Critical Race Theory

 FROM THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION...  Part 1 of 2

In September 2020, President Trump issued an executive order excluding from federal contracts any diversity and inclusion training interpreted as containing “Divisive Concepts,” “Race or Sex Stereotyping,” and “Race or Sex Scapegoating.” Among the content considered “divisive” is Critical Race Theory (CRT). In response, the African American Policy Forum, led by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, launched the #TruthBeTold campaign to expose the harm that the order poses. Reports indicate that over 300 diversity and inclusion trainings have been canceled as a result of the order. And over 120 civil rights organizations and allies signed a letter condemning the executive order. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the National Urban League (NUL), and the National Fair Housing Alliance filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the executive order violates the guarantees of free speech, equal protection, and due process. So, exactly what is CRT, why is it under attack, and what does it mean for the civil rights lawyer?

CRT is not a diversity and inclusion “training” but a practice of interrogating the role of race and racism in society that emerged in the legal academy and spread to other fields of scholarship. Crenshaw—who coined the term “CRT”—notes that CRT is not a noun, but a verb. It cannot be confined to a static and narrow definition but is considered to be an evolving and malleable practice. It critiques how the social construction of race and institutionalized racism perpetuate a racial caste system that relegates people of color to the bottom tiers. CRT also recognizes that race intersects with other identities, including sexuality, gender identity, and others. CRT recognizes that racism is not a bygone relic of the past. Instead, it acknowledges that the legacy of slavery, segregation, and the imposition of second-class citizenship on Black Americans and other people of color continue to permeate the social fabric of this nation.

Gravitational Waves

You wouldn’t know it, but right now, as you read this article, your body is being squeezed and stretched. You don’t feel it because the amplitude of this flexing is only about 1/10,000th the diameter of a proton, but it is happening.

What’s causing it is not anything local, nor anything to do with your body itself. In fact, the entire Earth is being squeezed and stretched in the same manner. Instead, the source origin of these forces acting on you is located millions or even billions of light-years away.

Whilst we can be thankful that we don’t experience these effects on the macro scale, we are reminded that there are extreme forces at play in the Universe – powerful enough to distort the very rigid fabric of space-time itself.

The cause of this effect is gravitational waves, and the sources that are generating them, are massive compact objects in binary systems – like neutron stars or black holes – in inspiral orbits, drawing closer and closer together and emitting gravitational radiation in the form of these waves.

These waves were a predicted outcome of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and for the most part of 100 years, they were just that, theory. Then in the ’70s, indirect evidence was published that showcased a binary pulsar-neutron star system whose orbit was decaying with the exact predicted value that Einstein had determined – and the only explanation was that the system was emitting gravitational radiation. This exciting discovery went on to earn a Nobel Prize.

Then in 2015, it finally happened. With technology and instruments advancing to the threshold needed to make a discovery, two kilometre-sized laser interferometers based in the US (designed as a giant version of the Michelson-Morely experiment) confirmed the first-ever chirp from a system of massive compact objects as they merged. TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

The Eyes Have It

It has been said that “the eyes are the window to the soul,” but new research suggests that they may be a window to the brain as well.

Our pupils respond to more than just the light. They indicate arousal, interest or mental exhaustion. Pupil dilation is even used by the FBI to detect deception. Now work conducted in our laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology suggests that baseline pupil size is closely related to individual differences in intelligence. The larger the pupils, the higher the intelligence, as measured by tests of reasoning, attention and memory. In fact, across three studies, we found that the difference in baseline pupil size between people who scored the highest on the cognitive tests and those who scored the lowest was large enough to be detected by the unaided eye.

We first uncovered this surprising relationship while studying differences in the amount of mental effort people used to complete memory tasks. We used pupil dilations as an indicator of effort, a technique psychologist Daniel Kahneman popularized in the 1960s and 1970s. When we discovered a relationship between baseline pupil size and intelligence, we weren’t sure if it was real or what it meant.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...

I Haven't Been To Europe Either...

Listening to FOX News this morning as I always do, the hosts played a segment of VP Kamala Harris being interviewed...  the segment started off with the reported saying that the VP had not been to the border.

The VP responded, "we have been to the border."

The reporter clarified, "you have not been there."

The VP responded, "I haven't been to Europe either..." and laughed it off in a dismissive way.

The VP of the United States must maintain a professional image that is one of integrity as well...  and, to hear her answer the question the way she did, reminds of the bullshit that former President Trump used to do...  but, the press never let him get away with it.

Is the press letting here get away with this because:

• She is BLACK
• She is DEMOCRAT
• She is FEMALE
• She is WOKE

One issue is for TRUE TRUE and that is that the USA is changing and while 50% of the public think the change is GOOD...  another 50% think the change is BAD...

Guess what folks...

AMERICA is DIVIDED right down the middle...

What does this mean?

Nothing will ever get done unless one side gives in...

Divided America FALLS...

America FALLS globally which is much worse that failing with the contiguous states...  plus Alaska and Hawaii...

Is that what you want?

Which side are you on???

 

Downside of Writing

For those of us who have the gift of free flowing thoughts and do not have to struggle to find the right words, one could either congratulate you for your unusual gift or accuse you of being mentally lazy...  that only the true writer searches for just the right word to go in the right place in the right sentence.

And while everyone has their own opinion on a variety of subjects, it is clear to me that everything we do revolves around being a chef.

You can cook the same way and serve it to 10 different people at 10 different times in 10 different locations and each of those 10 eaters will have different sensation regarding the food that they just ate.

The same holds true of writing...  Yes, you can search for that right word, but once you do, the person to whom you submit the writing may not like your choice of words...  then what do you do?  Make the claim that this publisher obviously has their head up their ass?  That may be exactly what s/he is thinking about you.

The real problem with writing is not so much selecting the right word for the right audience but making sure that what you have written:

• Makes Sense
• Flows

So, what the hell does that mean?

Well, when I was a contract instructor, the course writing company would assemble all of us and give us the course they had designed to teach it touch a group of assembled students at different locations.

What we ALL DISCOVERED is that the greatest designed course with superb graphics and excellent examples and exercises MAY NOT HAVE teachability...  in other words, it did not flow smoothly...  transition from on topic to the next...  and it was our job to discover that and correct it for them.

The same holds true for writing, especially the novel...  so, writers MUST DEVELOP the ability to go back and reread their manuscript as if it had been writing by someone else to check for making sense and flowing...

Oftentimes, writers do not have that ability because in their minds they are replacing what is missing or what needs to make sense, which is incredibly natural.

Rainy Days Forecasted

My morning, like every other morning, started off with me giving a treat to our 3 cats, taking my thyroid pill,  filling up the cat's food bowls, getting my laptop and notebook and taking them both into the living room, making coffee, and sitting down on the couch recliner to watch FOX News for a few minutes.

For some reason, I decided to check the weather forecast for my zip code and discovered that it was going to rain everyday for the next seven days and that each of the days had a probability of rain at over 70%...

Not much can be done outside if it is going to rain like that all week...  and, while this does not really bother me because I stay inside mostly, it does bother my wife because she stays outside mostly...  which means...  and if, you have been married for 10 years or more, you know exactly where I am going with this...

This morning I had some cake mini muffins that my wife had prepared the day before because the ingredients were going to expire and we don't like to throw away food.  Then, I prepared a rice, pepper, green onion, vege sausage, mushrooms, and garlic whatever...  which I had to cook the rice twice because there was too much in the pot...  and, once I started eating it, paid absolutely no attention at all to the fact that it did not taste good because I like rice so much.

That does not happen often, but when it does, my meals taste horrible...  I could blame it on the rain but I don't think anyone would believe me.

My problem is that I am trying to incorporate what I think are healthy food items into everything I eat and while that concepts works ok most of the time, it does not work ok all of the time.

• Garlic
• Onions
• Green Peppers
• Mushrooms
• Olive Oil/pepper

I am not a chef nor am I a cook, I am just someone who likes to put a lot of different shit into a pot and see what happens...  although, I am sure there might have been a better way to explain that.

Don't Give A Damn No Mo'

Livin' off the government and lovin' it... 

I retired during the Presidential administration of Donald Trump and only began to LIVE LARGE under the new Presidential administration of Joe Biden...

...excerpt for the Harry Belafonte song ZOMBIE JAMBOREE

Already talking
Back to back, belly to belly
I don't give a damn, I done dead already
Oho back to back, belly to belly

It would appear that America is DONE DEAD ALREADY... and, we don't give a damn...

Sometimes...  when I not sitting at home doing nothing...  I wish that I were working...  so I could be laid off and collect unemployment in the amount of more than what I would be earning working, so I can stay at home doing nothing...

I really like DEMOCRATS who take money from the WEALTHY and redistribute it to the NOT SO WEALTHY...  because every time they do that, my wife and I benefit...  and, I really don't give a damn if this approach hurts our country or not because, being retired, allows me to SIT BACK and just look at those who want to work, spend 60+ hours at work, leaving them only a little time at home with their families, unable to really enjoy what their money is buying them...

GO DEMOCRATS GO...

Uniting America

One of the KEY POINTS of the 2020 Presidential Election was the FACT that BIDEN wanted to UNITE AMERICA because TRUMP had divided America...

One of the basic foundations of the concept of UNITING AMERICA is to bring ALL Americans together...  but, Black Lives Matter, Critical Race Theory, the WOKE Mob, and the new Cancel Culture are not concepts that are specifically designed to UNITE ANYTHING...  as they are specifically designed to HIGHLIGHT OUR DIFFERENCES...

If you are that STUPID not to see the difference, then you do not need to be in a position of leadership that tries to influence the general public.

We are not black Americans or white Americans or red Americans or brown Americans...  if you really want to know the real truth, then you must only see us as AMERICANS...

AMERICANS have hurt and continue to hurt other Americans but we are still Americans and those bad apples should be punished...  but, that is it...

To tell me that my whiteness has screwed AMERICA then my first thought is KISS MY ASS then my second thought is GFY...

• My whiteness is GOD GIVEN...
• Your blackness is GOD GIVEN...
• Your brownness is GOD GIVEN...

Americans did not set the colors of people into motion and for the most part does not see one color as better or worse than the other...  and, was fine until you tried to bring it to our attention that Americans had different skin colors...  NO SHIT MORON...

Do Ya Wanna Write?

The best way that I know how to answer the question:  Do Ya Wanna Write? is to answer the question by letting the reader know what I did in my life...  when I answered that question with, "yes, I do wanna write."

For me, the question was answered in 1972, 48 years ago, when I started writing poetry in the mornings so that I would have something to do while drinking coffee at McDonald's every morning before attending my college classes.

In addition to writing poetry, I joined a local Writers Club and began writing Short Stories and a couple of plays, as I recall.

I also remember taking creative writing classes at our local community college because the cost of each course was only $10.

My degree in college was English, so we were always asked to write out debates, essays, critiques, term papers, etc., and whenever we had a writing assignment, I would write more than was required unless the Professor indicated that writing more would lower the grade.

My term/research paper required a 20 page length and I would typically write a 40-50 page length.

One of my first jobs was writing package inserts for a microbiological media manufacturer which again allowed me to practice my writing.  When I directed a local non-profit, I would love to write press releases because again it allowed me to practice.

After several years, I joined LinkedIn and spent the next few years writing 1,000 word opinion articles that I posted as often as I could write them.  When I stopped that social media account, I had posted over 1,200 articles.

Next, I started writing novels and while writing those novels, maintained 4 blogs on a daily basis which also required writing and posting articles.

IN SHORT, I wrote something all the frigging time and the more I wrote the better I got or that is what others said who read what I had to write.

TO DATE, I have completed 2 - 350 page novels, and have started 2 other novels and complete a chapter outline of a third.  Before the end of 2021, I will finish all 3 in-progress novels while continuing to maintain my 4 blogs and write poetry, along with whatever other letter writing I can manage to fit in.

IF YOU WANT TO WRITE YOU MUST DISCIPLINE YOURSELF TO WRITE ALL THE TIME...

Komic Korner Kartoons

 

Writing A Novel For The Hell Of It...

Most people don't want to do a damn thing just for the
hell of it, except for maybe:

• take drugs
• have sex
• drink alcohol
• overeat

let alone go to all the trouble to write a frigging novel...  but, I am sure that there are some people, who, like myself, simply enjoy writing.

With that said...  let me share my process with you...  I don't consider myself to be a very creative person, and yet, I have ideas for novels pop into my head all the time.

Once I decide I want to explore one of those ideas, I try to decide on a Title for novel, even though the name might change down-the-road.

Then, I open WORD and set my manuscript document up with the headers/page numbers publishers prefer, along with line spacing, and paragraph indention  I always choose Times News Roman at 12 pts  simply because I like that style and it most accepted by everyone.

I don't necessarily have a Table of Content page, but I do create 15-20 Chapters and I either use large numbers to distinguish or Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.  And, once the chapters are created, I create a comment beside each chapter in which I write:

Chapter Outline

• Topic 1
• Topic 2
• Topic 3
• Topic 4
• Topic 5

I create this outline whether I use it or not...  and, I have written novels both ways.  I include 5 topics because I figure 3 written pages per topic especially if there is dialogue with each chapter being roughly 15 pages long.  I can add/subtract topic as those situations present themselves.

My first task is to write the INTRODUCTION/PROLOGUE to set the stage for what the novel is going to be about even though this could change as well during the course of writing.  I remain flexible so that if I get this wild hair to take the novel on a side adventure, I am not locked in place to a rigid Topic idea.

Then, I just start writing according to the first topic of the first chapter and just let it flow.  If I struggle with the topic not developing, then I put it aside until the next day and if I am still struggling, then maybe my topics have not been developed in such a way that is conducive to the writing process...  this means I start over with my topics and think of new ways the novel idea/concept should flow.

What Do Ya Need?

Many of us Americans as well as those immigrants who have entered this country
illegally want the SAME THING....   MORE...  MORE...  MORE... of everything, such as:

• more money
• more food
• more alcohol
• more drugs
• more sex
• more clothes
• more fun

I was going to add more education but that thought got me to thinking about my previous students who only wanted to memorize what they needed to know for the test and not what they needed to know to retain knowledge...  some would argue that those two statements are not mutually exclusive.

I remember a very wealthy man telling once that all he wanted to do was just earn one more dollar...

What is this obsession with MONEY?

I had a conversation yesterday with a legal immigrant who has become a US citizen and he lives two doors down from me and when we are out mowing our yard at the same time, we always stop and talk...

He is 61/62 years of age and I am 73 years of age, and we both at at that point where we are no longer interested in having the desire to acquire more money...  but instead, have acquired the desire to enjoy the live around us...  that is to say:

• enjoy the sunrises
• enjoy the sunsets
• enjoy the warm weather
• enjoy the birds singing
• enjoy watching the rabbit in the yard
• enjoy the beauty of trees

My fellow American was a builder of homes and rented out my other homes and/or apartments and owns all sorts of equipment that he during his lifetime purchased for cash because of his wealth...  and, while he enjoy being able to do that, his life was not rewarding or satisfying as he expected it to be.

SOUND FAMILIAR???

C H A N G E

 It has been said by people smarter than me that PEOPLE DON"T TYPICALLY CHANGE UNTIL THE PAIN OF NOT CHANGING IS GREATER THAN THE PAIN OF CHANGING...

and yet, people still do not want to change...  I find that incredibly interesting especially in light of the recent change in Presidential Administrations and CHANGE is so prevalent that if you stop and take a piss, you have to learn something new when you return.

Most of us live our lives in cages that define us...  who we are...  what we think...  what we say...  how we behave...  and, those cages seldom change their appearance or the space within them...  so it is very easy for us to believe the same load of shit year after year after year without ever realize that the shit we believe is WRONG...

I remember that for most of my life, my eye vision has been 20/15 in both eyes until I was about 45-50 years old and then it started to change...  for the worse...  eventually, I purchased those readers for $2.50 each but took them off when I wasn't reading.

Eventually, my eyes worsen to the point that I had to start wearing prescription glasses and after the doctor handed me the script, I said, "do I have to wear these damn things all the time?"  His response was chilling...  "only if you want to see."  Sadly, he wasn't even trying to be humorous...

BUT...  I did not want to change...  and, I did not change until I absolutely had to change.

The irony of this entire concept is the fact that I made my living in industry as a CHANGE AGENT...  re-engineering systems to eliminate waste and increase output and productivity without any loss of quality or function of use.  If you followed my guidelines and recommendations, everyone in the damn plant had to change what they had been doing for twenty years...  and, that was painful for many old timers...

Staying Young

 We, that is to say both male and females, have an unusual desire to stay or remain young as long as we can...  and, we do this by getting:

• Facelifts
• tummy tucks
• hair implants
• weight loss diets
• wearing young style clothes
• dying our hair
• teeth implants
• eye implants

and these are only a few that I know as I am sure that there are others...

BUt, the sad fact of the matter is that we all get older each day and there is not a damn thing we can do about it inside...  all we can change is our outward appearance and/or our mental thoughts.

There is nothing wrong with have young mental thoughts because those thoughts can actually help you live longer, but teeth and hair color cannot help except give you the false assurance that you will be able to live longer.

We live as long as we are supposed to live and not a day more...  Just as our births were predetermined, so too will be our deaths...  IN fact, if you were living at the edge of the universe then our future has already been seen relative to how fast passes here on earth.

think about it...

Domestic Terrorism

WHAT IT IS...
Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.  There are many definitions of terrorism, and none of them are universally accepted. The United States Department of State defined terrorism in 2003 as "premeditated, politically motivatedLady violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience."  There is no Federal criminal offense designated as domestic terrorism.  Source:  Wikipedia

So, one might conclude that all the violence that we see being perpetrated on the streets of our cities are for the most part, examples of domestic terrorism...

Back in the 60's when the CHICAGO SEVEN trial was being conducted as they were charged with crossing state lines to incite riots and violence, that could have been construed as an act of domestic terrorism, even though we had minimal terrorist activities taking place in the rest of the world other than those conducted by the PLO and Yasser Arafat. 

BUT...  no one is charging the Black Lives Matter with domestic violence because all of their actions have been justified as a result of the George Floyd killing...  so, as long as a group has MORAL JUSTIFICATION then there is no chance that they are going to be charged with domestic terrorism...

As black continue to assassinate WHITE COPS, I wonder how long it will be before the DOJ starts charging them with domestic terrorism...  if they ever do...

It would appear that Lady Justice is not blind after all or maybe she is and cannot see what is going on in the street of our cities. 

Simply My Opinion

I have spent the majority of my life looking for faults in myself as well as others and I have never been disappointed; on the contrary, it is very easy to find fault in others but not so easy to find fault with one's self unless one displays a self-defeated attitude from the getgo, then they are more likely to find fault with themselves.

So, given this to be my basic personality, I not only look for the worst in people, in companies, but in governments as well...   and, the government that has gotten most of my attention recently is CHINA.

Not only does China have a larger army than the USA...  and,

Not only does China have a larger navy than the USA...  and,

Not only does China have a larger air force than the USA...   but, CHINA has said that they want to RULE EARTH in 15 years or by 2035...  however, this does not seem to be of any major concern to our new Presidential administration.

And, if we do a little extrapolation here...  it would be fairly easy to conclude that CHINA, for only reasons known to themselves, would have a justification based upon their 15 year goal to have INTENTIONALLY RELEASED THE COVID VIRUS on the rest of the world, and very much willing to sacrifice their own population in the process.

If it was not intentional, then it was a MISHAP because there is substantial evidence to conclude that this virus was mutated in the labs rather than coming to humans from animals...  which takes a longer amount of time to develop.

China was studying, playing with, and enhancing this virus in the labs just in case they wanted to use it against their enemies in the future, and the shit leaked out...  supposedly by mistake...  or, it leaked out, intentionally...  as an experiment to see how many it would kill and how fast it would spread.

China because of all its HUMAN RIGHTS violations has no desire TO VALUE LIFE, neither their own or others...  and, the sooner we realize this and convince the rest of the world to watch out for CHINA, the less time we will have to protect ourselves...  and, it may be too late already.

On the Horizon

WHAT DOES INFLATION MEAN? 

Inflation is the decline of purchasing power of a given currency over time. A quantitative estimate of the rate at which the decline in purchasing power occurs can be reflected in the increase of an average price level of a basket of selected goods and services in an economy over some period of time.

WHAT CAUSES INFLATION?
Inflation is a measure of the rate of rising prices of goods and services in an economy. Inflation can occur when prices rise due to increases in production costs, such as raw materials and wages. A surge in demand for products and services can cause inflation as consumers are willing to pay more for the product.

IS INFLATION GOOD OR BAD?
Inflation erodes purchasing power or how much of something can be purchased with currency. Because inflation erodes the value of cash, it encourages consumers to spend and stock up on items that are slower to lose value. It lowers the cost of borrowing and reduces unemployment.

For the most part, inflation is not good unless wages increase proportionately...  but, if that happens, then economics say that there is no inflation...  just a steady economic growth which is a win/win situation for everyone.

But, if prices increase and wages do not, then people pay more for the goods and services they have to have and do not partake in the goods and services that they do not really need...  This causes the economy not to grow.

From my perspective as a retired individual, I don't give a rat's ass if the economy grows or not as long as prices do not increase...  And, yes that is a selfish point-of-view but I would suspect most people do not want prices to go up and if anyone wants their taxes to go up needs to take their head out of their ass or purchase an inflated price glass bellybutton so that they can see better.

Playing The Race Card

 

Russian Hackers

 When the Colonial Pipeline was hacked by RUSSIA, and our gasoline flow was delayed causing gas lines at

stations for several days...  that directly impacted me...  and, I was annoyed and somewhat pissed off...  BUT NOW...  these RUSSIAN HACKERS, maybe the same ones, maybe new ones, have attacked our MEAT SUPPLIER which will cause red meat prices to increase...

HOWEVER...  this time, it is of little concern to me because I stopped eating red meat over a decade ago and while I like to eat GREASY CHEESEBURGERS, I have mentally convinced myself that this eating habit is unhealthy...

My diet nowadays consists of chicken, turkey, beans, and fish...

Maybe it is finally time for the USA to use this as an excuse to change out diets.

the Quantum Revolution

As you read these words the world around you seems pretty solid, pretty stable: The device you're using seems to exist on its own, with its own properties of shape and weight and color. So does the chair you're sitting in, the table your coffee cup is resting on and the coffee cup itself.

But that solidity and independence is a kind illusion or, at least, so says the very physics that lets these words appear on the screen of your computer, smart phone or tablet.

That physics, called quantum mechanics, represents the most powerful theory human beings have ever developed. And while we scientists know how to use it to make all those digital devices, we do not know what it means. We don't know what it's telling us about the fundamental nature of reality. It is into that chasm that acclaimed theoretical physicist and author Carlo Rovelli leaps with his new book Helgoland. Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution.

It's a leap you will want to take with him.

Quantum mechanics is now more than 100 years old. It was born at the turn of the 20th century as physicists probed the atomic and subatomic realms. Much to their chagrin, reality turned out to be a lot weirder at those scales than in the "classical" realm of ordinary experience. The theory they developed to control the objects of their experiments was an intellectual triumph. Almost all of the technological miracles we live with now — from CAT scans to computers — can be traced to that achievement. But quantum mechanics never really "explained" the strangeness of the microworld. It just gave us a method for making incredibly accurate predictions and building stuff.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...