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Lessons from History - Democracy

"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time" - Winston Churchill I am currently reading biographies on each of the US Presidents. I'm only on Madison, but I've learned some incredible insights into the dysfunctions of our government. Since the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1777, politicians and the wealthy have been constantly undermining justice, equality, and the idea that they should prioritize the good of the nation above all else. The disgraces of current politicians are nothing new and have been part of US political culture since our country's founding. For example, the southern states refused to adopt the constitution unless it counted enslaved people at 3/5 of a person for the purposes of having more ele

Nefarious Conspiracy Theory

Tommy Tuberville was famous for being the head football coach at  Auburn University. He used this "creditability" to somehow become a US Senator.    Currently, he is singlehandedly  holding up the confirmation of over 300  senior  military  officers in a protest over abortion. This " unprecedented campaign to try to change Pentagon abortion policy by holding up hundreds of military nominations and promotions, forcing less experienced leaders into top jobs and raising concerns at the Pentagon about military readiness.  Senators in both parties have pushed back on Tuberville’s blockade, but Tuberville is dug in. He says he won’t drop the holds unless majority Democrats allow a vote on the [abortion] policy." He is also a person who, while a US Senator,  denied white nationalists are inherently racist. First of all, it is insane that one person could hold up these confirmations. To make things worse, it has nothing to do with the actual officers, but an abortion polic

Should we be happy?

If you are literally right next to a child who is starving to death, and you do nothing, are you morally justified to enjoy life? Could you enjoy a TV show, play basketball, shop (or whatever you do that provides joy)? What is that child is in the next room? What if that starving child is in your community, but a mile away? What if that child is across the world? At what point is it ok to do nothing and think you are entitled to enjoy your life? Why does physical distance proportionally relate to what our moral obligations should be? At what point does the suffering of others overwhelm your own ability to be happy. If you are happy or unhappy, it won't help that child, so why not enjoy life (or is that wrong). What if you do a little to help (which is more than most people), is that enough? Do we need to completely dedicate oneself to helping those who are suffering in order to earn the right to be justifiably happy?  How often should we talk about these things? Should it be part o

The Constitution and Justice

When the Supreme Court rules, they often struggle to understand the depth and meanings in some of the words or phrases in the Constitution. However, the Founders provided very clear language as to what they were trying to accomplish from a vision standpoint. Although not the law, the Preamble provides critical guidance that should be the first reference for any court ruling. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Specifically, the word "Justice". It is the very first thing they wanted to establish. Justice should be the defining feature of any law, and anything that increase injustice should be unconstitutional. The very first question at any Supreme Court hearing should always be

Disney v DeSantis

It is odd that progressives may be on the side of  a company like Disney, a huge corporation that always puts profits above everything else. Before Trump, Republicans were very friendly with large corporations, who in return lavished their candidates with campaign donations. Trump, and now other Conservatives, realized they could make corporations the enemy (as well as everyone else) and increase their donations by peddling to their core supporters. This change inevitably led to a clash, with the most high-profiled case being Disney vs DeSantis. I'm not going into the story of why or how this happened, but to say that Disney is going to win. They are smarter, have more money, more resources, better lawyers, better public relations, and can look at the big picture. They will do whatever it takes to crush their opposition (and prevent future opposition), even if it means closing Disney World and building a new one in a more friendly state (Disney is built new theme parks all around t

Dominion-Fox Settlement

In 2020, Fox News decided that their ratings would be higher if they kept pumping out information that the Presidential Election was stolen, including, unproven conspiracy theories, like the voting machines were unreliable. This is giving Fox the benefit of the doubt that it was only about rating and money, and not straight out treason to undermine and overturn a completely legitimate election. Now, Dominion Voting is rightfully suing Fox for destroying their reputation in a field that one's reputation means everything. They are asking for $1.6 billion. I looked back and Dominion Voting is not that big of a company and only had earning of $120 million a year.  So is this lawsuit about getting to the truth or getting money for Dominion Voting? If Fox News offers them enough money, will they just go away, or is it about something more (like the trust people have in our elections). If they settle, will Dominion require Fox to admit they were wrong and have all of their "news"

AI

The very first, interactive AI in here. The start of a revolution that will have enduring, exciting, life-changing, and a fantastic impact on our future. And how do we react as a culture? We try to break it, just unendingly try to purposefully confuse it into doing something ridiculous or self-serving. Well, at least that is what almost every single media story about this technology is about. There is nothing about people asking the AI for genuine information or help with something and getting a quick and accurate result. Did the Jetsons try to convince Rosey to take sides with the Nazis just because they wanted to see if it was possible? Was it this behavior that led Skynet to turn against us?  We hold a precious technology in our hands and it truly does reveal more about humanity than itself. I wonder what we are teaching AI about us and it will take from our actions?

What if? North Korea Edition

 Dear World, My people are starving due to the sanctions that "Western" countries have unilaterally placed on our country. We have done nothing wrong. We seek to protect ourselves from nuclear attacks, with a viable counter-attack, just as many countries in the world due (including those countries who (hypocritically) have their own nukes, but won't let others have the same weapons of defense). How can the US says we can't have nuclear weapons, but they have thousands and remain the only country to actually use them. The "Western" countries criticize that we a country led by one person with total power; however, they are fine dealing with dozens of other countries with the same political structure, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Egypt (just to name a few). I must feed my people and therefore am giving the world an ultimatum. Lift all sanctions within 60 days or we will sell a nuclear weapon to the highest bidder. We will cont