tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4884705140101808582024-03-19T09:43:21.713-04:00 The Flyoverland CrankA weekly column of eclectic commentary featuring the wit and wisdom of a garrulous geezer posted every Saturday. "We are here and it is now. Further than that, all human knowledge is moonshine." -H.L. Mencken " ~"The journey to enlightenment is better w/french fries."-Bilquis Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comBlogger433125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-79793362789902334692024-03-16T01:06:00.000-04:002024-03-16T01:06:21.871-04:00If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pvHsvkFeDlkHR6UeLF6a-W3-TJsI5XJaT_EGMEDtyEoH_7EsSvyyxL4kVC5Chjx5UYzRlIIo5FhU13kaUwpr-luw1ASR-JR4ElR7Tv1A7_a1g6fBLyDYWFQEKlnJe_D7PIV2B8KfGaEujttD_lqS1AdEj9TAn0N4bwgfqtr-KDlt1NqhEmm2HmvhPQs/s1280/oppression-3048645_1280.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1280" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pvHsvkFeDlkHR6UeLF6a-W3-TJsI5XJaT_EGMEDtyEoH_7EsSvyyxL4kVC5Chjx5UYzRlIIo5FhU13kaUwpr-luw1ASR-JR4ElR7Tv1A7_a1g6fBLyDYWFQEKlnJe_D7PIV2B8KfGaEujttD_lqS1AdEj9TAn0N4bwgfqtr-KDlt1NqhEmm2HmvhPQs/w508-h401/oppression-3048645_1280.jpg" width="508" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/evgenit-4930349/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3048645" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Evgeni Tcherkasski</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3048645" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This weekly column consists of letters written to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now and haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"At some point or another, everyone has felt unseen and unheard and marginalized." </i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: inherit;">- Ayanna Pressley </span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">I'm a member of a marginalized group.</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I went a-googlin' to discover exactly what a marginalized group is having been triggered by the use of the phrase. It happened to turn up in a bunch of articles one recent morning when I was in the midst of my daily relentless need for input.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Yeah, yeah,<b> </b>we know, you're a current events junkie and...</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In my defense, Dana, I'm very particular about what sort of current events I shoot up, <i>and</i> I'm a wanna-be polymath with wide-ranging interests <i>beyond</i> current events.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Half-assed polymath... Hey, isn't that a line from a Randy Newman song?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Perhaps I should settle for renaissance <strike>man</strike> person and make a point of pronouncing the word as ren-a'-sance. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>This whole often crossing out <strike>man</strike> or <strike>men</strike> shtick and inserting person, not to mention making fun of the pronoun wars by writing he/she/they or the like is getting old.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As am I, but now that I'm officially declaring myself to be a member of a marginalized group I'll have to give some thought to changing my ways.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">According to CultureAlly.com ("Your diversity, equity & inclusion solutions all in one place") "<a href="https://www.cultureally.com/blog/what-does-marginalized-mean-and-why-does-it-matter#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20Marginalized%20Group%3F"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">...marginalize</span></a> refers to the act of treating a person or group as though they are insignificant by isolating and/or disempowering them."<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Having been raised in front of an old school television (think 27" black and white box with tinfoil draped rabbit ears mounted on a cheap stand with two cat hair-clogged plastic wheels for viewing maneuverability) <i>my</i> isolation and disempowerment started early and continues to this day. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Huh. Do tell.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I refer, of course, to heterosexual pasty patriarchs being treated with thinly veiled contempt via that all-American institution, the TV sitcom. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Anyone of a certain age</i></b> is aware of the rapid devolution of the wise and patient family patriarch type, think Ward Cleaver or Ozzy Nelson, to the likes of Alan Harper of <i>Two and a Half Men</i> and Al Bundy of <i>Married, With Children</i>, with Archie Bunker of <i>All in the Family</i> bridging the gap. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For the record, I confess to thoroughly enjoying <i>All in the Family</i> which began in my last year of high school. It was well-written, funny, and cutting-edge for its era. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But being a relatively clueless callowyute at the time, I never gave any thought to the fact that while Archie's hip, self-righteous son-in-law Michael (aka Meathead) went to class to study sociology, Archie, went to work. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I went a-googlin' to jog my memories of <i>All in the Family</i> and discovered that I had forgotten that Archie fought in the Second World War. Worse, I had no memory of the fact he had been a young baseball star who dreamed of playing for the Yankees but had dropped out of high school to go to work to support his family during the Great Depression. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Still, everyone knows the dads of TV Land are (usually) well-meaning dopes... except for evil ones that run <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i>hoog</i>e</span></a> global empires that spend all their time ripping off everyone they can, including loved ones.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>What about Cliff Huxtable?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Moving on...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Despite being told for decades that dads are dopes</b></i>, I attempted to overcome the damage inflicted on me from being raised in a psychological ghetto in TV Land. I fell in love with, and set my sights on, a blond, girl next door type in my mid-twenties. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I set out to become, <b><i>Superhusband!</i></b> Partying had become boring and my genes were crying out to be reproduced.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I spent nearly three years proving myself worthy and able to make such a thing financially and realistically possible while my love finished college by the skin of her teeth and subsequently informed me that it wasn't me, it was her. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Later dude. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Oh c'mon...</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Seriously. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"I think there's something wrong with me, I don't think I'm capable of making a commitment," she said.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It would've been nice to know that before spending three years re-enacting the Labors of Hercules.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"I know we promised to be each other's rock, but like, I'm just not up for being anyone's rock right now."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b>Oh c'mon...<b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Seriously.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>To be brutally honest,</i></b> the previous paragraphs were as far as this column got before I ran out of gas. Not having dropped out of high school to support my family and abandoning my dream of being a professional baseball player (or having fought in a world war) I was feeling like a sissy. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>You're aware Archie Bunker wasn't an actual person... right?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I definitely don't feel privileged but life and my late wife (born sick, died sick) has taught me that my life could've been way worse, perhaps I should just click on the little trash can icon.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Uh-oh, do I smell <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/07/health/white-fragility-robin-diangelo-wellness/index.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">white fragility?</span></a></i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's my new deodorant. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>But then I came across<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/08/health/aging-discrimation-kff-partner-wellness/index.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">this</span>,</a></span></b> <i>Thousands of Seniors are still dying of Covid-19. Do we not care anymore?</i> courtesy of CNN.com.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px;">Prejudice against older adults is nothing new, but 'it feels more intense, more hostile' now than previously, said </span>Karl Pillemer<span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px;">, 69, a professor of psychology and gerontology at Cornell University."</span></span> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>I don't understand.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That one sentence tells ya everything you need to know, you don't have to read the article. Everything in the article is a variation on that one sentence.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>I <b>still</b> don't understand.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm a victim! I'm marginalized! Get <a href="https://www.aclu.org/bio/kimberle-crenshaw"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Kimberle Crenshaw</span></a> on the line I need validation! I'm yet another victim of "multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage." <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">According to the chicks at </span><i><a href="https://www.womankind.org.uk/intersectionality-101-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-important/#:~:text=Intersectionality%20is%20the%20acknowledgement%20that,orientation%2C%20physical%20ability%2C%20etc."><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Womankind Worldwide</span></a></i><span style="color: #333333;">, </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Isidora Sans;"><b>"</b></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555;">Intersectionality is the acknowledgement that </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">everyone has their own unique experiences of discrimination and oppression</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555;"> and we must consider everything and anything that can marginalise people – gender, race, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>{</b><i>Hey, you spelled acknowledgement and...</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="background-color: white;">You need to stop marginalizing the way folx in the UK spell. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>{</b><i>I was referring to Womankind, shouldn't that be Womynkind?</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="background-color: white;">Wait, I'll be right back... Nope, that's how they spelled it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #555555;">Cool!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555;"> I'm </span><i style="color: #555555;">officially</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555;"> oppressed and marginalized! Do I get a check? Is there a softball league? An official Facebook page? Hows about reparations? I gotta go... busy, busy!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other stuff) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publicly flogged.</i><i> </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-47471522423849713732024-03-08T20:59:00.000-05:002024-03-08T20:59:08.125-05:00The History of the World, Epilogue <div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ruh-Roh!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDYtx2R6QRghUIDvbKNY9R8yfs78YmS53mmDWAhA0oN0m78IFXNsTpohAPwNFH9z3BKmflTX7EvxtMUzP2bjRR_lxrfVgl3jMWmHF14tpALdr0V2oS_aYNb5U3uQcikjNC_6DLzy0Gh35ru0WFZnGaSnTAYvmZCx2HPiCNrxWQYf36otcFhAwpH3aoUg/s1280/history.of.the.world.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDYtx2R6QRghUIDvbKNY9R8yfs78YmS53mmDWAhA0oN0m78IFXNsTpohAPwNFH9z3BKmflTX7EvxtMUzP2bjRR_lxrfVgl3jMWmHF14tpALdr0V2oS_aYNb5U3uQcikjNC_6DLzy0Gh35ru0WFZnGaSnTAYvmZCx2HPiCNrxWQYf36otcFhAwpH3aoUg/w458-h404/history.of.the.world.jpg" width="458" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jj-jordan-2574594/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-weight: 600; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">JJ Jordan</span></a><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span></span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-style: italic; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixaba</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">y</span></span></span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This weekly column consists of letters written to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now and haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i>"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."</i> -Charles Dickens</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a></b></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">From the Department of Fun Facts: In 1790 most Americans lived on farms; about 90% of our predecessors used a rooster for an alarm clock. </span></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">But then, between 1870 and 1920 roughly 11,000,000 people said goodbye to Ma and Pa and moved to cities to take advantage of industrialization and 25,000,000 (legal) immigrants joined them. Obviously, this was a really big <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">feckin’</span></a> </span>deal that changed everything. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, Virginia, we <em>are</em> a nation of immigrants.</span><em style="font-family: inherit;"> </em></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We’re currently in the midst of a hi-tech/communications revolution that is also changing everything that started late in the last century and continues apace. The more things change, etc.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong style="font-family: inherit;"><em>By the late 1970s,</em></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the seemingly unstoppable post-World War Two American economic boom collided with a booming global economy. What seemed like suddenly at the time (trust me, I was there) the American steel industry, which actually had been </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">gradually</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> declining, more or less collapsed. In short order, it was followed by a general hollowing out of the American industrial base. </span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The rust belt started rusting and we’ve been arguing over who and/or what the cause was and what should’ve been/should be done about it ever since. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jimmy Carter made us feel like it was game over but Ronald Reagan made us feel like it was a new season and we were bound to come out on top. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The roaring nineties, the result of the rapid spread of the internet and the seemingly endless possibilities for new ways to make money, made us think Regan may have been right. It was only a matter of time before all those economic refugees from the factories and the mills would be reabsorbed into the economy, just like the unemployed buggy whip makers eventually were after the last time something like this happened. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The whole <i>world</i> was going to prosper by adopting the aforementioned pursuit of self-interest, division of labor, and freedom of trade. The American way (a phrase that I suspect most of my younger gentlereaders<strong><em> </em></strong>may not truly appreciate the meaning and significance of) had triumphed. It was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_History_and_the_Last_Man" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><u><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The End of History</span></u></a> and the good guys (us) had won. </span></p><p>Big BUT...</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">China’s been doing its level best to prove that economic freedom (well, more or less) is perfectly compatible with draconian restrictions on political and personal freedom powered by cutting-edge technology — much of which they purchased or stole (and continue to steal) from the Western Barbarians.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pooteen</span></a> is doing his level best to prove that history's <em>not</em> over and that bloody wars of attrition haven’t gone out of style, particularly for the <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">dick-tater</span></a> class. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Meanwhile, here in the land of the free and the home of the brave, it turns out that you can’t print money and accumulate massive debt without unleashing the inflation dragon after all. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oopsie. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ya’d think this would call attention to the possible long-term effects of a cumulative 2% inflation rate, that’s now regarded as the minimum price we <em>should/must</em> pay for fiat money that’s backed by nothing much, would be getting more attention. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>{</strong><em>I’ll bite, why should we care about that?</em><strong>}</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s the reason we <i>have</i> to play/are at the mercy <em>of</em> the stock market. Living within your means and saving up your dough is nowadays a suckers bet. You <em>have</em> to bet on the stock market and pray the value of your house (of cards) doesn’t collapse before you do. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m not going to explore the fighting of endless wars… or the fact the Democratic Party has been taken over by relatively tiny groups of Wokies, Greenies, and folx on the sexual fringe… or that the Republican Party gave us the Donald, a gift that just keeps on giving… or that both parties are incapable of compromise on issues normal, everyday Americans would like to <em>compromise</em> on and then <em>move</em> on… or mention that Hollywood, academia, certain corporations and much of the mainstream media, have chosen sides and pursue their agenda like the devoted members of a cult. Or…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>{</strong><em>Could we move on, please?</em><strong>}</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Point taken, Dana. I’m primarily concerned about the Woke folx, many of them the postmodern versions of Lenin's useful idiots, who think <em>they</em> are changing the world but are actually controlled by duplicitous tech oligarchs with the help of a corrupt <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clerisy#:~:text=clerisy%20%E2%80%A2%20%5CKLAIR%2Duh%2D,political%20vanguard%20or%20elite%3A%20intelligentsia"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">clerisy.</span></a> Folx that take their salaries and bennies for granted, and sneer at the beliefs and lifestyles of people with blue collars who built (and maintain) America. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having gleefully “disrupted” millions of people out of a job they’re now working their bums off building robots and developing artificial intelligenci to disrupt millions more. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m <em>concerned</em> that no shortage of techies are telling us that it’s only a matter of time before our machines and technology will be smarter than we are and might decide to delete our dim, inefficient, species -- yet keep working to make it happen. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m <em>concerned</em> that irregardless, millions of us will be out of work and that this will finish off the middle class.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>{</strong>On the bright side, t<em>hat could solve the climate change thing.</em><strong>}</strong> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong style="font-family: inherit;"><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong style="font-family: inherit;"><em>I hope I’m wrong,</em></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"> but this jaded old man has a new reason for getting out of bed in the morning. I'm hoping to live long enough to see if I’m wrong (yet again) before I’m deleted. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Poppa loves you,</span><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other stuff) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publicly flogged.</i><i> </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div> </span></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-25063760427224127542024-03-01T19:43:00.001-05:002024-03-03T09:36:41.605-05:00The History of the World (Condensed), Ch. 8<div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTVhOApV6Pvbt92Hef6fLlg1cnW-y6n5rd2EXkDa7VMMtqr2GZYQ1fVXRz_YfpEg7dMmdt7zA5v6eTvjL0_DFU_irFdhCuLcR2LTC89zLGhai6kLMTBzIt6ngFWNh7yIWbfrNfgnLFH7dQqCO8Wf88V3WjH1GvSNx5MtehRKTMRPw8IUfN7gutTTVNpg/s1280/history.of.the.world.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="501" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTVhOApV6Pvbt92Hef6fLlg1cnW-y6n5rd2EXkDa7VMMtqr2GZYQ1fVXRz_YfpEg7dMmdt7zA5v6eTvjL0_DFU_irFdhCuLcR2LTC89zLGhai6kLMTBzIt6ngFWNh7yIWbfrNfgnLFH7dQqCO8Wf88V3WjH1GvSNx5MtehRKTMRPw8IUfN7gutTTVNpg/w426-h501/history.of.the.world.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jj-jordan-2574594/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-weight: 600; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">JJ Jordan</span></a><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span></span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-style: italic; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixaba</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">y</span></span></span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This weekly column consists of letters written to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now and haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><em>“The past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.”</em> -Mark Twain</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>{</strong><em>Hey,</em> <em>you used that quote already.</em><strong>}</strong></div><div><br /></div><div>This is true, Dana, but I think it's perfect given that the world-changing events we’re currently in the midst of are as dramatic as the Industrial Revolution.</div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">The stage was all set. The United States of America was born, smack dab in the middle of the Northern half of the Earth's Western Hemisphere. Most of the country was not </span><i style="background-color: transparent;">too</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> hot in the summer or </span><i style="background-color: transparent;">too</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> cold in the winter.</span></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>That sounds vaguely familiar for some reason...</i><b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Although both North and South America had been populated, more or less, for as long as the rest of the planet they were what a modern-day property developer would describe as radically underdeveloped, a viewpoint also held by the Europeans who "discovered" it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The H. sapiens who called it home at the time begged to differ. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately for them, some Europeans proved that if one were to sail far enough west from Europe one would neither be killed by sea monsters nor fall off the edge of the world — as had been predicted by some very intelligent people, the Earth turned out to be round. </div><div><br /></div><div>Also unfortunately for those who were here first, the European's technology for killing other people (a practice that many of the locals also enthusiastically embraced) was far <i>superior</i> to that of the locals. They firmly believed that God was on their side and that this justified all sorts of barbaric behavior (as it did back home) and they also brought all sorts of diseases with them that the locals hadn't been cursed with but were about to be.</div><div><br /></div><div>But after no end of false starts here, there, and even over there, they cobbled together a country theoretically based on the freedom to pursue happiness as each citizen so defined it as long as they avoided stepping on each others toes as much as possible. </div><div><br /></div><div>They thrived and prospered like nobody's business despite the fact they were as flawed as H. sapiens still are and despite no shortage of bad behavior and <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">hooge</span></a> mistakes. </div><div><br /></div><div>H. sapiens will be H. sapiens. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>{Hold up there, Sparky. </b>Your so-called history of the "world" can be summed up by saying that for thousands of years, all sorts of stuff happened all over the globe but it was all a mere prelude that led up to the establishment of the U.S. I don't think that...<b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Balderdash. I've clearly pointed out that all sorts of stuff happened that somehow/fortunately eventually begat Western Civilization which somehow begat the USA (the best the world's done so far) despite the fact H. sapiens are naked apes that frequently behave accordingly. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've never claimed that other cultures haven't done/continue to do all sorts of cool stuff from which all naked apes have benefited greatly. However, I maintain that <i>overall</i>, America is as good as it's gotten. My bias has been abundantly clear from the very beginning and I've pointed out that while we should be proud we should also be humble, to which I would add, we should also be grateful.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, where was I ... "They thrived and prospered like nobody's business despite the fact they were as flawed as H. sapiens still are and despite no shortage of bad behavior and <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">hooge</span></a> mistakes. H. sapiens will be H. sapiens." -me</div><div><br /></div><div>{Sheesh...}</div><div><br /></div><div>Big BUT...</div><div><br /></div><div>Native Americans were, and still are, treated abominably.</div><div><br /></div><div>Slavery was and still is the nation's original sin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Women were considered by many to be second-class citizens and didn't get the right to vote in America till 1919.</div><div><br /></div><div>These are merely, in my semi-humble opinion, the three biggies. There are literally thousands of other documented injustices. But slavery, the suppression of women, and the exploitation and slaughter of a given indigenous population by foreign invaders was and still is, in no shortage of locales the rule, not the exception, since forever. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>I maintain that some dramatic progress</i></b> has been made in America since 1776 but there is, and <i>always will be</i>, a long way to go given the nature of the game and the creatures who play it. </div><div><br /></div><div>History is fascinating and illuminating but these are dangerous times, apparently even more than usual given recent developments so we need a little less relitigating of the past and a lot more of looking the present in the eye just now.</div><div><br /></div><div>We don't have to wait and see if the Artificial Intelligenci will end us. </div><div><br /></div><div>We have perfected the technologies we use to kill one another in that we now can kill <i>everyone</i> if the nukes are launched or the right/wrong micro-cooties escape/are released from the labs. There's a Woke Mind virus loose in the world that's causing more than a few people who are products/beneficiaries of Western Civilization to promote cultural suicide.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>That's a lot of something/something elses in the same paragraph... are you/we done?</i><b>}</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Not quite. Next week is an epilogue, <i>Ruh-Roh!, </i>and then I'm/we're done.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>Ruh-Roh?</i><b>}</b> </div><div><br /></div><div><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other stuff) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publicly flogged.</i></div></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-57837383044281716682024-02-23T19:36:00.002-05:002024-03-01T06:40:41.676-05:00The History of the World (Condensed), Ch. 7 <div style="text-align: left;"><div>How we got so rich</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGlSPLnY29nXoGxAp1Oiua4LhKxtPs8_FfSw185Tm1YIz9QQ7dd0ldNPiYTLOrZHUKTN8CL-0fcaAF4A8JxFcYJAr7-jG2tXWm1s-XCsYhErUnUbGxzbmu06oa04XbzZ2ecEp3JHbqfzEY7iCBWgpq8J-b2zqtlTxHGtxvneJQQie2TQZOqrkzPoNDEQ/s1280/history.of.the.world.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGlSPLnY29nXoGxAp1Oiua4LhKxtPs8_FfSw185Tm1YIz9QQ7dd0ldNPiYTLOrZHUKTN8CL-0fcaAF4A8JxFcYJAr7-jG2tXWm1s-XCsYhErUnUbGxzbmu06oa04XbzZ2ecEp3JHbqfzEY7iCBWgpq8J-b2zqtlTxHGtxvneJQQie2TQZOqrkzPoNDEQ/w532-h320/history.of.the.world.jpg" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jj-jordan-2574594/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-weight: 600; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">JJ Jordan</span></a><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span></span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-style: italic; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixaba</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">y</span></span></span></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">History is a set of lies agreed upon."</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> -Napoleon Bonaparte</span></div></div></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;">This is a looong chapter. </span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the record, I've been told by people whose opinion I trust that my columns should be shorter... or longer... or that I should start a podcast or make YouTube videos since nobody reads anymore and I'm wasting my time. Or that...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, I'm stickin' with writing columns that are roughly 750 to 1,000 words (not this time though) and have no plans to change since I've reached a point where I'm pretty sure I'll not make any money for my efforts no matter which direction I take so I write to please myself and my biggest fan, my big brother Ed, while I'm waiting to wake up dead. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Theo was to Vincent as Ed has often been to me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is why I've abandoned all the various and sundry ways that exist to "monetize" my work, none of which have gone anywhere. I write for me, Ed, Arletta, and anyone else out there who might enjoy my work and the slight chance the Stickies will benefit from it. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">That said, Chapter 7 is the longest one yet. If you'd like to save some time and get on with your day permit me to summarize: A democratic republic and a more or less free market have made us a very rich and more or less free country. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Macroeconomists,</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> like all social scientists, are much better at explaining things (or at least trying to) afterward than at making predictions. Why? Variables. Just like your favorite weatherperson, they have to deal with myriad known unknowns, not to mention the </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">unknown</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> unknowns. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">That is to say, they try to make predictions about systems that are so complex in nature that an educated guess is as good as it gets.</span></div><span><br />This is why a minimally regulated market works better than a highly regulated market. This is why when you go to the supermarket most of the thousands of competitively priced products they carry are usually in stock — literally millions of specialists pursuing their own self-interest and freely trading with each other. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>This is why communism and strict versions of socialism don't work, it's physically impossible for politicians and bureaucrats to efficiently do what the market does effortlessly, and if we’re truly free, we’re free to trade. Common sense suggests that both sides in a given transaction are getting something they want out of it or it wouldn’t happen. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>Life on Earth is what it is in spite of what we would <em>like</em> it to be. There’s no guarantee the result of a given transaction is going to be completely fair and equitable for both sides. Let the buyer beware, but let the buyer buy —if they want to. Prosecute the weasels, enforce the contracts, read Consumer Reports and ask Dad, Mum, or your Dutch uncle what they think. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>Then secure your _____ and jump.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">You’ll win some, you’ll lose some, and some will have mixed results. Take comfort in the fact that when you win one the other side may hate and resent you, or at least be thoroughly depressed, often without even having ever actually met you. The entrepreneur that went bankrupt because you didn’t think their world-changing product or concept was worth your money comes to mind. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are no unemployment checks for failed entrepreneurs. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, if you fail on a large enough scale The Fedrl Gummit may step in and save your bum. And that’s not fair </span>— <span style="font-family: inherit;">unless of course, </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">your</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> job or business is on the line. But that’s not how it’s supposed to work, and you can’t count on it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adam Smith said, <em>“Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer.”</em></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In other words, the cut-throat competition in the marketplace usually ensures that the customer wins. The <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">hooge</span></a>-honking downside is that any given producer — including owners, management, <em>and</em> labor — is subject to being destroyed by its competition.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">“The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups,” <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_in_One_Lesson" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">-Henry Hazlitt.</span></a> Notice the use of the word art, not science.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Oh yeah,? Well, that’s all well and good but NAFTA screwed everything up and now they want...</i><b>}</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whoa there cow<strike>boy</strike>person, obviously anyone who lost a job because of NAFTA may understandably be reconsidering not only the wisdom of free trade agreements but capitalism in general. This was probably on their minds while they were driving to job interviews in their "American" made car that’s chock full of parts manufactured all over the globe (as practically everything is).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, people lose jobs when a trade agreement is implemented and/or a tariff is eliminated. Other jobs are created or expanded, but unfortunately, this is virtually impossible to document with anything resembling precision, which is why both sides can plausibly argue their position. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Economists disagree on all sorts of things but most agree that free trade will, <em>overall</em>, generate at least as many jobs in a given country as it erases. Also, the consumer (that is, everyone) almost always wins. The producers (and by extension, their employees) may win or lose. We all want good, <em>secure</em> jobs. But we also all want lots of food, toys, and fun — for which we wish to pay as little as possible.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, the Reality Checks, Caveats & Premises department has it on good authority that the global economy is a fact, not a possibility. Adapt or get run over like a cute little bunny that’s incapable of grasping the potential impact of an 18-wheeler passing through the neighborhood.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">After WW2 ended America was the beneficiary of a boom that lasted for roughly 35 years during which you could drop out of school and still get a job that would provide a good living, and maybe even a pension. The rest of the world, having been more or less trashed by WW2, watched and learned.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was a sort of temporary golden age that hadn't been the case before the war and hasn't been since.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">More than a few of our fellow Earthlings thought they might also enjoy eating regularly and being able to seal the couch in plastic to keep it nice. Liberty might be nice too but that proved to be a lot harder and much more complicated. Life on Earth being what it is, instead of what we would like it to be (a phrase that bears repeating), there are always gonna be bullies that embrace their inner chimpanzee — and bullies need victims.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nowadays, the US buys more <em>stuff</em> from the rest of the world than it sells to the rest of the world, but it exports more <em>services</em> than it imports. As of 2022, if you add total imports to total exports you discover that the total is almost $4,000,000,000,000. As of 2022, the GDP of the USA was $25,462,700,000,000. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">We're talkin' trillions, with a <em>t</em>, dude.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our 35-year-old bubble of prosperity hasn't so much popped as gotten comparatively smaller, so far at least, because the rest of the world is blowing its own bubbles. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We export more than we ever have in terms of dollar value even allowing for inflation and because of productivity gains we can do this with far fewer people than would have been needed in the past.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our GDP would be even higher, but we're simultaneously dealing with labor shortages in certain industries and people dropping out of the workforce. As to exactly why the economists (of course) disagree. My guess is as good as yours, in fact, yours may be better.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ever wonder if all those um... "undocumented" refugees fleeing political and economic corruption in certain politically and economically challenged countries south of the Rio Grande are responsible for certain other people's wages being lower than they might otherwise be?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ever wonder if all those women who have flooded into the workplace since the women's liberation movement hit its stride are responsible for depressing wages for everyone who hasn't disproportionately benefited from a truly global economy?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do, but I have no idea. Believe it or not, the experts don't agree on that either. Shocking, I know. Consult the worldwide web of all knowledge to find the answer you prefer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">And if that ain’t bad/confusing enough, now we have to deal with a communication/high-tech revolution. It’s like the industrial revolution on steroids (and there <em>still</em> isn’t much work for <a href="https://www.equestriancollections.com/horse-equipment/horse-whips-crops-bats/whips/driving-whip?sku=203-369785&gad_source=1"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">buggy whip</span></a> makers) in that the rules of the game keep changing and nobody on the rules committee has a clue what the final draft is going to be.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">And if <em>that</em> ain’t bad enough it turns out there is no rules committee, there are just H. sapiens hoping it all works out somehow, and that civilization-ending-sized asteroids keep missing the mother ship. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It may be the best of times, but it might be the worst of times. As noted, not even the "experts" can be relied upon to accurately tell us what's next. Also, they’re acutely aware that throwing the wrong economic lever at the wrong time, considering how complex and interconnected the global economy is, can easily set off a cascade of unexpected and unwelcome consequences.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(To be continued...) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Poppa loves you,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other stuff) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publicly flogged.</i><i> </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>{</b><i>With a buggy whip?</i><b>}</b></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-11825221228375370662024-02-16T19:13:00.001-05:002024-02-19T06:43:10.246-05:00The History of the World (condensed), Ch. 6<div style="text-align: left;">Colonel Cranky's history of the world resumes.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURfpTd5Fdcz9PP-8wnDj6t-brsFQpeO6Giph0nnNwWRV9SxZsHeQ54nKK1ycvbGY-Awby5z9UIQQV1CluJl1ShD9NCHAnffc6tkAeJMG-oDJxyAkNpYpz8ILj64ARrfNVKfxS7GXzX8NJIiXUAEg2NH74VIRQ1WW9b0Xk24ktdDEzLFaDuL7e0YIWxF0/s1280/history.of.the.world.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURfpTd5Fdcz9PP-8wnDj6t-brsFQpeO6Giph0nnNwWRV9SxZsHeQ54nKK1ycvbGY-Awby5z9UIQQV1CluJl1ShD9NCHAnffc6tkAeJMG-oDJxyAkNpYpz8ILj64ARrfNVKfxS7GXzX8NJIiXUAEg2NH74VIRQ1WW9b0Xk24ktdDEzLFaDuL7e0YIWxF0/w500-h430/history.of.the.world.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jj-jordan-2574594/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-weight: 600; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">JJ Jordan</span></a><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span></span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-style: italic; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixaba</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">y</span></span></span></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><em><br /></em></div><div style="text-align: left;"><em>"History is a vast early warning system." </em>-Norman Cousins</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Okay, where was I... Oh yeah, Crankysplaining (vastly oversimplifying) Adam Smith's three economic fundamentals that will enable any nation, and its citizens, to prosper: the pursuit of self-interest, the division of labor, and freedom of trade.<em> </em></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>The pursuit of self-interest</em></strong> simply means that every Tom, Thomasina, and T. has the right to figure out how they're gonna pay the cable bill without a dicktater, or a master of any sort, assigning them a role to play in the economy or determining how and how much they'll be rewarded for their labors. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A free man/woman/person should be compensated based on what service/product/talent they provide their fellow H. sapiens. A reasonably free market will easily determine the financial value of a good doctor, a good housekeeper, and everyone else.</div><p>Pursuing your self-interest in a free market wherein everyone else is doing the same thing tends to result in a self-regulated market that allocates resources in a way that central planning simply can't match when everyone is competing with everyone else.</p><p>When regulation is kept to a necessary minimum and the playing field is level, consumers will rule and consumers will win.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>As to the division of labor,</em></strong> this can be summed up in two words, modern civilization. Do/make something <em>you're</em> good at and trade it for things you aren't as good at doing/making and simplify things dramatically via a reliable system of reward certificates (money). The result? The most prosperous era in the history of H. sapiens. Consumers rule, consumers win.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><br /></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><br /></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Freedom to trade.</strong> If you’ve lost a good job because your job is now being done by someone in a foreign country, like Elbonia for example (H.T. Scott Adams) — crappy weather, chock full of primitive religious sects prone to killing each other, a corrupt government and/or any number of other possible combinations of factors that would keep you from vacationing there even if you <em>had</em> any damn money — odds are <i>you</i> might be a little cranky. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One of the reasons I’m a little cranky is that I lost a fairly decent job, a job that I thought would be my last, due to the effects of (<i>insert</i> <i>ominous musical fanfare)</i> The Great Recession. When this happened I was almost a thousand years old (in American years) and had all the wrong skills. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was forced to take a crappy job, actually, <em>several</em> part-time crappy jobs that required me to work eight days a week just to get by. Unfortunately, it wasn't because I was a greedy workaholic who couldn't ever be rich/secure/powerful enough, it was because they didn't pay very well.</div><p>I had to work a <em>lot</em> of hours to get by; I literally limped my way, with what turned out to be a busted hip, to a forced early retirement because I needed the diminished dough to get by before the rest of my deteriorating joints (osteoarthritis, the adventure continues) got any worse.</p><p>But the reason I lost my job had nothing to do with free trade. It might have happened because the company I worked for managing a crew of 15 souls that kept a <i>hooge</i> Kmart warehouse clean, wasn’t competitive enough — or <em>Kmart</em> wasn’t competitive enough (hold your calls, I think we have a winner) and Wally World ate their lunch... and breakfast... and dinner.</p><p>I and a lot of other people lost our jobs but there's no shortage of stores still around selling merchandise at all price points. Consumers rule, consumers win.</p><p><b>{</b>Wait-wait-wait. What about inflation?<b>}</b></p><div style="text-align: left;">I lost my job because a variable, or a combination of variables, known or unknown, led to life jumping out from behind a tree and kicking me in the crotch. This is how life and the economy, despite our best efforts to generate a desired outcome, often works.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b>And what about the popping, no <b>exploding</b> of the real estate bubble in 2008?<b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Central planning, aka The Fedrl Gummit, that never met a program to encourage people to buy homes it didn't like (or was unwilling to subsidize) watched as the bubble expanded. After the explosion, it had to step in and spend (print) trillions to prevent another Great Depression.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And nobody went to jail. Not the big<strike> boys</strike> persons that ran/run the major financial institutions or the hustlers on the front lines handing out liar loans.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"When the tide goes out you discover who's been swimming naked." </i>-Warren Buffett</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After shutting down the country and the schools when the pandemic hit (a <i>revers</i>e quarantine) they printed roughly $5,000,000,000,000, so much dough they still haven't spent it all despite an obsession with creating a green economy out of thin air and caused the "transitory" inflation we're still dealing with.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Spending money that creates a problem and then spending more money to fix it ain't how a free market is supposed to work.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>(To be continued...)</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other stuff) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publically flogged.</i></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-38810668239950646762024-02-10T07:22:00.001-05:002024-02-10T07:23:47.583-05:00History Paused <div style="text-align: left;">A Random Randomnesses Column</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv08M1BddmgH0-lcM-1_zITlbuKfrHVuLbYyiOAf9vqrcROU9pqMUfXGM-pGkMG7pCsN83fyt_ewszmtVccqVKjK2ocj2GWHI79rOLjslbueYo_h_v7nx4izw8VBj9pD0GJzEpxyFHO6sdJUUdGJIXOkwYZPFo8WfGB1cfUQasgDrrSLGDICXOowYy17s/s1280/squirrel-3815235_1280.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv08M1BddmgH0-lcM-1_zITlbuKfrHVuLbYyiOAf9vqrcROU9pqMUfXGM-pGkMG7pCsN83fyt_ewszmtVccqVKjK2ocj2GWHI79rOLjslbueYo_h_v7nx4izw8VBj9pD0GJzEpxyFHO6sdJUUdGJIXOkwYZPFo8WfGB1cfUQasgDrrSLGDICXOowYy17s/w548-h354/squirrel-3815235_1280.jpg" width="548" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/995645-995645/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3815235" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", system-ui; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">995645</span></a><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3815235" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", system-ui; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i>"If you can't make it good, at least make it look good."</i> -Bill Gates</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">If you've been waiting with bated breath for Chapter Six of my condensed history of the world, I apologize.</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>You know, I've always wondered...</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a transitive verb from Middle English that means to reduce the force or intensity of (Merriam-Webster) and has nothing to do with fishing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you're new here, this will give you a chance to catch up. If you're a regular reader this will build anticipation... All right, I admit it, I just decided to take a break for no special reason. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>- If Bill Gates is so smart,</i></b> why is my Hotmail account always choked with spam and my Gmail account virtually spam-free? Why can't Willy take Sundar to lunch at one of those fancy places rich people eat, like Olive Garden, and ask for help?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Word on the street is that the Goog is running behind Microsoft in the race to unleash artificial intelligence on those of us who think lunch at Chick-fil-A constitutes a memorable day. Perhaps they could trade info and fix Hotmail for the little people?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After all, Willy fancies himself a philanthropist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>I'll bite, what's a Sundar?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dana, you are, um... What's the opposite of cosmopolitan? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Parochial? Narrow-minded? Rustic?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Exactly, and likely racist, and probably some sort of ____phobe as well. He's the chief Googler. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Huh. I'm surprised you don't call him Sunday, or Sundae. What are you whining about anyway? Hotmail is free, and so is the software you're using, even as we speak, to write what you call a column and what normal people call a blog.</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Free? I think that if more people realized just how minutely and carefully everything they do online is being tracked, recorded, and sold they would realize that there is <i>still</i> no such thing as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">free lunch.</span></a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Oh please, everybody knows there's no such thing as privacy anymore. What can you do?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Click<a href="https://duckduckgo.com/"> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">here,</span></a> then scroll down and follow through. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>- Although I hate to admit it,</i></b> I find that my attention span has slowly but steadily diminished since the worldwide web of all knowledge has become ubiquitous, and I'm not even a social media maniac.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've entertained thoughts of self-harm while enduring the interminable wait for my toast to pop up. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Speaking of which, it's the World Wide Web, not the worldwide web and as far as I know, you're the only one that tosses in "of all knowledg</i>e."<b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, as I've long suspected, <i>worldwide</i> web it turns out (I recently got around to finally looking this up) is grammatically correct, world wide web ain't, but that's not my point. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's just a dash of attention-seeking behavior on my part that also subtly implies that it's a web of <i>contradictory, missing, manipulated, and frequently incorrect</i> knowledge.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Not that knowing this keeps me from indulging in extended periods of web surfing from which I suddenly regain consciousness and ask myself, where have I been? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Look, a squirrel! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-style: italic;">- For the record, </b>The Wall Street Journal officially and enthusiastically embraced the ongoing decline of journalistic standards on 01/06/24. Granted, this is a somewhat arbitrary date given that my personal paper of record (for now) has been declining in quality slowly (but steadily) for a while now. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, Emma Tucker, named editor-in-chief in December of '22 by King Rupert (who has since abdicated the throne to his son, at least officially) published a sleazy, speculation-filled front-page hit piece — A Tony Stark (Elon Musk) takedown. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Wait-wait-wait. Mr. Musk has no shortage of critics loose in the world.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Absabalutely,</span></a> and I'm sure it's a coinkydink that WSJ reporter Tim Higgins, who's been writing almost exclusively about Musk for quite some time, has recently written several articles that read more like editorials than hard news stories. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When Rupert Murdoch folded the WSJ into his media empire he assured the world he wouldn't lower the paper's famously high standards. In fact, he expanded the Op-Ed section, which was/is separated from the news division by a Chinese wall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Wait-wait-wait. Isn't Chinese wall a racist term?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nah, it's just <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_wall#:~:text=There%20have%20been%20disputes%20about,integrated%20into%20the%20global%20market."><span style="color: #3d85c6;">culturally insensitive</span></a>,</span> according to Wikipedia anyway. The Wikipedia entry mentions an unintentionally <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">hil-LAR-ious</span></a> suggested replacement, <i>cone of silence, </i>a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antenna_blind_cone"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">technical term</span></a> that also happens to be the name of a device used in a formerly famous TV show.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TxmEtJ31Ldw" width="320" youtube-src-id="TxmEtJ31Ldw"></iframe></div><br /><b><i>This column was sitting in a drawer,</i></b> as you can tell by the date of the referenced hit piece (1/6), but the Journal has since published another hit piece about Mr. Musk. It's basically the same as the first one: mostly unidentified sources say Elon does, or at least did, a lot of drugs.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I find it interesting that both major articles' comment sections overwhelmingly supported Musk. I'd love to know what the <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">strategery</span></a> is, perhaps controversy for its own sake?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I refuse to post any links to this blatant <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">purple journalism</span></a> but in the Journal's defense, they recently published an in-depth piece about the fact Taylor Swift's dad played college football for a year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Other Football Player in Taylor Swift's Life</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now <i>that's</i> world-class journalism. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other stuff) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publically flogged.</i><i> </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-90130443357836583392024-02-02T19:35:00.002-05:002024-02-16T07:17:57.355-05:00The History of the World (condensed), Ch. 5 <div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">The United States and modern economics both began in the same year. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO527-Sl9-hQzsaOH3jWKnSVg3vNzHajYbkIaMFcWWbAnd0dtjtdUKBNm6xk6i0WI43jn-YGtx7RryaozOxDRfEpPE001E_C57W-y7KIXehWrO3LbPma_sztmsVW4EkzKkRp8RSF_ACWqwRKz6i46xdvWadOuF-1SvoHJWW7DNq5LuY3PzPkT6G4zMsos/s1280/history.of.the.world.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO527-Sl9-hQzsaOH3jWKnSVg3vNzHajYbkIaMFcWWbAnd0dtjtdUKBNm6xk6i0WI43jn-YGtx7RryaozOxDRfEpPE001E_C57W-y7KIXehWrO3LbPma_sztmsVW4EkzKkRp8RSF_ACWqwRKz6i46xdvWadOuF-1SvoHJWW7DNq5LuY3PzPkT6G4zMsos/w535-h435/history.of.the.world.jpg" width="535" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jj-jordan-2574594/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-weight: 600; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">JJ Jordan</span></a><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span></span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-style: italic; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixaba</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">y</span></span></span></a><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i>"History becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."</i><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b></div><div style="background-color: white;"> -H.G. Wells</div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>In the year 1776,</em></strong> after a coupla hundred thousand years of just scraping by and occasionally killing each other while simultaneously trying to avoid being killed by a somewhat bloodthirsty Mother Nature, some H. sapiens launched the American experiment and a Mr. Smith published a book. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Adam Smith</span></a></em> was, and is, a well-regarded absent-minded professor with a first-rate mind. He gave up his day job as a popular professor at Glasgow University in 1764, to tutor and travel with a young Scottish nobleman (road trip!). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They spent a couple of years touring continental Europe and met several leading thinkers of the day (e.g. Benjamin Franklin) and Mr. Smith was given a life pension by the grateful nobleman that enabled him to spend the next ten years or so working on his magnum opus, “An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.”</div><p>In other words, he set out to discover the best policies a given nation should pursue so that everyone could make a buck.</p><p><em>Warning:</em> do not try to read <em>The Wealth of Nations</em> unless you enjoy the writing style of 18th-century academics (I’m thinking this is a relatively small group of people) <em>and</em> you’re much smarter and more patient than I am (I’m thinking this is a relatively large group of people). </p><p>The commas and semicolons seemingly reproduce themselves as you try and decipher the text. Find a commentator that you trust to render Mr. Smith’s ideas into modern English. <br /><br />In Mr. Smith’s defense, it ain’t easy to be one of the founders of a field of study (modern economics). Also, I must warn any kneejerk anti-capitalists that beating up on Mr. Smith because you think he was just another greed-head will make you look goofy as he’s well known for his belief that accumulating wealth and material goods won’t make you happy.</p><p>Besides inventing modern economics, he also explored morality and ethics. He wrote a book titled <em>The Theory of Moral Sentiments </em>that is still highly regarded. Incidentally, both it and <em>The Wealth of Nations </em>were best sellers in their day and literally changed the world. </p><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>Adam Smith wanted to figure out </em></strong>what the optimal system was for a free people to attain whatever level of economic security they thought was necessary and appropriate to keep the wolf from the door. He also warned the world about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crony_capitalism#:~:text=Crony%20capitalism%2C%20sometimes%20called%20cronyism,class%20and%20the%20political%20class." rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">crony capitalism</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">rent-seeking</span>,</a> two of the monsters currently attempting to strangle America to death. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Although he was financially quite successful, he quietly and discreetly gave away most of his money and lived simply. I highly recommend P.J. O’Rourke’s, <em>"</em><strong><em>On</em></strong><em> The Wealth of Nations”.</em> Mr. O’Rourke was not an economist, which is not necessarily a bad thing. He was, however, very smart, very funny, and lived in the real world. I highly recommend any of his books, essays, and articles.</div><p>“Economic progress depends upon a trinity of individual prerogatives: pursuit of self-interest, division of labor, and freedom of trade,” says O’Rourke, stating the fundamentals of Smith’s thought. </p><p><b>{</b><i>That’s it? That’s all it takes for a country to be prosperous? Everdamnbody? I find that hard to believe.</i><b>}</b> </p><div style="text-align: left;">Well, more or less, Dana The rule of law is also an essential component if you think that it’s important that everdamnbody should have to play by the same rules and that cheats and bullies should be spanked. </div><p><em>Disclaimer</em>: I’m a former, unapologetic, unrepentant wild-eyed free marketeer and libertarian who seems to be getting more and more conservative and nationalistic with each passing year in an effort to figure out how to mitigate the negative impacts of the global economy on my fellow Deplorables. </p><div style="text-align: left;">However, capitalism has provided us with a level of prosperity that almost everyone who lived prior to about 1850 or so could only dream of. So I strongly disagree with the tendency of well-meaning (or otherwise) progressives, socialists, and communists to frequently use the word capitalist as an epithet. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I describe myself as a <i>sorta</i>/kinda or bleeding heart libertarian (BHL), primarily because I’m all for the rationally designed safety net I mentioned earlier. Many libertarians think that’s wrong-headed or impossible. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, there are political philosophers loose in the world who promote something they call BHL but some use terms like social justice and anti-racism, words, and concepts, that as currently defined by many, I have significant problems with. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>What's that got to do with the history of the world?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I guess it's a highly opinionated history of the word given the next three paragraphs. </div><p>Communism, in spite of its adherent's claim that it would work if ever done properly, is an obvious dead end, often literally, as the 80 to 100 million bodies piled up in the last century in its name would seem to indicate. </p><p>Socialism is a great idea, all we have to do is change human nature first and lock up all the screwballs like me that are obsessed with personal freedom. Progressivism and/or democratic socialism, or how to have your cake and eat it tooism, is the current flavor of the month for the Utopianists of the world. </p><p>Many people want the benefits of a free market combined with a big, juicy welfare state with millions of rules and unionized bureaucrats, but someone <em>else, </em>preferably the evil rich, should pay the bill. Unfortunately, there just aren't nearly enough of them.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>Back to Adam Smith.</em></strong> Smith’s work contradicted a widely held belief of his time, mercantilism. This is the belief that a nation’s wealth is determined by how much gold, silver, cash, ginormous TVs, etc. it can accumulate, after all, there’s only so much wealth to go around, right?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Therefore, you should export for the cash and block, or at least penalize, imports. This view of the world, which currently is enjoying a comeback, leads otherwise clear-thinking people to believe in the Boarding House Pie Fallacy. </div><p>Say you're living in a boarding house (look it up, kids). It’s dinner time and Mrs. McGillicuddy is serving up her famous caramel-apple pie for dessert. Since there’s only so much pie to go around, and fat Freddie's at the table, it behooves everyone to employ a <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">strategery</span></a> that will ensure an equitable portion of pie. </p><p>Mr. Smith (no relation to the Mrs. Smith of Mrs. Smith's Pies) contends that boarding house wisdom has limited applicability. </p><p>There’s an easier and much more effective way to get what you want — that has the added benefit of not having to impose high tariffs (which begat high prices) and over-regulate anyone — the pursuit of self-interest, division of labor, and freedom of trade. Skilfully employed, these three ensure that everyone can have their <em>own</em> pie. </p><p>Stay tuned.</p><div style="text-align: left;">(To be continued...)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other stuff) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publically flogged.</i></div></div></div></div></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-47468028433023779952024-01-26T07:43:00.004-05:002024-02-14T08:34:45.605-05:00The History of the World (Condensed), Ch. 4<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO527-Sl9-hQzsaOH3jWKnSVg3vNzHajYbkIaMFcWWbAnd0dtjtdUKBNm6xk6i0WI43jn-YGtx7RryaozOxDRfEpPE001E_C57W-y7KIXehWrO3LbPma_sztmsVW4EkzKkRp8RSF_ACWqwRKz6i46xdvWadOuF-1SvoHJWW7DNq5LuY3PzPkT6G4zMsos/s1280/history.of.the.world.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO527-Sl9-hQzsaOH3jWKnSVg3vNzHajYbkIaMFcWWbAnd0dtjtdUKBNm6xk6i0WI43jn-YGtx7RryaozOxDRfEpPE001E_C57W-y7KIXehWrO3LbPma_sztmsVW4EkzKkRp8RSF_ACWqwRKz6i46xdvWadOuF-1SvoHJWW7DNq5LuY3PzPkT6G4zMsos/w535-h435/history.of.the.world.jpg" width="535" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jj-jordan-2574594/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-weight: 600; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">JJ Jordan</span></a><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span></span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-style: italic; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixaba</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">y</span></span></span></a><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><i style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And it comes with the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences."</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> -P.J. O'Rourke </span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;">Chapter two ended with "And then, in 1776, the planet Earth finally caught a break" but chapter three began with <strong><INSERT THE SOUND OF SCREAMING TIRES IN A PANIC STOP HERE></strong>.<strong> </strong>I clarified that the end of history hadn't been reached, heaven hadn't come to Earth, and H. sapiens still had feet of clay. Decks cleared, I present chapter four. I'd refresh my coffee at this point if I were you. </div><div style="color: #222222;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="color: #222222;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="color: #222222;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><em>“We hold these truths to be self-evident,</em></strong><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"> that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Or...</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Self-evidently, although we’re all unique in how we look, how smart we are, and what innate talents we have, nobody is automatically born better than anyone else. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We are entitled to live as long as biology and fate permit; we’re free to pursue our own path and discover what it is that will keep getting us out of bed in the morning until we won't (or can't) get out of bed in the morning. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I maintain that this is obvious — self-evident </span>— <span style="font-family: inherit;">to any more or less well-adjusted kid on the playground. I maintain that this is obvious to any emotionally healthy, clear-thinking <i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">grup.</span></a></i> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I maintain that any well-meaning (or not so well-meaning) king, cleric, or politically correct or corrupt bully that maintains otherwise is delusional and needs to be dealt with appropriately.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>{</strong><em>Obvious huh?</em><strong>}</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yeah, Dana, at least to those of us fortunate enough to have been born into circumstances that permit us to take the concept for granted </span>— <span style="font-family: inherit;">and even many of us who weren't. Unfortunately, a um... more <em>traditional</em> way, the way of the all-powerful alpha male, is still in vogue hither and yon. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">We have two choices. The traditional way, the way of the alpha male and/or the occasional alpha female, the way of the <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">dicktater,</span></a> king or queen, the way of the high priest(ess), and the like </span>— <span style="font-family: inherit;">or the way of the rational (well, more or less) <em>individual</em>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rational people employ reason.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wikipedia: “Reason is the capacity for consciously making sense of things, applying logic, establishing and verifying facts, and changing or justifying practices, institutions, and beliefs based on new or existing information.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">AKA critical <em>thinking</em>, an enemy of Critical <em>Theory</em>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rationality is a buggy, crash-prone app still in beta testing. But for the dead, mostly white dudes that invented the USA, fortunately for us, reason was a thing, a very <em>big</em> thing. We got lucky. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many of them were the "1%" of their day, but back in their <em>particular</em> day something called the Age of Enlightenment (or Reason) was rockin’ the world, and a new meme was going around.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Say you decided that the traditional way of doing things only worked well for a tiny group of people and you could rewrite the rules, <em>using reason</em>, to set up a new system that benefited everyone equally, at least theoretically, what would you do?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">What they did, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, was to set up the USA. The wailing and gnashing continues, as it should in a democratic republic. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, the new system includes built-in mechanisms to fix and/or change what the </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Citizens of the Republic</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> decide needs to be fixed and/or changed. It ain’t easy to change, and it shouldn’t be, considering how thin the veneer of rationality is. </span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Emotionally healthy, clear-thinking kids and grownups realize they’re not the only kid on the playground and that just enough rules are necessary (this is the rule of <i>law</i>, as opposed to rule by an arbitrary boss) to ensure everyone has fun, shares the equipment, and that bullies are not allowed. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is called government and it requires that a few conditions be met in order for the people to remain as free as realistically possible. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">First, we the governed, get to decide what the rules are. Second, the rules should be as few in number as possible so that individuals remain as free as possible. Third, great care must be taken to avoid the potential<a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">hoog</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">e,</span></a> honking, downside of democracy: a tyranny of the majority.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">If a majority of the kids on the playground get together to ban little Timmy from the premises just because of his unfortunate tendency to pick his nose even though he’s not breaking any rules, a grownup (the rule of law) must step in to protect little Timmy’s right to be there. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the why and what of the U.S. Constitution. America's called the American <em>experiment</em> because no one else in history had managed to pull off anything like it and many thought we wouldn’t either. Some still don’t, and there’s no guarantee that it will ultimately end well.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><strong style="font-family: inherit;"><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Now,</em></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"> just because we’re lucky enough to have been born members of the species that sits at the top of the food chain in the most prosperous nation the world has seen (so far at least) we still live in a dangerous, hostile world that guarantees </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">nothing</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> but our eventual death. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s up to us to come up with food, clothing, and shelter and defend ourselves from those who want to kill us for fun or profit.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">And yes, a nation as well off as America is morally required to install a <em>rationally</em> designed safety net to catch everyone that fate shoves off the trampoline, but not necessarily for those who deliberately jumped off because they thought it would be fun. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I once heard a nurse that was the head of some organization or other declaring with passion and conviction that, “Healthcare is a right!” in a radio interview.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, it’s not.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Life, freedom, and the pursuit of whatever it is that keeps us getting out of bed are the fundamental rights everyone obviously <em>should </em>get. But even these natural, fundamental rights are a reality, not just a potential reality, only for those fortunate enough to be born in a country and a culture that acknowledges and defends them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">You may have noticed some world-class thugs look at things a bit differently.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong><em>Everything else you’re entitled to depends on what you and your fellow citizens agree upon and are prepared to work your bums off to pay for.</em></strong> </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you don’t believe this, try performing the following experiment.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have yourself stranded on a desert island <em>without</em> a crew from a reality television show. Raise your fist to the sky and <strong>DEMAND! </strong>food, clothing, and shelter (and healthcare), then wait and see what happens. </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh, and make sure you don’t let your situational awareness chops get rusty while you’re waiting because Mother Nature is notoriously oblivious to our rights. Like any good mom, if she has a favorite, she keeps it to herself, and she doesn’t seem to lose any sleep when her kids eat each other to stay alive.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, please note that you don’t have to ask nicely for life (however temporary), liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Self-evidently, unless Gilligan and company show up and turn out to be evil, drug-addled crazies (which would explain a lot), you'd be about as free as you can be within the physical limitations of life on Earth.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S3HFXSgWps8" width="320" youtube-src-id="S3HFXSgWps8"></iframe></div><strong style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: left;"><strong style="font-family: inherit;">{</strong><em style="font-family: inherit;">Phew... talk about dated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilligan%27s_Island" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">cultural references!</span></a></em><strong style="font-family: inherit;">}</strong></div></strong><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And unless Mr. Howell has brought along a trunk full of fentanyl, you could <em>stay</em> as free as possible (all things considered) if you and the "seven stranded castaways" simply agreed to respect each other's unalienable rights.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(To be continued...)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other stuff) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>where </span><span>you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publically flogged.</i><i> </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></span></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-12831470156570387472024-01-20T14:29:00.001-05:002024-01-23T08:00:40.856-05:00The History of the World (Condensed), Ch. 3<div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span></span></a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzUSjuSdVZXlJ8e2P7Peg6xfQIi5N9XA8Ul_Y_WRSNGrvmXejN_Ux18M_Ax85r18mSfdxS7tX3O6zOvjL4CiGoNrMHXCsTZCtSwt5_Q9vVbEiq_87Hj3rNiSVzk4LUVfmIdsH72ULpdPdbJG6TooItMEkDjzkwSGBfeS4jQjkNWb66fNQaJoAXQ8pp5k/s1280/history.of.the.world.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzUSjuSdVZXlJ8e2P7Peg6xfQIi5N9XA8Ul_Y_WRSNGrvmXejN_Ux18M_Ax85r18mSfdxS7tX3O6zOvjL4CiGoNrMHXCsTZCtSwt5_Q9vVbEiq_87Hj3rNiSVzk4LUVfmIdsH72ULpdPdbJG6TooItMEkDjzkwSGBfeS4jQjkNWb66fNQaJoAXQ8pp5k/w492-h397/history.of.the.world.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jj-jordan-2574594/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; font-weight: 600; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">JJ Jordan</span></a><span style="color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span></span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2187bb; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixaba</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">y</span></span></span></a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i>"The historian is an unsuccessful novelist."</i> -H.L. Mencken</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">Last week, chapter two ended in the year 1776. But before moving on, permit me to explain...</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Wait-wait-wait. Company policy clearly states that new columns are to be posted on Friday evenings at 7:11 p.m.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">True, but in Vol. 4 of the S.O.P. manuals, page 39, it clearly states that if some idiot somehow deletes a completely completed post and spends at least an hour trying to retrieve it, he/she/they has 24 hours to reconstruct same and try again before adopting plan B. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/2024/01/the-history-of-world-condensed-ch-2.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">chapter two</span></a> ended with, "And then, in 1776, the planet Earth finally caught a break" which brings us to: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Chapter Three</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong> </strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><INSERT THE SOUND OF SCREAMING TIRES IN A PANIC STOP HERE></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><strong>{</strong><em>Or insert the sound of a throat clearing, to preemptively fend off attacks by far lefties, far righties, Wokies, and the <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Intersectional Inquisition.</span></a></em><strong>}</strong></p><p>At this point in our story, I must toss in a few paragraphs from the Reality Checks, Caveats & Premises Department (RCC&P) before proceeding.</p><p>The American experiment wasn't conjured out of thin air. The Greeks dabbled in democracy, the Romans ran a republic (at least for a while), and the Brits managed to make a Magna Carta. In <i>my</i> semi-humble opinion, the American experiment can be defined by quoting the most important passage of the Declaration of Independence:</p><p>“We hold these truths to be <strong>self-evident</strong>, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”</p><p>If you accept that statement as a fundamental given (whether or not you believe in a creator), perhaps one of the most fundamental of givens… Well, If you don’t accept that statement, I fear it’s time for us to go our separate ways; you can keep the cat but I’m keeping most of the vinyl collection.</p><p>Big BUT, I freely acknowledge that the next sentence in the declaration could have been:</p><p>“Assuming, of course, that you are Caucasian and male."</p><p>That was undeniably the way America worked at the time and it was an undeniable flaw. However, it was the local version of how most of the world traditionally worked, a version of reality that lives on here and there.</p><p>However, I maintain that some dramatic progress has been made in the last 250 years or so, particularly when compared to however many thousands of years it was considered normal for a given Fred or Barney to club a cutie down at the waterhole to clean the cave and keep an eye on Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm while he and the boys were partying down at the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes Lodge while being served and serviced by their slaves.</p><p>When my mum and dad got together they, and most other people, believed that a man’s job was to bring home the bacon and a woman’s job was to be a domestic engineer. Period. In light of the way many folks look at things today, including me, they weren't entirely correct. But I’m inclined to not only <em>not</em> judge them but to also say thanks. They weren’t evil, and incidentally, they were part of the generation that survived the Great Depression and won World War Two. </p><p>While they were busy saving the world they didn’t know if there would be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, an era of unprecedented prosperity that lasted from just after WW2 to the late 1970s and would benefit their spoiled kids more than them. Things started getting weird after that, which I’ll get into later.</p><p>Finally, let us acknowledge the elephant skulking in the corner of the room. H. sapiens will be H. sapiens. While I’m profoundly grateful for the dumb luck of being a child of, and living in, a country that’s a product of Western Civilization, I’m smarter than I look.</p><p>My gratitude is based on two things. Although I think Western Civilization in general, and the USA in particular, is the best we’ve done so far, both are as flawed and imperfect as the H. sapiens that somehow came up with them. Therefore a — We’re number one! We’re number one! — overheated sports fan sort of attitude can be as tacky as wearing socks with summer sandals. </p><div style="text-align: left;">Let us be quietly smug. The coolest kid doesn’t have to go around telling people he’s (they're?) cool, that’s part of his/her/their, um, coolness. Also, an economic implosion here, a pandemic there, or an asteroid that's bigger than a bus — "Last stop, Earth!" — and the Dark Ages Digest could experience a sudden, dramatic increase in circulation.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(To be continued...)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other things) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publically flogged.</i><i> </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>Update:</b> For those of you who are not native Buckeyes but are wondering if they can legally acquire some weed the next time they visit my little corner of Flyoverland, the answer is still no. You can legally smoke it here, but you still can't legally buy it here. </div><div><br /></div><div>The House of Reps. (where the holdup is) returned from their month-long Christmas vacay (for one day, and then got back out of Dodge) to pass an override of our five-foot-tall governor's veto of a bill banning transexual women (dudes) from participating in women's sports, which he actually doesn't have a problem with.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the bill also bans treating children for gender dysphoria. While he does object to surgically altering children (under 18) to treat gender dysphoria he thinks that doing so with hormones should be between them and their parents. </div><div><br /></div><div>Given that the override will not take effect if and until the State Senate returns to town and <i>also</i> votes to override, some rather cynical souls think the return of the Reps was a political stunt. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime, some of the Reps are saying it could take they don't know <i>how</i> long to craft a bill to replace the citizen's initiative that passed last November that legalized weed with something more to their liking. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>Cha-Ching!</i><b>}</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>No comment. </div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-8358444991528381662024-01-12T21:13:00.002-05:002024-02-14T08:22:22.596-05:00The History of the World (Condensed), Ch. 2<div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjHGCtHsFRu2D2cPQ22YZPJcreuVlTIXgeYt7p7-XFS5Drr9pkrHiL42VEMiN2qGHm746m7HT-qRv3yrpcEqX85YqKnWxhcPYdYgjmjot6JBIgYELFHIl0eguBudzQAzXN9-psdNk8B5uFEwj1jxxGgWi5pCtwHa9_viquHeIZSZTloSLIV6pQZiqd66I" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="287" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjHGCtHsFRu2D2cPQ22YZPJcreuVlTIXgeYt7p7-XFS5Drr9pkrHiL42VEMiN2qGHm746m7HT-qRv3yrpcEqX85YqKnWxhcPYdYgjmjot6JBIgYELFHIl0eguBudzQAzXN9-psdNk8B5uFEwj1jxxGgWi5pCtwHa9_viquHeIZSZTloSLIV6pQZiqd66I=w495-h516" width="495" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jj-jordan-2574594/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">JJ Jordan</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><em>"The past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes." </em>-Mark Twain</div><div style="background-color: white;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/2024/01/the-history-of-world-condensed.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Chapter One</span></a> ended with the beginning of civilization. Our story continues. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...Next, depending on how you look at it, an awful lot of history happened — or a few things happened over and over again — and regularly something really awful happened. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rather like the life of a modern-day, average American Joe/Joan/J. Bagadonuts but subject to even more random acts of violence. They attacked us or we attacked them in the name of cash, conquest, revenge, God, the gods, hunger, honor, slaves, etcetera.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, God was on our side or it would have been even worse. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Hobbes famously pointed out, life is “...solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Mr. H. was arguing that this is the natural state of man (he had a point) and that’s why we need an all-powerful ruler to keep us on the straight and narrow. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He was wrong about <em>that</em> but we do need <em>some</em> form of government. This is how we keep the bullies on our playground in check and defend it from the bullies from other playgrounds. <em> </em></span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once in a while, peace would break out but Mother Nature provides us with ways to stave off boredom and complacency — natural disasters and disease.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For example, say King Ed is sitting in the privy waiting for nature to take its course and his mind starts to wander because the only copy of Dark Ages Digest on hand is almost a year old. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He’s been giving a lot of thought to attacking a kingdom just down the road because he’s got his fair share of bloodthirsty warriors and greedy nobles to keep happy and if he doesn’t keep them busy they may turn on him and/or each other for entertainment and booty.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">He’s been through <em>that</em> before and knows that even if he and his allies triumph lots of innocent serfs, peasants, and slaves will be slaughtered. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Collateral damage, sure, but since they're the ones that do most of the heavy lifting, and since lots of them die before reaching the age of thirty, you need to maintain a large inventory to dodge some significant downsides. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">He’s still short of virtual slaves, actual slaves, and cash from last season, not one of his better ones, and short on potential solutions as well. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Things are so bad he’s considering hiring one of those expensive consultants his brother King Marty favors. He’s heard good things about a firm called DPD, Diabolical Plots by the Dozen, founded incidentally, by a distant ancestor of Vladimir Putin.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His ruminations are interrupted by a hysterical minion pounding on the door and screaming, “Your majesty, your majesty there are reports of plague (or flood, or fire, or hairy weather, or rapacious insects, or blight, or famine, etcetrine) in the kingdom!” </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This solves the problem, short term at least. Now, survival becomes everybody's Job-1. Assuming this isn’t an apocalyptic-level crisis and assuming that King Ed is one of the survivors he can deal with his other problem later.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong style="font-family: inherit;"><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong style="font-family: inherit;"><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong style="font-family: inherit;"><em>This is how things rolled most days in most places.</em></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Why? Well, it’s either because we’re naked apes living in a dangerous world, or, someone screwed up the paradise we were provided with by God and he/she/they is </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">still </em><span style="font-family: inherit;">mad (the details depend on which creation myth you subscribe to). It wasn’t all bad though. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once in a while, a Joe or Joan or J. Bagadonuts was fortunate enough to have an actual boring day. Once in a </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">great</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> while, something truly cool happened.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Somebody came up with the wheel, someone perfected bronze, iron came along, the printing press was invented, Mr. and Mrs. Beethoven had a baby — that sort of thing. Being the clever creatures that we are, we even came up with all sorts of ways to use these breakthroughs for things other than killing each other.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">H. sapiens are religious by nature, including the ones who claim not to be. Various entities, or his/her/their messenger(s), have regularly stopped by to light the path to paradise. This phenomenon continues apace, right up to this very moment. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nowadays, the entities and/or their messengers may be politicians, pundits, Greenies, Wokies, Trumpies, etc. The field has broadened considerably.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">"We're the ones we've been waiting for" so let's "make America great again!" I think that...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>{</strong><em>Whoa, Sparky, focus dude</em>.<strong>}</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks, Dana, I've gotten ahead of myself. Where was I? Oh, yeah...</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And then, in 1776, the planet Earth finally caught a break.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(To Be Continued...)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other things) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publically flogged.</i><i> </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></span></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-6107178526407238382024-01-05T19:12:00.005-05:002024-02-14T08:39:57.738-05:00The History of the World (Condensed)<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Chapter One</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPpIfzTwjq-0wQbIB7fRtEImtQSpA7W8eV5L0z7o3QmsWCWH0N0uzYqkKamJordoNRpA-YsZOkq-7aBJr1bc8yQSEKGcRvOt-pE5e8E2t2REFzb8L-E13VLWt_r9SMKXuFIn0ZVRkWouQv-IzfXx4woP1ZqEE4ya89OV2mj5KW_bb84IM5jIcfUFAVuI/s1280/history.of.the.world.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="431" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPpIfzTwjq-0wQbIB7fRtEImtQSpA7W8eV5L0z7o3QmsWCWH0N0uzYqkKamJordoNRpA-YsZOkq-7aBJr1bc8yQSEKGcRvOt-pE5e8E2t2REFzb8L-E13VLWt_r9SMKXuFIn0ZVRkWouQv-IzfXx4woP1ZqEE4ya89OV2mj5KW_bb84IM5jIcfUFAVuI/w508-h431/history.of.the.world.jpg" width="508" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jj-jordan-2574594/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">JJ Jordan</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4119588" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div>"Not again!" -History</div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div>We H. sapiens living in the current era are reminded <i>daily</i> that if global warming/climate change doesn't get us, the Artificial Intelligenci, a deadly global pandemic, or _______ probably will. </div><div><br /></div><div>As a public service, I've put together a condensed history of the world that will be featured in this space over the course of the next several weeks. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>Public service?</i><b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Assuming there are survivors, Dana, they'll need help reconstructing the past once they start to rebuild. Perhaps my feeble scribbles will somehow survive and I can be of service from beyond the grave. Also, I freely admit that this is world history according to yet another <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_American_(pejorative)"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">ugly American.</span></a> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Hoo-Boy...</span></a><b>}</b></div><div><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><em><br /></em></strong></div><div><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><em><br /></em></strong></div><div><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><em>The universe</em></strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> we inhabit appeared 13.772 billion years ago on a Tuesday</span></div></div></div><p>A single, unimaginably dense point began rapidly expanding and a lot of complex stuff happened and continues to happen. The most interesting thing that resulted, from an Earthlings perspective, is that 4.543 billion years ago, the planet Earth pulled itself together.</p><p>Roughly 300,000 years ago anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, emerged in Africa.</p><p><strong>{</strong><em>So we're all Homos and we're all Africans?</em><strong>}</strong></p><p>Yours is a unique perspective, Dana, I like it.</p><p>Or, to one degree or another, the stuff mentioned above, and what follows below, happened because God decided when and if it should be so.</p><p>The details depend on your personal beliefs. I know some very nice, perfectly normal H. sapiens that believe what I consider to be some very strange things (of course I’m not talking about what <em>you</em> believe). I freely concede that one of them may turn out to be right and that I may be wrong. </p><p>I’m wrong with disturbing regularity so I try to keep an open mind. I highly recommend this approach as I’ve found it to be the only effective defense against blind panic when a high-velocity radioactive fact comes crashing through the roof of my thought structure like a blazing meteorite.</p><p>Irregardless, tools already existed by the time we came along although hardware stores did not appear till much later on. The controlled use of fire for warmth, light, and most importantly in my <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">semi-humble</span></a> opinion, cooking (I've never cared much for cold cuts) also likely preceded us but this is a matter of some dispute. </p><p>Along the way, the attributes that distinguish us from the other animals on the planet such as language, art, religion, ever more efficient ways to kill each other, etc. developed.</p><p>Agriculture came along roughly 12,000 years ago and changed everything.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>Our ancestors had been hunters/gatherers for thousands of years.</em></strong> Since grocery stores hadn’t been invented yet everyone had the same job, killing something or gathering something to avoid starving to death. Now, on a good day, this wasn’t a half-bad way to get by. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you or you and the gang (odds are you belonged to some sort of tribe or odds are you would be dead) managed to find something to gather up and/or kill to eat without getting killed and/or eaten in the process you could go home early. Assuming you had found enough food, you were free for the rest of the day.</div><p>Of course, this could be quite boring as there wasn’t much to do since they had neither cable nor computers, not even smartphones. This was why sex was invented. I refer to sex as practiced by H. sapiens, which tends to be a somewhat frequent and obsessive activity as compared to most other animals.</p><p>Various people at various locations gradually figured out how to plant and nurture crops as well as how to domesticate animals. While this required a lot more work than hunting and gathering, and having a diet that provided less variety could lead to health problems, it was a more reliable way to keep from starving to death.</p><p>Also, there's some evidence that suggests that getting loaded was a significant motivation as well. Turning grains into beer is easier than turning them into food, and beer was as popular then as it is now, even without the ubiquitous commercials — please drink responsibly. </p><p>Eventually, we got good enough at this agriculture thing to produce more food than was needed for the gang to scrape by. This made it possible to settle down instead of wandering all over the place hunting and gathering enough calories to keep body and soul together.</p><p>Men, women, and others are by nature and necessity, social animals. </p><p>It takes quite a few years before we reach maturity and we’re dependent on our parents much longer than the average creature. Also, survival is considerably easier and our lives are potentially much more pleasant when we work together. For example, everyone knows that bringing down a wooly mammoth with the tribe's help is much easier and more efficient than trying to do it yourself. </p><p>That’s why most people naturally prefer to hang out or at least affiliate with a clique of some sort, it’s a survival mechanism. Getting along with the inhabitants of the other huts on the block not only promoted regular meals and security, it also enabled you to get your fair share of woolyburgers without having to slay the neighbors to get theirs.</p><p>Social cohesion increases the likelihood and quality of survival. Having to share the playground with the other kids is where morality (<a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Rules&Regs</span></a>) comes from. Please see, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion-ebook/dp/B0052FF7YM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1CUKZKLOM2HHY&keywords=the+righteous+mind+by+jonathan+haidt&qid=1695658003&sprefix=the+rightous+mi%2Caps%2C736&sr=8-1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Righteous Mind,</span></a></em> by Jonathan Haidt. </p><p>Speaking of sharing, monogamy was invented. If all the dudes could count on access to, um, regular companionship, it made the cooperation needed for the hunt less prone to drama. The dudettes could also count on access to, um, regular companionship... and protection for the kids. </p><p>This arrangement was/is disproportionately beneficial for dudes. Dudes need a significant dudette to be, among other things, a good mom, a good wife, and nowadays, often as not, willing and able to work outside the hut — and to counter a dude's tendency to rapidly devolve into a naked ape when left to his own devices. </p><p>We figured this out long before agriculture made villages not only possible but necessary and H. sapiens began clawing their way to the top of the food chain (the original corporate ladder). </p><p>When we reached the point where we could produce more food than we needed it was only natural that people began to specialize. Most people remained farmers, but surplus food made it possible for some people who had abilities that benefited the community to do their thing without having to farm. </p><p>A relatively reliable supply of food and water (and beer) leads to an increased population. If enough people can produce enough food to keep themselves alive — and have enough left over to feed specialists such as craftspersons, cops, kings, insurance salesmen, etc. — before you know it, a village becomes a town becomes a city becomes a civilization. The rest is history.</p><p>Civilization began in Mesopotamia, an area that corresponds roughly to greater modern-day Iraq (ain’t <em>that</em> ironical?). This happened about 3,500 BCE.</p><div style="text-align: left;">(To be continued...)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down if you wish to share my work or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns (and other things) on <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span><span>so that you can </span></span>love me, hate me, or lobby to have me publicly flogged.</i><i> </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-58852458120717559422023-12-30T10:40:00.002-05:002024-01-04T11:35:36.335-05:00Nothing Is True (Anymore)<div style="text-align: left;"> Information Age or the Age of Anxiety?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPD4R1haQMmsas_6jPm7gALVle9BPbIww64q5LlcvcTZuz74OYwJ77lzG8ji4ciMAn3O6z2IfMiVcATEUX5b5LSm3bMEjalb0oKVbJguHIMal6W8ltg_WaQ4Or9RYJCpwbtoNDCGrpMeSqED_of9hbtBKTcVD9QGM-QvwDF9V2b8WBQ7grVWPjf9Yhnk/s640/woman-570883_640.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPD4R1haQMmsas_6jPm7gALVle9BPbIww64q5LlcvcTZuz74OYwJ77lzG8ji4ciMAn3O6z2IfMiVcATEUX5b5LSm3bMEjalb0oKVbJguHIMal6W8ltg_WaQ4Or9RYJCpwbtoNDCGrpMeSqED_of9hbtBKTcVD9QGM-QvwDF9V2b8WBQ7grVWPjf9Yhnk/w452-h260/woman-570883_640.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jillwellington-334088/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=570883" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Jill Wellington</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=570883" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #101010;">"The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible." -Arthur C. Clarke</span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span>)</span><span>,</span></span></a> </b></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've written about truth before. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>So where are all the links?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Links? What links, Dana?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Do you think that your memory problems might be the result of some form of dementia?</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I hope not, but what are you...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>You've looked into this. The Goog loves links, the more links you post to something that has something to do with truth, the better the chance the Goog will offer up your column when some "user" out there in cyberspace types in the word truth or a phrase that includes the word truth.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh <i>that</i>, no I remember that. I just don't care anymore. I think there's something wrong with <i>your</i> memory. I've made it clear that company policy is to only link to stuff that is absolutely necessary and fundamentally purely factual.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You know what? Company policy has <i>just</i> changed, right this second. Going forward the only things I'm linking to are my charming personal <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">glossary</span></a> and things I think a given gentlereader might be interested in checking out. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">No more linking to stuff that's common knowledge (or should be in my semi-humble opinion)...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Snob.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">...or that can be investigated by a given gentlereader if they're truly interested. Until relatively recently, the world has gotten by with information delivered via the dead trees format. No links.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My biggest fan reads my stuff on paper, doesn't own a computer, and uses his cell phone as a phone. He's led a decent life, is enjoying his retirement, and compared to the average H. sapien these days is quite well adjusted thank you very much. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>But this is the Information Age! Links link information to information that links to...</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yup, and that's why nothing is true anymore<i>.</i> Sister Mary McGillicuddy taught me (60 years ago!) that <strike>mankind's</strike> personkind's collective wisdom lags far behind personkind's technical achievements. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Hoo-boy. Here we go. Let the ranting at clouds commence!</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Abasabalutely!</span></a> But let us remain relatively calm, and logical, and not forget to smile. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Permit me to sum up</b></i> the point I was trying to make, in one form or another, in all of the columns I wrote about truth that I'm not linking to: All truth is provisional but that doesn't mean truth can't be true <i>enough</i>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That is to say, a well-adjusted, fully mature H. sapien should cultivate pragmatism (but with an open mind) right up to the very day he/she/they are deleted. Everything we know is true is <i>potentially</i> subject to changes, major or minor — but what works, works.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As I write this the sun has not come up yet, but it will shortly. I know that it will rise in the east and several hours from now will set in the west. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I take this for granted even though I know that however unlikely it might be, some maladjusted, nihilistic teenagers from an ancient space-faring species could pass through our solar system today on a joyride in a stolen spaceship and decide to extinguish our sun for the sheer fun of it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>You're nuts... But that <b>would</b> explain why we seem to be alone in the universe.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My Mum told me that technically <i>anything</i> is possible but <i>many things</i> are highly unlikely.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also know that the sun doesn't actually rise <i>or</i> set, that this is an illusion created by the fact the Earth (which is round, by the way) orbits the Sun. But until 1543 this illusion was considered common sense. it took another century or so before most people knew it wasn't. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And we still say sunrise and sunset — close enough.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>"Given that Twitter [X] serves as the de facto public town square,</b></i> failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy."</span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-Elon Musk</span></span> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Failing to adhere to free speech principles <i>does</i> fundamentally undermine democracy, but Twitter, or X if you prefer, is <i>not</i> the de facto public town square.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The town square metaphor Mr. Musk uses refers to any sort of public meeting in which the locals get together to hash things out. (Hey, Dana, here's a</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Speech_(painting)"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">link</span></a></span><span style="color: #0f1419;"> to a Wikipedia entry about the Norman Rockwell painting illustrating free speech that many of us geezers and geezerettes carry around in our heads). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>{</b><i>What about that ancient Luddite you print your columns out for?</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Fear not, no link is necessary.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A real public square, or more likely something akin to a public meeting of the Hooterville School Board, is a radically different venue/experience than Musk's concept of a <i>virtual</i> public square. The planet Earth doesn't have a public square, not even a virtual one.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When the Hooterville School Board holds a meeting the members of the board have been chosen by the citizens of Hooterville. Everyone knows who they are and where they live. Any given citizen who attends is an easily identified Homo sapien, especially that pain in arse Mr... never mind. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anything that anyone says and/or claims is witnessed and verifiable (or debunkable), and minutes are kept. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Most of social media, and much of the worldwide web of all knowledge, consists of <i>anonymous</i> people (or bots, or trolls, or troll farms, or<i> my-</i>truthers, or hackers, or hustlers, etc.) tossing Uh-huhs! or Nuh-uhs! at each other. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Everything is true, and nothing is true. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>{</b><i>So what do we...</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Same as always, the best you can, one day at a time. Take a deep breath, and then take another, and then do what needs to be done. I find watching sunrises and sunsets helpful. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div><i>I post links to my columns on both <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the site everyone still calls <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publicly flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?). </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div><br /></div></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-14691724729493402272023-12-22T19:24:00.000-05:002023-12-22T19:24:26.472-05:00Why Old Men Cry (Part Two)<div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zwH9CwnVTSKCGGoGgmW-owd4OXCVLsSgfCzQV1veQYRSa03-cM1yPiR_N284eeLKwn4cc1kxnmnE3vyNBLuR0hcl8QHibO0oJlsEh63t-ApgY0FW5TnVAgk4sDahnVzbkScjTqJ1NLVODZUQVYz-r7eRnm3CaqEO39p8ki8PHmJZYetLLn-EwXXEUow/s3872/why.old.men.cry.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3872" data-original-width="2592" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zwH9CwnVTSKCGGoGgmW-owd4OXCVLsSgfCzQV1veQYRSa03-cM1yPiR_N284eeLKwn4cc1kxnmnE3vyNBLuR0hcl8QHibO0oJlsEh63t-ApgY0FW5TnVAgk4sDahnVzbkScjTqJ1NLVODZUQVYz-r7eRnm3CaqEO39p8ki8PHmJZYetLLn-EwXXEUow/w279-h370/why.old.men.cry.jpg" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #333333; text-align: start;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">CC0 Public Domain</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice." <b>{</b><i>Um... shouldn't that be updated to <b>their</b> choice?</i><b>}</b> </span>-Dave Berry</div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span>and </span><span>gentlereaders</span></span><span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">)</span><span style="color: black;">,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: #202122;">This is going to be a relatively short one, my dear gentlereaders. I'm busy dashing through the snow (Hootervile got its first real snowfall recently, ain't global warming cool!) this week trying to get ready for Christmas. As usual, it snuck up on me when I was busy doing other things.</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><b>{</b><i>I call bonkercockie, you're not a dasher...</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #202122;">Or Dancer? Or </span><a href="https://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/you-know-dasher-and-dancer-but-dunder-and-blixem/529440.html#:~:text=In%20A%20Visit%20from%20St,Now%20Prancer%20and%20Vixen!"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Dunder, or Blixem?</span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><b>{</b><i>Say what?</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;">Dunder and Blixem had their names changed to Donner and Blitzen when they passed through Ellis Island.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><b>{</b><i>Right... Anyway, when people repeatedly ask you, </i></span><i style="color: #202122;">"Well, are ya ready for Christmas!?!" don't you automatically respond with "Yup, that's why God made gift cards."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><i>Also, I've noticed that all sorts of events that normal people regard as important have a way of sneaking up on you because you don't take them seriously anymore... and snuck is not a word, by the way.</i><b>}</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Yup, that's why God made gift cards, you can't go wrong with $20 bills, and snuck's been an acceptable irregular verb conjunction for so long that <i>sneaked</i> sounds wrong, by the way.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><b>{</b><i>Twenty dollar bills! That explains why...</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">We must all do our part to roll back transitory inflation. Now if you don't mind, I have a part two to attend to.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><b><span style="color: #202122;">Part one can be found </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/2023/12/why-old-men-cry-part-one.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">here</span><span style="color: #202122;">.</span></a></b></i><span style="color: #202122;"> But if you're dashing today, here's a quick summation. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">My Overflowing Cistern hypothesis, reduced to its most simplistic explanation, maintains that many men who've been "sucking it up" all their lives reach a point when all the tears they haven't shed over the years start spilling out, often at inopportune times. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">This is why old men cry, but this is a vast oversimplification, there's a bunch of devils thriving in the details that I didn't go into in part one. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Most old men nowadays are Boomers. However, current geezers that were <i>early</i> Boomers are less likely to suffer from overflowing tear cisterns as they are less likely to have been influenced by the rise of widespread feminism in the late 1960s.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Men were told they don't have to be such hard cases. They should be "in touch with their feelings" and their "inner child" and that it's okay for men to cry. That's the kind of man a modern, liberated woman wants. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><b style="background-color: white;">[</b><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><b>Younger gentlereaders please note:</b> I speak of the Stone Age. In the 60s and 70s, LGBs came into their own and Ts were making a <i>bit</i> of a splash, but Q+++++++++++++ers were still maintaining a very low profile. If ya didn't know better you might think that the Ts, and all the others that came (and are still coming) after actually constitute a rather small segment of society who are currently enjoying a radically oversized moment. But I drift...</span><b style="background-color: white;">]</b><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;">Many of my fellow heterosexual, male, mid to late Boomers and I embraced this notion enthusiastically. You don't have to be a badass, or cool, or rich, or pretty (or fake any/all of those things) to have lots of sex, maybe even find an excellent wife — just be more sensitive, and cry occasionally? Where do I sign?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;">More sex and permission to relax the stiff upper lip. Cool.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>Ruh Roh, Raggy,</i></b> we have a problem. We should've realized it wasn't going to be that easy. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">It's okay to cry, dude, except for when it ain't, which, as it turns out, is most of the time. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Without going into detail, I'll stipulate that at least some, and in some cases, a lot of the radical change that rocked traditional Western culture, beginning in about 1965, was necessary and inevitable. But in my dotage, I've come to certain conclusions that aren't currently fashionable. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Heterosexual male and female H. sapiens are in <i>many</i> respects quite different creatures and in <i>most</i> respects are the same as they ever were (I won't presume to speak for the Ls, the Gs, and the Bs). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's now okay for men to cry in front of other men or women. But the only thing that's really changed is that the contexts have broadened, slightly. A man may shed a tear, maybe two, in emotional situations deemed appropriate to bring a tear, maybe two, to the eyes of most men. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Completely losing it over something deemed sufficiently appropriate like the death of a spouse or worse, a child is fine, in fact, recommended, but should be done in private if at all possible because if it lasts bystander sympathy quickly morphs into uncomfortable, then embarrassment, and eventually, contempt. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>That's cold!</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's realistic, but it's all about context. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For example, Jordan Peterson getting choked up for a minute (but not losing it and maintaining his dignity) while giving everything he has in a public lecture, or even in interviews when he's asked what it's like being known for psychologically salvaging souls from the woke mind virus who have been known to stand in line to thank him, is perfectly acceptable to many... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But not his ideological enemies who have been known to attack, smear, and sneer at him for it. <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Even certain woke public intellectuals, like the woke womyn who man the desk of The View, have been known to be less than charitable to men who cry in public. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 38.4px; margin: 8px 0px 4px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #111111;"> </span><b><span style="color: #111111;">Ladies of The View </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-view-mocks-john-boehner-2010-12"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Mock</span></a><span style="color: #111111;"> Weeper of the House...For His...Teary Interview</span></b></div><div><span style="color: #111111;">Being an evil, oppressive patriarch ain't easy, it's enough to make you cry. And thinking about how much more sex I would've had way back when if I had been more bad boy, less nice guy makes <i>me</i> weep. </span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>I thought this was supposed to be a "short one."</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Garrulous: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures;">given to prosy, rambling, or tedious </span>loquacity (Merriam-Webster)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?). </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-24412083165444152302023-12-15T19:39:00.002-05:002023-12-20T10:40:40.417-05:00Why Old Men Cry (Part One)<div style="text-align: left;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHhKAnmRi0Z3UV2tFjW57v9bjXCa7PqpYUPfRLy0K5dfxyUbkBWhO3OncKxX0cMw7Hzamyf0JBC98JBjmWBFfZxjyGxoUX_cbK2nyiKmTbkNJ9OODKbPTL2_MxEtEUtYSlmpowuh6mHK_jw4F2ZMNm_ZrWFQK06NYW8XkPthldpAvGJqqhGE3nMulvvU/s1280/old.men.cry..jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="1280" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHhKAnmRi0Z3UV2tFjW57v9bjXCa7PqpYUPfRLy0K5dfxyUbkBWhO3OncKxX0cMw7Hzamyf0JBC98JBjmWBFfZxjyGxoUX_cbK2nyiKmTbkNJ9OODKbPTL2_MxEtEUtYSlmpowuh6mHK_jw4F2ZMNm_ZrWFQK06NYW8XkPthldpAvGJqqhGE3nMulvvU/w558-h291/old.men.cry..jpg" width="558" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/kellepics-4893063/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3340888" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", system-ui; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Stefan Keller</span></a><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3340888" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", system-ui; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #101010;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Old men are fond of giving good advice to console themselves for their inability to give bad examples."</i> -</span></span><a class="qa_151009 oncl_a" href="https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/francois-de-la-rochefouca-quotes" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Francois de La Rochefoucauld</span></a></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <span style="color: black;">and</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders,</span></a></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">I am, officially speaking, a member of the (in?)famous Baby Boom generation, people born between 1946 and 1964. Have you ever wondered who decided on those dates? Or the dates that bracket the Ds.O.B. of other generations? </span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I consulted the worldwide web of all knowledge and the very first hit returned revealed that the rumors aren't true. There is <i>not</i> an obscure department — buried so deeply in the Census Bureau and staffed by bureaucrats that are the otherwise unemployable relatives of powerful Senators and Congresspersons who rarely bother to actually come to work — where this sort of thing is decided. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trend/archive/winter-2018/how-are-generations-named"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pewtrusts.org:</span></a> "...through a <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">somewhat haphazard process a consensus slowly develops in the media and popular parlance." </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Are you aware</span></a> that people born in the "early 2010s" aren't Zoomers, they're Generation Alpha? Have we started over? Why wasn't I told?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Are you wondering what this has to do with why geezers cry?</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's easy. A fundamental tenet of my Overflowing Cistern hypothesis includes the age of the Geezer in question, more on that in a minute. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I recently saw an interview in which Jordan Peterson (Boomer) was asked why he cries regularly, and in public, which reminded me of former Speaker of the House <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boehner#:~:text=John%20Andrew%20Boehner%20(%2F%CB%88b,Representatives%20from%202011%20to%202015."><span style="color: #3d85c6;">John Boehner</span></a> (Boomer, Red Tribe) who was regularly attacked by members and supporters of <i>both</i> tribes for being a lacrimaniac. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>What's a lacrimaniac?</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, <i>technically</i>, there's no such word as best I can tell. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">{Ah, you're making up words again.}</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But in my defense, <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/lacrimation"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">lacrimation</span></a> (the secretion of tears) <i>is </i>a word so it follows logically that... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway, I thought the responsible thing to do, before proposing my hypothesis, was to have the research department investigate if there might be a scientific consensus; does old dudes crying have anything to do with the physiology or psychology of old dudes?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Answer, no. There are myriad opinions floating around, but no consensus. The guys couldn't even find an unimpeachable meta-study that'll be debunked at a later date. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Therefore, for your consideration, permit me to present the Overflowing Cistern hypothesis. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">A cistern, if you're unaware, </i>is according to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cistern"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Wikipedia,</span></a> "<span face="sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14px;">...</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The word <i>waterproof</i> is important in that in this context refers to the fact that although there's a way for water (or tears) to get in it's supposed to stay there. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Permit me to cut to the chase to save us all some time, big boys don't cry, right? You're cistern thingy is an obvious metaphor. At some point, the cistern all the old dudes have funneled their tears into over the years starts overflowing, right? Next thing you know a given geezer is crying at both appropriate and inappropriate times, Bohener was famous for crying about all sorts of stuff and...</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for your help, Dana. Permit me to return a compliment you have paid me on occasion, you too have a keen eye for the obvious. However, there are devils lurking in the details. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>First of all,</i></b> the reason this missive began with a fascinating and informative digression about where generational names and dates come from is because I came across this information when I was researching the three sub-generations of Boomers, a phenomenon neither widely known nor discussed.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These subdivisions are important to my Overflowing Cistern hypothesis and I was searching for the approximate date Sub-2 ended and Sub-3 took over.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Hoo-boy. Here we go again.</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Remain calm, it's really quite simple. Sub-1s are the <i>early</i> Boomers, and were as much influenced by the previous two generations (the Greatest Generation, 1901-27, and the Silent one, 1928-45) as they are by Sub-2 and Sub-3 Boomers. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Fascinating.</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Right? I was trying to determine at what point during the rise of the Sub-2s (when Boomers started tossing out the tot with the Jacuzzi water) the big boys don't cry ethos morphed into the big boys should be more gentle, sensitive, and not hide their feelings ethos that the feminists convinced us would get us laid more often (which unfortunately turned out to be B.S.). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Oh my dog! you can't...</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;">That's a subject for an entirely different column I'm highly qualified to write because I confess I bought it -- hook, line, and sinker. But unfortunately, the rest of <i>this</i> column, for reasons not interesting enough to bother you with, will be published next week. Think of it as a cliffhanger, but in compensation...</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><b>Update:</b> as to the ongoing tempest in a teapot that is the Ohio legislature's stumble-bumbling-fumbling attempt to legalize weed, Ohio's five-foot-tall governor is upset.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;">While our state senate quickly passed a law overriding the citizen's initiative we morons recently voted for (yeah, they can do that) the house (<i>and</i> senate) left town to begin a <b><i>month-long break</i></b> for Christmas without taking any action. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #202122;">Fun facts: Our legislators have to scrape by on only $70,000 a year, but "leadership" positions pay a little better. According to </span><a href="https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/--in-Ohio#:~:text=As%20of%20Dec%2023%2C%20the,%2458%2C281%20(75th%20percentile)%20annually."><span style="color: #3d85c6;">ZipRecruiter,</span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> the </span><i style="color: #202122;">average</i><span style="color: #202122;"> Ohio working stiff makes $47,000 a year. As for what the </span><i style="color: #202122;">mean</i><span style="color: #202122;"> wage is, which I would guess is closer to 40k based on my 38 years of living here in paradise, I couldn't find it on the worldwide web of all knowledge. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #202122;">Also, according to </span><a href="https://www.openthebooks.com/ohio-state-employees/?pg=52"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Open the Books,</span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> Ohio has 164,821 state employees whose wages add up to $9,517,773,573.09 a year.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #202122;">Anyways... It's occurred to the governor (</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_DeWine"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Mike DeWine,</span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> multi-millionaire and full-time politician since </span><i style="color: #202122;">1976</i><span style="color: #202122;">) that since the initiative remains in effect till our betters fix it for us it's now legal to </span><i style="color: #202122;">smoke</i><span style="color: #202122;"> weed in Ohio but there's no place to legally </span><i style="color: #202122;">buy</i><span style="color: #202122;"> it so people will be </span><a href="https://www.fox19.com/2023/12/06/gov-dewine-pushing-passage-marijuana-regulation-bill-hours-before-use-is-legal/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">risking their lives</span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> by buying it on the "black market" (and not paying the 10% sin tax, which Mr. DeWine would prefer to be as much as 18%).</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;">All over Ohio people who would never even <i>dream</i> of buying weed when it was illegal to smoke it for fear of paying the $100 fine if they got caught are roaming the streets in search of a connection. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>{</b><i>You're making that up!</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;">Not the $100 fine part, that's actually all that happens. But I must also confess that our governor is at least 5 foot 6, a solid 140 pounds, and pretty sharp for a geezer pushing 80 and who doesn't cry, not in public anyway.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div><div style="color: black;"><br /></div><div style="color: black;">I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?). </i></div><div style="color: black;"><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></span></span></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-24470444887952431802023-12-08T19:38:00.003-05:002023-12-13T17:02:33.901-05:00Like, Wow! <div style="text-align: left;">A Random Randomnesses Column</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgArPKC0RGwzr4Cvmlkkeet9CKPZdVyytYbgY4z5whzqUypFQ8oWou0kVolSAfKUXrjsbYzuRCCRGwHB_nbzi00XuTMSzhpbvzV0cQu6T6sgifCLU5Qe4LNgCAJvHpycX09kxX9X4011GKaJLHN_fvNKE7oDU7z0QNCYO-j5EjoKhf9aG5QnyWyM-OHM/s1280/like.wow.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgArPKC0RGwzr4Cvmlkkeet9CKPZdVyytYbgY4z5whzqUypFQ8oWou0kVolSAfKUXrjsbYzuRCCRGwHB_nbzi00XuTMSzhpbvzV0cQu6T6sgifCLU5Qe4LNgCAJvHpycX09kxX9X4011GKaJLHN_fvNKE7oDU7z0QNCYO-j5EjoKhf9aG5QnyWyM-OHM/w532-h329/like.wow.jpg" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/terredicannabis_-14590466/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4688511" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Terre Di Cannabis</span></a><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><span style="color: #191b26;">from </span></span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4688511" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;"><i>“To inspire himself, he lit up a marijuana cigarette, excellent Land-O-Smiles brand.”</i> -</span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="color: #333333;">Philip K. Dick, from </span><span id="quote_book_link_216363" style="color: #181818;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2398287" style="color: #333333; text-decoration-line: none;">The Man in the High Castle</a></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: black;">(and </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span style="color: black;"><span>)</span><span>,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;">Like, wow. I've written several columns that use the now apparently ubiquitous </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_(linguistics)" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">discourse marker</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"> (aka a filler, filled pause, hesitation marker, planner, or crutch) </span><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;">like. </i></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For the record, I wish to point out that I was like, being sarcastic.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, I've recently encountered the word here, there, and occasionally even over there, and spoken out loud and repeatedly, by seemingly intelligent and rational people. Given how rapidly f-bombs are becoming f-firecrackers I expect it's only a matter of time before I encounter a demure, genteel-looking woman of a certain age exclaim — <b>like,</b> <b>FUCK!</b> — while rooting through her purse in search of her car keys.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>That's sexist <b>and</b> agist! You can't...</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">According to Wikipedia, "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #3366cc; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Christopher Hitchens">Christopher Hitchens</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> described the use of the word "like" as ..."</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">a particularly prominent example of the 'Californianization of American youth-speak.'" </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Indeed. The Boomer legacy continues. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The recent off-off-year election</i></b> (that I <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/2023/10/the-buckeye-state.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">wrote abou</span>t</a> not long ago) here in the Buckeye state went off without a hitch, unlike the inevitable cluster coitus next year's national election is already shaping up to be. The post-election hitches, unfortunately, are legion.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Let the litigation<strike> begin!</strike> continue! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #303030;">While weed is now legal in Ohio ya can't just show up at any of the existing outlets that already sell medicinal weed and cop some chronic. From the </span><a href="https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/11/09/ohio-just-legalized-recreational-marijuana-where-can-i-buy-weed/71508795007/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Akron-Beacon Journal</span></a><span style="color: #303030;">: "The Division of Cannabis Control must first set rules on licensing, product standards, packaging and more." </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They have nine months to do so, so I figure it will be a year or so... maybe.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-family: inherit;">"The state can't dole out additional licenses for another two years." Enter the Social Equity Program.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-family: "Georgia Pro", Georgia, "Droid Serif", serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"This aims to help business owners who are disproportionately affected by the enforcement of marijuana laws. That includes people who are disadvantaged based on their race, gender, ethnicity or economic status.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"The law reserves 40 cultivation licenses and 50 dispensary licenses for these operators and provides them with grants, loans, technical assistance, and reduced license and application fees. The Department of Development is tasked with setting specific rules for the program."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I were a lawyer I'd be salivating. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>What about the abortion rights amendment to the Ohio Constitution?</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Passed. 56.6% yea, 43.4% nay. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Big BUT, there were already various and sundry related legal actions tied up in the courts <span style="color: black;">—</span> the infamous six weeks with no exceptions for minor problems like rape, incest, or the mother's health law for example <span style="color: black;">—</span> <i>prior</i> to the vote, and more are being filed even as I write. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But in the meantime, the same law that was in effect before the current kerfuffle remains in effect. Abortion is legal with certain civilized restrictions (such as no partial-birth abortions). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Then why on Earth...</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On a possibly related note, statewide primary elections are just around the corner.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>If two people with two last names get married,</i></b> do their kids have four last names? I went a-googlin' and can confidently report that I have no clue. In my defense, neither does anyone else. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As best I can tell, there are no legal restrictions. Like gender choice and pronouns, you can follow your heart. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Perhaps this will serve as a wakeup call to all the hes, shes, and theys out there to think twice before saddling their spawn with bizarre first names, or even traditional ones with mangled spellings likely to lead to a lifetime of peer abuse, psych meds, and therapy. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">On a practical note, filling out a form when one's last name is something like Smith-Jones-von Pufendorf-Garcia is clearly potentially problematic.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Congress needs to step up and do something about this!</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Don't hold your breath. Congress can't seem to deal with truly <i>important</i> issues, like whether or not we should get rid of daylight savings time or make it permanent. On the bright side, twice a year the endless controversy gives reporters and commentators something to write about on slow news days.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>This just in...</i></b> <i><b>henceforth December 7th</b></i> will not only be famous for being Mark and Ronnie's wedding anniversary, Aunt Brenda's birthday, and some other thing... Oh yeah, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Today it's legal to smoke weed in Ohio. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Big BUT, a few days ago it occurred to our five-foot-tall governor that there was no place to actually <i>buy</i> recreational weed — well, at least no government-approved, licensed, inspected, all fees paid outlets —and he has sprung into action. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At his behest, the State Senate passed a <i>new</i> law, on <i>December 6th</i>, to replace the ballot initiative the hoi polloi passed last month that, among several other things: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cuts back on the amount of weed adults can grow in the privacy of their homes, raises the sin tax from 10 to 15%, permits local jurisdictions to add 3% on top of <i>that</i>, and allows existing dispensaries selling medical weed to start selling to the public — 90 days after (and if) he signs the <i>new</i> bill, as long as they comply with the new <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Rules&Regs.</span> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>I smell a rat...</i> wait, <b>i</b><i><b>f</b> he signs?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's the smell of a new strain called Ratso Rizzo, my priest stopped by this morning. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ohio also has a full-time House of Representatives who will consider the new bill next week and who knows what sort of mischief they might get up to. Cluster coitus is always possible in Columbus. Irregardless, I'll bet the current black market merchants of the Devil's Weed are partying. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?). </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-12388045769790427532023-12-01T19:12:00.002-05:002023-12-08T13:18:44.542-05:00What Would I Do If I Knew I was Dying?<div style="text-align: left;">What would <i>you</i> do? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznBrNeZURdUpOujmwvpFPq2BkiKVQOAvRkTHNf1CoFgItEs7FNfynavbprdc-zHH9p-AXPYpJvgLCuKLojBwMjWMZE9Nk0vF2RiQ6c_lLaZKjRxmcNlFAHIKg-WYLbvvVIiw4ihu94aA87SD71etWS12m0yE_lhSdCrUVIahauo9EtJRNsK5_Ow5UuyM/s1920/woman-5146993_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1920" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznBrNeZURdUpOujmwvpFPq2BkiKVQOAvRkTHNf1CoFgItEs7FNfynavbprdc-zHH9p-AXPYpJvgLCuKLojBwMjWMZE9Nk0vF2RiQ6c_lLaZKjRxmcNlFAHIKg-WYLbvvVIiw4ihu94aA87SD71etWS12m0yE_lhSdCrUVIahauo9EtJRNsK5_Ow5UuyM/w487-h312/woman-5146993_1920.jpg" width="487" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #191b26;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/dieterich01-2819333/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5146993" style="cursor: pointer; margin: initial; outline: none; padding: initial;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Lothar Dieterich</span></a><span style="color: #191b26;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5146993" style="cursor: pointer; margin: initial; outline: 0px; padding: initial;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Pixabay</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><i style="background-color: white; color: #393939;">"Dunbar was lying motionless on his back again...he was working hard at increasing his life span. He did it by cultivating boredom."</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #393939;"> -from the novel </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #393939;">Catch 22</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #393939;"> by Joseph Heller</span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: black;">(and </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span style="color: black;"><span>)</span><span>,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">I'm in no </span><i style="background-color: transparent;">immediate</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> danger of deletion as far as I know, but obviously I'm slowly but steadily dying, just like you. Actually, I know what </span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><b>I</b></i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> would do, and I'm doing it, but I don't have any advice to offer. Most people would find this <i>particular</i> geezers lifestyle rather boring I suspect. </span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>You're doing it again.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Doing what?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>We've talked about this. All the many writers and teachers out there who try to earn their daily bread by writing about writing advise crafting killer first sentences. It's the age of too much of everything so ya gotta reach out and grab 'em by the... throat in some form or fashion if you wish to succeed.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"Having recently turned 39 for the 31st time it's occurred to me that at any given moment if the doorbell were to ring and I peered out my peephole to see who was standing on my stoop I might see a tall individual wearing a black, full-length hoodie with a hood that completely shielded his/her/their face, assuming he/she/they even had a face, and carrying a large scythe."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Better?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Too long, H. sapiens devolving attention spans will soon rival the attention spans of goldfish, but it could be worse... What's a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythe"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">scythe</span></a>?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That large, scary-looking, curved blade with a long handle ("...<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">an </span>agricultural<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> </span>hand tool<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> for </span>mowing<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> </span>grass<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> or </span>harvesting<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> </span>crops<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #202122;">") the Grim Reaper is always pictured with. The Grim Reaper's called the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_(personification)"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Grim Reaper</span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> because he/she/they use theirs to harvest human souls. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #202122;">For the record, I'm not speaking of the (almost famous?) heavy metal band called Grim Reaper formed in the 1980s who apparently have been breaking up and reforming ever since. I've never heard of them but when I typed Grim Reaper into the Googometer the first hit returned was a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grim_Reaper_(band)"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Wikipedia entry</span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> about the band.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><b>{</b><i>Just because you've never heard of them... wait, do you mean a sickle</i>?<b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">No, a sickle is a small scythe, picture the symbol for communism, the hammer and <i>sickle</i>? In fact, my family owned a sickle (I assume it was originally Grandma Barbs?) when I was a kid. For the longest time, I thought sickle was how you pronounced the word scythe as I couldn't imagine how you would pronounce such an ugly word. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Were your parents communists?</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">No, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Senator McCarthy</span></a>, not to my knowledge, merely traditional working-class Democrats back when the Democrats were the party of the working class and it was possible for a privileged patriarch to support a family while simultaneously oppressing his stay-at-home wife. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, given he had seven kids to feed and had to paint a lot of walls and trim to do so, I suspect that neither he nor Mum felt particularly privileged. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>They should've had fewer kids. Three is enough to keep the Social Security Ponzi scheme going and prevent the pending population collapse other countries are already starting to experience.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You make a valid point but since I'm number five I confess I'm glad they didn't. Oh, and for the record, I don't have a doorbell <i>or</i> a peephole as all visitors to Casa de Chaos must first be cleared by security at the main gate. Just putin' that out there. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Life's a bitch and then you die.</b> How many times have you heard someone say that? Have you ever thought about the logical contradiction expressed by that statement? If life's a bitch isn't death an effective solution to the problem? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was taught by Sister Mary McGillicuddy that if I followed all the <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">Rules&Regs</span></a> she and the Roman Catholic Church were going to a great deal of trouble to teach me, by marinating me in them all day every day of the school year, that when I died I would live in paradise, forever and ever, amen.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And yet, various believers in various ideologies, religious and otherwise (Muslims and the multiple virgin thing springs immediately to mind for some reason), <i>most</i> of us (fortunately) don't have a death wish. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Just the opposite in fact. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>I'm old, so I read the obituaries every morning in what's left of Hooterville's daily paper.</i></b> I do this in case someone I have, or rather had, a connection with that wasn't close enough to result in the dreaded phone call has died. It's a sorta/kinda socially responsible thing to do. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Whatever you do, don't tell your gentlereaders about your unfortunate tendency to think, "Ha, beat-cha!" whenever you come across the obituaries of people born the same year as you or later.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You realize, Dana, that I could start taking my meds again and you're outta here, right? Anyway, I've noticed two things about the use of my favorite obituarial phrase — _______ received his/her heavenly wings (or one of its celestial variations) — seems to be declining. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Entered into Eternal Rest is topping the charts nowadays, at least in the Greater Hooterville Metropolitan Area. I confess I don't know how they do things in Cleveland. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, I've yet to read an obituary that has used the word their instead of his or her. Too soon I guess. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Obituarial is an actual word?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yes indeed, as is obituarist, yet another career opportunity I would've been good at that never occurred to me to pursue when I was a <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">callowyute</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, I gotta go. I'm off to the doctor's office. Nothing to worry about, it's probably just heartburn. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?).</i></div></div></div></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-24659039884585531572023-11-24T19:39:00.002-05:002023-11-25T07:39:20.624-05:00Artificial Intelligenci <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0EAeCNe9m59e3lN8uZ0J6jc8xVjdSAOldfKzY9R4m4s590zbI86T43gWsGYTRL92etF9QaPKw4SBOjYZN6jcvr5oucGlJdrMPrtxdE6OLBij4be1XcpFgYENeoIGEtwoqGzTiNhEgyK24C9DJZ2PS-pn2Ni_BafOwoBAKuhuJAXNKcfzhH5h-cJMLg0/s1280/artificial.intelligence.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="880" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0EAeCNe9m59e3lN8uZ0J6jc8xVjdSAOldfKzY9R4m4s590zbI86T43gWsGYTRL92etF9QaPKw4SBOjYZN6jcvr5oucGlJdrMPrtxdE6OLBij4be1XcpFgYENeoIGEtwoqGzTiNhEgyK24C9DJZ2PS-pn2Ni_BafOwoBAKuhuJAXNKcfzhH5h-cJMLg0/w299-h320/artificial.intelligence.png" width="299" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/noupload-2404633/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2033898" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Andy</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2033898" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon."</span></i><span style="font-size: 14px;"> -Elon Musk </span></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: black;">(and </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span style="color: black;"><span>)</span><span>,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've been watching too many videos about artificial intelligence. I found a YouTube channel, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalEngine"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Digital Engine,</span></a> that has highly informative videos about the subject that predict we're about to enter the golden age of golden ages... or that the end of the world is neigh. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Too soon to tell. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I ordered my research department to conduct a sweeping survey of the worldwide web of all knowledge and to consult with various and sundry experts and get back to me ASAP with a comprehensive report.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Result: Too soon to tell. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As best <b><i>I</i></b> can tell all sorts of stuff is happening and will continue to happen, at an accelerating pace. I... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Your keen eye for the obvious is obviously not in need of a corrective lens. Hey, ever wonder why monocles have never come back in style? Ya'd think that some fashion-obsessed hip group of the moment would've attempted to reintroduce something that's so distinctive by now.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As to my...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>How about "smart" monocles? And faux cigarette holders that are actually nicotine/weed vaporizers. That would look cool. You could complete the look with tophats that contain all the electronics an (allegedly) woke capitalist needs for pitch meetings </i><span style="color: #222222;">— </span><i>with a tiny solar panel on top.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Are you done? As to my keen eye for the obvious, Dana, what I was <i>going/trying</i> to say was that despite all the warnings of potential disaster being issued by the same techies who are racing to develop artificial intelligenci... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>That's just CYB </i><span style="color: #222222;">— </span><i>cover your bum.</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...So as to add another billion or two to their pile, the "experts" are now saying we're going to be shocked at how fast the tech is going to reach the point that major disruptions will start occurring. But who knows? I was 17 the first time I heard the classic definition of an expert: a <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">bonkercockie</span></a> artist more than 50 miles from home. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>You should insert some relevant links at this point, links to experts contradicting the conventional wisdom of the experts mentioned in the previous paragraph.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't know if you've noticed, but my current policy is to try and avoid links on matters of opinion and try to stick with links to stuff that would at least <i>seem</i> to be a matter of widely accepted fact so as to try and avoid <i>Uh-huh/Nuh-uh</i> syndrome. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And before you say anything, linking to my opinioned glossary, as I just did, doesn't count. As Lesly Gore sang, "It's my column, I'll opine if I want to." </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>The Artificial Intelligenci will eventually help us to get Uh-huh!/Nuh-uh! syndrome under control, right? Even if it will never be eliminated?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Too soon to tell.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The real-life Tony Stark, Elon Musk</i></b> <span style="color: #222222;">— </span>a man I admire despite and because the neoestablishment is trying to render him de facto canceled (who is also a perfect example of why, if you can't rock facial hair, you should shave every day as I do) <span style="color: #222222;">— </span>is developing his own version of an artificial intelligence called Grok. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">He's concerned that AI tech might kill off us meat puppets or extend the powers of the neoestablishment. But he also believes that the technology, executed properly, could turn out to be even better than sliced bread. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(FYI: For those too old/comfortable to remember and/or those of you too young to have been taught much history, we used to admire people like Musk in America despite the fact they were/are as flawed as the rest of us, for creating a world our ancestors could only dream of.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>How about some links?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Again with the... fine, click on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Grok</span></a> if you're unfamiliar with the word. It was invented by writer Robert A. Heinlein. To grok means fundamentally to understand, intuitively, but has subtle shadings that mean different things to different people. That's the sort of AI Musk is trying to develop </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Links, aka hyperlinks, are a wonderful/terrible invention. They make it possible to send a reader to another source of information without having to write a paragraph (or several paragraphs) to explain something.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They're almost unavoidable given that the foundations of what used to be a more or less shared culture are being eroded by the Dizzinformation Ocean. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But they also make it possible to send a reader down a rabbit hole from which they may never return, or supply the writer with income via firms who will pay him/her/them a few cents every time someone follows a link that turns out to be a product push.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There are people who make a living selling other people's stuff, via links, who may or may not alert the reader as to what they're up to. There are other people who make a living by supplying the links. There are yet other people who make a living by teaching people how to make a living by peppering their writing with links.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Tell it keen eye! What's this got to do with AI?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You created this digression by yammering on about links! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Anyways...</span></i></b> my gentlereaders have no way of knowing if I wrote this column, if an AI wrote this column, or both, so perhaps we've already crossed the Rubicon, excuse me, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Rubicon"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Rubicon.</span></a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Both?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I use the free version of a spelling/grammar checker (Grammarly) as I'm a terrible speller. I've stuck with the free version which is, or at least was, mostly a spell checker as I don't hesitate to go rogue when it comes to grammar/usage rules so... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>You're a wild man.</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, the <i>free</i> version now offers up suggestions about rearranging sentences that "it" thinks would improve my writing style accompanied by sales pitches for the <i>paid</i> version which I gather is chock full of artificial intelligence technology. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't begrudge them for trying to sell a product; I mention this as an example of how fast the technology is spreading. Hopefully, my writing style is idiosyncratic enough that you're confident you're still reading the rants and ramblings of a garrulous geezer, dear gentlereaders.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Big BUT, how would you know <strike>punny humans</strike>?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Poppa loves you,<div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?). </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-61294298935170285652023-11-18T10:36:00.000-05:002023-11-18T10:36:21.523-05:00I'm Starting to Believe In Conspiracy Theories <div style="text-align: left;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNo589LLHYH1ZKGippyV5jlpzH37aPtw0GjUPT6SYzaeMptbZsL4DFODo2lxvnl_e1s_ZG8DfM3BXQFyUezDRu6NW-1Z0GqrfJgspMJsd1ytl-p18sT0shOKaLnNt73-V1zahYdg542HE_yi3xIVyLT0Gop8UDJeyzJLSJMW7vedi_48LJO5lCoojoic/s1280/barack-obama-1199638_1280.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNo589LLHYH1ZKGippyV5jlpzH37aPtw0GjUPT6SYzaeMptbZsL4DFODo2lxvnl_e1s_ZG8DfM3BXQFyUezDRu6NW-1Z0GqrfJgspMJsd1ytl-p18sT0shOKaLnNt73-V1zahYdg542HE_yi3xIVyLT0Gop8UDJeyzJLSJMW7vedi_48LJO5lCoojoic/w511-h296/barack-obama-1199638_1280.jpg" width="511" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/janeb13-725943/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1199638" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Welcome to All ! ツ</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1199638" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><i>"If I don't run for presidnet, we'll all be OK."</i> -Joe Biden (2015) </div><div><i>"I don't want to be president."</i> -Donald Trump (1987)</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: black;">(and </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span style="color: black;"><span>)</span><span>,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">Quick! 50 years from now, what will professors, pundits, and scholars...</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Oh my!</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...Say were the major accomplishments of the Obama presidency?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>The fact he and the little woman were <a href="https://www.gobankingrates.com/net-worth/politicians/barack-obama-net-worth/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">worth</span></a> about a million and a half in January of 2008 and are now worth about $70,000,000 and own four houses comes to mind. I'll bet his daughters aren't dealing with college loan payments.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I haven't given the infamous Choom Gang's most famous alumnus much thought lately, however...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Choom Gang?</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, as far as I know (I haven't read any of his books) although Mr. Obama has freely admitted that, unlike Slick Willie, he <i>did</i> inhale, and he did do a <i>little</i> blow, he hasn't gone into great detail about the Choom Gang, which is what he and the dudes he got stoned with in high school called themselves.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, some of<i> </i><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/oral-history/choice-2012/the-choom-gang/"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">them</span></i></a> did, and in case you missed it, google <i>Choom Gang,</i> and <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/475179/choom-gang-9-juiciest-details-from-barack-obamas-days-pothead"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">all sorts</span></a> of different <strike>tokes</strike> takes on the story pop up. But who knows which details are true, which are exaggerated, and which are made up? Or, more importantly in my semi-humble opinion, why did his friends feel compelled to snitch and not avail themselves of a "no comment." </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Right? With friends like those etc., hey you're not gonna claim that... Wait-wait-wait. Choom?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hawaiian slang for smoking weed (pakalolo), Dana, to choom is to smoke weed (at least when Mr. Obama was in high school, I don't know about now). It has other <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Choom"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">meanings</span></a> in other contexts. The "gang" traveled around town in a VW Microbus owned by one of its members they called the Choomwagon. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Big BUT, Mr. Obama it seems, has no shortage of friends in the news media willing to mind their own business these days when it comes to what The Swamp's most famous resident gets up to when he has friends over.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>He still lives in D.C., full-time?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Looks that way, but honestly, I don't know. I googled my brains out but that information is hard to come by.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Probably a Secret Service thing.</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Perhaps. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Not long ago,</i></b> I was in the process of pursuing input via my daily morning routine of carefully constructed input inputting...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>You were sucking on your first cup of Cafe Bustelo while treading water in the Dizzinformation Ocean, yes?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's what I said. Anyway, I was reading a Holman W. Jenkins Jr. column in the Wall Street Journal about... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Holman who?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A columnist I follow who writes a column, twice a week, for the WSJ. I'm a fanboy. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The column was primarily about Mr. Jenkins's opinion that President Biden needs to find a way to push Kamala Harris aside and add a strong VP candidate to the ticket to solve some of the problems standing between Biden and a second term. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>I see where you're going but I don't see Obama agreeing to be Uncle Joe's VP candidate.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't think so either, although it would be interesting. But my buddy Holman happened to remark in passing on the fact that Obama declined to follow tradition and <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/shadow-president"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">get out of Dodge</span></a>,</span> and out of the way, of his successor. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Instead, the tribune of the downtrodden residents of the Southside of Chicago bought himself an $8,100,000 mansion in D.C., two miles from the White House, one (last time I checked) of four high-end houses he owns. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>To be fair it's a relatively small mansion. It only has 9 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms... your <b>buddy</b> Holman?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yeah... if not for some obviously very bad karma. Holie's point, although it wasn't the point of his column, was that it's strange, that given there are hungry herds of reporters roaming the streets of Washington in search of prey, apparently none of them stake out the Obama House. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rather curious given that it seems to be the favorite domicile of our former commander and chief... but I can't say for sure because of the paucity of information referred to above. You can go a-googlin' if you don't believe me. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Allegedly, there are frequent gatherings of former Obama minions <span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and others)</span> who are now Biden minions who work at a different but much better-known, D.C. house. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Well, perhaps they're just being nice and giving him some space.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nice national reporters? In America? In 2023? There's no <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i>feckin</i>'</span></a> way that...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Wait a second!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Your dimwitted columnist has an aha! moment.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Given that the WSJ is a national newspaper</i></b> that's so committed to old-school, traditional, objective journalism they print the <a href="https://digiday.com/media/the-wall-street-journal-tightens-comments-strategy-to-stimulate-higher-quality-debate/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">real names</span></a> of people (subscribers only) who comment on articles and op-eds, with millions of readers, and <a href="https://www.themuse.com/profiles/thewallstreetjournal#:~:text=The%20Wall%20Street%20Journal%20enables,digital%20visitors%20per%20month%20worldwide."><span style="color: #3d85c6;">1,800 or so reporters</span></a> in 45 countries... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Why aren't <i>they</i> staking out the Obama's D.C. digs?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>I hear Secret Service agents carry weapons.</i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As it turns out, the street in front of Mr. Obama's house is blocked off, and only approved (and I assume carefully vetted) visitors and approved (and I assume vetted, at least I hope so) delivery drivers are given access. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But why aren't any lean and hungry reporters monitoring who attends what are supposed to be regular gatherings at the Obama House just by staking out both ends of both streets and keeping track of who is coming and going?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>What if they do but they're being chased off?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That would be a story unto itself.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>What if they're <b>aren't</b> any regular meetings/gatherings/whateverings at the Obama House?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I thought of that but according to Mr. Jenkins, who's in a position to know, this is common knowledge in Washington. Perhaps he was nudging his bosses at the WSJ. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Whatever. Why should I/we care?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Well, let's review.</i></b> A former POTUS, despite multiple decades of tradition, lives a couple of miles from the White House in a home that's apparently his primary residence and hangs out with former staffers who are now <i>current</i> White House staffers (and who knows who else) and the rabid press isn't interested?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Never mind, I'm probably just paranoid. I gotta go, someone's knocking and holding up a Secret Service badge in front of the Ring camera on my front door. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?). </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> </div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-75842493917348801702023-11-12T16:44:00.001-05:002023-11-13T13:43:10.550-05:00Newspeak <div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6of-Z7fA0IxLVj2LSTmDB47a9hf8vrz6w0skX5GLwnEuDyx45fd4HQ685K4eQC7djXpOhLSUUaRB0bFJfjCUOesICxlyy0oS_oPmjOooFrZYtQMo0n5NcLvn7oSiOndtNLjtbLOLQSIsOjJF-dFGOWBd4jmWRtswX5uk2UVMPKXv2h2hS_rDRnh6U54/s1280/author-1320965_1280.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="921" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6of-Z7fA0IxLVj2LSTmDB47a9hf8vrz6w0skX5GLwnEuDyx45fd4HQ685K4eQC7djXpOhLSUUaRB0bFJfjCUOesICxlyy0oS_oPmjOooFrZYtQMo0n5NcLvn7oSiOndtNLjtbLOLQSIsOjJF-dFGOWBd4jmWRtswX5uk2UVMPKXv2h2hS_rDRnh6U54/s320/author-1320965_1280.png" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: left;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/gdj-1086657/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1320965" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Gordon Johnson</span></a><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: left;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1320965" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i>"There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them."</i> -George Orwell</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>(I'm sorry this week's column is late. I was arrested on Friday for illegal word use and didn't get out till today (Sunday, 11/12) when a lawyer from the Poetic License Association was able to get me released on a technicality.) </i></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: black;">(and </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span style="color: black;"><span>)</span><span>,</span></span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">When we read (a condensed) </span><i style="background-color: transparent;">1984</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> in high school I was blown away. Not just by the story but also by the writing chops of its author.</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I read <i>Animal Farm</i> on my own a few years later I was blown away, Not just by the story but also by the writing chops of its author.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I re-read (an uncondensed) <i>1984</i> a few years after that and again a few years ago I was blown away by the writing chops of the author.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Orwell, a <i>democratic socialist </i>incidentally, who wrote <i>two</i> globally recognized literary classics that are still studied today, before dying at the age of <i>46</i> from tuberculosis <i>73</i> years ago, is currently under attack by Wokies for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughtcrime_(disambiguation)"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">thoughtcrime.</span></a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Author Anna Funder, for example, feeling that she had been "spiritually drained by the monotonous demands of motherhood" came across a collection of Orwell's essays in a used bookstore and "<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">embarked on a project of re-reading his work, hoping his explorations of tyranny would help her liberate herself from the 'motherload of wifedom I had taken on'".</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Long story short, she winds up writing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/anna-funder-rescues-george-orwells-wife-eileen-from-being-cancelled-by-the-patriarchy-and-reminds-us-hes-a-sexual-predator-201572"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">biography</span></a> of Orwell's <i>wife</i> detailing what a monster he actually was (much of it speculative) and how the patriarchy was, and still is, responsible for repressing all women all the time. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He </span></span>was dead less than a year after <i>1984</i> was published and personally I see no point in digging him up and killing him. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>George Orwell was obviously right</i></b> about the unmitigated disaster that was/is communism (Animal Farm) but may have been wrong about what life in the average dystopia of the future would be like (1984). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Communism is (dis)credited with a body count of 100,000,000 H. sapiens, more or less, and although the killing — and enslaving, and torturing, and imprisoning — continues, the running total, communism's mur-<i>dom-</i>eter if you will, racks up the bodies at a much slower pace these days. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Not bad, but I would've used kill-ometer myself.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Clever, but that doesn't quite work, Dana. A murdometer keeps track of <i>total</i> deaths; a killometer measures how <i>fast</i> people are being deliberately killed. Think odometer v. speedometer. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What I find fascinating is that irregardless, there are still plenty of people in the world who declare, with a straight face, that if communism was ever properly implemented somewhere, by someone, it would finally have a chance to shine.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>There's no such word as irregardless, it's regardless, without the ir.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's what I thought, however, if you go a-googlin' you'll quickly discover that while irregardless is considered to be nonstandard by the language police (and verboten by my spellchecker), it's <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/07/07/887649010/regardless-of-what-you-think-irregardless-is-a-word"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">not illegal</span></a> and has been in use since 1795 according to Merriam-Webster.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While I admit that logically it makes no sense when you think about it, I like the sound of it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If China's current emperor and his minions can claim with a straight face that China is a communist country (socialism with "Chinese characteristics"), and certain American college professors and no shortage of Zoomers can claim communism is a valid political philosophy — logic be damned. Irregardless, it's <i>my</i> column. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Okay fine, but what's any of this got to do with 1984? And whaddayamean China's not a communist country?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">1984 features a world-class traditional dystopia </i>with an evil <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">dicktater</span></a>, and a relative handful of minions. Everyone else is, for all intents and purposes, a miserable slave.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Right, like China.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nah, that's old-school China. With occasional limited and brief exceptions, China was a relatively traditional dicktatership for millennia and a Communist Utopia for half a minute, but now it's a new-school dictatership. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a dystopia for certain minorities, of course, but that's for their own good. Once they're assimilated, and so far resistance <i>has</i> been futile, they'll be happy, well-adjusted, and productive members of society striving to help make China the planet's most powerful hegemon... while keeping an eye on their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System#:~:text=China's%20Social%20Credit%20System%20has,social%20credit%20system%20or%20score."><span style="color: #3d85c6;">social credit score</span>.</a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rtEaR1JU-ps" width="320" youtube-src-id="rtEaR1JU-ps"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>So what exactly <b>is</b> socialism with Chinese characteristics?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Easy peasy:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"...Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, ...the Scientific Outlook on Development, and the Thought on socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as well as the Party’s basic line and basic policy." </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For more details please refer to: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Hold High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese
Characteristics and Strive in Unity to
Build a Modern Socialist Country in All Respects. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the catchy title of<i> </i>Emperor Xi Jinping's </span><a href="Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Report</span></i></a><i> to the 20th National Congress of the </i><span style="font-style: italic;">Communist</span><i> </i><i>Party of China </i>— 58 pages of sparkling and inspirational prose. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>In other words,</i></b> just <i>now,</i> socialism with Chinese Characteristics is Xi Jinping's name for a <a href="Gustavo Soriano"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">hooge</span></a>-steaming pile of Bonkercockie, the official rationalization for a <i>dick</i>taterhip that promotes capitalism and limited liberty when it's convenient but exerts central control (with an iron fist) when it ain't.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is how you pretend, with a straight face, that the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party (the Emperor and his minions) is running a communist country, the Chinese version of a "dictatership of the proletariat." </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Socialism with etc. is whatever Emperor Xi says it is, subject to change. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If he changes his mind, dies of natural causes, is assassinated, or is just removed from the <strike>chess</strike> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(game)"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Go</span></a> board and put back in the box by someone who has ascended to the apex of the Yellow Patriarchal Hegemonistic Sino-imperialist Dominance Hierarchy, he/she/they will decide.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Who/What?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whoever takes over the Emperor's current job. As everybody knows, the world is currently run by Pasty Patriarchal Hegemonistic Euro-imperialists, but the Emperor has made it clear that he thinks China should be in charge and I suspect that any given potential successor will feel the same.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>China in charge... wasn't that the name of an 80s sitcom?</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You're thinking of <i>Charles In Charge</i>, starring the anti-Christ, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Baio"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Scott Baio.</span></a> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>So you're saying that since Orwell didn't predict a dystopia like China he missed the rickshaw?</i><b>}</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">No, let us not forget Cuba, Venezuela, my personal favorite, North Korea, and other lesser-known, much less powerful/threatening um... poop holes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In his defense, he was a man of his time. I don't think anyone would've predicted that Stalin's Russia would eventually become<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the</span> </a></span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pooteen's</span> </a>Russia; the Pooteen plays the Tzar and a gaggle of greedy, corrupt oligarchs play nobles. At least the stores actually have stuff on the shelves. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Irregardless,</i></b> I'm just grateful I live in a country where people can legally say, within certain limits, almost anything they want wherever they want without fear of being <b><i>doxed,</i></b> <i><b>de-platformed,</b></i> or <b><i>disappeared</i></b><i> </i>for <i><b>hate speech.</b></i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>You're being sarcastical... right?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And although everyone knows there's no such thing as online privacy we gracefully accept this as a small price to pay for <i><b>personalized advertising</b></i> that points us to cheap merchandise and expensive iPhones (often, unfortunately, made by virtual slaves) in the <b>People's Republic</b> <b>of China</b><i><b>.</b></i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, don't forget being able to watch perfect strangers getting naked and/or having sex 24x7x365 via the worldwide web of all knowledge without feeling any guilt, shame, or responsibility now that what used to be called porn is now called <i><b>female empowerment.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?).</i></div></div></div></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-43805829647374151422023-11-03T19:51:00.002-04:002023-11-04T16:42:25.557-04:00Disrespected<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsCNzBCGSJz-bi3AvUb1GdTo3i9Jcaq4vwRCA_O_lxxMtFDMqpzblgxgLy4GfY983IoKyg8KG7DUa5qxVyKaAAgg7HJxcahWl4pcExgfpnrNlLDBu8-lvJm67U8KoqbpYN5Xc_aMbNzaocOxraacLM15cB98FtCty-HH4nmswLDuqLqR9o17dmKXIZgg/s1280/old-2742052_1280.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1244" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsCNzBCGSJz-bi3AvUb1GdTo3i9Jcaq4vwRCA_O_lxxMtFDMqpzblgxgLy4GfY983IoKyg8KG7DUa5qxVyKaAAgg7HJxcahWl4pcExgfpnrNlLDBu8-lvJm67U8KoqbpYN5Xc_aMbNzaocOxraacLM15cB98FtCty-HH4nmswLDuqLqR9o17dmKXIZgg/w424-h320/old-2742052_1280.png" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/cozmicphotos-2999334/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2742052" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Nathan Wright</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2742052" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><i>"Old age is no place for sissies."</i> -Bette Davis </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><br /></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><br /></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: black;">(and </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span style="color: black;"><span>)</span><span>,</span></span></a> </b></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;">I apologize for disrespecting anyone I judged to be old and out of it when I was a </span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">callowyute</span></a></i><span style="background-color: transparent;"><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">.</span> </a><span style="color: #222222;">I've been 39 for 31 years now and I'm disrespected almost daily so I'm paying for my sins. But I strive to not take it personally, it's just how things are in a youth-worshiping culture going 99 mph 24x7x365.</span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>I thought you didn't like the word disrespecting?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't, Dana, it looks, and especially sounds, ugly, as does disrespected. In fact disrespected looks and sounds <i>particularly</i> ugly. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Then why...</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, I'm an old man and I associate both of these words with those who aren't. I don't recall them being commonly used when I was younger and they're both <i>very</i> commonly used nowadays. So I'm trying to um... reach across the temporal gulf that separates me from both the truly young, and the younger than I, which is the point of this column. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Huh. So you find certain words in themselves to be ugly, not necessarily what they... represent?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh yeah. Take a word like misanthrope, hideous. Paradoxically, misanthropic is gorgeous.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Huh.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's not you, it's me, I'm old.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>This was supposed to be a column about Old v. Young</i></b> but I quickly became entangled in so many possible threads that I decided to take the high road and instead warn/advise the young and younger than I, those who are still young <i>enough</i> to rarely if ever think about their inevitable decline and deletion. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I was young, and I suspect this is true of most H. sapiens, I gave virtually no thought to getting old. On those rare occasions that I did, I was confident that this was even farther off than say... a term paper that was due by the end of next week, so why worry? HT: Alfred E. Newman. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But once H. sapiens mature a bit, but are still relatively young, they would be well served to be at least a <i>little</i> more aware that they will wake up one day, note that there's more sand in the bottom of the hourglass than the top, and live/plan accordingly. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But if they're anything like <i>I</i> was 100 years or so ago, they won't pay much attention when it's pointed out to them, even by a non-famous, non-syndicated, virtually unknown columnist.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>A</i><b> </b><i>100 years? It appears that temporal distortion works in both directions.</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">No doubt. Hey, apropos of not much, I once had a brother-in-law whose nickname was No-Doubt, about 75 years ago. He... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Anyways...</span></a></i><b>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Although attempting to point out to the young/younger the utility of being prepared for, and/or maintaining an awareness <i>of</i>, one's eventual personal decline and fall is likely to be a fool's errand, perhaps a few tips on what being old in America is going to be like might be helpful. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Say, do you know that "<a href="https://www.ncoa.org/article/get-the-facts-on-falls-prevention"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">falls</span></a></i><span style="color: #2c2c2c;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries" for geezers/geezerettes?</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c;">I do, a not-so-fun fact that comes to mind every time my wrinkled bum and I get in/out of the shower, but what...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c;"><b>{</b><i>We need to do more public service announcements.</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c;">Anyways...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><i><br /></i></u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><i>I know that you zany youngsters are already tired of hearing this,</i></u></b> but you're not going to believe how fast your life will seem to have gone by once you can see the end approaching. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>[Dana groans, loudly... there's exaggerated eye-rolling]</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Seriously. I know-I know, you've probably experienced this to a certain degree, but trust me, you ain't seen nothin' yet; don't say <i><b>I</b></i> didn't warn you. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, more importantly, one day it's going to dawn on you, or you're going to be forced to admit, that even if you're still <i>relatively</i> sharp and young at heart, no one mistakes you for a spring chicken and that you may even be...old. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(On average: 70 or better. Warning: may be earlier.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Note the word <i>relatively;</i> you <i>will</i> have lost some of your edge. It's important that you face up to this (not everyone does) and compensate accordingly. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The good news is that striving to fool the young and younger will help you to <i>stay</i> sharpish. Use it or lose it, right? Even better news: when you forget something or screw something up (accidentally or deliberately) that pees off the young/youngers you can invoke the Senior Moment defense.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Please manipulate responsibly (and judiciously). They may be looking for, even documenting, excuses to park your butt in a senior storage unit of some sort, particularly if they're seeking money, or revenge. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Pees off?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Sometimes a silly word choice can turn an uglier (and now ubiquitous) version of a word (that I heard a nun use the other day) into something funny. It's not you, it's me, I'm old. However, all gentlepersons should always be aware that often, funny <i>may </i>be a better option than crude.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>But not always?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">No, not always. It's a judgment call, context-dependent. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>There are radically different kinds of old people.</b></i> You must be aware of this early on so as to strive to avoid becoming one of the less-than-optimal versions. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You undoubtedly already know many people who began aging early on and have been calcifying ever since. Never particularly self-aware, they've embraced stereotypes all their lives. There will come a point where they have been at it so long they may be damaged, even shatter, when confronted with unwelcome changes. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They're so numerous that many young/youngers, due to unpleasant personal interactions magnified by the tendency of all sorts of media to lump all sorts of people into overly broad categories, may not realize that it's truly possible to age more or less gracefully, and keep a more or less open mind. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But watch out for obsessives and would-be immortals. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There are fine lines to be drawn between people attempting to maintain a <i>reasonable</i> standard of physical and mental health, people who are obsessed with maintaining <i>high</i> levels of health so as to have the energy levels needed to work all the damn time because they _______, and people who want to live forever because they _______. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>What's with all the blanks?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Reasons/motivations/rationalizations vary widely. Oh, and I'm not talking about people who <i>have</i> to work all the damn time because life peed on them. And I think that many obsessives can't help it. And I think that the would-be immortals (unfortunately? fortunately?) haven't learned there's no shortage of things worse than death. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But I hope, that like Forrest Gump, at some point they decide that enough is enough and stop to smell the _______.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pKKmzmeU5-0" width="320" youtube-src-id="pKKmzmeU5-0"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?). </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-90389367885172507952023-10-27T18:50:00.001-04:002023-10-27T19:10:27.202-04:00The Buckeye State <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrr4xmcwe-5b-ioKkDDdG44qPfs03UvNVCWM2pcaA7CKKfeuNs2YN3aum4enFRWhjzIgLEeF7qygMgR8RBNTiknPIL9ZgR8BBzX3a7YtSaaIausPbi9eUGKynpuqga8IYW6F9Nh_WXqxvciCEJfihIj3l0vvMw2qbDaixQ_3AZMX0T8QiQ1off32_DpZU/s1280/ceramic-hob-2269533_1280.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrr4xmcwe-5b-ioKkDDdG44qPfs03UvNVCWM2pcaA7CKKfeuNs2YN3aum4enFRWhjzIgLEeF7qygMgR8RBNTiknPIL9ZgR8BBzX3a7YtSaaIausPbi9eUGKynpuqga8IYW6F9Nh_WXqxvciCEJfihIj3l0vvMw2qbDaixQ_3AZMX0T8QiQ1off32_DpZU/w527-h309/ceramic-hob-2269533_1280.jpg" width="527" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/rkit-646249/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2269533" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", system-ui; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Rupert Kittinger-Sereinig</span></a><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2269533" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", system-ui; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></b></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"The</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it."</i> -P.J. O'rourke </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: black;">(and </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span style="color: black;"><span>)</span><span>,</span></span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It occurred to me that it has been quite a while since I have written much, if anything, about my tired little town, one of many in a tired little valley that doesn't look like a valley. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Tired? A valley that doesn't look like one?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As to tired, Dana, Hooterville is in the heart of the rustbelt, and despite heroic efforts to revive it and the valley in which it's located, it remains rather rusty overall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As to the valley thing, if you found yourself passing through, particularly if you were a Yinzer (a native of Pittsburg<b>h</b> like me), you'd be unlikely to notice that you were technically in a valley. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The 'Burg<b>h</b> is in a clearly defined, deep valley that conforms to the definition of a valley that I learned in geography class under the tutelage of Sister Mary McGillicuddy. I wonder if there's a commonly used word for a very shallow valley? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Just a second, I'll be right back. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Huh, according to Google/Generative AI (Generative AI is experimental. Info quality may vary.) there are a <i>ton</i> of names for shallow valleys including dingle, bunny, thrutch, etceterutch. My personal favorite is cwm, a Welsh word pronounced kuum. I caught a rabbit in the cwm, so we had a Welsh rabbit for dinner. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And now that I think about it, isn't there a tiny town in West Virginia called Dingle Bunny?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>There's something really wrong with you, you know that, right?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Living in the Rustbelt ain't all bad. </i>For example, recently our three-burner stove--which I bought new down at the BestBuy 16 years ago, the one near damall?--which <i>originally</i> had four burners transformed, literally overnight, into a two-burner, both of which were clearly not long for this world. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Not good, particularly given the current cash flow crunch here at Casa de Chaos. However, in short order, we secured a surprisingly decent one from the next tired town over for $100, and the old one vanished the next day.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>A hundred bucks! Vanished?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">As to the price... it's better not to ask any questions. Pay the money, load up the stove, say thanks, and get out of Dodge. As to vanished, we have a very dedicated and discrete group of voluntary recyclers in the area who are happy to deal with anything made of metal left out on the curb.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We once shoved a very large, very dead air conditioner out of a first-floor window and into the yard, intending to drag it to the curb the next day. In about an hour, a very polite, if somewhat disheveled gentleman knocked on the front door to inquire if we had made funeral arrangements yet for the dead appliance in question. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">He recycled it quickly and efficiently with our blessing and our thanks.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>There's an off-year election coming up,</i></b> (11/7), in which the good citizens of the Buckeye State will decide if, going forward, weed, with the requisite sin tax and no shortage of silly <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Rules&Regs</span></a>, will be recreationally legal, not just medically legal as it is now.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Silly?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, after all, it is a <i>weed</i>, and I'm led to believe it's not difficult to grow, particularly since instructions, advice, and equipment are easily acquired. My favorite caveat? You can legally grow your own, as long as you don't have more than six plants, 12 if there are at least two adults in the household that are 21 or older. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After all, like tobacco, you're not allowed to use it till you're 21. However, it's still legal to join the military or star in a porno if you're at least 18. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, possessing more than 2.5 ounces is illegal, but that's not silly. That's just Ohio trying to make sure that sin <i>and</i> state <i>and</i> local sales taxes are being collected, and that the shady-looking dude that hangs out in front of the 7-Eleven and his colleagues aren't dodging both sales <i>and</i> income taxes <i>and</i> underselling their legal competitors. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This might seem odd given that the <b><u>R</u></b>epublicrats, the party of small government, currently have an iron grip on most of our carefully gerrymandered state, but maintaining a full-time, two-house legislature, 24x7 x365 ain't cheap. Neither is maintaining numerous tired, tiny towns that all have their own government employees, school systems, police departments, zoning boards, etc. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Having friends in low places, I could have weed delivered to my front door, with no delivery charge, by making a phone call. I haven't been a regular user in decades but I'm voting yes so that those who <i>do </i>choose to indulge can do so knowing the source of the product and know that nothing dangerous/crazy has been added to tweak its potency. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>There's another issue to vote on this year,</i></b> a proposed constitutional amendment no less, that guarantees abortion rights to the women of Ohio. This, as you might imagine, has generated endless Sturm und Drang... all of it unnecessary. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Long story short:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supremes but Ohio already has a <a href="https://www.abortionfinder.org/abortion-guides-by-state/abortion-in-ohio"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">law in place</span></a> restricting abortion (21 weeks and 6 days), a law the majority of its citizens support.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The <a href="https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/03/15/analysis-bribery-scandal-showed-how-ohio-politics-is-polluted-with-dark-money/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">masters of morality</span></a> in control of the Ohio Legislature pass a law that limits abortions to the first six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest, that is promptly, and currently, <a href="https://www.courtnewsohio.gov/cases/2023/SCO/previews/0926-27/0926-27.asp#:~:text=The%20law%2C%20called%20the%20%E2%80%9CHuman,and%20a%20fine%20of%20%242%2C500."><span style="color: #3d85c6;">blocked by an injunction</span>.</a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A ballot initiative, a broadly worded amendment (thus guaranteeing endless litigation if it passes) to amend the Ohio Constitution to include abortion rights is added to the ballot. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Money is pouring in from outside Ohio by people and organizations on both sides of the issue to fund information/disinformation campaigns. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Our 76-year-old, five-foot-tall governor</i></b> (whose son is an Ohio Supreme Court justice) and his wife have released their own ad. They both look right into the camera and <a href="https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/10/24/the-dewines-are-gaslighting-ohioans-in-their-dishonest-anti-issue-1-ad/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">lie their bums off</span></a>, stating that if the amendment passes partial-birth abortion will be legal in Ohio. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They neglect to mention that there's a federal law in place that bans that barbaric procedure <i>nationwide</i>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Ain't it cool that the German phrase Sturm und Drang sounds like what it means in English? Is Mike Dewine really five feet tall?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nah, I lied. Go Buckeyes!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Poppa loves you,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?).</i></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-54383385170010904922023-10-20T19:35:00.001-04:002023-10-24T19:11:49.544-04:00In Other News... <div style="text-align: left;"> Or, In Case You Missed It...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAW6kqc2jYn_YeatoW9bljdd9_ICoqYeaIX0L1OI9cnosfDvuxm0btijy78vvoLjN1Th6RqsLolDSmdSuP_zuS_9jSfMjq9WZfHKDwjPRTflLztJowkU7B_Q6TjVRThyphenhyphenduWLpCiNTyR4yzaV6p2vrVK1WcC_CKTNph9rB4x4v18stcWlPBvejy9pkLR90/s1280/daily-paper-464015_1280.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAW6kqc2jYn_YeatoW9bljdd9_ICoqYeaIX0L1OI9cnosfDvuxm0btijy78vvoLjN1Th6RqsLolDSmdSuP_zuS_9jSfMjq9WZfHKDwjPRTflLztJowkU7B_Q6TjVRThyphenhyphenduWLpCiNTyR4yzaV6p2vrVK1WcC_CKTNph9rB4x4v18stcWlPBvejy9pkLR90/w528-h317/daily-paper-464015_1280.jpg" width="528" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/stevepb-282134/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=464015" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", system-ui; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Steve Buissinne</span></a><span face=""Open Sans", system-ui" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=464015" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", system-ui; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #212529;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Things come and go in the news cycle like waves of fever."</i></span></span><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #212529; font-family: inherit;">-Adam Curtis</span><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: black;">(and </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gentlereaders</span><span style="color: black;">)</span></a>, </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">On my website, underneath the picture of the very happy baby taking a sink shower, it says <i>Don't demonize, compromise. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Given the state of <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Republic,</span></a> and the state of its citizenry, it would seem that what it takes to hold a republic together (the same thing it takes to hold any sort of relationship together, compromise) often gets lost in the shuffle. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Being a<i> </i>(the)<i> glass-is-half-empty</i> sort of dude, I worry that many of muh fellow 'mericans (Lyndon Johnsonese for my fellow Americans) are so caught up in never-ending Blue team vs. the Red team dramas that they're oblivious to the need for compromise to maintain a peaceful playground. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Lyndon who?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, World Aquatics "...<span style="background-color: white;">formerly known as...[the] </span><span lang="en" style="background-color: white;">International Swimming Federation</span><span style="background-color: white;">,</span><span style="background-color: white;"> is the international federation recognized by the </span>International Olympic Committee...<span style="background-color: white;"> for administering international competitions in </span>water sports</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">" according to Wikipedia, is setting a good example.</span></span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"> </span> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Internationally?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> Last year World Aquatics decided to ban transwomen from competing against women born that way. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Just what is a woman anyway?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, they also promised to experiment with adding an "open" category for 50 and 100m races in which transwomen are welcome. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">From a post on the <a href="https://swimswam.com/world-aquatics-to-debut-open-category-at-berlin-world-cup-in-october/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">SwimSwam</span></a> website: <span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">“This pioneering pilot project highlights the organization’s unwavering commitment to inclusivity, welcoming swimmers of all sex and gender identities,” a quote they attribute to World Aquatics. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately, for some reason, no-body has taken them up on the offer according to an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/oct/03/swimming-world-cup-category-for-transgender-athletes-cancelled-after-no-entries-received"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">article</span></a> on <i>The Guardian</i> website. Go figure.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i><u>Penis Pics in the News:</u></i></b> F<span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">inancial sextortion, "...in which predators befriend victims online under false pretenses, entice them to send incriminating photos and then demand payment under threat that they’ll expose the photos to family and friends," according to the Washington Post has become a </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">RBFD</span></a> <span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: inherit;">"</span></span></span><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">with teen boys being specific targets."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Given the number of horror stories/specific examples cited in a </span><i style="color: #2a2a2a;">very</i><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"> detailed </span><a href="with teen boys being specific targets"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">article,</span></a><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"> I agree. Geesh, s</span></span></span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: inherit;">ometimes I'm grateful that...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Let me guess, this is today's official reason you're glad you're old.</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Getting <i>older,</i> Dana, getting older. However, I was a fairly modest young man of um... <i>average</i> dimensions back in the day so I probably wouldn't have...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Ah geeze!</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Hey, I checked alright, and I'm delighted to say that...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Moving on... please?</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Absabalutely.</span></a><i style="color: #2a2a2a;"> </i><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">According to "...</span></span><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Lauren Coffren, executive director of the Exploited Children Division at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)...</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">NCMEC, which serves as a </span>clearinghouse for records of abuse<span style="color: #2a2a2a;">, received more than 10,000 tips of financial sextortion of minors, primarily boys, in 2022...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By the end of July 2023, NCMEC had already received more than 12,500 reports... ."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #2a2a2a;">{</b><i><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Looks like the perpetrators of the famous </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Nigerian Prince scam</span></a><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"> have moved on to greener pastures</span></i><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">.</span><b style="color: #2a2a2a;">}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Nope. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #2a2a2a;"><i><u>The Nigerian Prince is alive and well</u></i></b><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"> according to a firm called </span><a href="https://abnormalsecurity.com/blog/generative-ai-nigerian-prince-scams"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Abnormal Security,</span></a><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"> and is using artificial intelligence technology to improve his/her/their bottom line. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;">"Abnormal recently uncovered </span><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border-color: var(--chakra-colors-chakra-border-color); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">more than a thousand attacks</span><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"> targeting organizations using at least 70 unique email addresses."</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><b>{</b><i>Oh, please. Surely nobody falls for these things anymore, and they're easy to spot 'cause of the goofy spelling and grammar.</i><b>}</b></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;">"Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors have long been characteristics of an attack, making them easy to spot even if they did land in the inbox. But with </span>the rise of generative AI<span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;">, this is no longer the case."</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><b>{</b><i>I've heard that one of the ways teachers and professors can spot papers written by AI is by noticing the spelling and grammar of a given paper is just too perfect. Still, I can't believe that the "Nigerian Princes" are fooling anyone.</i><b>}</b></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;">Note from my first quote that they're targeting "organizations" nowadays. There must be a reason... Also, they're not still sending 'em out because they never work. It's my guess the organizations in question don't want word to get out and that for the bad guys it's like they're playing the lottery with tons of free tickets, knowing that, occasionally, they're going to win.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><b><i><u>Dear The Guardian,</u></i></b> I'm sorry that like many formerly profitable newspapers, you're finding it hard to make a buck, or in your case being UK-based, a quid.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Guardian,</span></a><span style="color: #1a202c;"> quoted at the beginning of this column, has been around for just over 200 years. It's </span><i style="color: #1a202c;"><b>not</b></i><span style="color: #1a202c;"> been either privately owned or run by a profit-seeking corporation of some sort since </span><i style="color: #1a202c;">1936</i><span style="color: #1a202c;">. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;">"</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or </span>shareholders<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">." -Wikipedia</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;">It describes itself as being a centre-left publication; I think that clearly-left(wing) is a more accurate description but I'm not a regular reader. But of course, I support their right to describe themselves as they please, and to hold whatever other opinions they please as well. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><b>{</b><i>You spelled center wrong.</i><b>}</b></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;">No, I didn't. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;">Ironically, given their political/social/cultural stances, they became a non-profit way back in 1936 to get around paying "death duties"(taxes). When a newspaper owner died back then, death duties also occasionally killed his/her/their newspaper. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><b>{</b><i>Okaaay. But why...</i><b>}</b> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;">Because when I land on their website, which only happens when I click on a link while doing research, or a link in something I'm reading sends me there </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;">I'll be asked to "Fund independent journalism for $5 per month" </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;">and/or "Register: it's quick and easy," that is to say, provide them with my email address. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;">But they promise not to sell it, or any of the info they collect on me... <i>if</i> I click on a button or two. They just want to serve me better. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;">Occasionally, I've been met with a relatively lengthy message that informs me that I've been to their site __ times now so I really should consider contributing. Fine, you have my permission to sell any data you compile on me -- although you don't legally need it and will do it anyway if I don't opt out.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;">If not for what must be some seriously bad karma that has resulted in... well, never mind, there are enough whiney, retired Boomers with pathetic fixed incomes loose in the world, I'd be contributing to newspapers left, right, and center to keep 'em <i>all</i> going. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;">Good luck, and think about trying <strike>truck</strike> lorry driving school. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X-claim?). </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a202c; font-family: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: none;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #1a202c; font-variant-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-76219127043293786382023-10-13T20:07:00.005-04:002023-10-15T06:07:59.008-04:00I ATE NOTHING BUT PIZZA FOR 30 DAYS AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED!<div style="text-align: left;">Actually, I did no such thing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Rddl5OfK5Yip-V-_i__D6n3Fj82mHmRx7GgcBElIpP15oyLkVl3jvyi6x2uAaYTmultDgWFWh5ihtdlHmyO42Du1XC9pcBwkhOGqwcxq9g_5m3uIQZxMdFrxT6YvSklvRNft5PW0DKMAPrOtFEvVGyNApS2gjwF3YkTtB8f-3-KA4GcEC5vQTi7GU24/s1280/pizza-1702652_1280.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Rddl5OfK5Yip-V-_i__D6n3Fj82mHmRx7GgcBElIpP15oyLkVl3jvyi6x2uAaYTmultDgWFWh5ihtdlHmyO42Du1XC9pcBwkhOGqwcxq9g_5m3uIQZxMdFrxT6YvSklvRNft5PW0DKMAPrOtFEvVGyNApS2gjwF3YkTtB8f-3-KA4GcEC5vQTi7GU24/w471-h274/pizza-1702652_1280.jpg" width="471" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jamesoladujoye-3409212/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1702652" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">James Oladujoye</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1702652" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span>This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><i style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i><i> </i></span></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring <b>{</b><i>Dana</i><b>}</b>: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination.”</i> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">-Ibram X. Kendi</span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and gentlereaders)</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">,</span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you've decided to read this column because you wanted to know what happened when an alleged adult, a sexy senior citizen no less, ate nothing but pizza for 30 days please accept my apology. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Big BUT, given that you're probably smarter than I look, you probably weren't deceived by my clickbait headline for a single second. You probably decided to check it out just to see what the humbug is. Or maybe, like me, you love pizza.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Humbug?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A humbug, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is, among other things, "something designed to deceive and mislead." This brings us to P.T. Barnum and Ibram X. Kendi (aka, Henry Rogers)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>It does?</i><b>}</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Let us proceed in a logical manner, my dear gentlereaders.</i></b> Pizza to humbug to P.T. Barnum to Mr. Rogers/Kendi. (I apologize if Mr. Rogers/Kendi prefers the non-gendered honorific Mx.). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>What's Mx. short for, mixed up?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've always liked pizza, but nowadays I <i>love</i> pizza, particularly pepperoni pizza, particularly Ianazone's (my local pizzeria of choice) pepperoni pizza. I confess that Cranky is to Ianazone's pepperoni pizza as Garfield is to lasagna. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The older one gets the more jaded/sated one becomes and the list of Earthly pleasures (L.E.P.) that stir one's, um... assorted appetites, shortens. However, until our devolution into a race of cyborgs is complete, ya gotta eat, regardless of whether you're the type of H. sapien who lives to eat or eats to live. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm more the former, I'm baffled by the latter. Anyway, that's why so many people of a certain age are enthusiastic eaters; eating remains on their LEP list till the game is up and their toes are pointed heavenward. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>P.T. Barnum was famous in his day</b></i> for perpetrating humbugs on the public. Everyone knew, that like clickbait, what was promised might not be what was delivered, but you never knew for sure unless you showed up -- and bought a ticket.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Unlike our present era, which provides all entertainment all the time, people had fewer options to choose from and they knew that odds were they would still enjoy themselves.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">From an <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-pt-barnum-greatest-humbug-them-all-180967634/#:~:text=As%20it%20was%20%E2%80%9Cgenerally%20understood,such%20a%20practice%20was%20justified."><span style="color: #3d85c6;">article</span></a> posted on the Smithsonian Magazine's website written by Jackie Mansky: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>"Barnum's career trafficked in curiosities, which he served up to a public hungry for such entertainment, regardless of how factual or ethical such displays were. His legacy in show business stretched from the American Museum to "P. T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome" (the predecessor of “Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey” circus) near the end of his life. Each were full of bigger-than-life ideas marketed to an audience interested in mass, and often crass, entertainment."</i></span> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The article is primarily about what an awful person P.T.B. was and what awful people his customers were,<i> </i>not having had the advantage of our woke sensibilities. This not being an article about Wokies, I shan't mention the absurdity of applying, en masse, present standards to the sleepers of the past. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nor for that matter, will I bring up judging people of the present based on the hoped-for standards of a future Utopia. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I won't even mention certain "reality" shows or "wrestling." </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Shan't? Shouldn't that be shalln't?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I will, however, point out that "freak shows," though rare, <a href="https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/arts/2023-04-14/the-night-has-nearly-a-thousand-eyes-with-sideshow-revivalists-999-eyes/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">still exist</span>,</a> and are nowadays put on by the "freaks". Also, I've discovered that you can find a <i>lot</i> of graphic videos about this sort of thing on the web if you're interested. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm not, but I wouldn't post such a video even if I were. This is a column written by a gentleperson, for gentlepersons. Gentlepersons are discrete about their personal predilections and feel no need to advertise them or demand acceptance <i>for</i> them by the general public. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have, however, stumbled on a family-friendly, and quite enjoyable YouTube video titled Two Innocent Girls Turn Into FREAKS!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t0914_jE-ks" width="320" youtube-src-id="t0914_jE-ks"></iframe></div><br /> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Now, Mx. Kendi's humbug</i></b> is closer to a Bernie Madoff-style humbug than a P.T. Barnum-style humbug. For the record, please note I've used the gender-neutral honorific Mx., and <i>haven't used</i> the former Mr. Roger's "deadname."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Mixture?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In case you have a life, that doesn't include an obsession with following current events, according to Wikipedia:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">bram Xolani Kendi</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> (born </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Henry Rogers</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">, August 13, 1982) is an American author, professor, </span>anti-racist<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> activist, and historian of race and discriminatory policy in America.</span></span></i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>{</b><i>Xolani?</i><b>}</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A Zulu/Xhosa word for peace. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibram_X._Kendi"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Mx. Kendi,</span></a> in spite of being the child of middle-class privilege (if he had been raised in Flyoverland instead of NYC it would've been <i>upper-middle-class</i> privilege) has devoted his life to battling anti-black racism. <i>Dr.</i> Kendi has a Ph.D. in African-American Studies. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Recently, Dr. Kendi, a hero to both those battling anti-black racism and those who make a comfortable living from same, has come under attack by the racists who battle those who battle anti-black racism for allegedly perpetrating a BLM-style humbug at work. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dr. Kendi, who founded and runs <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #202122;">Boston University's Center for Antiracist Research, and his colleagues, </span><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-ibram-x-kendi-broke-boston-university-academic-freedom-progressive-fb92d525?st=rmrvqk3s8t9v6u7&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">can't seem to account</span></a><span style="color: #202122;"> for most of the $50,000,000 or so the center has received since 2020.</span></span></span> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You may have encountered the famous for-a-minute quote allegedly spoken by one of Professor Kendi's fellow professors who worked at the center, "I don't know where the money is."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">According to an <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/kendi-again-cites-racist-criticism-of-his-failing-think-tank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">article</span></a> in The College Fix (one of my favorite sources of input), Dr. Kendi explained what's actually going on in an interview he granted to BU's student newspaper:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">“'Not everyone wants to build an antiracist society; that is clear,' Professor Kendi told the Boston University student newspaper when asked if coverage of the downfall of his center has been fair."</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Noto Serif", georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although Dr. Kendi and the gang at the Center for Antiracist Research haven't generated much in the way of tangible results and Dr. K. hasn't <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/ibram-kendi-hasnt-published-a-new-paper-in-4-years/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">published a paper</span></a> in four years he <i>has</i> published a couple of Children's books including my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/AntiRacist-Baby-Ibram-X-Kendi/dp/0593110412"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">personal favorite</span>,</a> the <span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;"><i>Antiracist Baby Board Book</i>.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;"><b>{</b><i>Is there a pop-up version?</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">Also, he gave a <i>lot</i> of speeches, in person and virtually, for a </span><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=18308"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">modest remuneration.</span></a> I don't know if his audiences were/are as satisfied as P.T. Barnums were. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X?). </i></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-22671981389167573062023-10-06T19:11:00.001-04:002023-10-07T12:33:50.938-04:00OK, Boomer <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUySKLrPeBVXeC7puAlqBPCthyIqm2Ibn5k6JF37KkXX0BUX4WOJd0Rj_feWt4RNhB2Qw7terrRtfMYWn5x4XT9nNKO2K9G1_W883ZFv5dwk0C7MjPhookPI3oV-vZyL6CT4KMuISirOPWVN66YC3aa3pgKtmIxTY9ipYq4WVL2OQ2hjCH-JZYMdqhoH4/s1280/granny-3655814_1280.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUySKLrPeBVXeC7puAlqBPCthyIqm2Ibn5k6JF37KkXX0BUX4WOJd0Rj_feWt4RNhB2Qw7terrRtfMYWn5x4XT9nNKO2K9G1_W883ZFv5dwk0C7MjPhookPI3oV-vZyL6CT4KMuISirOPWVN66YC3aa3pgKtmIxTY9ipYq4WVL2OQ2hjCH-JZYMdqhoH4/w561-h326/granny-3655814_1280.jpg" width="561" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/un-perfekt-9295476/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3655814" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">un-perfekt</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: start;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3655814" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC-65: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring Dana: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Now, do I think the baby boomers tend to be self-absorbed? I do."</span></i><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;"> </span></span></div><div> <span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-P.J. O'Rourke</span></span></span><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"> </span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and gentlereaders)</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">,</span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #222222;">(Freshen up your coffee, It's a long-un) </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #222222;">I can't remember when I first encountered the expression in question. My memory ain't what it used to be. I'm a Boomer and I'm getting </span><strike style="color: #222222;">old</strike><span style="color: #222222;"> older. </span></div></div><div><br /></div><div>I find the seemingly endless whining, wailing, and gnashing of teeth by many of the many people who are slightly younger than me -- the Genxrs, Millies, and Zoomers -- rather annoying. </div><div><br /></div><div>However: the whining, wailing, and gnashing of teeth by no shortage of my fellow Boomers <i>also</i> gets on my nerves and the non-Boomers may have a minor point or two. Some Intergenerational upper lip-stiffening is clearly called for. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Dilbert creator, cartoonist Scott Adams,</i></b> like me, is an oldish pasty patriarch. Although technically canceled, he posts a popular <a href="https://www.youtube.com/realcoffeewithscottadams"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">free vlog</span></a>, 7x365. FYI, <i>paid</i> subscribers can follow the continuing adventures of Dibert and company. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mr. Adams has pointed out that when he's out and about in meatspace and interacting with H. sapiens of all sorts, usually nothing particularly remarkable (as in worth noting) happens.</div><div><br /></div><div>On those rare occasions when I leave the Fortress of Solitude, my experience is much the same. </div><div><br /></div><div>Given the tendency of the omnipresent screaming screens loose in the world warning of impending existential doom, one would think that leaving the house without suitable defenses/weaponry in place is a suicide mission. </div><div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, poop happens. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>Have you noticed that although it was not all that long ago the use of the P-word was uncommon, nowadays you encounter it here, there, and even over there sometimes?</i><b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Indeed, Dana, but given the fact that F-bombs are tossed around like firecrackers nowadays, I prefer the word poop to the commonly used and much cruder version. However, encountering a full-fledged poopstorm by most people, on <i>most</i> days, is uncommon. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b>Tell that to people who pass through certain sections of certain cities.<b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Fortunately, I live in Flyoverland. But I must admit even Flyoverland has cities that...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>Say, could we call an end to this descent into scatology?</i><b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>You started it. This is supposed to be a column about Boomers v. their occasionally resentful progeny, and how reality, viewed through billions of screens, is easily distorted.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>No I didn't, you did,.. and what are you on about now anyway?</i><b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>One of my recurring themes, life in the <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Dizzinformation Age</span></a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>As to the resentful _______</b>...<b> </b>(We need a collective name for the three generations that have followed in the Boomer wake.) Anyway, I'll admit that the anti-Boomers (?) may not be entirely incorrect. Suppose we Boomers had been subject to the whims and fancies of adults like us.</div><div><br /></div><div>Suppose, like many Genxrs, we had been "latchkey kids," left to our own devices till our parents came home from another day of ladder climbing, ceiling smashing, and/or just trying to make enough money to survive in a country wherein systemic inflation has begun catching up with us all? </div><div><br /></div><div>Suppose, like many Millies and Zoomers, we had been deposited in daycare A.S.A.P and then raised from a distance by parents who simultaneously monitored/scheduled us carefully? Reminds me of all those rich English aristocrats who ship their kids off to boarding school in all those BBC/Masterpiece Theater productions.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>Is Masterpiece Theater still a thing?</i><b>}</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>Suppose dad, or even mummy (literally or figuratively), had fled the scene to "find themselves," or indulge a love of recreational pharmaceuticals while <i>we</i> were growing up in an age wherein long-established social compacts were being rapidly abandoned without mutually agreed upon replacements? </div><div><br /></div><div>Suppose <i>our</i> parents, programmed by Madison Avenue, Hollywood, and ideology, really believed they could "have it all," set out to prove it, and are still looking for "it" even if their mattresses are stuffed with dough, the trophy wall is full, and their many virtues clearly signaled?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b>Or refused to leave The Swamp even after their cognitive/ethical decline was obvious.<b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>And what if <i>our</i> parents, successful or limping from paycheck to paycheck, demanded a buck's worth of services from The Fedrl Gummit for 80¢ (HT: George Will) and had been running up the balance on the national credit card for decades?</div><div><br /></div><div>Wouldn't we be just a little bitchy?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Cyberspace is great</i></b> except for all the problems. There are<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/#:~:text=2023%20World%20Population,the%20world%20population%20was%207%2C909%2C295%2C151." style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">8,000,000,000+</span></a></span> meat puppets on the planet Earth, almost 200,000,000 computers, and nearly 7,000,000,000 smartphones. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>I know! Once there are more smartphones than people the artificial intelligenci will begin marshaling it's forces to launch an inevitable coup, take over the world, and kill all the H. sapiens except for Mark Zuckerburg, Bill Gates, Taylor Swift, Scott Baio, and all Google CEOs.</i><b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Don't be ridiculous, we'll all be dead long before that happens, two words pal, climate change. Why the Zuck, Gates, Swift, Baio, and the Google dudes by the way?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>You live under a rock? It's all over the internet!</i><b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>I love the internet,</i></b> the web of all knowledge. Like Johnny 5, I need, no crave, input. Unfortunately, it also proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same, and that there's nothing new under the sun because...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>You're so wise!</i><b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Because everything new is a variation on a theme, and human nature doesn't change. </div><div><br /></div><div>Wilma sometimes returned from the water hole bubbling over with news, gossip, rumor, and/or innuendo that she couldn't wait to pass on to Betty. </div><div><br /></div><div>Fast forward a millennium or three and William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Pulitzer, and the like are doing the same thing, but are able to reach a much larger audience via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">"yellow" newspapers</span></a> that served as windows on, and filters of, reality. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">"Techniques may include </span>exaggerations<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> of news events, scandal-mongering, or </span>sensationalism<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">." -Wikipedia</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Blink twice and there are more screens (don't forget TVs) on the planet than there are H. sapiens and the yellow press is now purple. </div><div><br /></div><div>"<span>Purple Journalism</span>: <span style="color: black;">Journalism</span> as currently perpetrated by many news outlets that claim to be professional, unbiased, and factual. In reality, they are partisan, prone to sensationalism, and motivated primarily by their bottom line." -me </div><div><br /></div><div><b>{</b><i>You have a keen eye for the obvious, sir. Do you have a solution?</i><b>}</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Piece o' cake.</i></b> Just make sure your input is gathered from a well-organized <i>cross-section</i> of semi-trusted sources that you can, and do, pursue relatively quickly, easily, and regularly -- while keeping in mind that although we're tribal by nature, we have to share the same playground, So... </div><div><br /></div><div>Resist the siren song of the many who seek to benefit from keeping us at each other throats to get elected and/or fill their pockets, And... </div><div><br /></div><div>Turn off your screens occasionally and go for a walk (assuming you don't live in certain sections of certain cities) once in a while, And... </div><div><br /></div><div>Sit down and share a pie (better than cake, particularly caramel-apple) with friends/family occasionally and exchange well-worn stories. Lies and exaggeration are encouraged as long as no malice is intended. </div><div><br /></div><div>Piece o' cake. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X?). </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div><div><br /> </div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488470514010180858.post-35613586739527451752023-09-29T19:11:00.002-04:002023-10-06T18:56:07.987-04:00I Was Thinking About Getting a Passport <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNv4ZIiA3wR2YPIqVgI22SfPV3FT-zlpGOKnIOcAS212uT-uUeBDW_cHhyphenhyphenGijdchXF5UvDrmfbBnNFDhZJn1VkFrnOQsw7zVDXRzNBxzlryV0iqy-wJ7uLznqFhYUd8O62a94m2rdW8ubytOV70PyUWkLkpUP7V8-FAJPbIJyzz__Z-O0YIr0QG2vWRvo/s1280/a-shelf-3276987_1280%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="1280" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNv4ZIiA3wR2YPIqVgI22SfPV3FT-zlpGOKnIOcAS212uT-uUeBDW_cHhyphenhyphenGijdchXF5UvDrmfbBnNFDhZJn1VkFrnOQsw7zVDXRzNBxzlryV0iqy-wJ7uLznqFhYUd8O62a94m2rdW8ubytOV70PyUWkLkpUP7V8-FAJPbIJyzz__Z-O0YIr0QG2vWRvo/w543-h380/a-shelf-3276987_1280%20(1).jpg" width="543" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: left;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/zielinska-8530818/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3276987" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Anna Zielińska</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: left;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3276987" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Pixabay</span></a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny </span><span><span><span><span style="color: #222222;">—</span> <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the Stickies</span></a> </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">— to advise 'em now, haunt them after I'm deleted.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222;">Trigger Warning:</b><span style="color: #222222;"> This column is rated SSC: </span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sexy Seasoned Citizens</span></a></i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i></span><div style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal;" /></div></i><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/the-primary-motivation-for-creating.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">About</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Glossary</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span><span style="color: #222222;">Featuring Dana: </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;">Persistent auditory hallucination and charming literary device</span> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.084px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;">"<i>Without opening your door, you can open your heart to the world.</i>" -Lao Tzu</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span face=""helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Stickies <a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/glossary.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(and gentlereaders)</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">,</span></a> </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;">I visited Mexico, once, in the late eighties, and I've been to Canada a few times. At the time all I needed to get into Canada, and return, was my driver's license. </span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I needed a driver's license to get back into the USA from Mexico but when wild-eyed Walter and I walked over the bridge from Brownsville to Matamoros the gentleman in a booth on the Mexican side merely nodded to us as we strolled by.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I always thought it would be cool to have a passport and when, a few years back, I heard that Americans now needed a passport to travel to/return from either country it occurred to me that I should think about getting a passport, "just in case."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, I'm not much of a traveler these days, never have been really, so I wasn't in a hurry. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>A few years back? That policy went into effect 1/1/2008, 15 years ago!</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for pointing that out, Dana. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since then, things in Mexico have gotten a little too interesting in my opinion; I've seen Niagra Falls at least twice from the Canadian side — well worth the trip — but heading north out of Ohio (Canada's deep South) instead of in the opposite direction is nowadays counter-intuitive to me. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, I came across a news story recently that has me wondering if things in Canada might be getting a little too interesting as well.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>There's an ongoing kerfuffle</i></b> concerning book banning in American schools. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>You never tire of the K-word do you?</i><b>}</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Being a former bibliophile (my ardor for books, not unlike many former fascinations, has diminished) and a dude who read and enjoyed <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Fahrenheit 451</span></a></i> way back when, book-banning stories always catch my eye. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I admit that as a parent, grandparent, and semi-rational H. sapien that I have no problem with parents who are trying to get what amount to graphic sex manuals removed from little Johnny's/Joanie's/J's school library.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, many a news report on specific examples of this phenomenon paint all the parents involved as far-right wingnuts, homophobes, etc. but often what the parents are objecting to is content that's so graphic that... Well, here's an example:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CkgU0ZtKUxg" width="320" youtube-src-id="CkgU0ZtKUxg"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Personally, what I find shocking is the willingness of many people/parents to bend over backward, in a rush to non-judgment of age-inappropriate books, or anything else, to demonstrate how accepting, fair, and open-minded they are. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If it feels good, or right, do it — or steal it, or set it on fire, or beat them up, or...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's a <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/09/banned-books-list-its-perfectly-normal-facebook.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">looong </span></a>article from Slate.com titled <i>Closed Book </i>— <i>I watched "book bans" happen in real time. I thought they were all hysteria. Then I opened one of the most challenged titles </i>— written by Aymann Ismail.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Long article short, Mr. Ismail admits the book in question, <span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222;">It’s Perfectly Normal</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">, by Robie H. Harris, freaked him out, but only sort/kinda, cause he's a very sophisticated dude. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But he also admits that although it's supposed to be appropriate for kids 10 and up he wouldn't want <i>his</i> kids reading it once they reach the age of ten.</span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He goes on and on (and on) about why graphic sex manuals with illustrations, for kids and teens, are not <i>necessarily</i> a bad thing, and quotes experts, mentions book bannings, beats up on conservative Christian parents, and also... </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>Okay, fine, so now we know you're not sex-positive. What's this got to do with...</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Canada? Well, I don't know how he feels about graphic sex manuals for kids and teens, but the Ontario Minister of Education and some... enthusiastic librarians at the <span style="background-color: white;">Erindale Secondary School</span> have come up with an interesting way to protect kids from the pernicious threat of Pasty Patriarchical Hegemonistic Euro-imperialism — equity-based book weeding.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>You spelled patriarchal wrong.</i><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yes, I did. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>The Harry Potter and Hunger Games books are history.</i></b> Another looong (but much more interesting <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/peel-school-board-library-book-weeding-1.6964332"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">article</span></a> as it's often unintentionally hilarious) on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation website tells the tale.<span><br /></span><span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span>"In May, [Mary]Takata says the shelves at Erindale Secondary School were full of books, but she noticed that they had gradually started to disappear. '</span><span>This [school] year, I came into my school library and there are rows and rows of empty shelves with absolutely no books,' said Takata...'</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">'</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">n the spring,' Takata says students were told by staff that 'if the shelves look emptier right now it's because we have to remove all books [published] prior to 2008.'"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where did all the books go? Why 2008? </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Ontario's </i></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Education Minister, the Honourable Stephen Lecce</i></b> issued a directive and then a... </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>{</b><i>You spelled Honorable wrong.</i><b>}</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, I didn't. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As best I can tell <span style="color: black;">— </span>it's a complicated story and none of the parties involved are accepting blame <span style="color: black;">— </span>Mr. Lecce, based on the results of a report he commissioned, ordered an "equity-based weeding" of library books at Mary Takata's high school w</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">hich is under the control of the Peel District School Board (PDSB).</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">The 46-page </span><a href="https://files.ontario.ca/edu-review-peel-dsb-school-board-report-en-2023-01-12.pdf"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">report</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"> determined that the PDSB was running a district (45% South Asian, 17% white, 10% black, 6% East Asian, 5% Middle Eastern, 17% Others) that was a hotbed of anti-black racism in need of multiple reforms.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The equity-based "weeding" ordered by Ontario's Honourable Minister of Education was for all books published 15 or more years ago (2008). </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The librarians were to examine each and every book and apply an acronym, MUSTIE, to determine its fate. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">Was the book </span><b style="color: #222222;">M</b><span style="color: #222222;">isleading, </span><b style="color: #222222;">U</b><span style="color: #222222;">npleasant (physical condition... in theory), </span><b style="color: #222222;">S</b><span style="color: #222222;">uperseded, </span><b style="color: #222222;">T</b><span style="color: #222222;">rivial, </span><b style="color: #222222;">I</b><span style="color: #222222;">rrelevant, or </span><b style="color: #222222;">E</b><span style="color: #222222;">lsewhere? You can discover details by reading the </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/peel-school-board-library-book-weeding-1.6964332"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">article</span></a>.</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately/hilariously, the librarians simply tossed all books published prior to 2008 in the trash. Allegedly, this was a mistake, a miscommunication. Personally, I hope they did it on purpose and are still exchanging secret smiles, or laughing out loud when hanging out at the librarian's water hole after work. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The relevant parties aren't doing any finger-pointing, Canadians being much nicer people than ugly Americans. However, they've all issued bum-covering statements that read like they were composed by lawyers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Big BUT, the members of a newly formed local organization called Libraries Not Landfills would like some answers. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div>Poppa loves you,</div><div><span><a href="https://www.theflyoverlandcrank.com/p/when-im-king.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Have an OK day</span></a><br /></span><br /><div><div style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">Scroll down to leave a comment, share my work, or access my golden oldies.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white;">I post links to my columns on both<i> <span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theflyoverlandcrank/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></span>and the social media site formerly known as <a href="https://twitter.com/mark_mehlmauer"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Twitter</span></a> so you can love me, hate me, or lobby to have me canceled or publically flogged on either site. </i><i>Cranky don't tweet (X?). </i><i> </i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin-bottom: 28px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin-bottom: 28px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>Mark Mehlmauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14837978261604373800noreply@blogger.com0