Monday, March 18, 2024

Right to life hypocrisy.

Trump says some migrants are "not people."

That coming from the presumed leader of a party that claims to uphold the sanctity of all human life.

About his warning of "bloodbath," it looks like a campaign staffer is trying to imply that it's a prediction of economic problems, in US auto industry, given imported cars from Mexico. The rhetoric has become way too hostile.

Did he mean that US auto industry could be decimated? He was speaking in front of auto workers in Ohio.

Looks like he wants to cut off imports from Mexico potentially harming Mexico's economy. Then he wants to keep job seekers, from Mexico, out of the US as if he doesn't care about people's suffering.

Another news item talks about Florida's GOP Governor De Santos sending troops to the Florida Keys to keep out the possibility of helping desperate migrants if they flee Haiti.

Gee, maybe there are too many people in the world so human life just can't be held as sacred; if it's going to get in the way of our greed.

Obviously, I think there are better ways to cope with the situation than Republican ideas. More birth control is a strategy for dealing with too many children, but we, as well as the whole world, should also be able to accommodate people in better ways.

Good relations with Mexico is another strategy toward dealing with issues. More sharing of wealth is a strategy. Figuring out how to create a more sustainable world and combat human tendencies toward tribalism, religious nationalism, greed and violence is a strategy. Humans ought to do better.

Each time he puts his foot in his mouth, I hope it looses him votes.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Biden is less like a dangerous cult leader than Trump.

We had our primary vote in Washington State last Tuesday. I put in my vote for Biden even though he's the presumed winner, but figured it could add a little push toward November general election when he isn't necessarily the presumed winner.

On a local talk show, someone called describing both candidates as like ancient smoking steam engines, but he thought the Republicans were more captivated by Trump while Democrats are less captivated. He was thinking, maybe Biden might step aside, but I called and thought, Biden is still better without necessarily stepping aside. Biden has more modesty to remind us, hopefully, that the president isn't the whole story. Trump is more like a cult leader.

With Biden, there is more of a sense of the big picture which goes beyond just one person.

There's the team that's the administration. There's Congress. There's a lot to government at the national and local levels. Ultimately I still believe the power rests with the American people. How we vote for Congress, local leaders, the president and so forth.

How we shop drives the power of markets and is a big part of shaping what pencils out for business. How we participate in our communities, how we treat one another and how we treat the environment is mostly what determines the fate of our country. Yes, I am still kind of an idealist as opposed to being totally cynical.

Monday, March 11, 2024

November's vote may be a test of Washington State's resolve to address it's carbon emissions.

Low gas prices and reducing carbon emissions are contradictory goals.

In November, there will be an initiative, on Washington State ballots, to repeal the cap and trade system that was passed by the legislature. Cap and trade has been accused, in the media, of making gasoline more expensive, in Washington, than surrounding states. November's vote may be a test of our state's resolve to address it's carbon emissions.

I tend to favor a simple carbon tax instead of cap and trade, but cap and trade is better than nothing.

Carbon taxing does tend to be regressive taxing, but my solution to that problem is to try and reduce dependency on automobiles for transportation. Public transit is more efficient, though admittedly not available in many areas. Public transit is subsidized by taxes and it is something that the cap and trade, or tax revenue could go to.

Using public transit also reduces the need for another big expense with automobiles; the rising cost of car insurance. I'm still amazed that the bus fare to Mount Vernon, from Bellingham, is only $2 general, $1 senior on the County Connector buses.

Growth versus limits for protecting the environment.

Ever since my childhood in the 1960s, I have thought that we are living in a world where population and economic growth keeps bumping into the limits imposed by concern for protecting the environment.

This seems to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest defining issue of modern times.

Should Ukraine try negotiation as Pope Francis recently suggested?

It's hard to know what the best strategy is for dealing with anger and violence in the world. Pope Francis has suggested Ukraine should strive to negotiate, versus continuing to fight to the bitter end. Others feel that this would be like the attempts at appeasement with the Nazis before World War II.

No one knows how history will judge any strategy tried. What will be the outcome? There are too many variables to predict. Violence and I also put most anger into the category of unfortunate aspects of humanity.

Some will say peace is the best strategy, but what if one is attacked? Is fighting back a better strategy to protect one's safety? What if one is the victim of violent crime or warfare?

Sometimes it might be better to fight back. Our officers of the peace; police, do usually have to carry guns. These aren't easy questions to answer.

Yes, striving toward non violence could be appeasement, who knows. Hindsight is better than foresight. We can look back on World War II and draw analogies to how that turned out. There's still some debate over what the best strategy would have been for dealing with that situation. Going forward it's even harder to know.

I think sometimes one does have to use force. On the other hand, maybe Ukraine should try and negotiate a peace short of trying to take back all the occupied territories; such as Crimea; for now at least. In the long run things could change for the better in Russia. At some point there will be a post Putin era, but who knows what the future will bring.

I don't have an ideal answer to these questions. I think our human propensity to violence creates situations where there is often no good answer. I think we do have to look at ourselves and try to figure out why humans are so prone to violence and I include anger as well. These problems persist all over the world and it seems like there is more and more warfare in various parts of the world; Sudan, Haiti, Israel/Gaza to name a few places in the news.

I also have to keep reminding myself that much of the world, if not most of the world, is still at peace.

Wednesday, March 06, 2024

Exxon CEO blames public for failure to fix climate change.

In the news I read; Exxon CEO blames public for failure to fix climate change. It looks like something I would say. I tend to blame consumption on consumers though I realize both producers and consumers share blame.

Have oil companies exacerbated the problem, or have they just been passive suppliers for consumer demand?

A big factor, not mentioned in the articles I saw, is the role played by politics; especially the role played by the Republican Party driven by populism. Climate change denial is still very strong among the public at the grass roots level. This is capitalized on by politicians, such as Donald Trump, who oppose measures to address climate change.

This political push doesn't necessarily come from corporations, but from politicians who rally populist segments of the public. Often the rallying members of the public are less educated about science than even corporate executives who may recognize the climate problem, while being inconvenienced by it.

I'll admit one can't totally blame average individuals for fossil fuel consumption as individuals are embedded in an economy that runs on fossil fuels. Still changes can be made with things like transit planning, zoning, carbon taxes, research, subsidies and so forth to move us toward reducing carbon emissions, but there is a lot of pushback, about these needed changes from voters and the politicians they elect. Part of that could be caused by voter apathy as who votes determines who wins.

I also think part of the problem is most people don't see the big picture. There isn't consensus around a vision for how all these things need to change together ranging from consumer behavior to technology to the way our landscapes are zoned and planned.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

People have to change before politics can change.

Eroding support for Biden on the left could be enough to put Trump back in the Whitehouse. I plan to vote for Biden if that's the choice in November.

Democratic politicians walk a tightrope when they get in office with much of the US electorate leaning right wing. Possibly the majority still resides in the middle or left, but politicians also have to deal with our materialistic culture as well. Policies that stand in the way of consumerism usually don't fly.

My personal life tends to be somewhat detached from mainstream culture and I do think things could be a lot different, if most people lived like me. However, politicians have to work with the general public which includes folks on the right. As for folks in the middle and left, politicians still find they have to keep the current economy, that people are familiar with, going; this current economy, fossil fuels and all.

Radical solutions get people nervous if they fear they will loose what prosperity they have, or they can't make ends meet. The changes moderate politicians propose may not be enough, but it's the best they can do given the circumstances; unless our culture really makes big changes in technology and lifestyles at the grass roots level.

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Biden still much better than what looks like what's going to be the alternative again.

It seems very foolish to blame Biden for the excesses of Netanyahu's military campaign in Gaza. Maybe Biden could call for a ceasefire and threaten to withhold military aid, but I think Netanyahu would just go ahead and do what he is doing anyway.

Meanwhile, many Republicans, backed by Trump, would be more apt to fully support Netanyahu. Republicans have an aid bill, in the House, with military aid for Israel while removing aid for Ukraine.

Biden is calling for restraint in that war but our country may not have much say in what other countries do; in the short run at least. I would guess that Israel has plenty of weapons without us.

I think it's terrible what Hamas has done, but the rightwing government, in Israel, can overreact.

Meanwhile, here in this country, many American Jews and others are critical of the right wing politics within Israel. Unfortunately some on the left, in this country, are taking their anger out on Jewish people. Left wing opposition would be better directed at some of the Christian Right which is more backing of Netanyahu's politics in Israel.

In pretty much every situation, anger tends to be misdirected and does more harm than good. Anger could bring Trump back to the Whitehouse.

Friday, February 16, 2024

Some Republicans want a more draconian bill than the compromise.

According to many Democrats, Republicans, in the House, sank the bipartisan border bill so Trump could use border problems as campaign talking points.

Republicans have a different take. They will say the border bill was sank because it wasn't tight enough. I would replace the word tight with draconian. Many Republicans want to, basically, close the border and send folks seeking asylum back to their dangerous countries of origin while turning a blind eye on human suffering.

Many Republicans would wish to round up undocumented folks to deport them, or place them in concentration camps. They advocate more draconian policies.

It is true that growing population and the worldwide migration crisis does overwhelm existing infrastructure in the countries that people are trying to migrate to. This situation does tend to fuel right wing politics around the world, including here in USA.

Monday, February 12, 2024

Instead of waiting 30 more years for high speed rail, lets improve regular speed rail and bus service.

I've read a sponsored link from Microsoft and Seattle Times advocating high speed rail between Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR. It says trains could be running by 2050; possibly too late to benefit me in this lifetime; maybe if there's reincarnation.

Meanwhile, if speed wasn't such a prerequisite, we can already go to Mount Vernon, from Bellingham for $2 on the County Connector bus that runs quite frequently. We can go on to Everett, via County Connector and then connect to many destinations in Seattle area.

We could use more frequent train service, besides only one per day, going from Seattle to Spokane that gets into Spokane around 2 am. More train service to Spokane could be provided within the next few years as rail lines already exist.

Train service could be brought back from Seattle to Yakima and Tri Cities on already existing rails.

We could use more frequent rail service between Bellingham and Seattle, but much of that route is only single track and right of way is congested. Meanwhile Amtrak is running electric buses, on I-5, for more service between Bellingham and Seattle, so I hear. The lower carbon future could be closer than we think.

Maybe we could even do both, but the high speed rail would need new right of way and so forth. Stuff that could take decades to finance and do.

Below: A double track line over Stampede Pass near I-90, east of Seattle, that's not super busy. Could do more to link Seattle to points east.

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Without compromise, government becomes one party dictatorship.

It seems to me that logical thinking would imply that legislation has to be a compromise. The other alternative is one party dictatorial rule.

Newt Gingrich, recently wrote that the Republicans should not deal with the Democrats at all. He thinks they should just deal with the American people. Problem with his logic is that the American people are divided as well. There are at least as many hard core liberals as hard core conservatives.

I think most people are more in the middle with almost equal numbers of minority opinion on either the extreme right or the extreme left. That means that if government comes from either extreme right or extreme left it must become a one party dictatorship. Otherwise it does have to be somewhat of a compromise.

Compromise tends to maintain the status quo, which, I know, some folks feel is unsustainable. Folks on the left might feel it's unsustainable due to climate change, for instance. On the right, folks feel it's unsustainable due to the growing federal debt or increasing numbers of folks immigrating to USA.

Still, the status quo is what supports the lifestyles of most people. Revolutionary, or catastrophic change would be more like a dictatorship.

Incremental change and at least some spirit of compromise seems to be what works best.

Biden is only slightly older than Trump, but Biden has better policies and a better team behind him.

Both Biden and Trump are up there in the years and subject to gaffs. Who isn't subject to gaffs? It looks like the choice will be between Biden and Trump again and I agree with Biden's policies more.

In Biden's case, he has a better team behind him; including Democrats in Congress.

If you really want a clown show, besides Trump himself, just look at Republicans in the US House of Representatives.

Friday, February 09, 2024

Some thoughts about various grocery shopping experiences in Bellingham and beyond.

If more people rode bicycles, it would look different than this. In the background, the serine view of mountains in Canada.

Recent news, in Bellingham, that Bellingham Food Coop employees have voted in favor of unionizing brings up some of my thinking about the grocery business.

Coops are a different structure than corporations, but all businesses are effected by similar economics. Large corporations often offer lower price due to the reality called "economy of scale." I still go to the Downtown Food Coop due to other factors besides just the lowest price which is often associated with economy of scale. Other virtues, such as being in a location safely accessible by bicycle matters to me and the price difference doesn't seem that much.

I get ready to eat salads at the in store Coop deli. There, I often find folks I know who share good conversation.

Large outfits, such as Fred Myer, owned by Kroger, or Winco, said to be owned by it's employees, have economy of scale and are said to offer low prices. I've almost never set foot in Winco, due to it's unfriendly location for bicycling. That whole area is kind of a traffic nightmare.

There is also a branch of the Coop in that part of town, but I usually go to the downtown Coop. The northside Coop isn't as convenient for me, but it's location is still better than Winco, traffic wise, in my opinion.

Pictured above is the Costco which is popular among progressives, but also lots of cars. One needs to have a Costco membership that I haven't gotten. Being single and living in a studio apartment, I don't need pallot loads of toilet paper.

Whether it's a corporation, or not, economy of scale relates mostly to numbers and size. Corporations aren't necessarily worse, in my opinion, than other arrangements. It's mostly about the people who are there and the overall experience.

From what I read, the Coop management has been okay with the decision of employees to unionize. Another workplace, Starbucks, is also in the news as more resistant to it's employee union efforts.

From what I gather, Starbucks started out as a small alternative favored by progressive minded folks in Seattle, but it grew into being a big corporation. I often think it's not so much the structure of the organization that matters. To me it's more about the people who are there and how they are running things.

It's also about the values we all have; what matters most? Is it traffic nightmare or bicycle / pedestrian access. Friendly conversation or the absolute lowest price.

With rent being my biggest expense each month, I may not notice saving a few cents on price. I save more money by just not owning a car.

The virtues, I value, are not always things brought by economy of scale, but I understand some of that economics and that's part of the reason why I think, just getting rid of corporations will not solve all our problems. That's just the structure of the organizations, but the way we all live and what we value matters the most.

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Too many people can be a cause for dread, or a cause for celebration.

Pictured is a climate awareness event I went to at Peace Arch Park on the US Canadian border a few years back.

What one does, when waiting in line, can determine whether there are too many people or not.

One time as I was at the US border crossing and the line was long. I thought, "oh no, a long boring wait," but then someone, in line, saw my bicycle helmet and ask where I'd ridden from. We got into a very nice conversation. It wasn't cars, but pedestrians waiting inside the customs building.

Pretty soon, almost too soon, the wait was over and the conversation ended as we went our separate ways.

Monday, January 29, 2024

Does the smartphone reduce people's freedom from being on call 24/7?

I think not. It depends on how it's used.

I never liked using the phone that much in the era of the landline. Being a bit shy I was afraid I'd call someone at a bad time. Back then, I preferred to write letters and put them in the mail. I also favored face to face conversation.

Today, I have a smartphone, but it doesn't ring often as my connection to people tends to be through things like Facebook posts that aren't necessarily dealt with immediately. My phone doesn't ring often and notifications can be turned off.

I don't have to be "on call" all the time as my life tends to not have those kind of responsibilities. Sometimes I forget to bring my phone with me when I go out.

Ironically, I'm getting to like the phone more these days as voicemail and texting helps me get around my initial shyness. Voicemail means I can leave a message without bothering folks at a bad time.

My friends and me tend to text before we call. I often do engage in long phone conversations after being in touch by text and knowing the conversation is welcome.

I'm a deep thinker so when I do have conversations, they are often in depth and somewhat long winded.

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Much of leftist politics is about getting closer to even, wealth wise. I'm more about sustainable living and other values beyond just economic wealth.

I tend to lean to the left, but in many ways I'm not typical of leftist politics (as I see it). Much of leftist politics is about striving for a more fair distribution of wealth; getting even, or at least getting closer to even. Getting even has several related connotations, in some cases aggressive like "I'm going to get even."

Yes, I'm for a more fair distribution including being pro graduated taxes, but my focus is on sustainable living. My focus is more on things that provide for health, sanity and a sustainable environment.

Wealth, as defined by economics, is not always a good thing so just trying to get even with folks who have more wealth is less relevant to me.

Yes, we need enough to survive, but I'm okay if there are people who have more. In some cases, I realize that people, who own businesses, farms and so forth, may need a lot more as the wealth is the business; so to speak. For instance wealth is often the buildings and things that the business uses to serve the public.

My main interest is promoting what I think of as quality of life. I know that is harder, than dollar bills, to measure objectively, but that is still my focus.

Things like quality of relationships with friends, neighbors and community matter to me. Things like the ability to contribute to a better world and low stress are things that matter to me. Enjoying life matters to me as well. Not having a lot of resentment matters as well.

Monday, January 22, 2024

At the Texas border

There's debate in the news between Texas and the US government over who should be in charge of patrolling the border.

Aside from the legal issues, there's also this ethical question. When Texas authorities were controlling that section of the border where those people drowned, did they just let the drowning happen and not try to save the lives of folks they don't want in this country anyway?

Saturday, January 20, 2024

More chaos from both the left and the right if there is another Trump Presidency.

Donald Trump goes from campaign victory, among Republicans in Iowa, to being on trial in Federal Court where he talks back to the judge and almost gets ordered out of the courtroom.

This scenario; a product of the rebellious streak in American culture. There's a rebelliousness against bosses, the system, bureaucrats, or whatever. This can lead to innovation, but it can also lead to lawlessness. I fear that another Trump Presidency could embolden more lawlessness and chaos from both the left and the right.

Interesting to note that Republican candidate Nikki Haley has similar fears about potential chaos from another Trump presidency.

Remember, even the Chop Zone in Seattle happened during Trump's watch.

People forget that the Chop Zone in Seattle and much of the unrest against police happened during the Trump Presidency; 2020. Biden is more into de escalating the situation. Trump antagonized people on purpose and they pushed back. Things do seem to be a bit calmer today. I fear that if Trump were back in office, both the left and the right would rise up in anger and most of us would be caught in the middle.

Walking the walk if you talk the talk. Even lots of conservatives will respect that.

I have noticed, over the years, that some people, who call themselves conservatives, still like my lifestyle of voluntary simplicity, bicycling and so forth. They say, "if it's your choice, more power to you." They tend to not want government imposing this on people. They tend to stress personal responsibility. I feel that I can build a bridge toward some conservatives, at least. Useful in the case of swing voters for sure.

This relates to my idea that people's personal choices, in the marketplace, are big drivers in how society turns out. I tend to blame corporations and institutions much less than many other other liberals do.

I know that corporations aren't totally without blame. It's a vicious cycle, but I do think people, in mass, do have power. People often follow consumerism like sheep. Advertising, laws and the layout of society does have it's influence. As for advertising, I don't watch much TV or go to many movies. I'm out of touch with much of pop culture.

Quite a few conservatives think that most liberals just want a handout and then many oppressed folks will just squander what they have on drugs, aggressive behavior and crime.

I know it's all quite complicated and there is no one answer, but I do see connections between the concept of personal responsibility and building bridges to the wider public; including at least some of the folks who call themselves conservative.

I just thought of a sound byte. "birth control is better than genocide."

I just thought of a sound byte. "birth control is better than genocide."

Another thought about various countries. "Societies that accept diversity are better for the world than societies that so many people are trying to flee from."

Population growth, immigration versus infrastructure.

I recently heard on the radio a good take on the immigration issue from some Canadian economists. They talked about a "population trap." A big question is whether we are building enough housing and infrastructure for people and how much are we using; size of housing, automobile dependency and so forth.

Here in USA, we cloud the issue as the right wing demonizes immigrants themselves while the left wing cries racism. We tend to ignore the logistics of making it work.

Is housing affordable? How are we handling traffic or are we better off relying more on public transit? Are there too many people, versus what we can provide for them as well as ourselves, or does the new human energy, from immigrants, help us develop the infrastructure we need?

Much of it is about planning.

In Canada, there is lots of land, but still the infrastructure is even smaller than ours. 400,000 new folks new moved to Canada last year plus 800,000 temporary student visas; nearly twice the flow from past decades. That's a big number trying to be absorbed into a country with smaller population than USA.

In some cases, cutting back on student visas means universities might go broke so there is that issue also.

In some cases homeowners benefit if home prices skyrocket, but renters and new homebuyers suffer; people divided. This is mostly my own thinking not all from the show.

Both USA and especially Canada have land, but indigenous cultures like to preserve their ways of life; especially in Canada. That often requires lower population densities for fishing, hunting and so forth; not to mention mainstream culture preserving a car based society needing room, in developed areas, for parking.

Add to this the fact that much of the rest of the world is becoming unlivable due to authoritarian governments and theocracies so lots of folks are knocking on the doors of our countries.

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Wishful thinking for the new year.

It would be great if big transformational changes could start happening in lifestyles and society in the new year. If we could end the gridlock and start making the changes we need to usher in a better world. We need to implement technological changes, lifestyle changes, changes in politics and business to address climate change and so forth. I can only dream.

Countries like USA and Canada are like lifeboats to folks seeking amnesty. How many can be rescued before the lifeboat sinks?

I got to thinking that the immigration issue is like USA, Canada, Europe and so forth are life boats in an ocean. Some people are drowning, in that ocean, due to totalitarian governments, gangs, poverty, climate change and so forth.

How many people can we rescue before our lifeboat sinks? A question with no definite answer.

If we had twice as many people, in USA, as we do now, we would still only have half as many people as live in India today. We now have around 335 million. Twice that would be 700 million and double that again would get to the 1 billion 400 million population of India; now the world's most populated country.

India has surpassed China in population and has less land area than USA or China. Most people seem like they are at least surviving and maybe even thriving in India. I don't hear as much trouble, from India, as I do from some other countries.

Still we likely couldn't accommodate that many people given the circumstances of USA; lifestyles, expectations of wealth, infrastructure, housing, traffic, water use and so forth.

If batteries for electric cars are a problem, we need less cars. More electric trolleys run from the overhead wire with no need for the battery.

Some people say that electric cars are just as bad, if not worse, than fossil fuel cars due to things like chemicals, mining and manufacturing. If that's the case, I would say we have to reduce the use of private cars altogether. Go to more walking, bicycling and public transit.

On the other hand, I think that electric cars are much better than fossil fuel cars. I wonder what motivates so much pushback against electric cars? Is it conservatives who just want to play the devil's advocate? As much of society is pushing toward electrification, there will be naysayers.

On the other hand, I do think there are big problems with a society so dependent on automobiles. Electrification does present some logistical challenges. Some of the worry about chemicals and batteries may have merit even though there are ways to address these issues.

People often say that reducing automobile dependency is impractical. I think we need to make changes on many fronts. Electrification and reducing automobile dependency.

If we listen to the naysayers, I guess there is nothing we can do.

If the battery is a big problem, we already have a solution. The trolley buses, in Seattle and other cities run directly from the power grid through overhead wires; no need for the onboard battery.

It's another argument for denser development to make transit lines more viable, plus smaller residences would cut down on heating and air conditioning demand as well as material consumption; no place to store too much junk at home.

Private cars might even be able to run on a system of trolley wires, or even getting their electricity from the road itself. If the battery is even that big of a problem, there are solutions, but we do need big changes in the way we plan our living arrangements.