Passing

 

The Great Pretender

Oh-oh, yes, I'm the great pretender
Adrift in a world of my own
I've played the game but to my real shame
You've left me to grieve all alone

What is the price of pretending?

The United States  is unfortunately a caste, class-based, society. There are the best schools, the best neighborhoods, the A-list, first class travel, etc. If people have certain characteristics they might be treated as if they are in a higher class.  For example a white male who graduated from two Ivy League schools might be considered to be a male WASP. At least in my own case that assumption would be wrong. I am a male and white but I am also an Irish‑Polish Catholic from a working class, union family.  My family has members with different genders, different sexual orientations, disabilities, and have, including especially me, mental health issues. But my last name is Beagan, and while Ronald Reagan was President I answered to BAY-gan and was assumed to think and act like Ronald Reagan, even though I pronounce it BEE-gan and I don’t think like former President Reagan. I should have corrected the pronunciation. But then I should have also objected to the accompanying disparaging comments and jokes about religion, nationality, gender, unions, income, sexual orientation, disabilities, mental health, etc, but I did not.

Those who have a different sexual orientation can talk about the cost that comes from being in the closet. Those light-skinned blacks who are passing for white, pay the cost of knowing that their identity could be uncovered. Not to put myself in the same category, but I have played the price of being in the closet, passing, pretending I was in another class. If I believe that there should be no classes, and that no one is better than another, then I should act as if there are no classes, and not accept the benefits that come from being incorrectly perceived to be in an “higher” class.

Will Smith

I’m A Man

Who imagine I'm not human
And my heart is made of stone
I never had no problems
And my toilet's trimmed with chrome

Being a man does  not mean making the first slap.

The Will Smith-Chris Rock spat is being viewed by many lenses.  I would like to suggest viewing it as an example of vigilantism.  Was Chris Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith hurtful and wrong.  She has a shaven head not because she is auditioning for GI Jane, or any stylistic choice,  but because she has publicly said that she has alopecia, hair loss.  If Donald Trump’s mocking of a disabled journalist was despicable, and it was, then this “joke’ by Chris Rock was not very funny either.  Chris Rock should not even have been making such a “joke”.  It was not in his prepared and approved remarks.  He was after all, there to present an award for Best Documentary on behalf of the Academy of Motion Pictures.  None of the documentaries nominated were about Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, GI Jane, or alopecia, so, IMHO, the ”joke” was not only NOT funny, it was inappropriate.

However Will Smith escalated Chris Rock’s offensive behavior and took it on himself.  He was in a position to reach the stage only because the stars had been given a special section in the Dolby Theater, supposedly because of COVID, and not because they need and deserve special treatment.  Chris Rock’s offense was against the Academy.  Any action should have been taken by the Academy.  Will Smith acted as a vigilante.  Whether it  is “playing the dozens”, “your mama”, or "pistols at dawn", a feud to protect one’s honor, or the honor of one's loved ones, is still a feud.   The Power of the Dog was about the dangers of toxic masculinity and revenge.  A picture released this year was the Last Duel. Might does not make right, i.e. trial by combat, whether that might is a slap, jousting, a sword, a gun, or anthrax-tainted rawhide.  The tribe decides what is right.  Taking justice into one’s own hands, makes you a vigilante, and does not prove your love.  Two wrongs never make a right.

If the special seating was due to COVID safety concerns, let us hope that the Academy will end it when the Pandemic ends.  No one should be treated so specially  that they think that their pride is more important than the group's pride. 

Gold

 

Goldfinger

Mister Goldfinger
Pretty girl beware of this heart of gold
This heart is cold

He loves only gold
Only gold
He loves gold
He loves only gold
Only gold
He loves gold 

Will the sanctions imposed on Russia result in a return to the gold standard? 

Prior to 1933, the US Dollar was on the gold standard. Each US Dollar could be converted into gold which could then be owned by an individual. This currency, medium of exchange, would inevitably lead to economic crashes when one group acquired most of the currency, and the supply and demand curves had to readjust. ( Because one person’s buyer is another person’s seller. It’s just  Apartment House Rules. One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor). In 1933 individual ownership of gold was made illegal which effectively took the dollar off the gold standard. The US Dollar before that time was what is called a commodity currency, it could be converted into a commodity (gold). After 1933, the dollar became what is known as a fiat currency. The US Dollar became worth what the US government said that it was worth. 

At that time international trading was still done in gold. However during World War II, the United States became the principal holder of gold in the world. If international trade was to take place, then there needed to be another medium of exchange. To promote international trade, there needed to be a fiat currency, to replace gold. At Bretton Woods in 1944, John Maynard Keynes proposed an international currency, the bancor. The United States proposed the US Dollar, convertible into gold. Needless to say the US won. 

By 1971 international trade had increased such that if the foreign countries who had accumulated US Dollars as a result of trade called for a conversion into gold, those countries would empty the US gold supply. This prompted the Nixon Shock of 1971, when the US Dollar was no longer convertible into gold by foreign nations. The rapid inflation that resulted in the 1970s was similar to the economic crashes that had been experienced domestically when the dollar was on the gold standard as the supply and demand curve adjusted. 

Trade, an exchange of goods, requires trust between the buyer and the seller, including the medium of exchange used in that trade. When one of the parties reveals themselves to be untrustworthy, say by invading Ukraine, you can refuse to trade with them. You can also say that the medium of exchange that county has acquired will no longer be honored. 

What that country could do, and apparently has done, is to say that in the future they will only deal in gold, or hard commodity currencies, for trade. The advantage of gold is not only that it has a value which has been agreed to, and it is liquid, but it is also much more untraceable than fiat currencies, and is a  means of evading international sanctions. 

This is a suitable time for the United States to suggest discussions on establishing an international fiat currency, to be a managed by an international association such as e.g. the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, or G-7, etc. The objection by Russia seems to be it can not trust the United States, so everyone should adopt the gold standard, not trust anyone and everyone should return to the gold standard. Saying that there is an international fiat currency that is NOT the US Dollar says that people should trust each other, even if you don’t trust the United States. 

Goldfinger was a villain. He loved only gold. Let’s not become villains ourselves.

Ketanji Brown Jackson Nomination Hearings II

 

Respect

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care, TCB, oh

A little respect
(Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)
Whoa, babe 

Was former President Trump correct?  Was KBJ being disrespectful?

·       Trump accused Ketanji Brown Jackson of being "disrespectful" to GOP senators at her confirmation hearings.

·       Trump said that Republican lawmakers asked Jackson questions "really nicely."

·       Jackson's grilling by Republicans was described by the media as "hyperpartisan" and "poisonous."

Insider, Joshua Zitser, Sun, March 27, 2022, 6:38 AM https://news.yahoo.com/trump-attacked-ketanji-brown-jackson-103838583.html

And here I thought the Orange Menace watched TV. Clearly he wasn’t watching the same TV as me.  Republicans such as Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, and Marsha Blackburn were respectful and KBJ was disrespectful? Is black really white, and white really black, also? Just more evidence that it you want to uncover the truth, it is the opposite of what Donald Trump is saying.

In response to questions from the Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee that were not only disrespectful, they were inane, irrelevant, deceitful, demeaning, illegal, etc. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson responded with respect and grace In fact it was the most graceful demonstration I have seen since Fred Astaire danced with Ginger Rodgers. And like Ms. Rodgers, KBJ did it backwards and in high heels. Like Senator Booker, I believe that "You (KBJ) have earned this spot. You are worthy.”

Breaking News

 

Man Bites Dog

Extra! Extra! Extra! Extra! Man bites dog!
Extra! Man bites dog! Extra! Man bites dog!
Man bites dog! Man bites dog! Man bites dog!

Breaking News! Senator McConnell will not vote for the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson! 

I received a Breaking News Alert on my iPhone.  It was a Dog Bites Man headline and was hardly breaking news.  Did anyone seriously expect Senator Mitch “Yertle the Turtle” McConnell to vote to confirm Judge KBJ?  He has never seen a Republican nomination that he opposed, nor a Democratic nomination that he endorses.  Now if he voted to confirm THAT would be a Man Bites Dog headline.  Otherwise this is a Dog Bites Man story and not worth the designation as breaking news.

Vladimir Putin II

 

Wonderful World

Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French I took

But I do know that I love you
And I know that if you love me, too
What a wonderful world this would be

Vladimir Putin doesn’t much about know history….or about love.

Valdy, Valdy, Valdy. And here I thought that it was Americans who did not know Russian history. It sounds like you are not too hot on that subject either. In a speech on March 25^th, President Putin said that the West was trying to cancel the culture of a 1000 year old county, including cancelling such composers as Tchaikovsky.

1000 years? Really? Really? The Russian Federation, of which you are the President, dates only back to 1991. The USSR, which preceded the Russian Federation, was established in 1921. Ukraine was in the USSR only because the Russian Bolsheviks invaded, and conquered, the Ukraine People’s Republic. Ukraine was an independent country between the assassination of the last Romanov Tsar in 1917 and 1921. While Nicholas II was the last of the Romanovs  (by the way, I think Amazon Prime should be told that its series the Romanoffs has been cancelled. Yes, it is spelled different but that is because you Russians use that funny alphabet which can have multiple translations. The series was there the last that I looked!), he actually was descended from Peter II and Catherine the Great ( by the way The Great is currently a series on Hulu starring Elle Fanning as Catharine.  Is it being canceled too?).  That pair were actually Germans who changed their name from Holstein-Gottorp to Romanov when they assumed the throne. Peter spoke little Russian). But that was in 1762. The last actual Romanov was Tsarina  Elizabeth Petrovna who died in 1762. The Russian Empire was declared by Peter the Great in 1721 which, do the math, was NOT 1000 years ago. The first actual Romanov Tsar, not the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovs, was Tsar Michael who ruled from 1613 to 1645. The First Tsar of Russia, who was not a Romanov, and whose title you are clearly want, was Ivan the Terrible who ruled from 1547 to 1584. A thousand years ago Russia was ruled by the Mongol Golden Horde, you know of Genghis and Kubla Khan fame, or is it too soon to mention that. The Rus Kiev, modern day Kviv, was founded in 880, but the Dukes of Moscow conquered and ruled Kiev beginning in 1389. But the Ukrainians are their own people. They have their own language and their own religion, Ukrainian Catholicism or Orthodoxy, which is different than Russian Orthodoxy, and everything. Just because Russia ruled Ukraine once, it does not mean that you can rule it forever.

As to cancelling Tchaikovsky, that is news to me. Does that mean the Boston Pops won’t be playing the 1812 Overture on the 4^th of July as it does every year, because it is such a beautiful patriotic commemoration, in this case of the Russian defeat of the invasion by Napoleon? Is the Pops going to be playing an updated version where the Russian National Anthem fades as the Church bells ring? Does canceling Tchaikovsky  mean that his Nutcracker ballet won’t be performed in virtually every American city during the Christmas season? Canceling the persons performing Tchaikovsky who also support your invasion does not mean that we are cancelling Tchaikovsky. You do realize that Tchaikovsky died in 1890 and is not in a position to support you?

Clearly you don’t know much about history. Your absence would make it a wonderful world.

 

 

Bias

 

That Song About the Midway

So lately you've been hiding, it was somewhere in the news
And I'm still at these races with my ticket stubs and my blues
And a voice calls out the numbers, and it sometimes mentions mine
And I feel like I've been working overtime, overtime

Do the numbers ever lie?

I have had to conduct, or use, numerous surveys in my engineering career.  Surveys are done because it is NOT cost effective to observe the behavior of an entire universe. However you can obtain statistically accurate results if the sample being surveyed looks like the universe.

If the survey sample looks like the universe, then the sample is said to be unbiased.  If the sample does NOT look like the universe, then the sample is said to be biased.  ( yes I know that this is an emotionally loaded term, but that IS the statistical term). That does not mean that the sample is invalid, just that the portion that is underrepresented has to be oversampled in order to eliminate the bias.

For example, if according to the 2020 Census, the US population is 13.4% black and 50.8% female then in a nine person sample, say SCOTUS, there should be 4.5 women and 1.2 blacks.  If there are 8 justices on the Supreme Court and only 3 of them are women and only 1 justice is black, then the next justice on SCOTUS should be a black woman.

It does not matter if the sample is screws, household travel, corporations, or Supreme Court Justices.  If the sample is biased then a method to correct that bias is to oversample.  If you oppose that oversampling, then by definition you are biased. Figures don’t lie, but liars do figure.

Justice

 

No Peace, No Justice

We glow in the dark
And we shine in the light
The souls of Kings and Queen
As we all rise

Can we have peace and justice?

“With great power, comes great responsibility.”  This phrase comes from Spiderman comics.  It describes a System Optimal solution.  A User Optimal  solution  would be “With great power, comes great opportunity”.  The tension between User Optimal solutions and System Optimal solutions is at the heart of many conflicts, most recently the invasion of Ukraine, a User Optimal solution by the Russian Government, versus the opposition to that invasion, a System Optimal solution; and the hearings on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson, where the Democrat Senators appear to be on the side of the System while the Republican Senators appear to be on the side of the Users.  The US Constitution designated The People as its sovereign but recognized that people will act as individuals and might not act for the good of the sovereign People.  A majority of people acting through their representatives may decide that an action should be undertaken, such as administering justice.  But that is justice as determined by the majority.  The constitution was not ratified without protections of the individuals against the tyranny of the majority.  The Bill of Rights established the rights of the individual which can not be abridged by the majority and the US Constitution was not ratified until these protections were in place.

The framers of the US Constitution also recognized that they were only human and could not be perfect.  They established that it would take a super majority, NOT a majority, to amend the Constitution. A majority of the people could view a law as just, but it takes a supermajority to amend the Constitution.

The constitution is not infallible.  It did not recognize the probable formation of political parties which led to the 12^th Amendment.  It did not consider that life expectancies would increase and that presidents might need to be limited to two terms which led to the  25^th Amendment.  Morality could also change.  While slavery was originally allowed, it was abolished by the 14^th Amendment.  Women were granted the right to vote by the 19^th Amendment.  Morality can change and lead to mistakes.  Alcohol was prohibited by the 18^th amendment and then allowed again  by the 21^st amendment.  An income tax was deemed unconstitutional before the passage of the 16^th amendment.

The Constitutional purpose of the Supreme Court is NOT to administer justice.  It is to decide when a law is in conflict with that Constitution.  Claims that a nominee to the Supreme Court is soft on crime are irrelevant. The only consideration should be whether that  nominee can correctly establish that a law is in conflict with the Constitution.  Justice by a simple majority is still vigilante justice.  The People decide justice. Not a majority of the people, but a Constitutionally mandated supermajority of The People.  The Supreme Court decides whether the laws enacted by the majority are in conflict with the justice of The People as established in the Constitution.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Can the Supreme Court be wrong  in its decisions? Of course.  Dred Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson.

Can the Supreme Court make a correct decision but explain that decision poorly? Of course.  Roe v. Wade.

The question is not whether fetuses are people, marriage is only between different genders, what Critical Race Theory is and how it should be applied, or what is justice for pornographers.  The questions that will be faced by the Supreme Courts are only whether a law is in conflict with the Constitution. The rights of the majority versus their government is not in question.  The Constitution is about protecting the rights of the minority from the government.

Conservatives used to be those who realized that while the People, collectively acting though the government for a System Optimal, must still be comprised of people who are individuals.  Those individuals might be acting in their own self interest, are User Optimalists, and not in the interests of the People.  Also people as individuals can change their position or lie about their original position.  Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely leads to a belief that government, the System, should be composed of as few individuals as possible with as little power as possible.  People as individuals might also not see the long-term consequences of their short-term decisions.  To protect against unintended consequences, as few actions  as possible should be undertaken.

Conservatives used to favor small government, not a User Optimal government which is an oxymoron.  Activist judges who invent rights are not confined to so-called liberals.  See the unstated right to self defense justifying a law to bear arms NOT in support of a well-regulated militia invented by Justice Scalia; Corporations who are NOT listed as people have protected speech; yet that right was granted by conservative justices. The Voting Rights Act applied to governments not individuals, and governments are NOT limited by a life span, and yet conservative justices decided that those governments have "suffered" long enough. These were not liberal decisions.  The Republican majority in the Senate is acting as if they are User Optimalists which is NOT a conservative position.  Framing the nomination hearing as a conservative versus liberal conflict is a lie.

Ketanji Brown Jackson Nomination Hearings

 

 It’s A Shame

 Why do you use me, try to confuse me
How can you stand, to be so cruel
Why don't you free me, from this prison
Where I serve my time as your fool

Senator Graham, have you no shame?

 

”Several GOP members of the committee took time Monday to lament the treatment of Brett Kavanaugh, Robert Bork and other conservative nominees during their own confirmation hearings. Kavanaugh's contentious hearing in 2018 was centered on accusations of sexual misconduct, allegations Kavanaugh denied before being confirmed to the bench.

 Senator Lindsey Graham said the panel was already off to a better start with Jackson, stating lawmakers "couldn't go back to our offices during Kavanaugh without getting spit on." 

https://www.newsweek.com/ketanji-brown-jackson-hearing-day-one-takeaways Ketanji Brown Jackson Nomination Hearing: 5 Key Takeaways From Day One BY ALEXANDRA HUTZLER ON 3/21/22 AT 4:23 PM EDT 

Are you kidding? Do you not remember the Fortas hearings? Democratic President Johnson nominated Abe Fortas to be elevated from an Associate Justice to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Senator Thurmond, Lindsey Graham’s predecessor in the Senate, made a spectacle of those hearings, famously hosting a pornographic film festival after hours. I am sure that Senator Graham would have been a perfect uncontentious gentleman during the hearings on Merrick Garland, but Republican Majority Leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell never allowed those hearings to take place. While I agree with Justice Thomas that the Supreme Court has become too political, I hope you can forgive me for thinking that his statement was gaslighting especially in light of the political activities of his wife, including actively supporting “Stop The Steal” lie and attending the rally before the January 6th Capitol Riot.   

When Republican Presidents do not nominate Justices to the Supreme Court who can credibly be charged with workplace  sexual harassment (Clarence Thomas); sexual assault (Brett Kavanaugh) or were not the notable exception to Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre (Robert Bork) then perhaps the hearings could be less contentious.

Maybe then we can get justices who actually read and uphold the constitution; and will protect equal justice under the law; and will not invent a right to bear arms in self defense apart from the stated Second Amendment purpose to regulate a militia ( Antonin Scalia).  If Senator Graham and the GOP leaders have no shame, I am ashamed for them.

 

 

Herschel Walker

 

Bargain

I'd pay any price just to win you
Surrender my good life for bad
To find you I'm gonna drown an unsung man

I'd call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had 

Our Congressional Representatives are supposed to be our best.

The Constitution designates the people as the sovereign.  As such, the people of course can not each make laws.  The people of each state and congressional district instead chose  a  representative to make the sovereign's laws.  The drafters of the Constitution thought that certainly the people of each state and its congressional districts would chose to send those who are the best of those people.

The people of Georgia’s 14^th Congressional District have currently elected Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has made gaffes too numerous to mention.  Georgia appears poised to elect Herschel “The Turkey” Walker as their Senator.  Mr. Walker is of course loyal to “Massa” Trump, who owned the New Jersey Generals of the WFL who  drafted Mr. Walker and rescued him from his senior year at the University of Georgia. Given Mr. Walker's recent statements on evolution, I am not sure that the University would want to say that he learned this at the University of Georgia.

Georgia,  clearly you need to be informed that there is a difference between the most famous and the best. I was once told that I would not have a speaking role at a public hearing in Georgia because “I would not play well in Valdosta”  At the time I was offended.  I now realize that that it was a compliment.

Vladimir Putin

 

Don’t Be Cruel

Baby, if I made you mad
For something I might have said,
Please, let's forget my past,
The future looks bright ahead,
Don't be cruel to a heart that's true.

Vladimir Putin not only was cruel.  He was an Ass.

In 1979, Martin Short starred in the short-lived situation comedy The Associates.  It was notable for its cast, which included Wilfred Hyde-White (Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady), Alley Mills  (the mother in The Wonder Years ), Joe Regalbuto ( Frank Fontana in Murphy Brown) and its legendary writer/producer, James Brooks (The Simpsons, Taxi, Mary Tyler Moore Show, etc.).  

The third episode featured a line that should be remembered.  In that episode, Martin Short’s firm was representing the defendant in a palimony suit.  The plaintiff was arguing that she gave up a promising career as a opera singer and was entitled to compensation.  Martin Short doubted her claim and asked her to sing on the witness stand.  She of course sang magnificently and proved her claim.  I am sure that at that time I identified with Martin Short.  At my current age, I identify more with the principal of the firm, Wilfred Hyde-White.  After the verdict, which Martin Short’s firm lost, Hyde-White asks Martin Short what he learned at the trial.  Martin Short gave the standard law school advice not to ask a question to which you don’t know the answer.  Hyde-White replied that the real lesson was “Don’t be an Ass”.

Vladimir  Putin would have been wise to have learned this lesson before he invaded Ukraine. He thought that the Ukrainians would rise up and welcome the Russian forces.  He not only did not know the result before he took an action.  He was cruel. And he was an Ass.

Distribution of Income II

 

Who Needs Money?

What if my pockets are empty as can be?
Who need money?Not me
Tell me about it

How are incomes distributed?

If you want to describe a distribution you need to define:

•         the mean, the first moment of the distribution;
•        the variance, the second moment of the distribution; 
•        the skewness, the third moment of the distribution; and
•        the kurtosis, the fourth moment of the distribution.

If the skew is zero, then the distribution is said to be “normal”.  In a normal distribution, the median and the mean are equal.  The difference between the mean and the median defines the magnitude of the skew of the data, and the direction of that skew.  If the mean is greater than the median, then the skew is positive and it is skewed towards higher values.  If the mean is less than the median, then the skew is negative and it is skewed towards lower values.

The ratio of the mean to the median is an indication of the magnitude of the skew of the distribution.  If the ratio is greater than 1, then not only is the distribution is skewed towards higher values, but the higher this ratio, the more the distribution is skewed to these higher values.  If the ratio is less than 1, then not only is distribution skewed towards these lower values, but the lower this ratio, the more the distribution is skewed to these lower values. If the ratio is equal to 1, the distribution is not skewed, aka is “normal”.

The Luxembourg Income Study https://www.lisdatacenter.org/, reports on Mean and Median income  for numerous countries over a period of time.  The distribution of income can not be “normal”, have a ratio of 1.0, because that would require reporting negative incomes.  For all  of the countries over the reporting period, the weighted average ratio of Mean to Median income is 1.37.  In almost all countries the trend is towards a decreasing ratio.  For developed countries, the income distribution seems to have reached an equilibrium near a ratio of 1.2.  The variation in this ratio once an equilibrium has been reached appears due to randomness of incomes and their reporting.  

The United States appears to be an outlier to the trend of a decreasing ratio, and thus is skewed towards higher incomes.  The United Kingdom also showed this trend during the period 1970 to 2009, however it has reversed this trend and shows a decreasing skew from higher incomes since that time.

It appears that the United States supports economic conditions that increase the skew towards higher incomes and that is in contrast to economic conditions for the rest of the countries that are reporting.

Collaborations

 

My Funny Valentine

But don't change a hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine stay
Each day is Valentine's day

My Favorite Things

When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Storytelling can be a collaborative art

 I am including two song lyrics in this blog, not because the lyrics are a focus, but because My Funny Valentine was by Rodgers and Hart and My Favorite Things was by Rodgers and Hammerstein.  While the lyricist were by different, they both collaborated with the same musician, Richard Rodgers.  I should have known, but did not know, that this was the same person into later in my life.

The performance of a song is not by the singer, the musicians, the lyricists, or the composers. It is a collaboration by each of these artists.  The arts can be collaborative.  Shakespeare was a member  of the the Lord Chamberlain's Men who built and performed at the Globe Theatre.  The Greek Chorus was a part of the plays of Sophocles.  We go to see an orchestra or a play.  The end credits of motion pictures can list hundreds of people.  While some artists may be individuals, many more contribute to a collaboration.  Storytelling, the arts, can be collaborative.The Oscars fittingly end with the award for the Best Picture.  The highlight of SAG awards is the award for the best cast.

Storytellers II

 

The Glory of Love

Give a little, take a little
And let your little heart just cry a little
That's the story of
That's the glory of love

And those who tell stories are spreading that love.

Fatou Wurie told a story from her life on the March 8^th podcast of the Moth.  Her Aunt was correct. She was not Bondo.  She does not have the cutting, Female Genetic Mutilation (FGM), that is the mark of Bondo and thus could not participate in her Grandmother’s Bondo funeral preparations.  But her Grandmother, who would not let her be marked as Bondo, was more correct.  She is a member of a bigger society, the world, and the mark of Bondo should not define her.  Any permanent marking, whether it is a gang tattoo, or FGM, does not give the individual the ability to leave that society.  The fact that Bondo FGM  is  done on young girls who did not, could not, make a lifetime choice, is so sad.

A person’s membership in a society is not, can not, be permanent. Life is change.  Saul famously became St. Paul on the road to Damascus.  A person should be judged by the content of their character, not by a permanent marking such as the color of their skin, which is a permanent marking that is inborn,  or a gang tattoo, or FGM, which is a permanent marking that is chosen by, or for, them.

Griots, storytellers, need listeners.  Thanks to Ms. Wurie for being a Griot.  I know that she has listeners in the Moth community, but she has definitely impressed this listener.

Jan 6th Committee Report

 One Day More

At the barricades of freedom
Shall I join my brothers there?
When our ranks begin to form
Do I stay or do I dare?
Will you take your place with me?

Who can handle the truth?

The humorist Carl Sandburg once remarked that “If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell”.  There seems to be a lot of yelling at the moment from some in the Republican Party.  The Jan 6th Select Committee is about to file its report which may include referring facts to Attorney General Merrick Garland for prosecution. The purpose of the Select Committee is to examine the truth concerning Jan 6th .  If new laws are needed they may be proposed.  If existing laws were violated, then those facts will be referred to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said any criminal referral from the House “would probably have as much political taint on it as you can get.”  “To me it’s clearly politically driven,” he said.   Braun said Democrats are scrambling to change up the political narrative in response to Biden’s moribund job approval ratings and predicted launching a federal prosecution of Trump would be viewed along partisan lines.  ( The Hill, by Alexander Bolton 3/7/2022 06:00 AM EST).

A criminal referral might result in a trial, which is by definition is a matter of finding the truth.  The worst that an happened is that Democrats might lose an election as a result of this referral.  Given that Ukrainians are currently risking “their lives, their liberty, and their sacred honor”,  losing an election doesn’t sound like much of a threat.  It sounds to me like Trump Republicans can’t handle the truth and are pounding on the table.

The Future

 

Que sera, sera

Que sera, sera,
Whatever will be, will be.
The future's not ours to see.
Que sera, sera.

Is the future random? 

Remember Aesop’s fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper? The Ant works and stores food for the winter.  The Grasshopper plays, does not store food for the winter, and then as winter approaches has to beg the Ant for food. The Ant knows that winter comes every year.  He can’t do anything to prevent winter, but he knows that  it happens and prepares for it.  The Grasshopper acts as if the summer will continue forever.

The fable has been used to promote such divergent views as Industrialist versus Artist;  Greed versus Charity; etc.  The fable is ambivalent.  It can be summed up as “s*** happens, deal with it.” The Ant knew that winter was coming, because he saw the pattern that winter comes every year and he prepared to deal with it.  He was not a prepper or cultist who was preparing for some doomsday that might not happen. 

Hurricanes happen and while the exact landfall is not known, science can and does outline a probable path for the storm.  And that path of probability is important.  While you can not alter that path of probability with a Sharpie, it does provide warnings to residents in that cone of probability.  While the hurricane’s path is random, it does follow known laws, and while we cannot say where the hurricane will land, we can say where it will NOT land.

Science can not predict the future with certainty.  But science can assign probabilities to a future given certain starting points and actions along the way. The gold standard of science, 5 Sigma, Standard Deviations, is still only 99.99994% certain.  The idiots who won’t accept anything but 100% certainty attack the Theory of Evolution or the Theory of Relativity because they are “only a Theory”, i.e. are less than 100% certain.   Newton's “Law” of Gravity was corrected by Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.  Science has evolved such that Laws and certainty are understood to be unattainable mirages.

While we can’t predict a definite future, we can say what futures are not possible. The future may not yet be written, but believing that there is a future is why old men plant trees that will not mature until after they die, and why medieval  Cathedrals took hundreds of years to build.  Unless the first stone is laid in that Cathedral, it will never get built.  And the stones are not placed haphazardly. There is a plan to where the first, second, etc. stones should be placed.  We may not know what the future is, but we know what the future will not be, and maybe that will have to be good enough. 

We can’t change the impossible.  But many things are only improbable.  We can change the improbable. We may not be able to see the future.  But we can see what the future will NOT be, and hopefully that knowledge can be useful.

Lauren Boebert

 

Be a Clown

Be A Poor Silly Ass
And You'll Always Travel First-Class,
Give 'Em Quips, Give 'Em Fun,
And They'll Pay To Say You're A-1.
If You Become A Farmer, You've The Weather To Buck,
If You Become A Gambler, You'll Be Stuck With Your Luck,
But Jack You'll Never Lack If You Can Quack Like A Duck
(Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack)
Be A Clown, Be A Clown, Be A Clown.

I wonder if Lauren Boebert knows that she is a Clown?

Thank the people of voters in Colorado’s Third Congressional District for entertaining the rest of the county by electing Representative Boebert to be a clown for the rest of us, instead of electing a real representative.  She gave up her career as the owner of Shooter’s Grille.  She has shown high school dropouts everywhere that you can get on a big stage.  She sent out Christmas cards posing with assault rifles giving new meaning to Peace on Earth (or else?).  She railed against liberals who posed with  Jeffrey Epstein, forgetting that Donald Trump posed with him frequently.  She married a convicted sex offender and now if she would just pretend his male member is a rifle sticking in her WAP, maybe she could get off, as well as him.  Then maybe he wouldn’t have to expose his male member to teenage girls in bowling alleys.  She heckled the President at the State of the Union and was booed by her colleagues.  She has left Twitter for Donald Trump’s Truth App but since that platform will not have the same exposure as Twitter, I hope she has taken steps to ensure that her antics can still amuse rest of us. If I want to know what is the correct side of any issue I just have to see what she is opposing and then support the opposite.  

No one tell her that the clowns who are admired, are someone you laugh with, not laugh at. Representative Boebert and the people of Colorado’s Third Congressional District, if we can’t have someone to laugh with, thank you for giving us someone we can laugh at.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Holding Out For A hero

Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the streetwise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?

Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed
Late at night, I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I think I have found a hero and his name is Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

President Zelenskyy was the voice of Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian dubbings of the movies.  He was the winner of the Ukrainian edition of "Dancing With the Stars". He was the star of the Ukrainian sitcom “Servant of the People” in which he played the President of his country.  He won election as the real President in 2019 with over 73% of the popular vote. Since the invasion by Russia he has appeared unshaven, clad in a simple t-shirt,  and said that he is frightened.  But when given the opportunity to leave his country he said “I need ammunition, not need a ride.” No matter what happens in the days to come, he has proven himself to be hero. 

A hero is not someone who cheats at hockey, skiing, or judo to “win”.  A hero is not someone who appears shirtless on a horse, or poses with a rifle, over a  dead animal or not.  A hero is not someone who lies to his followers, but tells the truth without any concern for himself.  A bully inspires fear.  A hero inspires us to be courageous. He doesn’t have to be strong or fast.  Everyone knows the name Spartacus.  Anyone remember the name of the Roman General who killed Spartacus? May we all be heroes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2JR3FmvVAw

Peace

 

Let There be Peace on Earth 

With ev'ry step I take
Let this be my solemn vow
To take each moment and live
Each moment in peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me 

Amen. 

I have blogged before about the Prisoner’s Dilemma excerpt from Golem in The Gears. https://dbeagan.blogspot.com/2021/05/tough-but-fair-beats-always-being-nasty.html  

Imagine Sea Hag One as say Putin and Sea Hag Two as say Putie's BFF, Don "The Con", which currently is short for Confidence Man but someday, hopefully very soon, will also mean Convict. 

Let Golem One be my nominee for Man of the Decade, the greatest leader since Winston Churchill , whose phrase "I need ammunition, not a ride" will outlive us all, Volodymyr Zelensky.  Let Golem Two be say President Joe Biden. 

Those playing "Nasty" will always win games against those playing "Nice", but ONLY when they are in a two player game.  Those poor fools did not learn that if they want others to play with them, they have to play "Nice". sometimes.  Playing "Nice" is never a winning tactic, and is not a winning strategy in a two player game, but playing "Nice" sometimes, Tough But Fair, is a winning strategy in the long run when there are more than two players.  Believing that others have to play with you, or trade with you, or let you fly in their airspace, etc., is a bully's big mistake.  Screenwriter Bob Gale modeled "Back to the Future"'s bully Biff Tannen after Donald Trump's behavior in the NY tabloids back in the 1980s. If Number 45 doesn't see he that he is the joke, hopefully the rest of us will. 

Longfellow’ poem The Bells which was written during the height of the US Civil War, which Bing Crosby made into a Christmas Carol.   

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
(Peace on Earth)
(Peace on Earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men 

“The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” 

Let’s do more than pray for peace.  Let us live for peace.

Wealth

 

Too Close for Comfort

Be wise, be fair, be sure, be there, behave, beware
Be wise, be smart, behave my heart
Don't upset your cart when she's so close.

Can society increase wealth in a manner that is FAIR?

If the mean and median are the same, the distribution is “normal”.  It is suggested that this is the distribution which most humans would also classify as “fair”.  If the mean wealth is $0 and the median wealth is $0 this merely means that some of the people have negative wealth (i.e. debt) while others have positive wealth.  This does not mean that there is no wealth, just that the Standard Deviation of wealth is not also $0. The variance is the square root of the Standard Deviation.  If the distribution was normal, the wealthiest 0.3% are those that have a wealth which is the Standard Deviation multiplied by three.  In other words, if the wealthiest 0.3% have a wealth of $1 million, then if the median wealth is zero and the average wealth is zero, then the Standard Deviation is $333,333 and the variance is 577.

During the COVID pandemic the phrase flatten the curve became well known. A naturally occurring statistical phenomena, such as hospital bed admittances with COVID when there are no safety precautions, would be a uniform normal distribution with a variance of 1.  Flattening the curve means increasing its variance.  A variance of 577, would be a very flat curve.  In order for it to also be a normal distribution,  it would mean that the poorest 0.3% must also have a debt of  $1 million.  Since this amount of debt is not likely, the distribution of wealth is most probably skewed to the wealthy, the median is less than the mean, and the distribution is NOT normal.

Society, all of the individuals with wealth, have an interest in increasing the median.  If the existing distribution is maintained, then an increase in wealth of the median will also increase the amount held by the wealthy.  However society can not increase the wealth unless, as they say in the US Constitution "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries", otherwise there is no incentive for inventors to invent or for artists to create new works of art.  Additionally, society may take other measures to increase its wealth, say by funding the programs of the New Deal or the Great Society.  In order to have the funds for these programs, society must raise funds in taxes, and therein lies the rub.  Those with existing wealth are loathe to part with that wealth in the form of taxes, which are the merely the way that society must raise its revenue.

Tax codes should raise revenue by preserving a fair distribution of wealth, or at the very least the existing distribution of wealth.  The problem is that beginning with the Reagan Tax Cuts, the tax code promoted a shift of wealth from the median to the wealthiest.  Additionally, and not surprisingly, this was also accompanied by a slowing of economic growth for all groups.

If society is to increase wealth, and not merely transfer wealth from the poor to the rich, the tax code should be revised to be fair.