UNIVERSAL GREED

We have a great country in many ways:  military, government, education, healthcare, leisure time, entertainment, sports, retirement, and freedoms that few other global countries enjoy.

We also have problems like wealth/poverty gap, corrupt politicians, criminals, greedy businesspeople and individuals, obesity, lazy citizens, uneducated and uninformed masses, fake news, and con artists trying to rip people off.

From 1960 until 2025, it seems to me that our problems have increased, and our positive qualities have decreased.

It is my opinion and probably my opinion only that the reason for this flip-flop is GREED.

Americans are pushed in high school to go to college for the sole purpose of using that degree to EARN MORE MONEY.  I was in high school from 1962-1966.

When I was in grad school 1979-1981, we were taught that engineers were being taught the BUILT IN OBSOLESCENCE CONCEPT which was design products so they only last 3-5 years so that REPEAT BUSINESS is force and companies will increase their revenues.

Computer technology grows so fast that new computers must be purchased every 3-5 years also.

Greed via money is at the heart of our problem as to why we are having these problems.  Let's make as much money as we can before we die.

NO ONE HAS EVER LOOKED AT THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF ADOPTING THAT PHILOSOPHY OUTSIDE OF THEMSELVES.

Unintended consequences are always a bitch...

Somewhat Political

 

JWST discovers how we’re able to see the Universe at all

One of JWST’s main science goals was to teach us how the Universe grew up to be the way it is today, and one important cosmic mystery to solve was how the Universe came to be transparent to starlight. 

Previous studies had shown that the most prominent early JWST galaxies, the big, bright, massive ones, were too rare and too few in number to create enough ultraviolet photons to be responsible.

But a new study, highlighting many gravitationally lensed early, low-mass, but rapidly star-forming galaxies, measured their abundance exquisitely. We’ve found, at last, the main culprit behind cosmic reionization.

READ MORE...

Led Zeppelin - Over the Hills and Far Away - 1975 Earl's Court

Ponderings

 

It is my opinion, shared with millions of others that the US of A is the greatest country in the world today...  has been for decades...  and will continue to be for decades.

This fact can be easily proven with just our BILL OF RIGHTS alone that contains the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, the least of which is the first and second amendments:

• Freedom of Speech
• The Right to Bear Arms

Can you imagine any other country where you have the right to BURN THE FLAG OF A COUNTRY without suffering any consequences???

• No arrest
• No fines
• No jail time

Does any of the following countries allow their citizens or visitors to do this?

• Russia
• China
• Mexico
• Canada
• Great Britain
• India
• North Korea
• Iran
• Countries in the European Union
• Countries in Africa or South America

It is this FREEDOM that does not exist in any other country, making the USA by far, the greatest country in the world.

It does not take a brain surgeon or a Harvard graduate to figure this out...

Clear Water

 

Lara Trump

 

Japanese Train

 

Russell Brand

 

Two Vases

 

The Amber May Show

 

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

 

The Shannon Joy Show

 

Sun on Leaf

 

The Big MIG

 

By the Lake

 

TimecastIRL

 

Misty Mountains

 

News Variable

 

Justice

 

The Big THINK

 

CIA psychology: Ask questions that make people reveal everything

Morning Brew

TRAVEL
Plan a perfect summer weekend


Thomas Dambo

A Reddit roundup of the best public pools around the US
Plan cycling routes across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand
The best weekend getaways in the US, as recommended by Morning Brew readers
Free attractions to hit on a road trip



CULTURE
Deep dives into movies, TV, and more


eBay
How Napoleon Dynamite rewrote the indie movie marketing playbook. Like anyone can even know that.
Why Hey Arnold! sounded so jazzy
Crunching the data to decide when you should give up on a TV show
How to spot a fake masterpiece



READ
Our favorite books this summer

Grant Thomas
Tony Tulathimutte’s Rejection will have you laughing out loud at the characters and their outrageous choices until you recognize yourself in them.
Ironheart just premiered on Disney+. Get the graphic novel to devour after tearing through the series.
Here’s a hilarious read about Sarah Hartshorne’s time not becoming America’s Next Top Model.
For those of us obsessed with Love Island, Aisling Rawle’s wild satire takes on the reality TV machine.
Thumbing through a magazine is just as prestigious as finishing whatever overhyped nonfiction book the NYT is telling you to rea

READ MORE...

Robert Reich

What Patriotism Requires
An ode to a disappearing America





Friends,

Today I want to talk about the real meaning of patriotism.

It’s the exact opposite of the puffed-up patriotism peddled by Trump and his white Christian nationalists — with feigned fears that the nation is losing its whiteness or its dominant religion, that too many foreigners are crossing our borders, that men are competing in women’s sports or children are using school bathrooms inconsistent with their sex at birth, or that teachers are not celebrating the nation’s history.

To the contrary:

True patriots don’t fuel racist, religious, or ethnic divisions.

Patriots aren’t homophobic or sexist.

READ MORE...

My Secrets for Eating a Balanced Diet All Week Long

Quick Clips

 

My Personal Politics

 

I belong to NEITHER PARTY, and I support NEITHER PARTY, nor will I ever change!!!  One could say that I am both liberal and conservative which may not seem possible, but it is for me.

Here are my political beliefs:

1. low taxes
2. small government
3. balanced budget
4. pay down debt - then no debt
5. more states rights
6. term limits for all elected officials including the supreme court
7. strong military
8. no illegal immigrants
9. no DEI
10. mandate everyone to spend two years in military, no exceptions
11. take care of Americans before other countries
12. stand up to Russia, China, Noko, Iran
13. continue with gasoline and natural gas
14. explore but do not push green energy
15. better support for veterans
16. increase legal immigration
17. no tax shelters for the wealthy
18. no tax shelters for large non-profits
19. trans rights but not to play in female sports
20. female rights including abortions but not paid for by the federal government
21. free healthcare
22. no free education
23. no employee unions
24. global free trade

I understand that there will always be wealthy people but the wealthier you become the more taxes you should pay.  

The government and businesses should get together and begin developing a plan for what they are going to do collectively when humanoid robots with AI replace 80+ of the available jobs.

To say this is not going to happen is a lie and now is the time to start planning for that.

Somewhat Political

 

Rhythmic mantle plume rising beneath Ethiopia is creating a new ocean

Rhythmic pulses of molten rock are rising beneath eastern Africa, according to a new study.  The pulsing plume of hot mantle beneath Ethiopia, driven by plate tectonics, is slowly pulling the region apart and forming a new ocean near the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, researchers reported June 25 in the journal Nature Geoscience.

"We have found that the evolution of deep mantle upwellings is intimately tied to the motion of the plates above," Derek Keir, an Earth scientist at the University of Southampton and the University of Florence, said in a statement. "This has profound implications for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup.

READ MORE...

The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up

Happy Fourth of July