair situation for those who do respect international borders. Then set a date for any crackdown on any new violaters, as opposed to implementing some Naziesque retroactive campain against long-term illegals. (A more extensive border wall should have been constructed many years ago.) 14 Beyond restoring Glass-Steagall, update the rules for banking practices. We all know the shady practices that some banks and credit unions do that penalize the poor: account maintenance fees designed to steal a person’s last dollar so they can impart an overdraft fee on top of that when the account holder writes that bad check, or charging outrageous fees to mail a monthly statement that probably does not cost the bank more than 1st class postage, with the only other option for receiving a statement being to purchase the latest computing device that supports a browser that supports the latest encryption algorithms—all of which requires an internet connection, of course; which exposes their new device to malware and viruses. And then you have some credit card companies and loan agencies still getting away with "murder." An update of Federal rules regarding such practices is long overdue. Such laws at the Federal level would level the playing field for all banks and businesses. 15 New law: With rare exception, all new non-consumable products sold in the US must be in good working condition after ten years of use, unless damaged by “catastrophe” or obvious misuse. Articles of clothing: five years. Purchasers of products that have failed within their respective time frame will then be able to take the product to a branch of the Consumer Protection Agency for a quick inspection to determine the cause of failure. If cumulative data indicates a product prone to failure due to poor quality or a manufacturer’s defect, the manufacturer (specifically the individuals running the company at the time the defective products were made) will then face fines imposed by the CPA and possibly be responsible for refuding all or part of the purchase price to the purchasers. added 1/17/20, rev 11/16/20, 1/21/21 16 Make sure all search engines are severed and independent entities from any web content that they refer to, possessing no vested interest whatsoever in said content, so that they and their operators remain wholly neutral and utilize search algorithms that direct to the best and most relevant information first while excluding nothing. added 2/21/22 17 Restore and enforce the constitutionally guaranteed rights against search and seizure that have been steadily eroding ever since Ronald Reagan’s communistic drug czar, Carlton Turner, began his assault on them. Under my watch, if any US citizen who has lived in this country for 50 years or more, or who was born in the US to parents who have lived in the US 50 years or more, is ever searched without probable cause, including that citizen’s personal property, vehicle or land etc. (excepting emergency situations), at any location inside the US, a US territory, or at any point of entry, the employment of the person who executed or ordered the search will be immediately terminated if a US government employee. 4th amendment violations by the private sector, as well as all levels of law enforcement, will result in fines or possible prosecution. added 7/14/19, rev 9/05/23 18 Mandate that all phone service providers and phone manufacturers devise a way for anyone with a landline, cellphone, smartphone etc. to be able to block calls simply and easily from their phone much like many email services. Enough of this nonsense! The phone system has been digitized for years; phones have been digitized for years; emails can be blocked via a simple program; so why can’t I easily block certain numbers from ever coming through in the first place? Answer: so phone solicitors, bill collectors and crooked bill collectors, along with any manner of other crooks, can sit back, eat bon bons, and harass you. The blocked calls would be diverted to an answering service so the caller could not ascertain that the number has been blocked. added 1/01/23, rev 6/23/23, 2/17/25 Note from the future: Congratulations, I was elected and managed to accomplish my entire list. You, the lower eighty percent of the US population, who voted me in office have now reclaimed much of the wealth that you were tricked (again and again) into handing over to the top 20% (with emphasis on the top 1% or fraction thereof). Your elected officials are now much more likely to listen to you and affect policies that will benefit you, as opposed to only benefitting the corporate elite. While humanity is still divided among races and creeds, there is not near the racism that once persisted. No one can now point to a specific race and claim it to be any more devious, or more prone to violence, than any other. Population control can now be calmly and intellectually discussed. The USs bloated financial sector has been deflated, while much of the domestic manufacturing lost to offshoring has returned, restoring the US to a more self-sufficient production-based economy; a tax scheme, and social credit scheme based on GDP, have been implemented to offset any rapid job loss that may arise due to automation and other factors and ensure that the excess proceeds from all that increased productivity by the young continues providing for the older generations, as opposed to providing for super-rich corporations and super-rich individuals; a strong border is becoming less and less important because all countries of the world are elevating their own societies; the colossal annual pile of tossed-out defective products has diminished; and the US no longer has a trade deficit, allowing a return to the gold standard—a tool to combat inflation, and (ironically enough) a deterrent against trade deficits. Environmental pollution is decreasing rapidly, as fossil fuels have largely been replaced by a sunlight-to-hydrogen economy. And lastly, the threat of nuclear war is something taught only in the history books. last rev 12-20-21 Note from the present: Sorry, but the scenario described above is never going to happen in a million years because there are enough bought-off elected officials at both the state and Federal level to ensure that none those items listed in my platform will ever happen. Due to the collision of population and climate swing, human society will descend further into chaos and authoritarian rule. End note, some advice: Watch out for false prophets—those who would read articles like this and pretend to be a champion of the people, when all they really plan to do is trick you out of the little actual wealth you have left. (Gee, who could Dave be referring to?) No one has a crystal ball to see in the future, of course, and I did not vote for either Presidential candidate last election (2016), but if Mr. Sanders had been on the ballot, my vote would have gone to him. 5/25/18: Whenever you post something on the Internet, you never know if anyone is going to read it or not. I was therefore a bit taken aback by the sudden surge of interest in the recent advances in genetic engineering such as CRISPR so shortly after posting this page. In the original introduction, I used the words designer babies, which I quickly changed to genetically modified . . . I regret using the word designer, as it implies couples ordering up specific genetic traits for their child such as blue eyes or blond hair. I do not support the concept at all; in fact, quite the opposite: I think any genetic changes beyond what is critically necessary to improve health, and mental health, should be avoided to ensure genetic diversity. Secondly, I think it very important that the latest treatment package be available to every human being regardless of social status. In other words, the richest person in the world and the poorest Siberian eskimoe alike would have access to the same genetic upgrades for their child at any given time. I think any other scenario could, and no doubt would, be socially devastating. For more on the subjects of censorship and genetic
uplift, I put together a special page: 8/09/21 In March of 2021, I received the third economic stimulus payment. I had cashed the first two checks, but I decided things had gone too far, and at some point, you have to grow up and practice what you preach. So I promptly sent a letter to the new secretary of the treasury, Janet Yellen, telling her exactly what she could do with the third payment. (Well, you want to be a public servant, you have to be prepared for some flak). I am not accepting the payment because, of course, it is only “funny money” sent out by a government that does not have the money to begin with. I sent the letter because I received the payment in the form of a debit card, rife with potential fees, and yet another gift to the banking industry, as if all the stimulus money in their coffers was not enough. If you have read my platform, then you probably know how I feel about plastic cards, so I will take this opportunity to elaborate: Suffice to say that, in addition to the invasion of privacy and extortion issues that occur when they are forced on people, and indeed they are . . . the rise in popularity of the credit card (more lines of credit) is one of those few things that, in my view, the American public did to help create the present situation, of which there are many names for, plutocracy, corporatocracy, or technocracy being a few popular ones, but if I had to pick the best description, it would be, a nation of debt slaves. And I certainly do not think it is what the founding fathers of the United States had in mind . . . To put it bluntly: The more personal debt the public has taken on, the more corrupt and powerful the bankers, corporations, corporate executives, and government have become, to the point of the public losing jobs, wealth, quality infrastructure, and democracy. revised 9/01/23 So for the US treasury to be passing out credit cards, in my view, only epitomizes the US government’s collusion (democrats and republicans) in this trickle-up, democracy-subverting scheme that rewards the richest and our bloated financial sector while penalizing everyone else. And I think a good analogy to the person overseeing the program—in this case, Janet Yellen—is the financial-world equivalent of El Chapo passing out free crack vials to half the country. And not only does it promote the idea that multiple lines of credit are a necessity for Joe citizen to maintain some basic standard of living, I also suspect there are other agendas, such as a cashless society (see what comes after) Lastly, to be an armchair president for a moment, I think President Biden should have at least requested that anyone not-in-absolute-need-of-the-stimulus-payment not accept the payment. Just how many would have listened, I don’t know. References: I actually came across the following
article, via
Zerohedge.com,
after I had
written all of the above, so not really a reference but a good
article that covers the same general subject, only a
little more analytically. 2/17/25 State of the Union Does anyone else save comic strips that they liked? I guess I am asking the question to those who still read newspapers. Anyway, I came across this Dilbert strip I saved a while back where Dilbert mentions to a colleague how someone had invented a pill that allows people to see reality for the first time. He then goes on about how all the test subjects died screaming. Dilbert’s last comment is, “Makes you think,” to which his colleague replies, “Not clearly, I hope.” Anyway, I think that takes care of the broad picture. Preface: Bear in mind that I finished writing everything following these first two paragraphs about the 24th of January. While Trump’s continuation of his troublemaking in the middle-east certainly comes as no surprise, I figured I probably had things covered regarding Donald Trump, but I decided to add this last-minute (Feb 6th) comment regarding Trump and his Gaza plans: First, I would like to congratulate Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu on things working out so well for you in Gaza and the West Bank, which obviously was your plan all along, unless you are both so stupid as to make Laurel and Hardy look like geniuses (their characters, of course). So, like Elon Musk’s call for keeping the H-1B Visa program (I need to hire cheaper foreign labor because you are all too stupid), Trump’s ideas for the Gaza strip and general pandering to Israel is Trump looking out for himself, first and foremost; and a perfect example of why businessmen tend not to make good presidents, in the long run. And, never mind the fact we have fought wars to get rid of people like Trump and Netanyahu, Trump’s ethnic cleansing proposal is probably the very worst thing any US president could currently do to “improve” the security, and economic security, of the United States short of lobbing missiles into Russia or China, i.e. Joe Biden. What is the best thing he could do? No question, it would be to force Israel to withdraw all of the illegal settlements in the West Bank, end its occupation of east Jerusalem, re-confine itself to its pre-1967 border, and stay the hell away from the Al-Aqsa mosque. And if we did send troops into the Middle-East, it should be to assist the Palestinians in removing those nasty invading illegal Jewish settlers from the West Bank—who think they have some divine right to the land, when they have no such inherent right whatsoever—and keep them out. I mean, if we can do it here in the US, then we can do it over there—right? It is definitely a shame that we have a president who is willing to tackle long-standing problems here in the US, but engage in something so evil and hypocrtical abroad, but I cannot recommend anything short of immediate impeachment and removal from office (and the modernization of our democracy). Okay, that’s it, I’m done writing for this installment. Whatever bat s**t crazy stuff Trump comes up with next, you can probably guess my opinion. Democracy So this has nothing to do with my personal opinion regarding the US border situation, but not long after the election I happened to catch Trump’s US border czar pick exclaiming, “Don’t test us,” in regards to any opposition to Trump’s upcoming boarder policies. He also stated something to the effect, “The people have spoken, so that is what we are going to do.” Well, are you sure about that? We have all been in that small group of people who can’t unanimously decide on something, so everyone decides to resolve the problem democratically. So everyone assumes that if at least 6 out of 10 people vote for a particular action, that is the action the group will take. That is true democracy. Now take that idea and apply it to the last United States presidential election. How many people out of 10 do you think put Donald Trump in the Whitehouse? Answer: 2. That’s right—2 out of 10, or 22% to be exact. “But that’s not fair,” you say, “You have to go by the number of US citizens rather than the entire US population.” Okay, the number, then, is about 2.5*. “But wait,” you say, “You have to go by the number of eligible voters rather than mere citizenship.” Okay, the number, then, is 3—3 out of 10 eligible voters put Trump in the Whitehouse; 34% to be exact, and that is with a higher voter turnout then there has been for quite some time. Horrifying really, and we wonder how we keep ending up with corporate-worshiping presidents and a Congress that—over the last 50 years or so—has, not exclusively, but mostly sought to decimate the working class and make a poor country that used up its oil reserves and had to buy out, even poorer. The Electoral College is another over-complicating factor that should, in my opinion, go the way of the horse and buggy. As part of any system of checks and balances, I think I’m safe in stating that it has not accomplished jack squat since its inception in 1787. Conclusion: Here in the United States, we have but one pubic office that is elected by the people, for the people, of the country as a whole, but it is a currently a work of fiction. Offhand, the idea of having multiple choices to choose from when voting for high public offices makes sense, but it doesn’t work out in the end: You easily end up with minority groups essentially running the country. At the time I write this, I haven’t had time to investigate what the situation is like with each Congressional state or district. But we obviously need to get more people engaged in the political process, and a political process that hopefully results in at least a little more than half of the eligible voters in the US electing a president, or more than half of a particular Congressman’s constituents, etc., etc. (See my “platform,” entry #1) I, for one, am tired of half-right presidents. I want an all-right president. We deserve an all-right president, for a change. And, man, have we ever had some half-rights, lately. It is time to modernize and stream-line our election process. *This is an educated guess; searches for “number of US citizens” etc. typically brings up population figures instead, and outdated information otherwise. Note: The vote tally jumped a little after I wrote this article, so the actual percentages might also be a digit higher. Duh . . . why did we lose, George, why did we lose? After the election, I kept hearing how the democrats were busy trying to figure out why they lost. Well, because you are all dumb as rocks I guess—if you really don’t know. You lost because you thumbed your nose completely at the other side—turning the southern border into a disaster, among other things. Now we have yet another president who thinks he is king, and a personality cult of rich-worshipping subjects who treat him as such, all due to this election process we call a democracy. But the same fate will befall the Republican Party come the next election, as happened in 2020, as happend to the Democrats in 2024, if this president completely ignores the other side. They never seem to learn. Donald Trump So obviously, if you have read my “platform,” you know that I support some of Donald Trump’s policies. And I have to hand it to him for attempting to tackle big problems that never should have arisen in the first place, and braving the dangers of the office. But I, for one, refuse to “sell my soul to the devil.” I didn’t vote for him in 2016, 2020, or 2024 because of the more-than-obvious Donald Trump law of physics: (With every correct action there is an equal and opposite disaster in the making.) And then, of course, Joe Biden quickly proves to be cut from the same mold, only made of “Jell-O” instead of “cookie dough.” It is still too early to predict what successes Trump might pull off and what disasters he will create, of course. And I could rant about his latest presidential acts and speculate what might happen down the road, but everyone should know what to expect this time around without my input. Last time he was president, he only claimed he was going to “drain the swamp” while giving the rich yet another tax break; started a new war in the Middle-East (threw a proverbial match on the proverbial dry-brush pile) that has resulted in tens of thousands of dead and maimed kids, just to mention the collateral damage; tried to start a trade war with China after claiming he was going to proceed with caution; could have—with his big mouth—gotten a female US foreign diplomat murdered; enacted policies that separated the children of illegal immigrants from their parents; likely hastened the spread of a deadly disease by withholding the truth; and lastly, caused a riot at the US Capital that caused the death of at least two people by blabbering a bunch of malarkey that he could not possibly have known anything about at the time. I will leave it up to someone else to list what they think his successes were. At any rate, I do hope he does better, and everything he does is a positive for the United States and a positive for the rest of the world, but I have serious doubts he is ultimately capable—my “BS alarm” and “imminent- disaster alarm” has already gone off several times. Jimmy Carter An underrated president, often outright lied about by various Republicans, and bashed by Zionists for his stance against Israel expansionism. A man that towers over Trump, in virtue and mindfullness, like a 200-story building. He called himself a Christian and acted like one, unlike so many who call themselves Christian and act like, well, a--holes, quite frankly. RIP. Tarrifs So for weeks after the election, all I heard was how Trump’s proposed tariffs were going to cause inflation. Granted, Trumps proposal of 25% tariffs is ludicrous (Trump disaster #562.57 . . . in the making?) Sudden seismic shifts of any sort in an economy are obviously detrimental—that has been proven over and over again—but not once did I hear a single reporter mention any of the positive aspects that tariffs-in-general could provide, such as turning around trade deficits that have been building for years, which costs every man woman and child in the United States; or mention how those revenues collected could be used to help reduce the cost of those goods affected by helping to ensure production here, which would create jobs, all while reducing the national debt. It’s one of those problems that took many years to create, and is going to take many years to reverse, providing we continue to elect a president willing to keep working on it. Incidentally, the trade-deficit situation improved a little under Biden. Free Speech You have probably read in the history books how the Civil War officially began in 1861 at Fort Sumter, over actions carried out by the south following the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, as if the north woke up one day and decided to jump on its proverbial “high-horse” and put a stop to slavery, with really no previous provocation from the south or its supporters. But the truth is that abolitionists were targeted and harassed, in the north, long before the start of the Civil War; and my own ancestors were among them. One tactic used by the pro-slavers was the suppression of any speech promoting abolition. It culminated in angry mobs carrying out physical attacks on individuals for speaking their mind, and even preachers were not spared. It is, indeed one of the first tactics reached for in the fascist’s tool bag. I would even go as far as calling it a defacto declaration of war. So I state again to anyone whose people have been persecuted, you will never get revenge on those that might criticize, insult, or persecute you by censoring them--in the spirit of complete arrogance and communism--and attacking freedoms that your ancestors fought for. Those who would persecute, displace, or even kill, will jump on your calls and run with them, as they have done countless times in the past, and as they are doing now. And, in the end, you will prove more dangerous to your cause than the ones whose voices you fear. Health Care So a big story that all the news outlets were clamoring about was a phone poll conducted by Emerson College that showed how “41 % of 18-29 year-olds in the US believe the killing of United Health CEO, Brian Thompson, was justified.” Well, I contacted Emerson College Polling on Jan 16th, 2025 and asked exactly how many of the 1000 people contacted were in the 18-29 age group, which was one of no less than six age groups. I also asked if there was geographic information for those surveyed. One month later, I have yet to receive a reply, but I would point out that if the number was, hypothetically, 200 individuals, compared to the US population of that age group, around 60 million, or so, it is really utter-crap science. As for anyone who actually thinks that way, I am sorry your parents raised such unscrupulous human trash. There is an honorable procedure for affecting change, and it does not involve shooting someone in the back: First you protest and speak you mind—rights guaranteed in our constitution. When you protest, there will probably be a few (in every crowd) who might destroy property or harass people. Your detractors will use them to their full advantage to discredit you—labeling you terrorists, troublemakers, and the like. And always be alert for such persons implanted in your protests by the opposition. They will try to shut you down, and shut you up, but you must persevere, unarmed, until they start shooting at you. One of two things will happen at that point: The country’s highest powers will step in and say, this has gone too far, and begin implementing the change you desire, or they will come after you and try to stamp out your movement, at which point you have the right to defend yourselves. In regards to health care in the US, our entrenched capitalist system has created treatments for probably a million types of illness, some that would have caused prolonged suffering and death only a century ago. But, of course, those million* new treatments mean a million new costs—currently managed by corporations who have stockholders to worry about in addition to sick people. It is also a system with no inherent motivation to cure a genetic disease at the source—as in, at the genetic level (so no treatments will ever be needed again). It would seem obvious, to me anyway, that it is not a sustainable situation. Side note: Have you ever noticed that every time the US health care system gets some bad press, a bunch of heavily-biased web pages mysteriously appear trashing Canada’s health care system—articles that do not even mention or compare the negative (or positive) aspects of our health care system to Canada’s? *This is just a number I made up off the top of my head AI Don’t know what to say about it, except, true, it might lead to some remarkable medical and technological innovations, but I think if we were smart, we would utterly bury it and keep it buried for a long while; and in the meantime, focus on improving our individual intelligence, as opposed to creating any machines that think for us. I keep hearing now how AI is going to “create jobs.” It all reminds me of an earlier time, when—for many years—the words “create jobs” were constantly repeated in the media over and over again to describe offshoring and outsourcing. I don’t remember any reporter ever questioning the assertion or asking for details—until our manufacturing base had been gutted, and those jobs either replaced by lower paying jobs, or not replaced at all. This is shaping up to be another “giant sucking sound,” on steroids, and not just jobs floating away, but our very grip on reality, as well. And that might not be the worst of it. Lastly, I really wanted to post a new diagram that compares the United States recent NIIP (Net International Investment Position) with other countries (see 2_17_20_State_of_the_Union.html) in this entry. And I really wanted to touch on another big present and potential future problem, being utility companies passing the costs of energy-independent households and energy conserving households onto their remaining customers, but I ran out of time. I might post a mid-year State of . . . so, anyway, stay tuned . . . References:https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_candidates,_2024 |