Month: December 2021

Year’s Final Thought 2021

It is this last day of a year of a chaotic year, 2021…..I will take a break from my normal look back at the progress of this blog….I shall dispense with regaling my readers with the stats of In Saner Thought…instead I would like to look back at what I see in this country.

I have been watching the politics and the society of this country for 50 years and in all that time I have seen many turns but nothing has compared to the last decade….back in the mid 90s I stopped writing and watching the direct of America then I found a ray of hope but that was quickly dashed on the rocks of disappointment.

The country is in the grips of ignorance….when what Dupa Lupa wore to some random gala or whether the birds are real or whether JFK, Jr will be the VP candidate in 2024….and this list of stupidity goes on and on….

I am sadly disappointed in the young generation whose may concern is the game console and flavored drinks to involved in mind numbing past times to care about the country and their own future.

I am disappointed in the new government we have….we were given sparkling promises for the future and instead we get the same stale beer that has plagued us for many decades.

That last statement is not completely accurate….I am truly disappointed in my own generation, the Baby Boomers, as well.  The generation of peace and love became the generation of ignorance and stupidity….all on the back of a mad man from New York. well Florida now…..

The one simple action, well it use to be simple, of voting can make this country great again (sorry to use a slogan from a failed coup)  and the young cannot be dragged out of the mother’s basement to do this one thing to keep this country from ruin.

As we enter into an election year I can only ask one question….what kind of country will we be after the vote?

I wish all a very happy new year’s eve….please be safe in your rivalry….and let us hope for a better new year to come.

Be well and be safe……

“lego ergo scribo”

2021–A Look Back

2021 was a killer of a year….

As of October 2021, 470 (of which 240 resulted in zero deaths) fit the Mass Shooting Tracker project criterion, leaving 482 people dead and 1,927 injured, for a total of 2,409 total victims, some including the shooter(s).

Now there is a stat to be proud of (sarcasm in case you missed it)

This year as it ends I would like to look back at the disasters and actions that make 2021 a terrible year.  (I know this is just a way to close out the year but it all bears repeating)

A year of illness, death, mourning, and ever-increasing political chaos on a striking, if not unparalleled, scale threatens the American system as we’ve known it.

A year of tornadoes, hurricanes, sickness. a terrible freeze and those are the things that immediately jump to mind….but there was so much more….2021 has been a year like no other…not in recent history…..

Weather seemed to be the biggest threat….worldwide…

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59761839

And yet the weather seems to be of little concern to the leaders that owe everything to those that assist in the demise of the planet.

A small look back for you to contemplate….

Oh, and just to end on a cheerier note, as 2021 wound down, the Senate, which can agree on so little, passed almost unanimously the most staggering Pentagon budget of our time. The senators, like their House colleagues, even added an additional $24 billion the Biden administration hadn’t asked for.

So, as 2021 concludes, thanks a million for… well, not much, in all honesty.

Still, let’s hope against hope that, in 2022, we humans can figure out how to refocus on what matters and on the world we genuinely care to create for our children and grandchildren. It may seem unlikely after 12 months like this, but impossible it’s not and that’s a new year’s wish worth having as 2021 finally comes to an end.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/12/23/look-back-not-so-happy-year

Then there is our worthless Congress….they failed the people of this country on several levels…..

Voting Rights….should be a gimme but for some reason there are those that do not want to have people vote.

Police Reform….another issue that needs addressing and needs action….too many deaths at the hands of the local PDs but yet they prefer to kick this issue down the road….as usual.

Immigration Reform….what can I say….yet another hopeless cause….

If you would like more on these failures….

https://www.vox.com/22846344/democrats-build-back-better-voting-rights-immigration-manchin

A short look ahead to 2022….

I do not see much accomplished by our ‘overworked’ Congress (sarcasm in case you missed it) the perverts with the cash will see to that….after all it is an election year and everything comes to a virtual standstill as the politicians drop to their knees to perform for their cash….and sadly I do not see any progress for the Congress will return to the hands of the party of ‘NO’ (GOP)……

Is the country in the hands of the voter or in the claws of the parasites that own the Congress and government?

I think you know my answer….which is your?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

News Of The Day

I admit it my interest in the news has dropped in the later part of this year……it became so damn redundant that I stopped watching network news and went to reading it……corporate media has become a tool rather than an informer…..

Apparently I am not alone in my disdain for the corporate media…..

The presidential election, pandemic, and racial reckoning were stories that drove intense interest and engagement to news outlets in 2020. To a large degree, 2021 represented the inevitable hangover. The AP reports various metrics illustrate the dwindling popularity of news content. The major takeaways:

  • Cable news networks: In 2021, weekday prime-time viewership dropped 38% at CNN, 34% at Fox News Channel, and 25% at MSNBC, according to the Nielsen company. The decline was less steep but still significant at broadcast television evening newscasts: 12% at ABC’s World News Tonight and the CBS Evening News; 14% at NBC’s Nightly News, Nielsen said.
  • News sites. The Trump era saw explosive subscriber growth for some digital news sites like the New York Times and Washington Post. Yet readers aren’t spending as much time there; Comscore said the number of unique visitors to the Post’s site was down 44% in November compared to November 2020, and down 34% at the Times.
  • What’s changed. The cable news networks built a prime-time model almost entirely focused on political combat during the Trump years, which made it difficult for them to pivot to something different, said Tom Rosenstiel, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland. “You become, to some extent, a prisoner of the audience you built,” Rosenstiel said.
  • The social numbers: Those networks remain focused on politics even as viewership interest wanes. The media monitoring company NewsWhip looked at 14 million political articles online last year and found they had an average of 924 engagements, or social media interactions. The 13.5 million articles NewsWhip has traced in 2021 had an average of 321 engagements.
  • Some pivots: To a certain extent, these outlets have turned elsewhere for revenue opportunities, said news media analyst Ken Doctor. CNN is preparing to debut a new streaming service early next year, and recently poached Fox News’ Chris Wallace to join that effort. Fox News, while doubling down on conservative commentary following perceived threats from outlets like Newsmax and OANN, directed fans to its Fox Nation streaming service. Doctor said the Times has done an effective job of diversifying beyond politics, most notably with its Wirecutter service of consumer recommendations.
  • Big in 2022: Both CNN and MSNBC face key programming decisions in the new year. CNN must replace its most popular host, Chris Cuomo, who was fired after it was revealed how he helped his brother through a political scandal. MSNBC must replace Brian Williams in its lineup and will most likely see its most popular personality, Rachel Maddow, cut back on her hour

I thought it was just me being bored and irritated with the news…..my posting has illustrated my disgust with the news and the direction of this country….I found NO redeeming quality in the year 2021.

2022 will be little difference and the news will still be sensationalism dressed up as news….it will continue to do little other than sell stupidity and ignorance to the American people and the world.

Be part of the solution not a by-stander.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–28Dec21

Journalists have been under attack worldwide by governments trying to hide their misdeeds….plus some of those assault has caused the deaths of hundreds of journalists worldwide.

Under the cloak of anti-terrorism even the US has joined the attacks (so much for the well beloved free press)…….

A special Customs and Border Protection unit used sensitive government databases intended to track terrorists to investigate as many as 20 US-based journalists, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning AP reporter, according to a federal watchdog. Yahoo News, which published an extensive report on the investigation, also found that the unit, the Counter Network Division, queried records of congressional staffers and perhaps members of Congress. Jeffrey Rambo, an agent who acknowledged running checks on journalists in 2017, told federal investigators the practice is routine, per the AP. “When a name comes across your desk you run it through every system you have access too, that’s just status quo, that’s what everyone does,” Rambo was quoted by Yahoo News as saying.

The AP obtained a redacted copy of a more than 500-page report by the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general that included the same statement, but with the speaker’s name blacked out. The border protection agency is part of Homeland Security. The revelations raised alarm in news organizations and prompted a demand for a full explanation. “We are deeply concerned about this apparent abuse of power,” Lauren Easton, AP’s director of media relations, said in a statement. “This appears to be an example of journalists being targeted for simply doing their jobs, which is a violation of the First Amendment.”

Customs and Border Protection did not specifically address the investigation, but said the agency “does not investigate individuals without a legitimate and legal basis to do so.” The new disclosures are just the latest examples of federal agencies using their power to examine the contacts of journalists and others. Rambo’s and the unit’s use of the databases was more extensive than previously known. The inspector general referred possible criminal charges for misusing government databases and lying to investigators, but the Justice Department declined to prosecute Rambo and two other Homeland Security employees.

Just another example of how the US Constitution is being shredded…..until nothing of our ‘rights’ will remain.

This is what the ‘free press’ has come to in these days of an oligarchy.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Onto World War III?

As we begin the countdown to the New Year…..there a few things that we need to realize before we try to screw up another year.

People do not realize that a new Pentagon report has ominous predictions….especially how close a world war could possibly be……

When the Department of Defense released its annual report on Chinese military strength in early November, one claim generated headlines around the world. By 2030, it suggested, China would probably have 1,000 nuclear warheads — three times more than at present and enough to pose a substantial threat to the United States. As a Washington Post headline put it, typically enough: “China accelerates nuclear weapons expansion, seeks 1,000 warheads or more, Pentagon says.”

The media, however, largely ignored a far more significant claim in that same report: that China would be ready to conduct “intelligentized” warfare by 2027, enabling the Chinese to effectively resist any U.S. military response should it decide to invade the island of Taiwan, which they view as a renegade province. To the newsmakers of this moment, that might have seemed like far less of a headline-grabber than those future warheads, but the implications couldn’t be more consequential. Let me, then, offer you a basic translation of that finding: as the Pentagon sees things, be prepared for World War III to break out any time after January 1, 2027.

To appreciate just how terrifying that calculation is, four key questions have to be answered. What does the Pentagon mean by “intelligentized” warfare? Why would it be so significant if China achieved it? Why do U.S. military officials assume that a war over Taiwan could erupt the moment China masters such warfare? And why would such a war over Taiwan almost certainly turn into World War III, with every likelihood of going nuclear?

https://www.salon.com/2021/12/04/the-pentagons-new-warning-means-world-iii-may-arrive-sooner-than-you-think_partner/

How accurate can this prediction be?

I mean we have been told for decades that WW3 is coming and the list of possible enemies grows and grows….and Uncle Joe has done NOTHING to make is a safer world.

As someone once stated…”Peace is but an illusion”.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Sunday Random Thoughts

The day is done the meal has been eaten and now I have to look forward to a week’s worth of leftovers….since everyone is probably trying to recover from heavy eating and celebration I will offer a few random thoughts on this Sunday after Christmas…

For years people have heard all the rhetoric about rocket scientists and brain surgeons….but are we less than those?

Everyone is familiar with the phrase “It’s not rocket science” or “It’s not brain surgery,” and that got researchers wondering whether rocket scientists or brain surgeons were most justified in saying it. Answer: Neither camp outdid the other in a general cognitive test, reports the BBC. But more interesting is that neither camp outperformed the general population, either. And, yes, this is an authentic peer-reviewed study in the British Medical Journal. But as CNN notes, studies in the year-end edition tend to be lighter fare. In the study, researchers borrowed from the Great British Intelligence Test and assessed subjects in six general areas such as memory, word problems, spatial problems, etc.

Overall, rocket scientists and brain surgeons were “equally matched across most domains,” the researchers found. Brain surgeons were better than rocket scientists at “semantic problem solving,” while rocket scientists were better in “mental manipulation and attention.” The latter might involve “rotating objects in one’s head,” per the Guardian. And when both camps were compared with the general population, only two differences stood out in results: Brain surgeons solved problems more quickly than the average Joe, but their memory recall was slower.

The upshot? “It is possible that both neurosurgeons and aerospace engineers are unnecessarily placed on a pedestal and that ‘It’s a walk in the park’ or another phrase unrelated to careers might be more appropriate,” write the researchers. They further suggest that “other specialties might deserve to be on that pedestal, and future work should aim to determine the most deserving profession.” They do, however, give technical bragging rights: “In situations that do not require rapid problem solving, it might be more correct to use the phrase ‘It’s not brain surgery.”

Maybe there is hope for humanity.

Have heard about docile men and/or aggressive women?

There could be a simple answer…..

Humans emit a compound called hexadecanal (HEX for short) from their skin, saliva, and feces. Newborns release copious amounts of the compound from their heads. Even though HEX has no discernible scent, it can affect the behavior of those who smell it, according to research conducted by Noam Sobel, a neuroscientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Several experiments have shown that women exposed to the chemicals become more aggressive, whereas men become more passive.

An odorless compound emitted by people could make women aggressive and men docile

You would think after centuries of the study of the human body we would have all the answers there is….right?

If you answer yes then you will be mistaken.

Press your fingers behind your cheeks and clench your teeth. What you’re feeling is the masseter muscle, a key muscle allowing humans to chew and eat, which is usually described as being made up of a deep layer and a superficial one, per the Hill. Except researchers say that’s not quite right. Indeed, they say they’ve discovered a third, even deeper layer of the masseter, which is attached to the muscular or “coronoid” process of the lower jaw, according to a release. Hence the proposed name of Musculus masseter pars coronidea, or the coronoid section of the masseter, as revealed in the scientific journal Annals of Anatomy.

Dr. Szilvia Mezey of the University of Basel—part of a team that discovered the layer in fresh and preserved human cadaver heads as well as in MRI data from a living person—says it’s “clearly distinguishable from the two other layers in terms of its course and function.” The deepest layer appears to stabilize the lower jaw and may be the only part of the masseter that can pull the lower jaw backward toward the ear, according to the study. A third layer of masseter has been referenced before, including in a 1995 edition of Gray’s Anatomy. But that book cited non-human studies of jaw musculature, which conflicted with each other, per the release. More recent studies describing three masseter layers have instead concluded that the superficial layer is two layers in itself.

“In view of these contradictory descriptions, we wanted to examine the structure of the masseter muscle again comprehensively,” says study co-author Jens Christoph Türp of the University Center for Dental Medicine Basel. “Although it’s generally assumed that anatomical research in the last 100 years has left no stone unturned, our finding is a bit like zoologists discovering a new species of vertebrate.” The researchers say naming the muscle layer, running from the lower part of the skull to “the root and posterior margin of the coronoid process,” will “facilitate discussion” of this newly-described body part moving forward.

All the news you cannot possible use…..

I hope everyone has a great and restful Sunday….onto the celebration of a new year.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Christmas 2021

Today we celebrate Christmas day……my day will be filled with cooking….we will have ham, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, corn, yeast rolls and a nice red blend wine with apple pie for dessert….so my day is full and this will be my only post of the day.

Merry christmas and happy new year 2021 greeting card Premium Vector

I hope everyone has a joyous day filled with love, food and family…..

Thanx everyone for a good year and I am looking forward to a better year to come.

Be Well…..Be Safe….

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–24Dec21

Since it is the day before Christmas and my posting schedule has been slight….I close out the week with a few thoughts on local journalism.

Most of the reading public knows that the state of local journalism is dying…..thanx in part to the internet and social media.

Personally I weep for journalism for quality work has been replaced with sensationalism….

My local paper has shuddered their offices and it is up for sale…..the operation was moved to a site some 60 miles away and the paper is a shadow of its former self.

If only there was a way to save local journalism…….there is an opinion on just how we could do this…..

Under our plan—the foundation of the new Local Journalism Initiative—policymakers in Washington would provide a lump sum to every county in the nation annually based on the county’s population to pay for nonprofit journalism within that county.

Readers of the Columbia Journalism Review are well aware of the importance of local news media; they have been the foundation of the American free press, and political democracy, since 1776. Daily newspapers have traditionally constituted the heart and soul of local news media, and they have provided the lion’s share of original reporting upon which all other news media depend. That remains the case in the digital era as much of newspapering has transitioned online.

CJR readers are also aware that local journalism as it has been known for 200 years has all but disappeared in most places in the United States over the past two decades. The business model for commercial journalism, based on advertising providing most of the income, is dead. Thanks to the internet, it will never return. All efforts to find a viable new business model for local journalism have failed, and investors have abandoned the field, except for private-equity funds on the lookout for distressed properties they can strip for parts.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/12/01/only-public-funding-can-save-local-journalism-and-thus-democracy

I like the idea…..non-profit journalism could be the answer to the problem of ‘fair and balanced’ news.

Thanx to the Clinton admin of the 90s news became a profit making enterprise at the expense of accuracy and neutrality….

This country needs local journalism to survive…..sadly without some sort of plan it will slowly die and be replaced with lies and disinformation…today is the perfect example of the trouble journalism is in…..it needs our help.

Thoughts?

Have a great evening and be safe and smart…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Inflation Is Raging!

If you have been shopping for just about anything then you have noticed all the price increases….and that my friend is inflation.

The Biden admin has said that inflation has hit its peak and that prices are coming down…..pause here for head scratching……really? Not something I have noticed….how about you?

But let’s hear what the Biden Boyz have to say about our inflation problem…..

The price of consumer goods rose by 6.8 percent over the past year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, the biggest increase since the 1980s. “Essentially across the board,” as Vox’s Rani Molla and Emily Stewart write, everyday purchases from food to gas are costing more, and it’s going to be an expensive holiday season.

That part isn’t in debate. What is, however, is how worried everyone should be. In Washington, there’s sharp disagreement about what exactly is responsible for surging inflation, and what the government can — or should — do about it.

Some of the causes are fairly self-evident: Entering the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US — and much of the rest of the world — is grappling with a supply chain crisis. That means most goods, from game consoles to oranges, are more difficult to get to store shelves for one reason or another, whether it’s a lack of critical tech components or a backup at ports due to labor shortages. But US consumers simply haven’t stopped buying, and that demand-supply disjunction has caused record inflation.

https://www.vox.com/2021/12/11/22829221/inflation-rate-cpi-supply-chain-biden-transitory

But talk and promises cann0ot curb the inflation problem…..and the people do not care….they just keep throwing their hard earned cash away without demanding some accountability…..

It was the summer of 1979, and President Jimmy Carter was up against it. Americans were paying far more for gas and groceries than they were the year before, and Carter was confronted with a choice: He could tell Americans that this was a problem the government could fix, or he could tell them to tighten their belts and persevere. He chose the latter. But prices continued to rise, and in 1980, Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan in a landslide.

Things aren’t as bad as they were in 1979, but for many, the comparison is still apt. According to the latest consumer price index1 numbers, prices in November were up 6.9 percent compared with a year ago, the highest increase since 1982. And that comes alongside near-record-low consumer sentiment and a net approval rating for President Biden of -7.6 percentage points.2 Biden has said reversing inflation is a priority for his administration, and he has released strategic reserves of oil and announced plans to “relieve bottlenecks” to address soaring prices, but a difficult and uncertain road lies ahead.

It’s no secret that inflation is politically powerful. You can’t miss rising prices, and research has found that Americans care deeply about inflation. But the politics of handling it is messy, and should prices continue to rise, Biden has a difficult task. He faces a country that views inflation through a highly partisan lens — and that will judge his performance on the issue accordingly. If he ignores inflation, it could spiral as it did with Carter. But at the same time, should Biden react too forcefully, the cure could be worse than the disease. 

Why Biden Can’t Win On Inflation

People may bitch about the cost of goods but they do nothing to change the spiral of inflation……kinda like what the Biden admin is doing.

I told the  blogging world that we were not getting a ‘savior’ with Biden and his win over the Orange man…..and stats prove my warning….

What to do?   What to do?

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Conservatives In Progressive Clothing

As Congress slips out of DC they abandon policies to rush home to suck off the high dollar donors….so the country will come to a standstill for a couple of weeks.

Next year is an election year and the Dems will try to do what they always do……

Every year, election year that is, Dems put on their progressive clothing to win votes and have NO intention of carrying the principles of progressivism forward once elected……what I am saying is that if the voter is looking for a conservative party then look no further the the Dems.

I recently read an article that talks about the media’s hatred for Biden (more on that shortly)……..there seems to be some that thinks the media is trying to undermine the Biden agenda…..

Why does the media hate Joe Biden? This is a question that has been puzzling me. Why would Joe Biden, who represents the same neoliberal order the corporate media does, be a target of hysterical disdain? It is certainly not because Mr. Biden is taking us too far to the left. Even by the standards of corporate media, Mr. Biden hasn’t taken any serious steps to address our climate apocalypse or any other aspects of our quick march to the end of society as we know it.

Framing Joe Biden as a tool of the left is a narrative used by the fascist right in their conspiracy to erode democracy but why would the supposedly liberal media be joining in? A “return to normal” as represented by the corporate bipartisan neoliberal management of the underclass into the end times is exactly what Mr. Biden represents, and exactly what the media claimed they wanted.

The criticism of Donald Trump, much like the criticism of Joe Biden, frames him as a leftist. Mr. Biden is framed as a woke socialist while Mr. Trump is framed as a revolutionary populist. It is at least true that Mr. Trump wants to end bourgeois democracy. And it is true that Donald Trump used every opportunity to eliminate the free press. This was in theory at least the reason for and the limit of the media’s criticism of him.

Even if the media was incapable of representing the realities of 99% of the population it made sense they would be critical of Donald Trump, regardless of his corporate policies outside of his attitudes about the media. But it seems they dislike Joe Biden even more than the man who was seeking to destroy the very existence of journalism.

Biden’s Imaginary Leftism Is Not Why The Media Hates Him

I agree that Biden’s agenda is imaginary Leftism…..but I do not see the hatred that the writer of the article sees…..

The media helps promote the repressive pro-war agenda of Biden…..the media helps promote the ‘compromise’ myth…..I just do not see the hatred…..if anything the media promotes the spineless policies of both parties.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”