Joe Manchin, the ‘moderate’ Democratic Senator from West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema, a Democratic Senator from Arizona are major roadblocks in getting Biden’s infrastructure package passed.  Manchin and Sinema are at loggerheads with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party because the progressives refuse to support Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill unless the larger $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, which contains a lot of social support programs and addresses climate change, is also passed.  Manchin and Sinema have argued that the $3.5 trillion is too expensive and they just cannot support that much spending.  In recent remarks, Manchin said that he doesn’t understand the urgency behind climate change and he does not want the United States to become an entitlement state.

Joe Manchin is from West Virginia, a coal state.  According to an article in Rolling Stone, Manchin received more donations from the fossil fuel industry than any other Congressman.¹ Perhaps that explains his belief that dealing with climate change isn’t all that urgent!  It would almost certainly explain Manchin’s stance against the Voting Rights Bill that the Democrats are trying to pass to counter the laws being passed in Republican-controlled states to restrict voting.  Part of the Voting Rights Bill is to put limits on all of the dark money that is currently being fed into our election system by wealthy businessmen like the Koch brothers.² And just as a reminder, the Koch brothers are heavily invested in the fossil fuel industry.  It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.

It was, however, Manchin’s statement that he doesn’t want the US to become an entitlement state, which he says will happen if the entire $3.5 trillion package is passed, that got me to thinking about the whole concept of ‘entitlement’.  The reconciliation package does have a lot in it:  two free years of community college, child care and universal Pre-K, Medicare expansion, extended child tax credit, paid family and medical leave, cutting prescription drug prices, addressing climate change and many other things.  However, when you look at almost everything on this list that could be considered a social program, they are things that almost all other wealthy industrialized nations have in one form or another.  Other countries have figured out how to do these things and still have robust economies.

The reason that the United States doesn’t have these things is because we are already an ‘entitlement’ state.  Unfortunately, it’s just the wrong group who are entitled.  If you look up the word ‘entitlement’ in Merriam-Webster, the definitions are:

1a: the state or condition of being entitled : RIGHT

b: a right to benefits specified especially by law or contract

2: belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges

3: a government program providing benefits to members of a specified group also: funds supporting or distributed by such a program

Manchin (and most Republicans) want us to believe they are talking about definition number three, i.e., government programs in which millions of people will be taking advantage of the US taxpayers.  They want us to believe that most people are lazy and will just be unwilling to work if they have the support of these programs.  There will certainly be some of those, but I would argue that this kind of investment in the country will actually enable more people to work and benefit the country as a whole.  It certainly seems to work in other countries.

If you look at definition number two, “belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges,” that is really the crux of this whole issue and why we are already an ‘entitlement state’.  The vast majority of wealthy people in this country believe that they are deserving or entitled to certain privileges such as:  being able to pour millions of dollars into elections to obtain the outcome they desire; being able to take advantage of tax breaks not usually available to the general population; being able to pay a lower marginal tax rate than the general population; being able to manipulate the legal system; and being able to use their wealth to lobby Congressman and Senators like Joe Manchin to stand in the way of passing bills that would benefit a wide spectrum of American people versus just the wealthy.

The middle class in this country has shrunk from 61% to 51% between 1971 and 2019. “From 1970 to 2018, the share of aggregate income going to middle-class households fell from 62% to 43%. Over the same period, the share held by upper-income households increased from 29% to 48%. The share flowing to lower-income households inched down from 10% in 1970 to 9% in 2018.”³ While Joe Manchin and the Republicans would like us to believe they are terrified that lower income people will be taking advantage of the ‘system’, the fact is, the wealthy in this nation are already taking advantage of the system on a much bigger scale than any ‘welfare queen’ (Reagan’s term) could ever hope to.

The fact is, according to the IRS chief, there is likely $1 trillion in taxes that are uncollected every year due to the wealthy and corporations using various schemes available to them, both legal and illegal, to avoid paying taxes.  Think about that – $1 trillion/year.  That could pay for a lot of infrastructure and a lot of social programs.  Unfortunately, these individuals and corporations feel like they are entitled to these ‘perks’.  Yes, we have an entitlement state – but not the one that Joe Manchin would have you believe.

Manchin’s attitude and argument are just hackneyed postulations which are no longer valid in today’s world.  It just shows why if this country is going to move forward, we need new and bolder thinking.  Unfortunately, he is clearly bought and paid for so don’t expect any bold moves coming from him.  If Biden’s agenda crashes, it will be because of Democrats like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema who are more beholding to their wealthy ‘handlers’ than to the broader population of the United States.  Mitch McConnell doesn’t have to lift a finger.  He can just sit on the sidelines and chuckle.

There was a lot of references during the Trump administration to RINOs (Republicans In Name Only).  I think Joe Manchin is a Democrat In Name Only -DINOsaur!  The United States deserves better.

Entitlements

1. Joe Manchin’s Reconciliation Bill Stance Is Gonna Cook the Planet – Rolling Stone
2. ‘Manchin Is Only Moved by Corporate Donors,’ Says Bowman as Koch-Backed Group Lobbies Against Voting Rights Bill (commondreams.org)
3. Trends in U.S. income and wealth inequality | Pew Research Center
4. IRS chief says $1 trillion in taxes goes uncollected every year | Reuters

I finished Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book, Peril¹, which is an account of the last days of the Trump presidency and the first days of the Biden administration.  It really does provide a disturbing portrait of a man (Trump) who was willing to do anything to cling to power.  What is particularly disturbing is the fact that so many of those close to Trump tried to talk him in to accepting the loss of his presidency gracefully and yet, it seemed like the more they tried to persuade him, the further he descended into the abyss of the ‘Big Lie’ while surrounding himself with sycophants who only accelerated his maniacal obsession with overturning the election. 

The passages in the book describing the pressure that he and his acolytes put on Vice President Pence to do something that was clearly unconstitutional is quite disturbing.  Pence reached out to a wide range of people, including former Vice President, Dan Quayle, and constitutional lawyers to see if there was any possible way that he had the power to do what Trump was asking him to do and they universally said, “No.”  Trump, however, refused to acknowledge that fact and, in true Trump fashion, threw Mike Pence under the bus after Pence had been one of the most loyal of VPs.

There are multiple incidents in the book that demonstrate very clearly that Trump’s idea of ‘loyalty’ is a one-way street.  As long as people agree with him or are willing to do his bidding, regardless of the legality of such actions, he is supportive.   But the second he perceives that someone is not willing to agree with him or do his dirty work, he turns on them in a heartbeat.  And, after that, it’s often about seeking vengeance.

In some respects, Trump reminds me of a character who could be a villain in a James Bond movie.  The portrait painted in this book and in previous books I’ve read paint a picture of an egomaniacal man who is obsessed with power and is willing to crush anyone who he believes stands in his way.  There is a quote in the book from Brad Parscale, Trump’s former campaign manager. “He had an army.  An army for Trump. He wants that back.  I don’t think he sees it as a comeback.  He sees it as vengeance.” Some might think that is hyperbole but if Trump were to return to the White House in 2024, I believe we will all get a first hand look at what vengeance looks like.

The book also follows the Biden administration in the first few weeks of its tenure.  And, lest you think this book is just a hit job on Trump and will go easy on Biden, you would be wrong.  Woodward is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and Costas is an acclaimed political reporter for The Washington Post and pretty much tell it like it is.  Consequently, they also talk about some of the stumbles and problems that confronted the Biden administration as they took over.   They certainly don’t paint Biden as the perfect president and show him as the human being he is, with all of his faults.  However, the contrast between Trump and Biden could not be more distinct.  It is clear that Joe Biden clearly cares about America and all Americans whereas, it is very clear that Trump cares about Trump.  And, therein lies the ‘Peril’.  It is very clear that Trump is willing to sacrifice the US Constitution and the Rule of Law in his quest for power.

Woodward and Costa interviewed more than 200 people for this book, including many who were witnesses to the inner workings of the White House (both the Trump White House and the Biden White House) during this time.   They have a lot of credibility as authors and I think the book is worth a read as both a chronicle of what happened during this period and potentially a harbinger of things to come if Trump runs and regains the White House in 2024. 

1. Peril, Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Simon and Schuster, 2021

Tomorrow a bunch of new laws will be taking effect here in Montana including 4 new laws restricting access to abortions (so much for Montanans being able to make their own decisions about their lives!) and one allowing motorcycles to lane split when traffic is going slow.  Given that there is already no helmet law in Montana, I would expect next year will see an increase in dead motorcyclists given this law!  As for me, my big old HOG and I will just quietly (well, maybe not so quietly!) stay in our lane. 

But that’s not what I wanted to talk about today.  All eyes today seem to be on the negotiations going on in Congress regarding the infrastructure package that the Biden administration is trying to pass and the effort to raise the debt ceiling so the United States does not default on its debt for the first time in its history.  And, of course, we have the ongoing effort by Trump to propagate ‘The Big Lie’ which, in my opinion, is just an effort to lay the groundwork to be able to overturn any future election with which the Republicans disagree. 

However, there are several cases that will be heard during the 2021-2022 Supreme Court session that could have significant impacts on the future of this country.   Even Justice Sotomayor has issued a warning of sorts that the Conservative majority now controlling the courts could issue some rulings that, although unpopular, will likely significantly alter the current judicial and legal landscape in this country.¹ Two of these cases, in particular, highlight the hypocrisy that is rampant across the Republican party

The Supreme Court is set to hear Dobbs vs. Jackson’s Women Health Organization which could very well result in the complete overturn of the 1972 decision Roe v. Wade that made access to abortion legal. 

In 2018, Mississippi enacted the Gestational Age Act, which prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of gestation except in cases of medical emergency or severe fetal abnormality.

The state legislature set forth two findings in the law: 1) 75% of all nations do not permit abortions past 12 weeks’ gestation, and 2) an unborn human’s heart starts beating after five to six weeks’ gestation and by nine weeks all “basic physiological functions are present.”²

The second case that will be argued in front of the Supreme Court is, New York Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc v Bruen.  In this case, the two petitioners, Robert Nash and Brendan Koch, were denied permits in New York to carry concealed handguns.  The State argued that the two did not demonstrate ‘proper cause’ to justify carrying a concealed weapon.  If the Supreme Courts rules in favor of the plaintiffs it will basically be saying that all that is required for someone to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon is to declare it is for ‘self-defense’.  [In Montana, and a few other states, a concealed carry permit is no longer required.  Any Tom, Dick or Harry can carry a concealed weapon almost anywhere, including on college campuses].  As I pointed out in a previous post, this nation has more guns than people.  Mass shootings are up and gun violence deaths are increasing.  Quite frankly, this Supreme Court decision could well be more consequential than a decision on Roe v. Wade.

I don’t know how many of you have ridden the subway system in New York city or walked around Times Square and Grand Central Station, but at busy times these places are a mass of humanity and it is inconceivable to think about some percentage of those people carrying concealed weapons.   It just boggles the mind that anyone in their right mind thinks this is a reasonable thing in a civilized society.

As I said earlier, this just demonstrates the hypocrisy within the Republican party.  In the abortion argument, they state that 75% of nations don’t allow abortions past 12 weeks of gestation.  Of course, if one looks at wealthier, industrialized nations, that figure changes dramatically.  Access to abortion is widely available in the European Union except for a handful of countries.  However, if the Conservatives want to use the argument that some huge percentage of the nations don’t allow abortions at some level, then how can they overlook the fact that an even large percentage of nations have way more restrictive gun laws than the United States?

To add to this insanity, the majority of Americans do not want Roe v. Wade overturned and want women to continue to have access to abortion and view it as a personal decision.  In addition, the majority of Americans would like to see reasonable gun laws enacted.  And yet, it is quite possible that the Supreme Court could issue rulings that are in disagreement with the majority of Americans and will no doubt lead to more Americans needlessly dying. 

If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiffs in the Second Amendment case, fast forward to a future time when anyone who declares they need a concealed carry permit for self-defense can get one.  And then imagine a crowded subway platform in New York (or any other city).  There is a disagreement and two individuals pull out weapons and start firing.  How many innocent people will likely get killed or injured because of the insanity of this?  I don’t believe this is the type of scenario the Founding Fathers envisioned when they wrote the Second Amendment. 

1. Justice Sonia Sotomayor: ‘There is going to be a lot of disappointment in the law, a huge amount’ – CNNPolitics
2. 5 Supreme Court Cases to Watch in the 2021-22 Term (msn.com)

Raise your hand if you’d be willing to get on an airplane operated by a pilot who refused to comply with the FAA medical regulations for pilots?  That’s what I thought.  Not many of us would willingly get on a plane if we believed there was any possibility of the pilot not having a current FAA First Class Medical Certificate¹.  Such a certificate is required annually for every single commercial pilot under the age of 40 and every six months for every pilot over the age of 40.  An EKG is REQUIRED at age 35 and annually for pilots over 40.  There are certain conditions that must be met for a pilot to obtain a First-Class Medical Certificate.  If they don’t pass the physical, they don’t fly.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Our skies are safer for these government mandated regulations.

Why would anyone in their right mind think that any of these requirements are optional?  When I get on a plane, I want to have some level of confidence that the people in the cockpit are healthy and not going to unnecessarily put my life and that of my fellow passengers in danger.   If a plane crashes, that could wipe out 150 to 300 people instantly.  There are reasons why medical clearances are required to operate aircraft.

The transmission rate of the COVID Delta variant is such that an infected, unvaccinated person can, on average, transmit the virus to 5 to 10 other people.  And if each of those infected people transmit the virus to 5 or 10 other people you have quickly infected 25 to 50 people.  The numbers can increase exponentially to quickly exceed the number of people killed in our hypothetical plane crash. 

The health care workers, teachers, police officers and all of the others who work with the public or even in close proximity to others and refuse to get vaccinated are no different than a pilot who refuses to comply with the FAA medical rules and yet insists they are fit to fly.   None of us would buy that!  We wouldn’t fly with pilots who have not met their medical requirements and yet these anti-vax people think we should still to go to hospitals, send our kids to schools and interact with the police when they are putting our collective health in jeopardy.  

There are Federal requirements for all kinds of professions.  Most construction sites are required to operate under OSHA regulations.  ‘Hard hat required’ is a sign familiar to most of us who have driven past a construction site.   Why is that sign there?  For safety!  Commercial truck drivers are required to have a special license, training and regular medical tests to be able to drive semi-trucks on the highways.  Why? Because untrained drivers and/or drivers who don’t meet certain physical requirements will put the public in danger.  Nobody wants to be driving on the freeway next to a gasoline tanker truck driven by someone with minimal training, a learner’s permit and a history of cardiac problems. 

There are government requirements all around us and which we all live with each and every day of our lives that are designed to improve public safety.  I just don’t understand what the hell is so different about this vaccine.   Well, that’s a lie.  I do know what’s going on.  It’s become a way to make a political statement.  Period.  The whole ‘safety’ issue has been debunked and proven to be hogwash given that millions of people have been safely vaccinated.   I don’t recall seeing people walking down the streets sporting a third eye or missing a limb due to getting the vaccination. 

How do you think the public would feel if pilots were given the choice to opt out of getting an FAA Class A Medical Certificate to fly a plane?  I mean, pilots should be able to exercise their constitutional freedom to undergo a physical or not – right?  So what if a few more planes crash and a few hundred more Americans get killed.  At least these pilots were able to exercise their freedom.   Right?  Sound ridiculous?  Of course, it is, but no more ridiculous than going to a hospital or a school staffed with a bunch of unvaccinated workers who are putting people’s lives at risk.

The bottom line is that if someone is unwilling to get on a plane piloted by someone who has not passed their FAA physical or has the requisite training, then they should get the goddamn shot and find another way to show blind allegiance to their political party or favorite talking head on TV that doesn’t put American lives at risk!  It’s way past time to stop filling body bags to make political statements. 

1. FAA First Class Medical Requirements for Pilots | EXECUTIVE FLYERS

There are 435 Representatives in the House and 100 Senators in the Senate.  The population of the United States is currently about 330 million people.  Here we are on the verge of yet another government shutdown because the 535 people in Congress are too busy playing political gamesmanship to see who will blink first or who can be blamed for whatever calamity befalls the nation due to this continued and inexcusable political game.

The Republicans, true to form, are blocking everything and anything the Biden administration is trying to do while forgetting that some Democrats voted with the Republicans three times during the Trump administration to raise the debt ceiling.  And, oh by the way, the national debt that they are now complaining about rose significantly during the Trump administration due primarily to the tax cuts that they enacted.

And, to make matters worse, there is significant infighting within the Democratic Party between the moderates and the progressives.  The fact is that if they can’t get their collective act together, they will likely blow a once in a generation chance to get this done.  We will likely end up with nothing and the Republicans will be ready to pounce on the fact that the Democratic party is totally ineffective.

This is all frustrating but the thing that really pisses me off is the fact that the 535 elected officials in the House and Senate are playing their political games while the rest of us are getting screwed.  These people are supposed to work for us and they all seem to be caught up in the ‘game of politics’ and losing sight of the fact that there are likely to be real world consequences for their failure to act and/or learn to compromise to at least make some progress.

Everyone in Congress is pretty well paid.  They all have a whole raft of perks that come with the job including health care.  And, if the government shuts down, they will likely still get paid.  It’s really easy to play hardball when its not your ass on the line.  And, that’s exactly what’s happening.  All of these Congressman, Republican and Democrat, are playing with our collective lives to score political points, play ‘king of the hill’ to see who gets to be in power, and it pisses me off.  Every time I hear one of these politicians talk about how they are playing hardball ‘for the American people’, I want to vomit.  If they really meant that, they would learn the meaning of the word ‘compromise’ and put it into action. 

It seems like there is absolutely no incentive for members of Congress to work together to solve problems or avert crises like this showdown on the debt.  I don’t know what the answer is, but it certainly seems like there needs to be some type of structural change that incentivizes Congressman to actually work together to solve problems as opposed to being incentivized to create chaos and obstacles to getting anything done.

I’m sure there are those who would welcome the suggestion I’ve heard sometimes that Congressman shouldn’t get paid if the government is shut down.  Think about that.  There are likely very few, if any, Congressman who are living paycheck to paycheck.  Most of them could probably last for quite a while without getting a paycheck with minimal impact on their lives.  Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for millions of Americans.

Since these people seem to enjoy playing games, and the filibuster has become the favorite cudgel used by the minority party to stymie or kill legislation they don’t like, I was thinking perhaps we should take a page from the game of football.  In football, each side is allowed three timeouts per half.  Maybe the filibuster rule should be changed so that each side, Democrats and Republicans, are allowed three filibusters each year.  If that were the case, perhaps they’d be a little more judicious in how they used the filibusters and be more incentivized to work toward a compromise rather than just blocking everything that comes along like children having temper tantrums.

That would seem to be a simple, commonsense solution but it is highly unlikely any commonsense solution to enable reasonable people to navigate through the existing political swamp will ever pass.  I think the Congressmen/women, once they get sucked into the ‘game’, actually begin to enjoy being Congressional swamp rats and relish playing in the slop.  Unfortunately, for the rest of us, we just have to sit by and watch this spectacle while being splattered with the mud.  Get out your foul weather gear out – it’s going to be a messy week.

I am still plowing through Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book, Peril, and it is eye opening.  I hope to finish some time this week and report back.  I also have to sit in on another deposition this morning so this effort might be a little shorter than normal – or not.

I came across a story over the weekend that caught my attention.  It turns out that today in America, there are more women going to college than men by a fairly significant percentage.  College enrollment these days is about 60% women and 40% men.  Scott Galloway, a professor at NYU, sees this as leading to a mating crisis that could lead to problems.¹ He argues that most college educated women will want to partner up with college educated men rather than non-college-educated blue-collar workers.  He posits that this will leave a large number of non-college-educated men unable to find partners resulting in an increase in relatively low wage-earning males who are unattached and somewhat disgruntled.

I think he has a point given that when you look around the world at countries where there is a large population of young men who are not well-educated and either unemployed or minimally employed, there tends to be a lot of instability and breeding grounds for gangs, violence, and political upheaval.  And in the United States where gun ownership is easy and widespread, it does give one pause as to where this is all headed.  Look at the recent resurgence of male-dominated neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.

I thought this might be a problem unique to the United States but it turns out that it is much more widespread around the globe.  I came across an article about Iceland where they are facing the same education gap between women and men.²  It is even more pronounced there where twice as many women attend college.  The government of Iceland is concerned about this and looking at ways to remedy the situation, but from a completely different perspective.  They are simply concerned about it from an equality perspective, not one of safety and potential unrest which is what the NYU professor was concerned about.

In Iceland, there is a broad social network and very little wealth disparity (97% of the population consider themselves middle class).  In addition, although there are guns in Iceland, the per capita level is about one fourth that of the United States.  Assault rifles are banned and it requires a lot of effort to be able to purchase a gun in Iceland.  You have to have a medical exam (physical and mental), take a course, pass a test, have a background check, and demonstrate your knowledge at an actual shooting range.  The process can literally take months.  [Note: It appears, based upon the data I saw that no one has been murdered with a gun in Iceland since 2007] The fact is most guns eventually purchased in Iceland are shotguns and rifles used for hunting and target shooting.  Handguns are rarely owned.³

The bottom line is that more women than men are attending college on a global scale.  I personally think that’s great.  It’s a given that old white guys haven’t exactly done a bang-up job of running the world for the last few centuries, perhaps it’s time for women to give it a go. 

While I was researching this, I came across another very interesting press release from the U.S. Census Bureau.  The release was sent out in 2020 while Trump was still president which is quite surprising because of what it says.  I’m sure if, Steven Miller, Trump’s hardline immigration policy wonk, had seen this prior to its release he would have tried to kill it.

According to this Census report⁴,

• “  An estimated 47.4% of the foreign-born population who arrived in the United States from 2010 to 2019 had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 36.3% of native-born Americans and 31.5% of the foreign-born population who entered the country in or before 2009.
• In 2019, 39.4% of naturalized citizens and 40.2% of children of the foreign-born population in the United States had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 35.9% of those born to native-born parents. A greater share of the foreign-born population (14.1%) than native-born Americans (13.4%) also held an advanced degree, such as a master’s or doctorate. “

We all see the pictures of immigrants and hear the rhetoric about how they are a drain on the economy and a threat to the nation.  While there is no doubt that we do receive the ‘poor huddled masses’ who are refugees from war torn countries, the fact is, according to this US Census report, the ‘foreigners’ and naturalized citizens tend to be better educated than native born Americans!! 

When an employer has to choose between hiring a foreign born or naturalized citizen with a college degree versus a native-born American male without a college degree, which way do you think the employer will go?  Of course, they will select the individual with the higher education because that is the best business decision.   This will likely lead the unemployed or underemployed American male to claim that the foreigners are here stealing jobs – most likely jobs they are unqualified for!  (Or unwilling to do – I don’t recall seeing any young, white males bent over picking strawberries in the hot sun during the summer up around Oxnard, California)

What does all this mean?  It appears as if a greater percentage of the general male population of the United States is becoming less educated, and therefore is more susceptible to misinformation and propaganda, perhaps unable to find a mate leading to joining misogynistic groups like the Proud Boys, and has more and easier access to weapons.  That should scare the hell out of everyone.

1. Scott Galloway warns that less men going to college is dangerous – CNN Video
2. https://hechingerreport.org/in-one-country-women-now-outnumber-men-in-college-by-two-to-one/
3. From Iceland — Almost 4,000 Privately Owned Pistols In Iceland (grapevine.is)
4. U.S. Census Bureau Releases New Educational Attainment Data

I was reflecting on the fact that about one week from today I had planned to be landing in Lisbon, Portugal to begin a month-long exploration of the country to see if it might be a place I’d like to move for an extended period of time.  I cancelled the trip because of COVID and plan to regroup and try again in the spring.  Hopefully things will look a little better then and I will have had my booster shot by then as well for an extra layer of protection. 

I’m sure there are those who would ask, “Why would you want to do that?  This is America and we have the best of everything.”  My response is twofold.  First of all, I like seeing, exploring and experiencing new places and cultures.  I have been fortunate enough to have travelled to a wide variety of countries around the world and have lived abroad twice – once in France and once in Kuwait.  Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I think it’s a provably false assertion that the United States has the best of everything. 

I think this country could benefit greatly from looking at what some other countries are doing in certain areas and doing a little self-reflection.  Unfortunately, a great many Americans and American politicians suffer from the ‘not-invented-here’ syndrome.   The most glaring example is the metric system.  There are only three countries in the world that don’t use the metric system – the United States, Myanmar, and Liberia.  This is why when so many Americans go abroad, they often get totally flustered when they see road signs in kilometers, fuel sold by the liter, and packages in the supermarkets labelled in grams and kilograms.

Never mind that the metric system makes much more sense and is much easier to use and understand once learned.  In 1975, the United States passed the Metric Conversion Act which was meant to slowly switch America over to the metric system to be in sync with the rest of the world.  Unfortunately, it was completely voluntary (once again because of a lack of political courage) and failed miserably.  So, here we are some 46 years later and we are still out of sync with the rest of the world.  We could switch to the metric system.  But we won’t.

People would certainly argue that whether or not we use the metric system is really inconsequential.  Perhaps.  But there are other areas that we can look at and ask a lot of ‘why?’ questions.  Why can other countries do this and we can’t?  Yesterday I talked about the proliferation of firearms in this country where gun ownership far exceeds that in any other country on the planet – and yet we rank 122 on the Global Safety Index. Mass shootings and gun deaths continue to increase.  A reasonable person might be tempted to ask, “What are other countries that are far safer than America and have far fewer gun deaths doing?”  But we won’t.

The United States, in spite of having vaccines widely available, has the highest number of COVID deaths in the world!!!  THE WORLD!!  One might be tempted to ask, “What are other countries doing that seems to be more effective against this pandemic than we are doing?”  But we won’t.

Since 2002, an annual report looking at ‘happiness’ has been published.  It looks at countries across six dimensions: Gross Domestic Product per Capita; Social Support; Health Life Expectancy; Freedom to Make Your Own Life Choices; Generosity of the General Population; Perceptions of Internal and External Corruptions Levels.  The top ten countries are Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand, Austria, Luxembourg and Canada comes in at 11.  In spite of the United States huge Gross Domestic Product, we still only rank 18^th.

Interestingly enough, and really not all that surprising, there are no authoritarian governments in the ‘above average’ rankings.   And almost all of the countries in the top ten are European and are countries that have relatively high taxes, broad social support, relatively small wealth disparity and widely available affordable medical care.  Again, one might be tempted to ask, “What are these countries doing that makes their populations so ‘happy’? And, are there things that the United States could emulate or tailor to our country to improve the ‘happiness’ of the population of this country?”  But we won’t. 

There is no doubt that the United States has some of the best universities in the world.  However, our overall education system ranks 20^th in the world.  The top ten are: Finland, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, RUSSIA, Norway, UK, Israel, Sweden, Hong Kong.  One might be tempted to ask, “What makes the education systems in these countries so good?  Is there something that we could adapt to our country to make our overall education systems better?” But we won’t.

America has become so arrogant, self-centered, polarized and so consumed with internal squabbling and jockeying for power that we are incapable of self-reflection and being willing to potentially learn from other countries, let alone deal with some of the major existential problems of the day like climate change. I think ancient Rome was on a similar trajectory.  It didn’t end very well for them.  I wonder what will become of us.

1. America Has Been Struggling With the Metric System For More Than 200 Years | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine
2. Happiest Countries In The World 2021 (worldpopulationreview.com)
3. 20 Best Education System in the World – Edsys

Another day, another mass shooting in America.   One person killed and 12 people injured in a shooting at a Kroger store in Collierville, Tennessee.  Who cares!  These incidences are becoming so common that they hardly make headlines any more.  And if they do make the news, it usually lasts for one daily news cycle.  This year, 2021, is on track to be the deadliest year, in terms of gun violence, in two decades, according to a study that was published in June of this year.¹ According to that article, there had been 296 mass shootings through June.  (A mass shooting is defined as the killing of 4 or more people).  At that time, almost 10,000 people had been killed by gun violence.  Fast forward to an article that was published in September of this year and the death toll from gun violence had risen to 14,723.²

These are truly staggering and tragic figures.  However, the figures that really blew my mind were the statements, in multiple articles that there are currently between 390 to 434 MILLION guns on the street in the United States.²   Given that the population of the country is about 330 million, that says that there is more than 1 gun for every man, woman and child in the country.  That staggering number of guns includes 20 MILLION AR-15 type ‘assault rifles’ (although most gun advocacy groups refer to them as ‘sporting rifles’).  Of those millions of guns, the estimate is that 214 MILLION have been purchased since 1991, i.e., in the last 30 years.

Is there anyone who believes the US is safer today than it was 30 years ago?  Gun advocates always argue that citizens need guns to ‘protect themselves’ so you would assume that since the number of guns on the street has essentially doubled in the last 30 years that we would all be a lot safer – right?  In fact, the exact opposite is true.  The simple fact is, the number of gun deaths keeps going up.  The number of mass shootings keeps going up.  A simple review of the data shows that the proliferation of firearms is not helping to make America safe!   Although when the hell did facts ever matter in the current political climate?

A little further investigation revealed that Montana, right here where I live, has the highest percentage of gun ownership in the country!!³ We’re number one!!  In Montana, the estimate is that 66.3% of adults own a firearm.  Wyoming is a close second at 66.2% but we win!  Massachusetts and New Jersey have the lowest percentage of gun ownership at 14.7%.  Both of those states have very strict gun ownership laws and, in fact, Massachusetts consistently has one of the lowest gun fatality rates in the country.   The other states with a gun ownership percentage less than 20 are Rhode Island, Hawaii and New York.  Not surprising, every single state in the ‘top ten’ of states with the highest percentage of gun ownership are all ‘Red’ states.  Republicans love their guns, although its provably false that the large percentage of gun ownership makes their states safer!!

According to the World Population Review the average across a very wide range of countries is 26.2 firearms owned per every 100 people.⁴ The United States outranks every country on the list, by far, with an ownership rate of 120.5 guns owned per every 100 people.  Our neighbor to the north, Canada, has a gun ownership rate of 34.7 guns per every 100 people.

The Global Peace Index ranks countries in 23 categories along three major themes; the Level of Societal Safety and Security; the Extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict; and the degree of Militarisation⁵.  The United States ranks 122 on this list just below Republic of the Congo, Algeria and Azerbaijan.  Iceland is at the top of the list as the safest country in the world and has been since 2008.  No European country is listed in the lower half of the list and 8 of the top most peaceful countries are in Europe.   Portugal, where I was going to spend October before I cancelled my trip due to COVID, is ranked 4 on this list.

Clearly, the proliferation of firearms in this country has not made America any safer domestically or internationally.  There is absolutely no data or fact-based argument to justify the uncontrolled and increasingly widespread ownership of guns – and yet here we are.  This, like the COVID pandemic, should be a solvable problem.  Unfortunately, just like public health measures required to contain the pandemic have become a cultural and political battleground, so to has the issue of guns become a politically intractable morass.  Both COVID and guns are public health problems that are killing thousands of Americans and which are solvable problems – but they won’t be.  Thousands more will needlessly die simply because of a warped definition of ‘freedom’, and a widespread lack of political courage.

Tens of thousands of American men and women have fought and died in wars to protect our ‘freedoms’ and now it seems like those freedoms which so many sacrificed so much for, are going to continue to needlessly kill thousands more Americans, and perhaps even democracy itself.

And one final thought.  Just remember if you are driving around Montana and someone in a pickup truck cuts you off or does something else foolish, Montana has one of the highest drunk driving rates in the country so that driver could very well be impaired.  And we do have the highest percentage of people who own firearms.  It would probably be best to just take a deep breath and drive on down the road.  The other driver might decide to exercise their freedom and ….

1. New data shows gun violence spiking in 2021 | TheHill
2. Data: US has 434 Million Guns, 20M ARs, 150M Mags :: Guns.com
3. Gun Ownership By State 2021 (worldpopulationreview.com)
4. Gun Ownership By Country 2021 (worldpopulationreview.com)
5. Global Peace Index 2021 – StatisticsTimes.com

The deposition yesterday was quite interesting.  And it was certainly a lot more ‘fun’ to just be there as a listener as opposed to being the one answering questions posed by opposing counsel.  Who knows how this will all come out in the wash.  It appears as if we will be going to trial and you never know how that will go.  Recall that OJ Simpson was found innocent in that famous trial!

I will get back to writing my own opinions now that I have a break but I read this yesterday and just had to pass it along in its entirety.  I believe it so accurately portrays where we are and how we got here with regard to the pandemic that I wanted to share it.  

Opinion by Jeffrey Sachs

Jeffrey Sachs is a professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and president of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. His most recent book is “The Ages of Globalization” (Columbia University Press, 2020). The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author; view more opinion on CNN.

With 678,000 deaths and rising, Covid-19 is now the deadliest epidemic ever to hit the United States, surpassing the death toll of the 1918 flu, and indeed the combined US military deaths in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf Wars and the Afghanistan War.

There is one overwhelming and grim reality: most of the Covid deaths could have been prevented, but America’s fractured culture — political, economic and personal — mainly delivered death rather than life.

With our 330 million-plus population, the pandemic has caused about 2,048 deaths per million population. This is one of the highest mortality rates in the world. Several South American countries have higher rates, as do a few countries of Europe.

Yet the death rate is shockingly high, considering that the US mass produces Covid-19 vaccines that prevent most deaths. Instead of an orderly lifesaving response to the epidemic, the US response has been unruly and disorderly from the start.

Many lives would have been saved if the US had only implemented basic public-health protections until mass vaccine coverage was possible: mask mandates, physical distancing, testing-tracing-isolation procedures and closing large events. Once the vaccines arrived, continued use of precautionary actions would have helped to keep the virus at bay. (Vaccines save lives but only partly prevent infections and transmission.)

This is the route that Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand and Taiwan have scrupulously followed. Their deaths rates per million are a tiny fraction of the US death rate. All those countries have suffered fewer than 50 deaths per million population, or less than one-40th of the US death rate. If the US had kept deaths to 50 per million rather than the actual 2,048 deaths per million, the US would have saved 650,000 lives from Covid-19.

US culture has repeatedly showed itself to be too self-centered, shortsighted and poorly informed to forestall mass deaths and continued surges of infection.

Even with lifesaving vaccines in prospect or in hand, politicians — and notably Republican politicians — and too much of the public demanded complete, immediate and untrammeled personal freedom: the freedom to not wear face masks, the freedom to attend large gatherings, the freedom to eschew vaccines and the freedom to infect others.

Many right wingers have treated even the most modest and limited protections as an attack on freedom. No immediate gratification should be denied; no face masks warranted even in schools, where children face the threats of infection. The message is now, now, now, without a pause for informed reflection and safety.

The selfishness of it all has been staggering. Poor people and people of color in disproportionate numbers, and frontline workers, were repeatedly ordered to go to work in unprotected settings at workplaces where even basic face mask protections were widely flouted.

We have watched as brave public health workers have faced abuse and even death threats, and of shop clerks and customers have been pummeled, simply for asking others to put on a face mask. We have seen clergy endanger their congregants by demanding the right to hold indoor church services even as the pandemic rages in their community, even when they could have moved the services outdoors or online.

We have been deluged by the infodemic of fake news on right-wing and social media.

The US has proved itself to be the land of a very peculiar notion of freedom: the freedom to harm others, to put the poor and frontline workers in mortal danger, and to spread misinformation. Freedom, in short, without a glimmer of responsibility.

In recent weeks, the culture of irresponsibility has played out in especially dangerous and vulgar ways in Florida, Texas and other states where Republican governors have fought against even basic public health measures. Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas have, through their policies, been effectively leading their citizens toward death. Not only have they eschewed state-level mandates on the use of face masks, they have aggressively prevented local school districts from doing so.

Across the 50 states, those with Republican governors and those with chronically weak public education systems, notably states in the South, have had much lower vaccine uptake than the states with Democratic legislatures and with better performing schools, notably those in the Northeast.

These facts reflect the two aspects of our broken culture: the Republican ideology of irresponsibility in the name of freedom and a culture prey to misinformation that results from chronically low-quality public education.

We are not at the end of this story. Covid-19 deaths in the US continue at an average of around 1,900 per day (during the last seven days). Long ago, the US Covid deaths ceased to be a tragic fact of nature, but became a fact of a fractured culture. America needs to embrace life, not death.

1. The real reason this pandemic is the deadliest to ever hit the US (opinion) – CNN

It turns out that I will be tied up much of today sitting in on another deposition.  I will be participating (as a listener) as our attorney deposes a party on the opposing side of this lawsuit.   Having been the subject of the deposition myself on Monday, it will be interesting to just be the proverbial mouse in the corner as this other person is deposed.   Given that, I’m still not able to get refocused and start writing anything cogent (not that anything I wrote before is at all cogent!).

Yesterday I received my copy of Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book, Peril, about the last days of the Trump administration and the early days of the Biden administration.  I have only read a few pages thus far but I can tell its going to be yet another eye opener.  I will hopefully be able to plow through the 400+ page book in short order so I can discuss it early next week. 

Meanwhile, Montana, like many other states is on fire with COVID but when you go out and about, you’d hardly know there is a pandemic ravaging the population and overwhelming the hospitals.  Very few masks and only about 52% of the population fully vaccinated.  Governor Gianforte activated some members of the National Guard to deploy to some of the state’s hospitals to help the overwhelmed staffs.  We’re seeing record numbers of cases, hospitals are getting overwhelmed, the National Guard has been activated and many more people are dying but the Governor in concert with the Republican controlled legislature are doing essentially nothing to stem the tide of this plague.

I would be tempted to conclude that their solution is to just let nature take its course ‘a la Darwin’ and let the strong survive.  However, since Governor Gianforte doesn’t believe in the Theory of Evolution, I guess that conclusion would be incorrect.  So, I don’t really know what the hell their plan is.

I was always taught that if you are doing something and it is not working, the reasonable thing to do is to change your approach and try something different.  The current approach of the leadership here in Montana is clearly not working but I guess trying something different is filled with too many political land mines and would require too much political courage.   I believe it was Albert Einstein who is credited with the saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”  Welcome to the asylum!!