Cynical or Realistic?

One active aspect of cynicism involves the desire to expose hypocrisy and to point out the gulf between society's ideals and its practices according to Mary Midgley.  George Bernard Shaw allegedly expressed this succinctly: "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who don't have it" (1).

I have been tossing around the ideas of cynicism, depression and realistic attitudes, and have some difficulty. On the one hand, cynics are sometimes thought of as melancholic or depressed, self-deluded, and on the other as realistic. When someone tells me I have a cynical attitude, I respond that I have a realistic attitude. Why? Well, in my education and experience, cynical people were somehow thought of as being defective. Maybe in personality. Maybe in intellect. Maybe in spirituality. And I don’t think of myself thusly.

In looking back over my several decades, I find that the world view I have always held includes the ideas that humans like to and strive to do good as individuals and some groups. Take churches for example: countless “missions” are undertaken every year to go somewhere to do good works. And not always (cynicism?) just to gain new converts. I ran into Baptist missionary projects in Nicaragua, a fiercely Catholic country, building sanitary outhouses for extremely rural and poor families. No illusions of converts. Just good works. At the exact same time, corporations, governments and individuals all over the world were exploiting people and resources for their own enrichment. Not for the good of the people. This is not a cynical observation, just a realistic one.

The cynicism as defined by Midgley and Shaw, though, definitely shines through. You see, I deeply believe that humans will per natura act in their own interests when able, and when powerful enough. Not all people, or even most people mind you. But enough to tip the scales. A few powerful leaders control world events. Wars are not started by the citizens of countries, they are started by the leaders. Revolutions may be good wars started by the citizenry, but most often are corrupted at the end. Industries operate for profit and often disregard the long term effects of their actions. Governments can and often are corrupted by corrosive effects of money, either through the political process or directly through graft.

I believe that the vast majority of individuals want to do good and actually do good. Observation of the world, not a cynical observation either, clearly shows a world descending into degradation and chaos. Unstoppable? Probably not. Will it be stopped? Probably not.

Cynical? No, just realistic.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynicism_(contemporary)

Image: http://crapusa.blogspot.com/2012_11_01_archive.html

Good News? Some, but Enough?

Think Corporations Care? THINK AGAIN

I was talking to a few friends on the 4^th about many things, and the idea of good news vs bad news came up. As anyone who has read my writings over the last few years will know, I don’t find much good news to comment on. Sure there are always the feel good stories about saved animals and kids, brave cops and firefighters and super citizens who put themselves in danger for others. In my experience it is human nature to aid others, animals, trees or other humans, in times of distress. I agree it is good news and good works.

My take on the world, however, is informed by my equally deeply felt experiences that humans can be greedy and self-serving when operating on a more macro level: corporations seeking profit; chambers of commerce courting businesses; wealthy people trying to get even richer; governments seeking more power and resources. The list goes on and on. The net result of the nasty side of human activity is poverty, environmental degradation, disease and war. I see this as a natural condition of human kind since throughout human history, as we can know it, these or similar activities have always been around. Sure, again, some good is usually to be found, but not enough to outweigh the bad.

America? The same. Founded in war, forged by war and strengthened by commerce. The results are clear: declining arable land, declining and polluted water supplies, poverty, timber resources exploited in favor of fast growing mono culture, environmental and biological disasters. Having seen the outcome of centuries of exploitation, one might think that saner heads would prevail and through elected officials bring some sanity to the country. But the election process itself has been corrupted by huge amounts of money, and the judicial system has been corrupted by the corrupted elected officials, or if not corrupted then at the very least polarized to the point of de facto corruption. Example? Easy. The Supreme Court decision to make corporations “people” for the purpose of political donations. Thus injecting unlimited amounts of “polarized” money into elections.

During this same evening, a friend pointed out, rightly, that the demographics of the country are changing, and in a few decades the governing of the country will probably be done by more liberal politicians who might reverse the awful trends of corporate and municipal greed. I agree. I also think that if this occurs (bear in mind that the conservative actors are rushing to re-calibrate their message to attract new and more liberal voters, cynically I believe) the damage already done will be akin to having an inept surgeon remove the wrong leg from a patient and then being fired for incompetence: the patient still is without a leg. In the case of the country, the ground water will still be hopelessly contaminated; lakes, rivers and streams will still be hopelessly polluted; fish stocks will still be hopelessly depleted; women will be decades behind in equality; poor and disadvantaged people will be hopelessly under educated; and the rich will be unbelievably richer.

From my perspective: too little too late. Because along with America, will go the world.

There is good news out there, mostly deeds done by individuals and probably some by corporations and governments. But gosh and golly, the bad surly seems to outweigh the good.

Image: http://economistjourneytolife.blogspot.com/2012/06/day-22-daily-mass-massacre-of-children.html

Imge: http://www.jimwhitefitexpert.com/images/logos/foxnewslatino.jpeg

Freedom to - - - - what?

Lets see. No posts in a while. Hmmm. Why I wonder? A couple of times in the last few days I have perched before the glowing screen and waited. No inspiration. Move on.
Today it occurred to me why that might be. There is just so much going on to rave about I don't know where or if to start. Is there anyone left on the planet, except some really conservative Republicans, who don't know about all the problems that are killing us and the planet? Is there anyone left in America who don't know that in the name of "Freedom" we are every day getting less free. Woman's right to chose? Not in many places. Right to "carry open" leads to many people afraid to go into stores. A corporation is first a person, and now has religion. What a crock of crap that is.
Is there anyone left in America, except the conservatives, who do not think we are having very bad things happen to weather patterns? Oh, that's right. They think they are just "Natural Cycles".

God, there are so many wrongs to right that I tremble at the probably outcomes. (And that is NOT a prayer BTW.) We are being screwed in so many different ways I can't even count them. And mostly for the profit of a few fat cats.

Look at one issue dear to me: Religious Freedom vs Freedom from Taxes. A bit of background: Organizations who claim to be religious organizations, with very little vetting, are exempt from paying taxes on property used for church business. No property taxes; no school taxes; no taxes to support fire fighters or other first responders. All other non-church property pays these taxes. You and me. The revenue generated is spent for what you think: local government, schools, fire and police etc. We, the non-church taxpayer pay for all the budget. The churches skate with no contribution. Therefore, when you subtract their tax value, based on their assets, our taxes necessarily go up. YOU SUBSIDIZE THE CHURCH, TEMPLE, MOSQUE, CATHEDRAL, TABERNACLE AND EVERY CORNER PREACHER. You pay their share of the tax burden.

You like that? You think it is fair? You like the idea of them NOT PAYING and you PAYING DOUBLE?
Simple solution: Require them all to pay taxes. After all, they expect the fire department to put our their burning churches, and the ambulances to come to their preachers heart attack and their kids to go to school for free (if they live in a church provided house) and the streets fixed, and you get the idea. If they expect the services, why shouldn't they pay their fair share?

There, now I am writing again. Next I may bitch about the mess in the middle east, that, BTW, Obama did not cause.
Image: http://dailyatheistquote.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/religious-tax-exemption.png

The Breast.and Double Standards

Ok for Africans but not New Yorkers. Double Standard?

Depending on your religion/cultural situation the subject can be exciting, disgusting, shameful or a completely non-issue.  And then there is the sexual difference in perception: it is Ok to see a male breast, including the nipple and Ok to see a female breast, but NOT the nipple. In some religions/cultures.

Confused? Of course you are. And the cause of this confusion is the, well, confusion. Let’s take a closer look: Before the Judeo-Christian-Moslem (people of the Book, the Old Testament) came along, breasts of both sexes were seen in equal measures. Men and women went topless when they wanted to, and covered up when they wanted to. Nobody ogled, grabbed or commented either way. People of the tropics, on every continent, went topless and some bottomless as well.

Then somebody decided to create the Bible, and included the idea that the female body, but not the male body, is somehow shameful. The idea that to see female body parts was sexually titillating (no pun intended) or shameful or disgusting was a construct of culture. This was taken to an extreme in many cultures, the most recent of which was the high-necked long hemmed clothing of women of the west, and the total coverage of some Moslem women today. In these contexts, in the western culture, a glimpse of an ankle was erotic in extremis and a glimpse of a burka-clad woman’s flesh, any flesh, might lead to her being killed on the spot.

What dynamics could lead to the demonizing of the female body? What god would create rules to make the female body, or parts of it, off limits to be seen? Who would perpetrate such nonsense? And why?

My answer is a loud “MEN”. And the why is simple: Control. In many primitive cultures, women are usually considered equal to men, and sometimes even superior. When the Book came along, suddenly women were relegated to a second class role, ordered to “submit” to men and cover up. And this is taken to the extreme in some Moslem cultures where men can beat, sometimes to death, any woman in public space who they find offensive for any reason. And of course, husbands can beat, sometimes to death, a wife for any reason at all.

I think we have had this second class citizenry for women for too long, and it is time for women to  claim their rightful place in the world, and that is one of equal status. And to do this? Bare the breast and take the wind out of the sails of women-hating men. Seriously Woody? Well, probably not right away, but that would go a long way to begin the process of turning the course of culture. Religion? That is a tougher nut to crack. That will take millions of people shouting “BULLSHIT” all at once. And that will never happen, will it?

So we are stuck with a set of ancient and arbitrary customs and values until the cows come home, bare breasted and proud of it.  

Image: http://nativenudity.tumblr.com/post/46537073426/zulu-reed-dancers

Oh, The Lordly Knish

Summer. Coney Island boardwalk. Nathan’s hotdogs with yellow mustard and kraut. Heavenly. But Oh, the Knish!! Fragrant potato grilled for hours until golden brown and almost crisp. Not crisp but hardish. Hard to describe. Smear on some yellow mustard and you are GONE!!! Not a thing in the world better.

The deli down the hill from the highschool. Knishes on the grill since early morning. OMG. (The tuna sandwiches there were good, too).

And from vendors in Brooklyn. To die for.

That was 60 years ago. Still can taste the beauties. Word of advice: If you don’t get one in an authentic Jewish Deli, you probably won’t even come close the real thing.

Enjoy!!!

Image: no URL available.

Rabble-rouser: Man who wants to pray/ Or, an uppity man?

Satan before the middle age morons got him.

“A Florida rabble-rouser wants the city of Deerfield Beach to allow him to say a satanist prayer at the beginning of a council meeting.” 1.

When a man wants to open a public meeting with a prayer to his God, Satan, he is called a “Rabble-Rouser”.  When a man does the same for a Christian prayer he is called a Godley man. What the hell is this all about? Pure and simple discrimination. No other possibility.

Why is one a rabble-rouser and the other Godley? Majority rules minority. Remember the old days? White man wanted to go to a good college and he was “ambitious”. Black man wanted to go to the same college and he was “uppity”.  Exactly the same thing.

Really pisses me off. And you know what? Probably many of you think it is right to discriminate. Friends, you better think again. Very soon you, if you are white, will BE the minority. You better be laying the groundwork for some good relations before it is too late. (Remember, Lucifer means "Light Bringer". )

Image: URL not available

1. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/10/311300886/florida-rabble-rouser-seeks-to-open-civic-meeting-with-satanist-prayer

The RAPE of America: You will never guess by whom.

It started with cries of “We must end our dependence on foreign oil” and mutated into “DRILL BABY DRILL”, a thinly veiled attack on the moderates of the country who wanted to make oil and gas exploration more environmentally safe. They said, often and loud, “WE NEED THE OIL TO BRING DOWN GAS PRICES!!!”  The drum beating was never as loud as during the 2008 elections. They threatened “IF WE DON’T HAVE A MORE EXTENSIVE KEYSTONE PIPELINE TO DELIVER CANADIAN TAR SAND OIL TO TEXAS GAS PRICES WILL NEVER COME DOWN!!!”

Ok, so the moderates went along and issued more oil and gas drilling permits than any previous government. They approved fracking for oil and gas. They loosened some coal environmental regulations. Oil and gas were released in historic quantities. So much in fact that in many places where gas was found, it is being burned off in a process called “flaring”. To relieve the pressure on the wells, and because there is not enough pipe to carry the new gas supplies. And the oil began to flow.

Ok, gas prices you ask? Why, they went UP!!

But here is the ugly truth behind the calloused use of the American Public to get into America’s vast and strategic energy reserves: EXPORT SALES. Right. Along with the vast new supplies of energy coming on the market, was the parallel push to permit natural gas EXPORT terminals, to sell our precious energy on the world market. And to increase refinery capacity at the expense of the environment to increase EXPORT of refined products and to increase the EXPORT of crude oil.  And to build vast new coal EXPORT facilities on the West coast to feed the polluting furnaces of China.

Who benefits from all this drilling and exporting? The same RAPISTS who screw you every time you buy gas at the pump, or want really cheap natural gas, or fill your propane tank. The BIG INTERNATIONAL ENERGY COMPANIES and the politicians they subsidize.  The companies, by the way, who don’t pay their taxes, or really invest in America, or even clean up their spills. And yes, they want the Keystone pipeline finished to deliver Canadian tar sand oil to Texas for export. We all take the environmental risk of getting the oil, a very energy intensive process, and the environmental risk to the country as a whole if the pipe breaks (they always do) and they get the PROFIT.

Men used to say to women “if RAPE is inevitable, lay back and enjoy it”. Like that? No. Well, if you don’t get off your collective asses and fight the RAPE OF AMERICA BY ENERGY CORPORATIONS AND THEIR MINIONS, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, and then you might just as well get used to it.  Until Americans really take back the country from the greedy pigs currently trying to RAPE ALL OF US, you are going to get gang banged forever. Learn to enjoy the high price of gas, the crappy water and air quality and the changing environment.

And remember always: “WOODY TOLD YOU SO”.

The High Desert Strikes Again*

You ever find good beer in an unexpected place? A café?

We had a B&B in Cedar Crest New Mexico and the host suggested the Greenside Café for supper. Good local food and they had beer and wine. Being hungry and tired we decided to go there without the usual discussions. So, we went. First good sign: A chalkboard outside the front door with a list of local/regional beers on tap. Second good sign: in a crowded small café a table for 4 in a quiet section. Third good sign: friendly and helpful staff. Fourth good sign: the café smelled good.

Fun at La Cumbre Brewery

I asked about the “Elevated IPA”, was told it was a local (Albuquerque 10 miles down the road) brew and popular. Got a pint. My friend Ken got a pint. Yummm. Orangey and a bit cloudy, good lacing, nice mouthfeel, great front, middle and back taste of all kinds of things including but not limited to pine, a couple of different citruses, baking bread and of course hops (the IBU is 100!) .

The second pint came with the perfect meal, and with an ABV of 7.2 two was quite enough for the driver. The brewery is La Cumbre Brewing Co., and BeerAdvocate rates this brew with a well-earned 97, World Class!! I agree.

Now to the other High Desert Gem: The Greenside Café . The chef, Jay Wulf, is also the owner. He has got it exactly right. The menu is not huge, but offers something for everybody, and all of it made on site. All fresh ingredients, served on perfectly warmed plates by excellent staff. The manager was attentive, helpful and friendly. Nobody was intrusive.

Jay, Chef and Owner of Geenside Cafe

My wife and I had meatloaf, seasonal veggies and mashed potatoes. All perfect. Huge portions. One friend had a Sloppy Taco Salad with steak and there was the only problem that night. Her salad came with ground beef instead of steak, but she liked it and didn't mention it. Probably a communication issue somewhere. Her husband had a Turquoise Trail Green Chile Cheese Burger minus the cheese (his request) and that was perfectly cooked to order with plenty of green chile on the side. For dessert,  Sally and I shared a good-sized dish of homemade cinnamon vanilla ice cream while Barb and Ken shared a generous slice of cheesecake of some kind, also made in-house. Both were excellent. I would go back for the ice cream alone.

Everybody was happy and pleasantly surprised by the quality, quantity and excellent service at this local café.

When you visit Albuquerque, take a few minutes to drive out to Cedar Crest and check this “Gem in the High Desert”. I personally guarantee that you will be delighted and will want to go back.

Thanks, Jay, for doing a fabulous job. You deserve all the kudos you have already gotten, and all that are yet to come.

Images http://www.greensidecafe.net and http://lacumbrebrewing.com
*Originally published in the Southern Beer Magazine

A Fisherman’s Tale.

A fisherman was far out in the ocean when Neptune appeared: “Because you have always been an honest fisherman, I will warn you that your boat is leaking and you will drown if you don’t fix it.”

The fisherman looked around and said “No, that isn't a leak. It is morning dew settling on the bottom of the boat.”

A little while later Neptune again appeared and said “The dew has dried away, and your boat is leaking. If you don’t fix it you will drown.”

Again the fisherman looked around and said “No, that isn't a leak. A few waves have lapped over the gunnel.”

Still later Neptune appeared again and said “This is my last warning: your boat is leaking and you will die if you don’t fix it now.”

And once again the fisherman looked around and said “No, the boat isn't leaking. That water is from the rain storm that just ended.” The fisherman was tired from bailing the waves and rain water and decided to take a short nap, and when he awoke the boat was nearly full of water and about to sink. He cried out “NEPTUNE!! Help me. My boat is sinking!! Save me, please.”

Neptune appeared and said “You ignored my warnings, although you should have seen with your own eyes that your boat was leaking. Now you must die from the consequences of your ignorance. You are a very foolish man.”

And so the fisherman died on the ocean, warned in plenty of time to fix his boat.

Image: http://wkiri.com/comphist/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/neptune-150x150.jpg

The Chinese are At It Again

(This was written in April just before our trip to China. I decided to delay publication until we got back and forgot. Here it is, late but still timely.)

Tiger penis, powdered Rhino horn, bear gall bladders and gods know what else the Chinese eat to improve fertility and erectile function. They must think they have a fertility/performance problem and they are eating their way through endangered species at an alarming rate. Now it is fish swim bladders. Read this:

The totoaba's swim bladder is a tube-shaped organ that fills with gas to help control the buoyancy of the fish, which the U.S. Attorney's Office said can grow over 6 feet long, weigh up to 220 pounds (100 kg) and live to the age of 25.

The United States listed the totoaba as an endangered species in 1979 and they are also protected in Mexico. Officials said the fish's bladder was seen in some Chinese cuisine as a prime ingredient in a type of soup and prized for its supposed ability to boost fertility and circulation. (1)

For a country with billions of people, and cheap Viagra the eating of exotic and endangered species makes no sense at all. I have known many Chinese people over my lifetime, and none seems to have problems with “getting it up”, so to speak. So what is the fascination with eating rare meats. And the growing middle class in China is buying Ivory at an alarming rate. Of course this is illegal trade as well.

It makes me sad to see a great nation like China, with many wonderful people and traditions give in to the demand for these exotic products. The good news is there is a thriving market for fake exotic parts, and they seem to work just as well. Hmmm. The “placebo effect”?


1. http://news.yahoo.com/california-authorities-target-smuggling-bladders-endangered-fish-035423364.html

Image: Same as above.