#500: Periodic Sense Check.

31 Sunday Dec 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Sense Check, Uncategorized

Welcome to a discussion about the upcoming 5th Revolution in the US, which I’ve titled the “Revenge Revolution.” For more about the Revenge Revolution and the author, click “About the Author” tab. Periodically I write a “sense check” to assess whether a revolution in the US is possible or whether the entire exercise is based on a statistical aberration — i.e., a roughly 50-year cycle between major upheavals in the US. The previous “sense check” was Entry #476.

BEGIN ENTRY #500: For a long time, I thought Entry #500 would be ideal for more analysis about the current status of US Revolution V. However, as we all experience occasionally in life, the best laid plans sometimes go astray.

Midmorning Christmas Eve I was walking back from Starbucks. All ok until the son of one of our neighbors decided to go driveway bowling. He used his BMW as the bowling ball and used me as the 10 pin. The only serious injury was to my right wrist which I used to break the fall from being hit. X-rays showed the wrist either fractured or broken in four spots.

Of course, the wrist is on my dominant hand, which makes typing slow and trying to write longhand laughable — at least for now. Oh well, dictation works so here are some thoughts about the Revenge Revolution.

US Revolution V, aka the Revenge Revolution, looks as though it’s already in progress. We’ve talked about how widespread in several different entries, but I think Trump‘s campaign effort for reelection and the promises made associated with that campaign are downright scary. Whether you are Republican or Democrat, you don’t need a presidential candidate out advocating elimination of the justice system, revising the constitution to allow the person to hold office for life and immunity from prosecution among other promises.
The Supreme Court continues to show no integrity, either as a court or by several justices on the court. The court has no enforcement other than through the Department of Justice and the various states justice systems. Without respect for SCOTUS from the public, the whole idea of a unified democracy goes away. The court does have an opportunity with the upcoming cases — (i) the 01/06 insurrection; (ii) Trump’s claim of absolute immunity; (iii) providing guidance for interpretation of the 14^th Amendment and application to state election laws – to begin at least stabilizing the decline in public opinion, and maybe begin rebuilding it.
A large percentage of the public seems to not understand consequences of their potential behavior. For example, a percentage of black voters, and I don’t know exactly what percentage, is frustrated with Biden, and to express that frustration, have decided to support Trump. Why would anybody who is black want to support Trump given all of his racist comments and actions against blacks? Also, some highly educated people whom I know seem completely brainwashed about what has happened, particularly around events leading up to and including January 6. A portion of this group asks, “why are all the prosecutors piling on Trump? He’s the right guy.“ Come on folks, he’s not the right guy. It doesn’t matter if he’s a Democrat or Republican, he’s a crook and has been a crook for a long, long time. Anybody who’s lived or worked in New York for any period of time knows that. Wake up!

Where does this lead us in 2024 and beyond? It’s going to get worse before it gets better. The discussions in earlier entries about the possibility of armed conflict seem more realistic today than ever before. Not a pretty forecast but I don’t know any way out of this quagmire without some sort of armed revolt and then the military putting down that revolt.

Talking and logic don’t seem to have any impact on people, particularly MAGAts. Republicans seem enamored with a bizarre interpretation of the 2nd amendment, which encourages mass ownership of assault weapons. Let’s save the gory details for later and try to enter 2024 with some degree of optimism. END ENTRY #500

Other Topics. Interested in more info about climate change, what’s required to electrify a fleet of cars/trucks, what it was like to work day-to-day with Lee Iacocca and an array of other topics? Visit another page of this website, https://usrevolution5.com/jrd-thought-comments/

#499. Critical Thinking. Uh, What’s That?

23 Saturday Dec 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Causes of the Revolution, Education Issues, Possible Solutions, Uncategorized

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BEGIN ENTRY #499: For many people, critical thinking is whether I like or agree with how the other person talks, acts or their political views. For this group of people, the world is binary – you either believe what I believe or you’re wrong.

A memorable example of binary thinking was after 09/11 when then President George Bush declared that the US needed to invade Iraq to capture the people responsible for the attack on the Trade Towers and the Pentagon. In those remarks, Bush proclaimed, “you’re either with us or for the terrorists.” According to Bush, there was no alternative.

Over the past two decades, such binary thinking – I’m right and if you don’t agree, you are the enemy – has become pervasive in the US. While the binary attitude is most noticeable in politics, especially among Trump MAGAts, such thinking seems to apply to simple everyday situations.

The current polarized environment has made it difficult to try and have a meaningful discussion about concerns over global warming. If the discussion includes expression of any concerns, then the next challenge is trying to develop and/or to agree on practical solutions.

Interestingly, the amount of formal education of participants does not seem to be a critical factor in whether a person thinks critically. The differentiator seems to be whether an individual understands their environment and whether he or she can solve problems influencing that environment.

Many people without formal education are astute at solving problems in their environment. People who are considered “street smart“ often have limited formal education. Indigenous peoples often have very limited formal education but have remarkable skills at surviving in often-harsh environments.

We all know people who are “book smart” but have no “street smarts.” Some of the book-smart people are also quite dogmatic about solutions to whatever problem is at hand, whether they are truly knowledgeable about the subject. Further, if they do not have a solution, they are good at blaming someone else, or claiming that the problem doesn’t exist.

Two recent examples. When I asked a business colleague if he had any concerns about the effects of global warming, he responded, “no.” His rationale was he didn’t feel any major impact in his daily life and, besides, the doomsday forecast about the effects of global warming made by Al Gore earlier in this century had not come true. Therefore, global warming was not real. Well, well, hello Fox News, which for this group has replaced MIT as the new science center.

The second example occurred in a different discussion about possible solutions to global warming. (The primary cause of global warming is a combination of CO₂ emissions and leakage of methane, the primary component of natural gas.) One participant in the conversation never addressed the primary sources of global warming but instead was emphatic that any solution to global warming must exclude nuclear power. Even though nuclear power has no CO₂ emissions and operates 24×7 for decades, nuclear must be excluded from any possible solution.

For him, nuclear was off the table and solar was on the table. Solar was not just part of the solution, but the only solution. To paraphrase Tarzan, “solar good, nuclear bad.” As with many non-critical thinkers, which seem to include a substantial portion of zealots, he failed to address all the downsides and extra costs associated with solar. Whereas neither solar nor nuclear is without some downside, but both are zero CO₂ and can help reduce the causes of global warming – but only if one thinks critically.

What has been the cause of the decline the critical thinking? I’ve not studied the issue in detail and my educational background and experience are far afield. However, I have observed behavior that might provide some guidance. The behavior could be heavily influenced by an education system that is putting too much emphasis on digital thinking and less on subjects that stimulate critical thinking.

As much as I love STEM courses, these courses reinforce digital thinking – most answers are binary, either right or wrong. Worse, the tools used for teaching entry-level STEM-type courses have become increasingly digitized. When was the last time you saw a cashier make change without having to use the register to calculate the amount? Or the last time you saw someone do division by hand? Or use a slide rule to make a calculation? You mean, you don’t need a calculator to complete these tasks?

Another example of the decline in critical thinking, which only occurred to me recently, had been a key part of 7^th or 8^th grade English classes – diagramming sentences. While the topic might seem arcane to today’s students, diagramming sentences teaches one how to deconstruct, or pull apart a problem – that is a sentence. Once apart then the sentence can be reconstructed or revised to achieve its intended purpose. By diagramming sentences, one learns there are multiple ways of conveying thoughts, even if some rules of grammar are rigid.

As far as the topic of the blog, how does the decline in critical thinking affect the effort to avoid US Revolution V, aka the Revenge Revolution? The Revenge Revolution has already started and will intensify over the next couple of years, especially in late 2024/early 2025. Any effort to initiate programs to try and teach the US adult population how to think critically will have little, if any, near-term effect on US Revolution V.

However, what we, i.e., societal we, can do is update the curriculum for primary, secondary and post-secondary education to include courses that teach people to think critically. Learning the basics of how to think critically can start in kindergarten and certainly early grammar school. The earlier the better that children get exposed to the approach. The teaching does not have to be complicated and can be geared to everyday situations students face.

For adults, we, again societal we, need to quit voting for candidates for the House, Senate and particularly president, who do not demonstrate an ability to think critically. Otherwise, we will end up without a democracy even more quickly than the track we are on. END ENTRY #499

#498. “Have You Stopped Beating Your Wife Yet?” Republican Hypocracy re Antisemitism.

11 Monday Dec 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Post Trump Presidency, Societal Issues, Uncategorized

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BEGIN #498: Ah, December, the time of good cheer and merriment and a key month leading up to political caucuses and primaries. ‘Tis also the season of grandstanding and so-called fact-finding by the vaulted elected members of Congress.

While the Senate is not immune from occasional silliness, the House of Representatives under the leadership of KevIn McCarthy and now Mike Johnson has set a new standard for meaningless hearings. Topics of the hearings in the House may sound legitimate but more often than not the “Freedom Caucus” forces topics to be those most important to their hard-right political base.

Witnesses for these Republican clown shows, err hearings, are selected to emphasize what’s wrong with the other party. Questions are often irrelevant, misleading and/or phrased to be a “gotcha” much like the proverbial unanswerable question, “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?“ The phraseology demands a “yes” or “no” answer, which can be used in campaign ads or by the talking heads on Fox News.

The most recent example was a House hearing 12/05/2023 supposedly addressing antisemitic behavior on college campuses. Witnesses just happen to be three women presidents from so-called elite universities. – Harvard, Penn and MIT.

Sidebar: Why certain academic institutions are called “elite” is unclear. They’re certainly not elite because of any athletic programs. I guess they are elite because of a very high application rate, and a low acceptance rate. Gee, the high application rate just might indicate these schools offer an excellent education. Nah, must be some other reason.

At the 12/05/2023 hearing the formal testimony of all three presidents included the importance of addressing antisemitic behavior on campus. Where the fiasco started was with questioning by representative Elise Stefanik, who represents a district in upstate New York.

Stefanik asked the president of the University of Pennsylvania and then presidents of Harvard and MIT whether students who publicly supported genocide for Jews and/or made other antisemitic remarks would be punished. All three presidents gave answers based on existing law and ensuring the 1^st First Amendment rights of the students. All three noted that words without action would not be punishable.

Well, do you think a proper legal answer satisfied the Republicans? Of course, not! The response by Republicans was to first take the answers out of context. Doing so allowed the Republicans to claim by not emphatically stating that students should be punished regardless of circumstances, each of the presidents must be antisemitic, and therefore anti-Israel and therefore pro Muslim.

Even some what I call Israel-whether-right-or-wrong Jews jumped on the bandwagon, condemning the presidents, especially Penn’s president McGill. The Penn chairman of the board of trustees called for her immediate resignation. A Wharton alum who supposedly planned to donate $100 million also jumped on the bandwagon and demanded her resignation. The list grew longer over the next couple of days and eventually included Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress. (Mm Ron. Be careful. If you lie down with pigs, you get up smelling like a pig. And that’s not kosher.)

Saturday, 12/09/2023, the Board at Penn effectively forced President McGill to resign. The chairman of the Board also resigned.

Simple ending. Case closed, right? The more you dig into the story, the more it appears the hearings were a greater sham than imagined by all but the most cynical. Key donors to Penn and especially donors to the Wharton Business School, whose list of distinguished graduates includes Donald Trump, have been frustrated with McGill since she was hired less than 2 years ago. The most recent incident was an event on campus that included speakers discussing Palestinian-related issues. Shame on you McGill for protecting free speech rights. You must be fired.

What should come out eventually is all the behind-the-scenes maneuvering in the House to set up the hearing. It appears the hearing was set up on very short notice, possibly a day or two after the Palestinian session at Penn. President McGill was the primary target. Harvard is always fodder for Republicans and it would be harder to find a better target to humiliate than the new president of Harvard, who happens to be black. Selecting MIT remains a mystery, but we know the president received very short notice of the hearing.

The response from the Harvard trustees was more muted than Penn’s, but still a bit reactionary. President Gay apologized over the weekend. But, of course, an apology from a non-Republican is never enough. The Board of Harvard Corporation was meeting Monday to discuss the issue. The president received strong support from faculty. Outcome TBD.

The response from the MIT Executive Committee was straightforward. Strong support for President Sally Kornbluth. (For those unfamiliar with the culture MIT, it is a great example of a combination of meritocracy and apolitical, science-based thinking. The straightforward response supporting the president was not unexpected.)

The resignation of Penn’s president was more fodder for Republicans. The hypocrisy of the Republican response, especially from Stefanik – “One down and two to go!” – while frustrating, is not puzzling. Stefanik sold her soul and became a “hatchet man” for Trump. I guess she forgot about graduating from Harvard. Wonder if she returned her diploma?

So, where’s the hypocrisy? Republicans denounced the university presidents for not punishing students from making statements even though students were within their 1^st Amendment rights. In the next breath the same Republicans claimed any restrictions on Trump‘s remarks, no matter how extreme and/or dangerous violate his First Amendment rights.

In Trump world, Trump can say anything and be protected. Forget his antisemitic remarks directed at the Jewish law clerk in the state of New York fraud case. Forget his racist remarks directed at the New York Attorney General, who has already won a fraud conviction against Trump’s companies in NY and may win additional convictions. Forget the racist remarks directed the Fulton County Georgia District Attorney, who has charged Trump under a RICO statute for trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. And forget the racist remarks against the Federal judge in the DC insurrection case.

Even though Trump’s remarks have resulted in continuing death threats to all those listed and other remarks have led to death threats for two black election workers in Detroit, that’s OK by Republican standards. But any antisemitic comments by students, even though no action was taken after the remark, must be punished.

Republicans also do not acknowledge that anyone under criminal indictment, and that includes Trump, has restrictions placed on their 1^st Amendment rights. But don’t tell the Republican base the truth. That would just ruin your argument.

One final note about the Republicans’ supposed support for Jews and Israel that never seems to get discussed, at least publicly. The religious right, which claims to have unequivocal support for Israel, continues to discriminate against Jews at home. So why do Republicans support Israel, while discriminating against Jews in the US?

For the far right, Israel is not a Jewish state, but the “Holy Land” – the home of Christianity. To preserve access for visiting the holy land, Christians must have the right manager in Israel. The dilemma for Christian is which manager option do they choose? Keeping Jews in charge of managing Israel will likely ensure Christians can continue to visit. If Jews are not in charge of managing Israel, Muslims would likely control the holy land and lock out Christians from visiting.

Cutting to the chase, the claim by Republicans that colleges and universities must punish students for antisemitic remarks, even if the students take no action to harm Jews, is pure BS. The grandstanding is designed to keep Jews as the manager of the Christian holy land. END ENTRY #498

#497. Global Warming: The Frog in the Kettle of Water?

04 Monday Dec 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Societal Issues, Uncategorized

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BEGIN ENTRY #497: An often-told allegory is about the actions of a frog placed in a kettle of water. The story goes that if you put the frog in cool water and then turn up the heat on the stove the frog stays in the water. Apparently, the frog does not notice the incremental change in water temperature and stays in the kettle and ends up being cooked to death.

The story also claims that if you toss a frog into a pot of hot water, not even boiling, the frog at once recognizes the problem and jumps out.

What does the frog in the water story have to do with global warming? Entry #496 outlined an idea to possibly jar the public into thinking more seriously about the consequences of global warming. The entry included a quote from Everett Dirksen, longtime Senator from Illinois, about how to change minds of the public. “The mind is no match for the heart in persuasion.”

To get a sense of the public’s concerns about global warming, I sent an email to a group of family members, friends, and a few business colleagues. The note asked the recipient to list 3-4 concerns, if any, about global warming. The note emphasized there were no “right” or “wrong” answers, just their individual answers.

Not everyone responded – welcome to the world of market research – but a number of people did. Respondents noted concerns about rising seas, more extreme weather, how animals will be affected and longer-term negative impact on food production. Several of those surveyed had grandchildren and expressed concern about the effects on their grandchildren over time.

A couple of people, and I suspect a few more who didn’t respond, indicated they had no concerns about global warming. One colleague in a business venture claimed that since the earth’s ecosystem is a closed-loop system, any disruption to the ecosystem will cure itself over time. Therefore, he had no concerns about the consequences of global warming.

What was most notable, however, was no one in the group viewed global warming as a hair-on-fire problem. Maybe I’m too close to understanding the potential consequences of global warming, but you’d think someone would be screaming, “we’ve got to start seriously addressing the problem now!”

The lack of hair-on-fire concern was even more puzzling given the makeup of the survey group. The recipients of the survey were heavily weighted toward those with at least a four-year college degree. Politically the group was more liberal than conservative. Ages ranged from 21 to 95.

The lack of concern about the need to immediately ratchet up efforts to address causes of global warming reminded me of the frog in the kettle of water. Incremental change – the water gradually getting warmer – did not create a sense of urgency to take action. Only when there was a sense of crisis – jumping into hot water – was action taken.

Society seems to be behaving similarly to the frog. Without some sense of crisis – for example, you’re all going to die soon or something like that – will we, societal we, likely agree to take action. But just like for the frog, waiting results in catastrophe. END ENTRY #497

#496 Whadda Mean Climate Change Is Gonna Kill Me?

23 Thursday Nov 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Causes of the Revolution, Societal Issues, Uncategorized

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BEGIN ENTRY #496: For about the last four (4) years, I have been part of a group of fellow MIT alumni working on practical solutions to climate change. The criteria for solutions are: (i) technology must be currently available or likely to be commercially available in the next say 10 years, preferably less. This requirement would eliminate fusion and other technologies with long development times and problematic outcomes; (ii) technology must have a meaningful impact on reducing global warming – e.g., direct carbon capture is a tech at the margin; (iii) likely adoption of the technology must be at a rate to positively reduce global warming.

Interestingly, assessing and selecting the technologies has been relatively easy. There is a reasonably long list of technology available today that could help significantly reduce global warming worldwide.

The most difficult problem is getting people to adopt technology. Convincing people to even consider adopting is often a problem. An example is getting people in the US to consider cooking on an electric stove rather than using natural gas. Why the change? Natural gas, which is primarily methane, leaks at all stages from the wellhead to transmission in the pipeline to even a bit at the stove.

“Unburned” methane is 50+ times worse for global warming than methane when burned, or CO₂. Switching to all-electric burners on a stove would have a major positive impact on reducing global warming. If you want an immediate and intense reaction, try discussing the idea of switching with a committed cook.

There are numerous other examples of difficulty getting people to consider even a slight change in behavior. People seem to understand global warming in the abstract but do not relate to daily behavior.

One of the early projects of the MIT group was drafting a “roadmap” of practical solutions. Because of my background, I was the lead author for transitioning transportation out of fossil fuels. During the drafting I tried to think of every option possible to help accelerate the adoption of zero-carbon transportation.

At the end of the 18 months, I came up with a single answer. Since publishing the roadmap, I’ve continued to rack my brain about how to get people to understand the need to take meaningful action to address causes of global warming.

At the Federal/state level, the only viable option appears to be widespread mandates. Such actions are not unprecedented — rationing during WWII, e.g. However, before mandates can be implemented there needs to be an event that solidifies support for potential action.

Without such an event — Pearl Harbor, e.g., in WWII — the likelihood of persuading legislators, Federal or state, seems remote. Stating the obvious, the House of Representatives, in fact the entire Republican Party, seems to be unable to commit to governing. I thought that might change after Trump was defeated in 2020 but the lack of will to govern seems to have intensified.

In addition, a number of companies seem to be quietly backing away from their public commitments to address global warming. Among the largest companies are ExxonMobil, Chevron, Delta Airlines and everyone’s least favorite utility, Duke Energy.

All that said, I am reminded of a quote from Evert Dircksen, former senator from Illinois and Majority Leader. “The mind is no match for the heart in persuasion.”

With Dirksen in mind, who like LBJ was great at persuading people, maybe efforts to persuade the public to adopt changes that reduce global warming should first focus on the “heart,” then focus on the “science.”

People under age 30 will be most affected by climate change. Maybe those involved with efforts to reduce global warming need to encourage tactics used in other eras to persuade the public and politicians. While each situation is a bit different, tugging on the heart strings has been effective over time. An oft-cited example is the series of protests outside the White House during the Vietnam War, “Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?”

In a way, the stimulus to protest for action on climate change and against war in Vietnam is the same — early death. Ironically, “early death” was an underlying theme of the support for WWII. Not an early death on the battlefield but an early death of freedom in the US if Germany or Japan won the war. While the theme of “early death” from no action on climate change might be and a bit controversial, it just might wake up the public and especially the under-30 group to start demanding change.

What does denying climate change have to do with the 5th US Revolution? Look back in history and view actions of people who were faced with a grim situation over which they had little or no control. Many of these groups rebelled against the ruling class, even though those in charge had more resources and many of those rebelling faced certain death.

In other entries, I’ve referenced lyrics from the song made famous by Janis Joplin, “Me and Bobby McGee.” The lyrics that seem appropriate here are, “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose…”

If the Federal government does not take meaningful action to address causes of global warming, both in the US and worldwide, then those who will be the most negatively affected by climate change could begin to revolt and implement actions on their own. The under-30 group has nothing to lose by rebelling and overthrowing the Federal government. Doing nothing means a shortened lifespan. Rebelling means a chance of surviving. What would you do? More thoughts on this in future entries. END ENTRY #496

#495-“Mayday, Mayday! We’ve Lost Our Brakes!”

14 Tuesday Nov 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Personal Stories, Uncategorized

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Welcome to a discussion about the upcoming 5th Revolution in the US, which I’ve titled the “Revenge Revolution.” For more about the Revenge Revolution and the author, Entry #1. Periodically I write a “sense check” to assess whether a revolution in the US is possible or whether the entire exercise is based on a statistical aberration — i.e., a roughly 50-year cycle between major upheavals in the US Entry #476 was the most recent “sense check.”

BEGIN ENTRY #495: The story in this entry may be a repeat of an earlier one. However, I think the story is worth telling again. Besides, the content has nothing to do with politics, international events, or US Revolution V.

Scene (Decades ago): Misty early November Monday morning, New Canaan, CT. The fall has been very pretty and now the leaves are falling.

I need to get to the office in Manhattan early because a committee of the board of directors meets at 8:00am. To get there in time, I have to take the first train. New Canaan is on a branch line and many of the trains are just two cars, aka locally as the Toonerville Trolley.

At the station I grab a coffee and paper and head to the front car. Train leaves on time. After you’ve ridden the train for a while, you get a sense of when the next stop should be. About the time for the next stop, I look out the window. However, rather than stopping we keep on going. On the platform are commuters frantically waving for the train to stop, but to no avail. Shortly after rolling through the station, the conductor in the front car orders everybody to move to the back car, stating that we lost our brakes.

Soon after I got in the back car, flip the seat around so I’m facing backwards, I see the other conductor trying to turn a large wheel, which apparently is the hand brake. He is unsuccessful in turning the wheel. He then gets on the two-way phone with the following message, “Stamford Tower, this is train 1351, Mayday, Mayday!”

Stanford Tower: “Mayday? What are you talking about?”

Conductor: “ Mayday! We’ve lost our brakes!”

Great, what a way to start the week. The two-car train rolling down a slight grade with no brakes. And, without someone switching us to the main line, the Toonerville Trolley will crash into the abutment at the Stamford station.

After getting off the phone with the Stamford Tower, the conductor tries to turn the brake wheel again. This time the adrenaline must be flowing because he slowly turns the wheel and we slowly come to a stop before the next station. The two conductors chat a bit, then we resume the trip without further incident.

What was the problem? When the train tried to stop at the first station, there were wet leaves covering the tracks. Since the train was the first one on the branch line, 7-8 hours had elapsed since the last train. During that 7-8 hours more leaves had fallen and because the leaves were wet from the light rain during the night, some wet leaves stuck to the tracks.

When the conductor applied the brakes for the Talmadge Hill station, the steel wheels slipped on the wet leaves, and we hydroplaned through the station. The conductors did not realize we were hydroplaning and thought we’d lost our brakes.

The incident quickly migrated from a seeming crisis to humorous once the cause was determined. Over the years the incident has become more humorous. Think about it, how many Monday mornings do you start out hearing “Mayday, Mayday, we’ve lost our brakes!“ And yes, I made it to the office on time. END ENTRY #495

#494. The Basketball that Went Boom and Became the Big Bang

06 Monday Nov 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Personal Stories, Uncategorized

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BEGIN ENTRY 494: The question raised in this entry is not new. Certainly, many people over time have asked the same question. However, so far, no one seems to have been able to answer, and it’s doubtful that mankind will ever answer.

While I think about the question periodically, a recent stimulus has been a series of articles and images from the Webb telescope. The images are from far outer space, and for me, a bit mind bending. The distances and other measurements are even more mind bending.

A recent article discussed an image from an object a mere 100,000,000 light-years away. Actually, I think it was closer to 1,000,000,000,000 light years but you get the idea.

Just think about how far away the object is. The sun is about 93,000,000 miles from earth. Light from the sun arrives on earth in a little over 8 minutes. If we take the number of minutes in a day, divide by eight, then multiplied by 93,000,000, that’s how far light travels in a day – 16,095,000,000 miles. Not the distance for a year, but a day. Now think about how far light travels in a year and then think 100,000,000 years. And you thought the flight from New York to LA was a long one.

Another mind bending statistic is density of some of these objects. Lead is a very dense material. Try and pick up a 12”x12”x12” block of lead. In a recent article, a tablespoon of a neutron star, which I’m not quite sure what a neutron star is, would weigh about 1,000,000,000 metric tons. Huh?

When referring to an image of an object from Webb telescope, there is the occasional reference to the object being part of the Big Bang. So, here’s the question which first occurred to me during the summer of my sophomore year in undergrad. I was working overtime in a Pepsi bottling plant. My job that shift was to check bottles coming out of a giant washer for being the right size and/or being dirty. Optical sensors were not as good then as today and I was the back up to the scanners.

The job was boring, which allowed me to let my mind wander a bit. For some reason, possibly because I had taken an astronomy class that semester, I started thinking about the universe. And then whammo, the question hit me. “If there was a Big Bang, where did the stuff for the Big Bang come from?” Stuff doesn’t just appear out of nowhere, especially all those elements connected with a Big Bang. There are lots of “idium”-type elements connected with the Big Bang. (See the Periodic Table.)

For many people, the easy answer for where the stuff came from is to assume there is a greater power that created the universe. Most religions include a version a version of a “greater power.”

The idea of a greater power is one that frankly avoids the mind warping necessity of trying to figure out what really created the Big Bang. But if a “greater power” created the Big Bang, then still unanswered is where all the stuff came from to create the basketball that eventually went boom and became the Big Bang.

Like I said, there does not appear to be a rational, or even plausible answer. For all we know, the universe is part of a much larger environment, much like humans are part of a much larger environment for microbes. That’s another idea to contemplate. Size is relative.

If you have an idea on where the stuff for the Big Bang basketball came from, I’m all ears. Such a conversation is much more interesting than the usual conversation these days about incompetent politicians. BTW, if you’re wondering what this entry has to do with US Revolution V, the answer is “nothing.” END ENTRY 494

493. Time to Play Grown-Up

25 Wednesday Oct 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Back Asswards Thinking, Causes of the Revolution, Post Trump Presidency, Societal Issues, Uncategorized

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BEGIN ENTRY #493: After being put in a leadership position, whether through appointment, an election or by default, one needs to put on their big-boy pants and behave like an adult.

The most glaring “negative” example of such behavior is Trump and the Republican party. Even after being elected president and serving four years, Trump acts like a petulant fourth grader, who must have all the attention.

Hard to believe anyone in an important elected position could exhibit more irresponsible BEHAVIOR than Trump, but most members of the House of Representatives act as if Trump is some kind of all–knowing guru, who’s every command must be obeyed.

Actions by Republicans in the House could well be a skit for the Marx Brothers or part of a Monty Python movie. At the beginning of 10/25/23 House Republicans began the fourth week of cannibalism. Over the 3+ weeks House Republicans have roasted, chewed and then spit out one member after another, as possible Speaker of the House. One lasted a mere four hours after being nominated before withdrawing.

“Oh children, time to quit fighting, clean up your room, and then start your chores. And no dinner and dessert until you elect a Speaker, pass a budget that can be approved by the Senate and signed by the president. Children, do you understand?”

House Republicans apparently understood the need for a Speaker and elected Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Why Mr. Johnson, a member of the hard-right and a low-profile architect of the voter fraud scheme. If Mr. Johnson lasts long enough to get dessert, I’d be surprised.

What’s even more baffling about the vote for Mike Johnson, which was unanimous among House Republicans, is how House Republicans seem oblivious to events in the Fulton County, GA RICO case. In the last week three, yes, three of Trump’s former lawyers have flipped, pleading guilty and agreeing to testify – Sydney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna, Ellis. Somewhat earlier, a Georgia bail bondsman flipped.

In response to the flipping by the lawyers, Trump’s counsel did what one would expect from someone representing Trump. He claimed since none of the lawyers who flipped pleaded guilty to the RICO charges, the RICO case by Fulton County DA Fani Willis must be weak and should therefore be dismissed. Of course, anyone who knows anything about the judicial system, or has ever watched some sort of detective show on TV knows an incentive for someone indicted to cooperate is a reduced charge.

Where does all this lead? The lack of concern by Republicans for fulfilling legislative responsibilities in the House is another sign the US has become so polarized the only possible solution seems to be a catastrophic event that will cause enough Republicans to put on their big-boy pants and act like adults. That event, unfortunately, is likely to be an intensified Civil War.

The fifth US revolution started in earnest with the Trump election and escalated considerably with the insurrection and attempted coup January 6. While there are some hopeful signs that a more intense war can be averted, people have a very hard time changing behavior until faced with consequences. Just ask the three Trump lawyers who flipped in Fulton County how being faced with catastrophic consequences can affect behavior. END ENTRY #493

#492. What Can the US Learn from the Invasion of Israel by Hamas?

16 Monday Oct 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Causes of the Revolution, Societal Issues, Uncategorized

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BEGIN ENTRY #492: What lesson(s) can the US learn from the invasion of Israel by Hamas? The answer is remarkably simple, yet I’ve heard little, if any, serious discussion about possible lessons.

Yes, I understand most of the news is focused on events of the here-and-now, as it probably should be. The news is also heavily weighted toward devastation in Israel and Gaza. There’s also increasing coverage about the Catch 22 situation facing the Palestinians. Israel has ordered an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza. But Gaza is so densely populated, there is no place to flee other than Egypt and, as of now, that border remains closed.

Israel also faces a Catch 22 – how to eliminate leadership of Hamas in an environment where any serious military incursion will result in significant civilian casualties.

Why did Hamas invade southern Israel? The answer is multifaceted and covers numerous opportunities lost or squandered by both sides over many years. Which side is to blame? It is easy to blame Hamas, and rightly so, for all the deaths of civilians, especially children.

Israel also shares some blame. In a limited effort so far to eliminate Hamas leadership, Israel cut off food, water and medical supplies. Combined with the shelling of buildings believed to house Hamas fighters, many Palestinians have been injured or killed. By the time Israel completes a sweep of Gaza, many more civilians are likely to die. The situation is a no-win for both Israel and the non-combatant Palestinians.

If one steps back from the current chaos and asks, “why all the destruction?”, the answer seems obvious, at least to me. When a country or territory, such as Gaza, is run by religious zealots, decisions no longer are based on facts, or what is good for the general populace. Decisions become based on the dogma of the religious leaders.

Look at Iran prior to the 1979 Revolution. The Shah was no Mother Theresa, but the population was highly educated, the economy reasonably strong. Since the 1979 Revolution Iran has been run by hard right religious zealots. What’s happened to innovation, creativity and the economy? Downhill. Many really creative and ambitious people have left the country.

Same with Russia. Under Putin, Russia has suffered a brain drain and more fled when Russia invaded Ukraine. A stark comparison of the effect of openness and dogma is Korea. The South is robust and a major economic force. The North borders on starvation.

What’s this have to do with Israel and Hamas? Israel first. In order to stay in power, and try to avoid jail time on corruption charges, Benjamin Netanyahu secured the most recent tenure as prime minister by cutting a deal with the hard right Ultra-orthodox. (Sound familiar? Mmm, maybe Trump taught Netanyahu or vice versa.) As a result of the deal, government policies and actions have become more religiously focused and less focused on Israel’s founding commitment to be a model democracy.

Hamas, like Hezbollah and the Palestinian Authority, is an “organization.” In the early 2000’s, Hamas was elected by the people in Gaza to help transition Gaza to self-administration. Over the last 15+ years, Hamas has shifted from being a “governing body” helping run Gaza to focusing on try to annihilate Israel.

There’s much more of the story, but the lesson, for the US is this – When the hard-right religious groups begin to control or heavily influence government decisions, the outcome is never good for the people and the country.

Over the last 30+ years, the Republicans have continued to shift to the right and court groups previously considered on the unacceptable outer edge. As the Party shifted, centrist Republicans lost control. A recent high-profile example is the inability by Republicans to elect a Speaker of the House who is capable of getting legislation passed that can also be passed by the Senate, then signed by the president.

For centrist Republicans, the lesson from Hamas – fire the hard-right Freedom Caucus, or if that doesn’t work, or if you’re afraid to try, then cut a deal with Democrats to elect a Speaker than can get needed legislation moving again.

The lesson for US citizens – keep in mind the US is not immune to what happened in Iran, Russia, North Korea, et al. The US is not immune to conflicts like the one initiated by Hamas in Israel. While the conflict might not be an invasion from Canada or Mexico, it could be another insurrection by the hard-right zealots – i.e., US Revolution V. (Recall what happened in 1861?) END ENTRY #492:

#491. When Will Republicans Wake Up and Smell Donnie’s Doodoo?

03 Tuesday Oct 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Back Asswards Thinking, Causes of the Revolution, Societal Issues, Stupid Is as Stupid Does, Uncategorized

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BEGIN ENTRY #491: This entry might seem like a repeat or even a “three-peat.” But I’m stumped as to why anyone would continue to support Trump. Even if you dislike Democrats’ policies and/or dislike Biden, why support someone with a long history of fraud and deceit?

No, Trump’s fraud and deceit are not the garden variety type. We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars over many decades and, most importantly, a serious attempt to overthrow the US government.

How much evidence do you need to realize Trump is a chump? How can you think that all the Republicans who testified against Trump have somehow been corrupted by Democrats or an alien from outer space?

The list of Republicans starts at the top with a former Republican nominee for president and runs all the way to White House staffers. The most recent source of information about Trump‘s bizarre and delusional behavior came from Cassidy Hutchinson, and aide to Mark Meadows, Trump‘s chief of staff. If you think Hutchinson was a nobody spouting off hearsay and lies because she couldn’t possibly know what was going on, well, think again.

Hutchinson held the same job – yes, the same job as Alexander Butterfield. Remember Butterfield? If you’re a Republican, you should. He was the person who answered “yes” to a question in a Senate hearing about Watergate.

The question? “Mr. Butterfield, are you aware of a recording device installed in the Oval Office?” His straightforward reply of “yes” put the final nail in Nixon’s coffin.

Ms. Hutchison public testimony before the January 6 committee was enough to make anyone’s hair curl. Now more revelations are in a book about her time in the White House.

Lies you say. All made up! Well, go search the public records for her testimony to the January 6 committee. She’s also testified before the Department of Justice and at least one grand jury. Lying in any of the venues could result in a charge of perjury.

Further, match her track record for truthfulness against Trump’s. The match is not even close. She crosses the finish line before the Donald even starts the race.

Trump lied so much about his business in New York, and filed so many fraudulent documents that in a lawsuit brought by the NY AG, the presiding judge ordered a summary judgment against Trump and his organization, thereby eliminating the need for a jury trial to determine if he was guilty. The ruling was sweeping and most likely will put Trump out of business in New York. During the proceedings to determine damages, in which Trump waived his right to a jury trial, Trump made such threatening remarks about the judge’s staff that the judge issued a gag order.

Much more evidence about Trump‘s lying, cheating, stealing, and personal behavior is publicly available. If you need another credible evidence of this, look at remarks from General Mark Millie, former head of the joint chief of staff. Also. General John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff.

So , ask yourself – is this the guy I want to be leading the country? The guy who has vowed to abandon the US Constitution and make himself dictator?

Also ask yourself, what if a Democrat exhibited the same behavior? Before you claim Clinton, and Obama were worse, go find some facts to prove your case. You won’t find any.

If you still want Trump , then be prepared for an intense Civil War in the US. And, be prepared for what happened to the rebels in the south during the 1860’s. You’ll come out a loser. END ENTRY #491