Friday, January 12, 2024

The Curse of Questioning

 

The Curse of Questioning

   Questioning the truth of the propositions being daily proposed to you will put you at odds with many of the folks that surround you.  You will find yourself living in a different world.  This morning a breakfast experience pointed this out to me.  The milk bottle proudly displayed:

 

                                    “2% Milk*

                        * 37% Less Fat Than Whole Milk,

            2% Milkfat, Vitamins A&D, Grade A

                        Pasteurized, Homogenized”

 

   A question entered my mind when I read the above on the milk bottle.  “What is the fat content of whole milk?”  Apply a little algebra and the answer is: whole milk fat = x/.63, or 3%.  That is to say, “When one buys 2% milk they are reducing their fat consumption from 3% of the glass of milk to 2% of it (A one percent reduction in fat consumption).  I believe that “37% Less Fat Than Whole Milk” gives the reader a different image.  This is an example of the questioning curse.  Asking questions will put you in a different reality.

   Successful advertising makes great use of this lack of questioning mind set.  A perfect example (mentioned in a previous blog) is Liberty Mutual Auto Insurance.  A successful ad of theirs tells you that you can customize your coverage to fit your needs and what you can afford.  I started buying auto insurance in 1956 and have been able to customize my auto policy coverage from every company I have ever insured with.  It’s not a competitive advantage.  They all offer it.  We know that … and yet Liberty has run this ad consistently on TV for over a decade.  Someone must think it is quite an advantage.  You can fool a hell of a lot of people for a very long time.  When money rushes in … truth rushes out.

   One of my favorite examples of not questioning what you see is not questioning how those two buildings that fell on 9/11, in the manner that they did, without the aid of demolition.  You saw that they fell nearly as fast as a freely falling body and did not tip, but landed directly on their foot print.  Would the steel beams that support the structure have allowed that?   My first question in viewing that event was where are the beams?  The government answer is they melted.  My question from that answer is, if an aircraft can fly from Los Angeles to Hawaii burning the same fuel, yet not melting its engines (made of pretty much the same material as the beams) how the hell did the beams disappear?  And if melting of beams was involved, how could they have melted evenly on all sides of the buildings at the same moment thereby allowing the building not to tip during its fall, but land on their own footprint?  One building would be a miracle.  Two would be impossible.  A little research on the happening, not simply using reason, reveals that kerosene (jet fuel) burns at 1800 degrees and the beams melt at 2800 degrees.  The beams did melt.  Yet they had to; requiring modern demolition.  If you would like to see samples of modern demolition, watch the demolition of Trump Tower in Atlantic City or the demolition of the second half of the townhouse tower in Surfside, Florida.  They have the same signature of demolition as the Twin Towers.

   When you see one ex-football coach Senator hold up the promotion of over 300 military officers, do you question what rule of the Senate allows that?  When you see the majority leader of The Senate not allow any bill passed by the opposing party’s majority House (over 300 bills) not brought to the floor for discussion or a vote, do you wonder if our democracy is functioning.  Both houses of congress must pass a bill before it is signed into law.

  If you would like some alone time, question the prevalent world view.

Cheers, Old Buz          1/12/2024

Iambloggerbuz.blogspot.com

“He who knows all the answers has not considered all the questions.” – Confucius

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

"Presidential Immunity"

“Presidential Immunity”

   The Presidential Campaign for 2024 seems to be centering on Presidential Immunity.   Democracy seems to be secondary, but perhaps it is the basic issue.  The Ex-President, Donald Trump and his law team seem to be arguing that a president should not be held responsible for his illegal acts during or after his presidency.  The man Trump will run against in 2024, Joe Biden, would argue that a President is responsible for his acts in office and that the Legal Branch of the government is responsible for judging the legality of those acts.  Which position would best guide the Nation forward?  Only Hope will protect the Nation if Trump is elected.  I would rather rely on logic and history.

   Mr. Trump stated in 2015 that a “star” such as him could grab a woman by her private parts, if he found her appealing, and that he could shoot a person on 5th Avenue, with impunity.  He demonstrated this attitude throughout his time in office and beyond.  It is his guiding light.  He said yesterday that a depression in our economy before the 2024 election would help his campaign.  It is true, but what will it do for you?  Are you going to vote for your and your neighbor’s benefit or for the benefit of Donald Trump?  That has always been the question.

   Mr. Biden has a history of favoring large dollar interests.  That is the guiding force of Our Government as well.  When as a senator he argued against Harvard professor, Elizabeth Warren, Joe was on the Bank’s Team and Elizabeth sided with The People.  Senator Biden won that Senate vote and later Senator Warren lost a Presidential Primary against Biden, while withdrawing from the election and throwing her support to Biden.  Gold Rules!  This putting dollars ahead of people is a small amount helpful to people (you).  But Trump’s philosophy of “Me First” (Presidential Immunity) is only possibly advantageous to you if you are a criminal.

   That is why Biden will win the independent vote.  Those folks are not locked in.  Hopefully their vote will be based on history, reason and a realistic view of the future.  The independent vote hopefully will carry the election.  The independents are a large (about a third of the electorate) and growing group.  They are fueled in their independence by the childish partisan acts of elected officials.  Joe Biden is not the perfect candidate.  His guiding stars are the economy and its people.  Joe is too old for the job.  Donald Trump is not the perfect candidate either.  His sole guiding star is Donald Trump.  His star isn’t very bright and he is also too old for the job.  Biden has empathy.  Trump is a pompous ass.  Who are you going to vote for?

   In the previous post I quoted Albert Einstein saying in satire, “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe.”  If Trump wins in November, Einstein has something there and perhaps a democracy is not the best way to govern.

Cheers, Old Buz           January 9th, 2024

Iambloggerbuz.blogspot.com

 

“It is far easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled.”     

     - Mark Twain