The Hammer

The Hammer

If we take nothing else from this catastrophe we should at least realize that having a national health care service that could be quickly mobilized to deal with the increasing risk of viral and bacterial pandemics would be a good thing.

Just as the 1918 Flu epidemic, Sars, Mers, H1N1 and now Covid 19 all jumped from animals to humans this virus is aided by the increasing pressures for land and food forcing humans into closer contact with animals and in closer contact with each other. We haven't seen it yet but there are viruses and bacteria thawing in what used to be permafrost. Tiny enemies that have been in the deep freeze for millenia. Climate change will force humans to live in ever closer surroundings that will maximize transmission of any disease and especially those for which our species has not developed resistance.

I don't know that Climate Change contributed to this outbreak but other pressures brought on by increasing populations and demands for food certainly did. We fool ourselves if we think that our globally sourced food supply has been vetted in the same manner that our domestic supply has. In Southeast Asia food production and humans exist in the same space. Many places use human waste to fertilize crops and serve as food for animals. In our own country the use of inspections has been drastically reduced and in many cases left up to the producers themselves to decide whether or not their product gets to market. Upton Sinclair, who wrote The Jungle in 1906, would be horrified to see the worker abuse and lack of food preparation still rampant in the United States food industry. It is getting worse, not better.

After the Wall Street crash and the onset of The Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt was elected President in 1932 and took office in 1933. It took him and the Democratic Party two more years to enact the Social Security Act. It was passed over the objections of the Republican Party and their howls of socialism. It was far more limited than today in its scope but it provided some help to the elderly destitute people. Soon the ideal of a National Health Care plan began to take shape with the support of both Republican and Democratic administrations but it took until 1965 for Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic Party to pass the National Medicare Plan, again over the howls of the Republican Party and cries of socialism.

Presidents as diverse as Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton advocated for a National Health Care Plan to cover all citizens with President Clinton failing to do so over Republican objections during his administration. Finally, with the Presidency of Barack Obama some semblance of what was to be a National Health Care plan was passed, again over the howls of the Republican Party and cries of socialism. The plan came under immediate attack in the courts and some key provisions of the act were held to be either illegal or unconstitutional which decreased the number of citizens covered leaving several million without access to medical care.

And here we are today. In the throes of uncertainty and calamity, not knowing what our risk is or how we may be affected. In the middle of a Presidential campaign where health care is a key issue and, still, the Republicans are howling and crying socialism. One Democratic candidate wants to do away with all private insurance and enact a Medicare for all while the other wants to reinforce the Affordable Care Act as a transition to a National Health Care plan. Republicans would prefer to do away with all forms of government intervention except to support business. In my opinion, strengthening the Affordable Care Act is the most likely to get done but, make no mistake, my goal is National Health Care.

In the flu epidemic of 1918-1919 50 million people died globally out of a population far less that what we have now. Yes, medicine is vastly improved but population is far greater and we still don't know what we are facing with this virus. The fatality rate for flu is one tenth of one percent. .1%. For Covid 19 it is somewhere between 2% and 4%. At least 20 times greater. It is projected that 60 million to 150 million of our citizens will be exposed. Depending on the infection rate that is 1,200,000 to 3,000,000 fatalities. In Italy, one of the hardest hit countries so far, they have come to the point of being unable to treat all their sick and are having to make decisions on who gets treated and who doesn't.

Does it sound like I'm angry? Well, I am. I don't blame President Trump for Covid 19. He didn't have anything to do with that. I do blame him for his inept and corrupt administration and his incessant lies in an effort to diminish the importance of early testing and treatment. I am angry that he rejected using the already available test from the WHO. I am angry that he disbanded the agencies that were established to protect us from these types of things. I am angry at what this is going to do to our economy and the lost lives. I am angry at his Republican enablers that have known all along what kind of threat he is to our republic. And I am very angry that all he is concerned with are his polling numbers. It is my sincere prayer that the President and his enablers bear the burden of their infamy heavily and without cease.

My Take is that the only way this can be made useful is to elect a Democratic wave as was done in 1932, 1964 and 2008. A wave large enough to push National Health Care over the finish line.

HEROES

I wouldn't take nothing for the experience but I wouldn't give a dime to do it again.

Guy Sumpter

I went to church with Guy Sumpter. He was a tank captain during WWII and once told me that he had three tanks shot out from under him and they would always put him in another one and send him back. I'm not certain due to memory but I believe he said this was at the Battle of the Bulge. He wasn't the only veteran of WWII that I have known. I have known many. L.C. Henry also went to church with me. He was wounded at one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Campaign, Iwo Jima. My father whose name I share, had a ship sank that he was on in the harbor at Casablanca. He served the rest of the war in the Pacific on a destroyer and was part of the occupying force in Japan. He walked through Nagasaki just some weeks after the second atomic bomb was dropped there. These men have become known as part of The Greatest Generation. I seriously doubt that any one of these men would
have accepted being called a hero. They just did their duty. I met a man who lived at Shopville who, once he found out that Dad was a Navy man, told me of his experience in the war. He was a driver of the boats that landed troops on the beaches. He said that there were times that when the ramp dropped not a man made if off the boat. We spoke of the nightmares that had stayed with him and my Dad and then he began to cry. Do you think he thought he was a hero?

I remember back in high school being taught about the beginnings of Western Democracy and Philosophy. (Do they teach that stuff any more)? One of the lessons was to contrast the modes of government between the city states of Sparta and Athens. Since then I have learned that it was much more complex that we were taught but one of the lessons was on the warlike nature of Sparta. It is said that Sparta would take the male children when very young and inculcate them in the arts of warfare. When they went to battle they were expected to come back either carrying their shield or being carried on it. The ethic of doing battle to the death for the city/state was made part of their persona and their heroes were lionized. We still do that but a little differently now. Did you know that Hero is a word from the ancient Greek and was the name of a priestess of Aphrodite?

I don't recall the 58,000 men and women who lost their lives in Vietnam being called heroes. The combatants of that war were called many things but I don't think Hero was one of them. So, why do we now refer to all who serve in combat roles as heroes? They may deserve the title but that isn't why we call them that.

After the debacle of Vietnam and the wholesale disapproval of that war our military leaders, now faced with an all volunteer force, resolved to never again go into battle without a clear directive from the nation, a plan for victory and overwhelming force. Secretary of State and General Colin Powell made that point just prior to the Iraqi invasion but the political desire of our elected leaders rejected that and the nation has paid a price and is still paying it.

Why do we go to war in places that seem to hold no special interest for us? Our country has not come under direct attack since 1812 and yet we are always talking about defending our homeland. Yes, 9/11 was in New York and killed some 3000 people but that was not an attack leading to an assault on the homeland. Those who committed that act had no ability to continue as outright warfare. The response in Afghanistan was proper and then we took our eyes off the ball. I'm not going to try to discuss that at this time because that is not the point that I am coming to.

We go to war or involve ourselves in military action about 30% of the time to pursue some national interest or to prevent some competing nation from achieving superiority. The remainder of the conflicts that we become involved in are largely in order to keep markets open for our corporations. The giant multi-national petro-chemical industries, our war-making industries that have to sell their instruments of death so that they can make money and employ Americans, our leadership in
cybernetics and information technology is marketed around the globe and often in places that, were it not for the threat of sanctions or military action, some other major competitor would be in a more advantageous place. Think of the South China Sea and the Persian Gulf. We even use these threats to support our agricultural industries. There are many more examples but we won't go there. You get the idea.

How can we get our young men and women to put themselves in harms way for less than they could make in industries?

We tell the people they are heroes who gave their lives so that we could live freely in this country protected on both sides by oceans. When our dead come home they are in new aluminum boxes each covered by an American flag. They are shown great honor through salutes and rituals to express the gratitude of a thankful nation. A thankful nation that sends .4% of its men and women to serve the interests of the other 99.6% that sacrifice little.

That is My Take on why they are called heroes. How else could you manipulate a nation into sending its sons and daughters. Do not mistake me. Every person who puts on the uniform of our nation is deserving of honor. The ones that do not deserve honor are those who send them in harm's way for profit.

The Oath

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

The Oath

On December 7, 1941 people were awakened by the sounds of explosions, gunfire and planes. Now 78 years passed, The Empire of Japan had attacked the Naval Fleet of the United States of America while anchored at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. By the end of the day some 20 naval vessels were damaged or sunk, over 300 airplanes were destroyed, more than 2400 Americans were dead and another 1000 wounded. By the next day the United States was at war.

It took nearly 4 years, 420, 000 American lives and $4,100,000,000,000 (in today's dollars) to emerge from that war victorious. It remains the most savage period in our planet's history.

Every one of the military personnel took the oath of office mentioned above as had all others prior to this day. They did not swear an oath to God, the President or even to the people of the United States. They swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States of America. Every person who holds office in this great nation swears this oath or one very similar. All to the Constitution. To defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Our Constitution came into force in 1789 and since that date every person who acts in the name of the United States has taken that oath. It is telling that we swear an oath to the Constitution because it is that founding document that is the supreme law of the land. The swearing of the oath says that we are a nation of laws and not people. That all people are held to be equal under the Constitution. It has not always been acknowledged in that manner nor has it been enforced in that manner but we continue to strive to achieve that “more perfect union.”

When we think of those American men and women who have served, many of whom lost their lives, it is important for us to remember the reason they did that. It is important that we remember than it is the principles set forth in the Constitution for which they served and sacrificed. It was for things like Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures, Equality of Treatment under the law, Freedom to Choose our Representatives in Congress and the list goes on and on. Any time we deny our fellow citizens these Rights and Freedoms we are denying the sacrifice of those who have served to ensure them. It is also incumbent that we realize that, as citizens, there is a requirement that we uphold those Constitutional Freedoms. The burden does not fall on military alone.

On this day, when our national memory reaches back to December 7, 1941, not only should we recall the unanticipated destruction of that day and the war that followed but we should reflect on why we found it important to state that we would not see those Rights and Freedoms become only a memory. That should also be on every citizen's mind as he or she walks through life. That even in our everyday lives we defend those Freedoms.

On this special day our individual and national thanks go out to our Fathers and Mothers who sacrificed in this National Cause, regardless of the means of their sacrifice. When we consider the destruction of that day let's not forget the real reason for the sacrifices and let's assume the same fealty to the Constitution that enumerates those rights that our forbears did and take up the cost of assuring them for our brothers and sisters.

Indivisible Lake Cumberland

Impeachment 2019

While I believe that the President has committed impeachable offenses I don't believe he will be convicted unless further evidence is produced. As a matter of fact, I believe it is an exercise in futility to continue down the road of articulating the charges. It is not that I don't believe he is guilty. It is that I don't believe the American people believe that what he did in respect to the Ukraine rises to the level of an impeachable offense.

Democrats are faced with a conundrum. If these things are not impeachable then what is? Should we allow the President to avoid oversight and drag national ethics through the mud? What avenues of recourse are open that would express dissatisfaction with how the President casually ignores the mores of international relations? It may have been more reasonable to censure the President rather than impeach.

What is at the center of this ordeal is the President instructing his minions to ignore subpoenas from Congress. How can Congress conduct oversight without being able to command testimony? This tactic amounts to stonewalling and will set a terrible precedent for future cases that involve the Separation of Powers doctrine. The President MUST be subject to oversight for the oversight to work.

What is absent is the smoking gun linking the President to a demand of the Ukrainian President in return for American favors. A very strong circumstantial case can be built and likely will be but I don't think that will be enough in the eyes of the American people. Not many will be able to follow the train of evidence that going to be presented. Without that pressure from the people it is not likely that impeachment will come to pass.

I am still amazed that impeachment did not arise out of the Mueller Report and it is only because the Attorney General still refuses to release documents that impeachment charges were not brought there. This can't go on. Congress must be able to command testimony and evidence from wherever it may be.

WITHOUT FURTHER EVIDENCE I think this affair needs to be brought to an end while we still have time to prepare for an election to terminate his service.

Animal Cruelty V. People Cruelty

Animal Cruelty V. People Cruelty

Millions of Americans are ecstatic that Congress passed and the President signed a bill making animal abuse a federal crime. In the interests of full disclosure let me say that I have no sympathy for a person that treats animals in a cruel and abusive manner. However, I feel this is an issue that should be dealt with on a state level rather than a federal one.

Do we really want the FBI chasing animal cruelty allegations? Or the DEA making sure that you aren't subjecting your pets to unapproved drugs? For instance, many use these drugs that you put on dogs and cats to deter fleas and other bugs. It absorbs through the skin into the bloodstream and kills any future infestations that feed on their blood. My question is that if that is so great then why aren't we using them on humans to combat Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever? Will there be scheduled drugs that will require a trip to the vet to get a prescription? Will the FBI launch investigations into whether or not you left your dog out during cold weather or if you keep it penned up in too small an enclosure or with too many other animals?

Maybe we could create a whole new enforcement bureaucracy with badges and guns who could seize your property if it was in furtherance of the animal abuse. This could expressly apply to the breeders who treat these animals as if they were chattel or to the feedlots that keep their livestock on barren ground and feed them processed food with antibiotics. It could likely lead to requiring permits to breed animals with annual applications for license renewal to thwart those who do not adhere to the guidelines. Now, all of these practices are good practices but is it something that we want the FBI and DEA involved in?

What if those people, some of whom are children, who are held in cages in concentrations that make public health impossible begin to demand that they receive treatment at least as good as the family dog? Could they also demand public health inspections in the way that the USDA inspects farming facilities? And are those who are responsible for keeping those people in holding pens licensed and regularly inspected by federal inspectors? Could they expect to have climate controlled facilities so that they are not allowed to be too hot or too cold?

Could this lead to applying civil rights to animals? No doubt this would cause great consternation to our farmers who grow meat producing animals expressly for the purpose of being killed. They also leave their dogs out in the fields with sheep and goats and herding dogs work in all kinds of weather. Would there be a limit on how many hours they could work each day or for how long they would have to work before taking a break? Would we have to come up with more humane methods of slaughtering animals so we can have that porterhouse steak? And what about wild animals? These questions will have to be decided by the court system and just try to imagine that.

These considerations may seem foolish to you and it may seem that I am making light of animal cruelty but I assure you that is not the case. I am just reminding you that this is the same federal government that many believe can't get national security, education and health care right.

It could result in animals being treated much better and that is an admirable goal. A direct link has been established between those who abuse animals and people who commit awful abuses of humans. We should always strive to be better people and regard God's creation with respect.

With any piece of legislation there are always unintended consequences such as, but not limited to, those previously mentioned. But what if people see these protections for animals and begin to demand them for themselves?

In short, could they expect to be treated at least as good as the family dog?

Some of this is meant to be tongue-in-cheek and some is meant to encourage people to think about what they ask for. For Congress and the President there is no downside to this unless the farm lobby kicks. I haven't read the bill but it probably makes some exception for farmers. Having said that, I have heard people talk about our meat producing processes and some even advocate not killing animals for food.

Mostly it is meant to encourage more thought about how we treat our fellow humans. How can we advocate for more humane treatment of animals when we treat other humans inhumanely? Could we see a photo of a man bragging about his knife skills while posing with a dead dog and consider it equal to a man doing the same with another human?

Being cruel is despicable no matter to whom or what one does it but isn't it more so when it is done to our brothers and sisters? Shouldn't we care more about that?

The Favors of Citizenship

The Favors of Citizenship

It's not about religion.

It is about a citizens right to be considered equal to any other citizen and to enjoy the benefits thereof.

It is about the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States in which it is declared that all men are created equal.

It is about the 14^th amendment to the Constitution in which it is stated that anyone who is born within the United States or Naturalized as a citizen is guaranteed equal treatment under the Constitution and entitled to due process of the law.

It is about the 19^th amendment which extended the right to vote to women.

It is about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin,

It is about the right of ALL citizens to be treated equally under the law.

It is NOT about some people being excluded.

The Chill Out and Proud event scheduled for Saturday, October 5^th downtown at the Judicial Center Plaza is being held to validate those precious rights and to demonstrate that, as citizens, the participants are no different than you or me.

There are some who disagree with this but if legal standards are applied it is obvious that the rights of some may not be infringed upon without due process of law.

Recently the City of Somerset refused to pass what was referred to as a “fairness ordinance” reaffirming those natural rights of citizens. It created quite a hubbub centered mainly on religious doctrine without addressing the legal application of the law. Just recently Versailles became the 14^th city in Kentucky to pass a “Fairness Ordinance.” Some say that we are all already guaranteed protection under those laws and therefore no ordinance is required. That may be true but just as it took the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to affirm the rights enumerated under the 14^th Amendment it would be useful and beneficial to have a city and county ordinance to demonstrate determination to enforce those rights. It's just not that hard to understand.

Conflicts arise from the enforcement of civil rights. In this instance it may be the 1^st Amendment which guarantees freedom of religion along with the freedom to gather in public places for peaceful purposes. There may be objections to a “Fairness Ordinance” or the Chill Out and Proud event based on religious principles. Those objections are protected free speech and those that choose that route are guaranteed a right to assemble to speak against whatever they choose as long as it is peaceful and does not incite violence. This guarantees an individual a right to speak but it does not guarantee a right to have it codified into law nor does it give government the right to ignore the law.

My Take is that this is an opportunity for Somerset-Pulaski County to engage with the LBGTQ community in an effort to defuse tensions and, perhaps, come to an awareness that there is no threat here. I am pretty sure that many, if not all, of the people gathered will be citizens of the United States of America and privileged to enjoy all the favors thereof. Let's have a nice day.

Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later

What is needed now, more than ever, is leadership that steers us away from fear and fosters greater confidence in the inherent goodness and ingenuity of humanity.

President Jimmy Carter

President Carter goes on to say that, in his opinion, the world is at a turning point. I share that opinion.

In a recent interview President Carter stated that the United States of America has become the most warlike nation in the world. That statement in incontrovertible. It is time that we ask why it is that our nation, which we describe as the greatest nation on earth and a refuge for the downtrodden, is that way.

Here, within our own borders, we have millions who do not have adequate access to health care, we have food insecurity, violence that we seem to be unable to stop and a general lack of the comity that once held us together in the darkest of times. It is not that we lack the resources to meet these needs but that we lack the political will to make some hard choices. The divide between the haves and have-nots grows wider by the day. We know what to do about it but the inherent corruption in our political system plays to the strongest and wealthiest.

We are the world's largest manufacturer and vendor of the mightiest and most deadly weapons the world has ever seen. Once we acquired the corporate power and technology to develop them then it became necessary for there to be markets for them to be purveyed.

In a country with less than 1/10^th of the worlds population we consume on average 25% of the world's resources but China is coming on strong. The United States remains the only global superpower but that does not mean we are invincible. We would do well to remember that our military expenditures during the Cold War forced the Soviet Union into bankruptcy. Depending on who you ask, we spend some 25% to 60% of our budget in the defense department, a misnomer if ever there was one. We have not been threatened in any significant manner since WWII. 9/11 was a blow to the national psyche but from a military and economic standpoint it did little damage. We have damaged ourselves much worse than that tragedy did by ill advised military adventures that accomplished nothing but to engender hatred for us around the world and now we have insulted and disregarded our allies so that they have decided they are better off without us.

We have also been one of the big 3 in contributing to the greenhouse gasses that bring climate change which has the ability, if left unchecked, to not only destroy our nation but to bring to an end the human species. We are not alone. China, Russia and India are also huge contributors to Climate Change largely due to the use of coal as an industrial fuel and, to a lesser extent, oil and natural gas. The disturbing thing is that we possess, right now, the technology to bring those contributions to a halt. We have to ask ourselves why it is that we do not take advantage of those technologies to save an Earth for those who will come after us to reach for horizons we have seen only dimly.

What should we do? The obstacles seem insurmountable but, as with all things related to our species, nothing is beyond our reach if we unite in the pursuit of a common goal. It will take time and things will and must change. The threat of Climate Change is here and present. We will not be able to avoid it now that we have wasted the time for reasonable and painless efforts but we must change our definition of reasonable if we are to go forward.

Our political system is corrupt to the point that nothing that is difficult or causes pain can be done. The influence of money in our system is a cancer that must be excised or we will have no hope of remaining a republic. We will degrade into an autocracy that has classes that do not receive the benefits of our wealth. We must bring to heel our warlike nature and the machines that provide the instruments of death. This will require a massive diplomatic effort which we are currently unable to provide. For it to succeed we must have assurances that those machines of war will not be required. (I know that many will dismiss this out of hand but we will do this, one way or the other).

The world must invest in those technologies that produce energy but do not pollute. There are small nations and island nations that will require assistance which should be available from the richer ones. Yes, the economic disturbance will be significant if we dramatically curtail the industries that rely on the production of obsolete products. Their time has come and passed.

We are already seeing the results of Climate Change in the migration of people. It is expected to become tens of millions of people moving to find a place they can survive. Water is becoming a scarce commodity in places that are home to millions. We are likely to see much of the land that is our bread basket become arid and non-productive. The Ogallala Aquifer that waters much of the mid-west is being drawn down at rates that are unsustainable. We must learn to use our food resources with less waste. It is estimated that as much as 1/3^rd of our food production is wasted. To have such waste while people are starving is inhumane.

Most importantly, we must have leaders who are able to take us to a future in which cooperation is the norm and strife becomes rare. My Take is that the human species is at a crossroads where we must decide if we want to be present for an unlimited future or fall into the geological history where our existence is known only by the remains in the rock.

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one.

John Lennon