I’ve Still Not Found #45’s One Thing

There may be a hundred things you know about a person — all of them bad.  But there may be just one thing you don’t know, which if you did know, would completely change your opinion.
—     Robert H. Lauren
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On This Day In:
2020	Listening To A #IncompetentDonald COVID-19 Press Briefing
2019	I Am Doubtful
	Future Justice Looks Corporate
2018	True Measures
2017	Hoping For Tapes
	In It Now
2016	On Viewing This Mudball
2015	It Takes A Village
2014	In God’s Eyes
2013	We Root For Ourselves
2012	Like A Shark
2011	Discernible Virtue

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We Like To Believe So, Anyway

Today knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement.
—    Peter Drucker
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On This Day In:
2020	I’m Older Now
2019	Why #45 (#LazyDonald) Was Destined To Be A Failed Presidency
2018	Easter In Liverpool
	Star Guides To Destiny
	Growl
2017	Decisions
2016	Along The Path
2015	Make Mine Rare, Please
2014	Passion Flooding
2013	On Purpose
2012	Sans Gall Bladder, Day 4
	How Did You Spend Your Day?
2011	It’s Hammerin’ Time!!
	Convenient Auxiliaries

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Allowing For Compromise

As long as the differences and diversities of mankind exist, democracy must allow for compromise, for accommodation, and for the recognition of differences.
—    Eugene McCarthy
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On This Day In:
2020	Why #LyingDonald Hurts The US
2019	Blow Between Your Ears
2018	Thinking Ahead
2017	I’d Like To Try
2016	Or Blog (And Bound)
2015	Welcome The Virtuous
2014	Closing The Gap?
2013	On Parenting
2012	What Knowledge Is
2011	The Indefinite Accumulation Of Property

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Thinking About Faux News

Could be worse.  Not sure how, but it could be.
—    Eeyore
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On This Day In:
2020	First Place
	Perseverance
2019	Insha’Allaha Bukra
	No More Tears (Or Fog)
	Too Busy Thinking About My Baby
2018	Lost Time
2017	Are You Talking To Me?
2016	Here, Desire Is Purified
2015	Hopefully Just Visiting
2014	Fond Memory?
2013	Distress, Hope, Trust
2012	Creating Interlocking Fragility
2011	Four Stories And A Gospel
	What Have You Burned Lately?

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Our Identity Crisis Continues

“If in fact Biden wins, it’s still the case that an openly bigoted aspiring authoritarian not only won the presidency but captured the complete loyalty of one of two major political parties, and — but for a once-in-a-century pandemic — he might have been re-elected,” says Ian Bassin, co-founder of Protect Democracy, a non-partisan legal group.  “If that doesn’t tell you that something is completely rotten in the foundations of our democracy, I don’t know what would.”
The story of American politics in the 21st century has been one of escalating polarization and gridlock, a nihilistic feedback loop that has made the country all but impossible to lead.  For years, a chaos-ridden nation has waited to deliver its verdict on Trump’s unorthodox presidency.  But this is 2020 — the year when up was down and real was fake, the year of the plague, the year of the unexpected:  of course it would not be that easy.  Both sides hoped for a knockout blow, a landslide that would forever settle the question of which version of America is the true one.  Instead, our identity crisis continues.
—    Molly Ball
From her article:  “Long Division“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine, dtd:  16 November 2020
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On This Day In:
2020	In Need Of Concerted Action
2019	Anything / Everything
2018	Touching A Nerve
	Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
	I Have Realities In My Past
2017	Did I See You In Chapter 13?
2016	As I Recall
2015	Less And More Irritation
2014	That Marvelous Feeling
2013	Exceptional
2012	A Wild And Crazy Believer
2011	A Lack Of Scarcity
	The Joy Of Prevention

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Republican Congressional Leadership Continues The Big Lie

Anyone who has proclaimed violence his method inexorably must choose lying as his principle.
—    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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On This Day In:
2020	Cut To The Chase
	Fun Fog
2019	True Piety
2018	I Would, Too (A music-video for all)
2017	100th Day (of the Trump Presidency)
	Both Unlucky
2016	Or Blog
2015	Stretched Today?
2014	Outta Here
2013	Getting Words Right
2012	There’s A New Dog In Town
	Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is
2011	A Conservative Is…

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We Need Professional Journalists AND The First Amendment

The smarter the journalists are, the better off society is.  For to a degree, people read the press to inform themselves – and the better the teacher, the better the student body.
—    Warren Buffett
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On This Day In:
2020	Neither Alone, Nor Lonely
	Giving
2019	That’s Why It’s Called Faith
2018	So We Agree, #45 Is Dumb – Too
2017	The Morality Of Spying
2016	He Doesn’t Remind Me Of Me
	The First Rule
2015	Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow
	The Man Without Fear
2014	I Blame Robocop
2013	Future Trustees
2012	Praise Not The Day…
2011	Educated Living

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Clear Global Standards

The low cost of generic drugs makes them essential to global public health.  But if those bargain drugs are of low quality, they do more harm than good.  For years, politicians, regulators and aid workers have focused on ensuring access to these drugs.  Going forward, they must place equal value on quality, through an exacting program of unannounced inspections, routine testing of drugs already on the market and strict legal enforcement against companies manufacturing subpar medicine.  One model is the airline industry, which through international laws and treaties, has established clear global standards for aviation safety.
Without something similar for safe and effective drugs, the twin forces of subpar medicine and growing drug resistance will be so destructive that developed countries won’t be able to ignore them.  As Elizabeth Pisani, an epidemiologist who has studied drug quality in Indonesia, put it, “The fact is, pathogens know no borders.”
—   Katherine Eban
From her article: “The Worldwide Threat Of Generic Drugs“
Appearing in Time Magazine, dtd: 3 June 2019
The article also appears online at:  https://time.com/5590602/generic-drugs-quality-risk/
[I personally subscribe to the hard copy of Time Magazine.  This quote is being offered without permission or authorization.  I make no claim of ownership or authorship.  I am receiving no compensation from the author or the magazine for posting this quote.  I found the article interesting and am simply offering the quote for your consideration.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Life’s Mysteries
2019	I Doubt I Ever Will
2018	Who Will Thank (If Not Remember) Me
2017	Reinforced Learning
2016	I Choose To Believe
2015	What They Don’t Teach You At School
2014	Still Trying To Die (5)
2013	Honest Doubt
2012	Choice
2011	Ownership Of Thought

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Rational Response

Democracy relies on an informed and engaged public responding in rational ways to the real-life facts and challenges before us.  But a growing number of Americans are untethered from that.  “They’re not on the same epistemological grounding, they’re not living in the same worlds,” says Whitney Phillips, a professor at Syracuse who studies online disinformation.  “You cannot have a functioning democracy when people are not at the very least occupying the same solar system.”
—    Charlotte Alter
From her article:  “Down The Rabbit Hole“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine, dtd:  21/28 September 2020
Also appearing online at:  https://time.com/5887437/conspiracy-theories-2020-election/
Under the title:  “How Conspiracy Theories Are Shaping the 2020 Election—and Shaking the Foundation of American Democracy“
[I am currently a paid subscriber to “Time Magazine“.  This quote appears without permission or authorization.  I do not (and have not) received any compensation for posting this quote from either the author or the magazine.  I am not claiming any ownership of the quote, nor am I promoting the purchase of the magazine.  It’s merely something I read and found interesting – so, I’m passing it along to anyone who reads this blog post.    —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	A Different Premise
2019	Can Too
2018	To Get Strength
	Drip, Drip, Drip
2017	Bricolage Art
2016	Just A Shame
2015	Treasures Of The Mind
2014	Not Quite Exceeded Reach
2013	Who’s Side?
2012	Why I Joined The Army And Not The Navy…
2011	Is It Your Turn Yet?
	Just Trippin’

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There’s Still No Voter Fraud

The evil we use violence against to protect ourselves from is far less evil than the evil we do to ourselves by using violence.
—    Leo Tolstoy
[Let’s be clear…  There is NO evidence of widespread or organized voter fraud in the United States.  The laws being passed to “protect” voting in Georgia, Texas, Michigan, etc., are intended to reduce voter turnout by American citizens – specifically by the young, the poor and people of color because these groups are increasing in number and are “tending” / trending to vote Democratic.  These laws are being passed because the Republicans understand / believe they no longer have policies which the majority of American voters support.  The Republican party would rather deny their fellow citizens the opportunity to vote than change their policies to promote the general welfare and thereby regain the popular support of the American voter.    —   KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Another Reason #DonTheCon Continues To Lie About The Pandemic
	A Receptive Push
2019	I’m Still Struggling To Rise
2018	Once Suddenly Free
2017	What Is Childlike
2016	The Latter A Lot Quicker Than The Former
2015	Notes On My Nightstand
2014	Generations
2013	Two For One
2012	Seen And Heard
2011	The Hazards And Vicissitudes Of Life

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The Cautionary Tale Of 6 January 2021

Violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence.
—     Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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On This Day In:
2020	65K
	Burst Buds
	Faux News Viewers
2019	Tomorrow’s Bread
2018	Impeach 45: Make America Great Again
2017	Training Shoulders
2016	You Just Have To Care
	Day 4 – Blending
2015	My Slow Education
2014	Great Service
2013	You Really Should Wear More Sweaters
	Here I Am God
2012	The Serenity Prayer
2011	The Victory Of Life

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Republican Governors Don’t Help

What keeps the world from reverting to the Neanderthal with each generation is the continuing, ongoing mythos…  the huge body of common knowledge that unites our minds as cells are united in the body of man…
—    Robert M. Pirsig
[I’m looking at you Texas and Mississippi…  How many “extra” / more have to die before you tell your folks to wear masks?    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	With Friends Like This…
2019	Still Better Than Third
2018	A Tough Row To Hoe
2017	Just In Case
2016	Republicans Eat Their Young
2015	Still 99%
2014	Affirming The Wall
2013	Maintain The Freedom
2012	All Good
2011	Fountains Of Life
	Staying Alive

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Right Up Until Armed Insurrectionists Attack Congress

Be patient with the belligerence of the simple-minded.  It’s not easy to understand that one doesn’t understand.
—   Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
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On This Day In:
2020	Sometimes Human Nature Stays The Same
2019	Sometimes Too Subtle
2018	A Lot Like Teaching
2017	Wake Up
2016	I Like Dreaming
2015	Importance
2014	Unearned Humility
2013	Science Is Trial And Error
2012	Franklin’s Creed
2011	First Steps
2010	Home Ill…

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So How Should We Persuade The Dangerous?

Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.  One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force.  Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease.  Against stupidity we are defenseless.  Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental.  In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack.  For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one.  Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.
―    Dietrich Bonhoeffer
From his book:  “Letters and Papers from Prison“
[I’m not saying one side has more stupid voters / supporters than the other.  I am saying one side is prouder of being less educated, less informed and more stupid than the other.  And they voted for the candidate (#IncompetentDonald) who said he loves the poorly educated (“because we’re the smartest”).  Hence we have the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021.    —   KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Maybe More Than A Very Few
2019	Missing Failure
2018	Praise God
2017	Necessary Gaps
2016	Nor My Dogs
2015	Say What?
	I’m A Dog, Too!
	Beginnings
2014	Astonishing Choices
2013	Three Hard Tasks
2012	The Only Remains
2011	Personal Capability
	What Price Failure?
	Both Of W’s Elections
	Tea (Baggers) Anyone?

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How Many Democracy Loving Conservatives Are In The Senate?

To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.
—   Mahatma Gandhi
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On This Day In:
2020	Love And Charity
2019	Tomorrow Is Valentine’s Day
	Inverted U Curve
2018	Still More Prejudice
	A Well Trod Path Of Hopes, Expectations And Surprise
2017	…And With It Civilization
2016	Just Like My Mother
2015	All Omissions Are Mine
2014	Precise Order
2013	Uh, No. Not Really…
	Deep Regions
2012	A Pre-Valentine’s Day Message
2011	Easy Like Sunday Morning
	May I Have A Little More, Please…
2010	Valleys and Peaks

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