"Selling Drones, The World Over"

The Obama administration is amending its regulations for weapons sales to allow the export of armed military drones to responsible, “friendly nations and allies.”  Truth is: we will always sell any weapon to any nation that has the money.  We are in the arms business.  Olin Industries (Winchester) sold cartridges to the Italian army when we were at war with them in the 40s.  We sold and supplied arms to a terrorist rebel force in Afghanistan, who were attacking Russian troops.  We cared not how they treated women or that they believed in Sharia Law.  Bin Laden was a hero then.  Today that “friend” is called the Taliban or al-Qaeda.  My point is, “friendly nations and allies” change with time.  Japan and Germany are another good example of the principle of enemies in time.  Iraq was a friendly nation, until they frightened the Saudis.  Our government takes orders from oil rich Saudi Arabia. Please try not to mix moral values or the common good with the business of arms sales or our oil industry’s needs.

How does our nation responsibly use drones?  We bomb in nations that we aren’t actually at war with, such as Pakistan.  We bomb the homes of “suspected” terrorists.  To hell with collateral damage.  Criminal justice and international law are not really an issue.  We will sell these military drones to other nations along with a set of rules for their usage.  Rules that we ourselves do not adhere to.  When another country has purchased drones from us, as the rightful owner, they will determine how and when the drones are used.

Drones are not a bad thing.  When I was growing up in the 40s and 50s, they were called RC (radio controlled) model airplanes.  The nerd next door had one and I would go to watch him fly it.  The nerds of today have cell phones, as do the rest of the humanoids.  The German Luftwaffe had a different use for RC airplanes at the time; they used them as winged bombs, for targeting Allied ships.  Radio Control has been with us for some time.  Nikola “Tesla” (a brand name on some rich folk’s cars) demonstrated a remote control boat in 1898.   In a better day, during the 1930’s, the Good brothers, Bill and Walt, pioneered RC models for hobby use.  I guess you could conclude that Good intentions are often put to destructive use.  Drones will be used for killing in future wars, by all nations, whether we export them today or not.  We will simply make a buck and save our present friends some R&D expenditure.  So, “Let the Good times roll.”

Comments are welcome, Old Buz 

"SNL Feed: AZ Gov. Doug Ducey"

For many years now, the Arizona Governor and the Arizona Legislature that he or she leads, has been a great potential source of material for Saturday Night Live.  The humorous buffoonery supplied by George Bush, Jr. has been nicely replaced by the antics of the Arizona Ultra-Right, which controls Arizona government.  Governor Doug Ducey has started his term in office with the same type of hilarity as his recent predecessors.  Recently, he has done away with his office’s visitor log.  Our newspaper quoted him as saying, at a recent news conference, “Our review said that those logs were incomplete and inaccurate.  So we didn’t want to present something that was incomplete and inaccurate.”  The Governor’s response to the problem was not to improve the accuracy of the log, but to get rid of it.  A Ducey spokesman said, “No logs mean a savings on paperwork and better efficiency for the office.”  A better punch line could not be written.  You Arizona folks can kiss your transparency in government goodbye.  Doug’s corporate sponsors’ visits to the governor’s office will go unnoticed by you.  Probably the simple majority of Arizonans will like it that way.

   

When I go for an annual wellness visit at my doctor’s office, I have to sign in on the log.  The secretary greets me at the desk, marks me in on her computer calendar.  The doctor’s assistant calls me in and takes my blood pressure, my pulse and my height, each of which she records in my file.  The doctor then sees me and asks a myriad of questions, which he duly records in my file.  Each visit involves a HICFA form to be sent to my health insurance carrier.  You don’t see the doctor, without signing in on the visitor’s log.  “So what?” you might say.  Well, all that I am saying here is that something as unimportant as my annual check-up is pretty well documented, including my signed admission that I was there, but if the CEO of a coal fired power supplier or their lobbyist visits our Governor, “it is very expensive and exhausting” to record those visits.  The governors who preceded Doug Ducey were able to do it, with much less technology at their fingertips.  In the interest of transparency, I believe that our governor should walk the extra mile.  I don’t mean to limit his freewheeling capitalist spirit.

Our Arizona public schools normally fall in about the 48^th position in the state ratings for educational excellence.  The Governor might see the system as “incomplete and inaccurate”.   I would hope that Gov. Ducey would not see the solution to the state’s education problems solved by ending public schools.  Doug Ducey has served as a board member of the Arizona State Charter School Board.  Hopefully, as an ultra-conservative, he doesn’t see excellent education only for the children of the wealthy as a “savings on paperwork and better efficiency” for the state, versus a better education for all.   Doug Ducey, in the private sector, has been a bright and effective manager.  Let us hope that he is able to come out of the conservative fog and stop the State of Arizona from supplying material to Saturday Night Live. 

  

  Comments are welcome, Old Buz

"NRA: Any Gun, Any One, Anywhere"

The National Rifle Association’s mission, in our Nation today, is just that:  “any firearm, in anyone’s hands (sane, violent criminal or not), to be taken anywhere” would equal Freedom in America.  The people who run the NRA are not insane; they are owned and guided by the dollars of munitions manufacturers.  The NRA functions just as our government does.  When the battle lines are drawn between the common good and large dollar interests, it is the power of money that always wins the day.  It isn’t just your elected representatives that are owned and ruled by large corporate dollars.  The appointed U.S. Supreme Court is also (example: Citizens United Decision).

“Two years ago last week, President Obama ordered the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to get back to studying the causes of gun violence.”  - The Washington Post.  This order was issued by Obama in response to the massacre of children at Sandy Hook Elementary.  Congress responded to the order by not funding the research, due in no small part to NRA influence.  I’m not sure that I would support such a study myself.  You can easily predict the study’s outcome.  It will show a bell curve of the American population.    A couple of standard deviations to the right of this violent population, will be the mass murderers, who would like to shoot up large numbers of innocent students and at their tip, the few who actually do so.  At the center, or top of the curve, is the simple majority (you and me).  We enjoy violent video games, violent TV series, violent films and read the stories in our newspapers of our Storm Troopers of The American Empire vanquishing “the others or the terrorists” in lands far, far away.  We each own one or more deadly weapons.  On the left of the curve, are a tiny number of pacifists (these are the people who think), they don’t belong here in America any more than the psychopathic killers on the far right side do.  The right and left indications mentioned are not political beliefs; they are positions represented on a bell chart.  The Political Right might tend to align with the NRA, but that is a topic for another day (you dumb-ass Ultra- Right-Wingers need not take offence).

In today’s paper, there is also an editorial written by Fareed Zakaria in which he quotes Andrew Bacevich, military historian, in pointing out that before Syria, Washington had already launched interventions in 13 countries in the Islamic World since 1980.  Zakaria wonders if one more intervention, into Syria, will really do the trick of stopping terrorism.  You do wonder if the U.S. interventions aren’t part of the cause rather than the cure.  There seems at least to be a positive correlation.  The munitions manufacturers and the NRA would certainly not like to see the killing stop.  Can’t make any money if that happens.  That concept is our Nation’s true moral guide.  God Bless America’s Corporations.

Comments are welcome, Old Buz

"Religion, The Mother of Satire"

The first woman, who liked to play around and told her gullible husband that his new born son was the child of The Sun God, was a pioneer in religious thought.  When Mr. Gullible told a friend, an early Satirist, of the blessed event, the Satirist said, “Why don’t you name him Sunny, after his Father?”  This joke wouldn’t have gotten the Satirist a writer’s job on late night TV, but it invented that form of Satire.  A modern day example would be the bumper sticker that says, “Honk, if you love Jesus.  Text, if you want to meet Him.”   You see, the form is the same.  Start with a stupid statement, like the use of a warning signal to show that you love a myth and then show how absurd it is by adding a thought that is even dumber, by advising texting while driving.

It has long been popular to murder folks for not believing in your mythology of choice.  The churches have supported it, from the stoning deaths depicted in The Old Testament to the Jihad of the Koran.  We people of the Bible, in the U.S., just murdered over one hundred thousand innocents in Iraq.  No creditable reason has been offered for the “mistake.”  Being a Satirist, I am still looking for the punch line for that one.   Do you have any suggestions?

The great Satirists of our time, like Lewis Black, George Carlin, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, are not listened to by the Ultra-Right.  The Ultra-Right simply doesn’t see the humor in the Satirist’s humor.  T-shirts and bumper stickers might be a better vehicle to reach them with, but the same problem in communication would exist.  I saw a t-shirt the other day that said, “When you stop saying stupid things, I will stop answering you with satire.”  This would be the view of a pompous ass, that is, your average Satirist.  God Bless the pompous asses.  If joy is the goal in life, a study of the lives of Satirists will show you that satire is not the path to take.  Being a religious gullible is a much better path to happiness.  That is, unless you are a radical Islamist martyr.  Their world has little room for humor in it, as was shown recently in Paris.  If you can’t laugh at religion, what besides government is there to laugh at?  … War?

This blog spot is really written to my fellow People of Satire.  If you Satirists are reading this, remember to respect and be kind to your Mother.

Comments are welcome, Old Buz The Satirist

(The term “Satire” is capitalized in the text, because I believe it becomes a religion to its frequent user.)

"Packing in Fry's Market"

I was at a gun violence prevention meeting today, discussing a posting of “No Firearms in Premises” when a member of the group raised the question, "Should I approach a person packing a gun in a supermarket and ask them why they have it with them?"  This is my written answer to her question:  It obviously would create an awkward moment and they may well respond that it is none of your business.  No matter how tactfully you ask the question, they may feel that you are not entitled to a response.  Most who wear an exposed, holstered gun are not aggressive, but there are exceptions.  As you know, there are dogs that you don't want to walk up to and pet, especially if you don't know them.  I like dogs and have only had two try to bite me, out of hundreds petted.

When I was a Harley-Davidson dealer, I had contact with many gun carrying customers.  They were a large percentage of my patrons.  It was generally very easy for me to ask your question and I did ask it, because it interested me, just as it does you.  A Harley rider is in church when in a Harley store and I was the minister there.  The question was easy for me to lead up to.  We first discussed the motorcycle that they were looking at, and then I would make a knowledgeable comment about the handgun that they were carrying.  As I have mentioned, in the “One Shot” post, collecting guns and target shooting are hobbies of mine.  The most common gun being carried by a Harley owner is a Colt Military .45, semi-automatic.  This is a classic military handgun used by the U.S. forces in the First and Second World Wars.  Out of the many times that I discussed the motives behind packing with my customers, only once in ten years did it lead to a mild confrontation and the guy didn't shoot me.  We did step outside and I would admit equal responsibility for the confrontation.  It was mild. No profanity used.

Most of the customers implied that they carried a gun because of fear.  They didn't come right out and say that, but their reasons given fell into that category.  The gun is also part of a uniform for the hard core biker.  He puts it on just as he puts on his black Harley T-shirt, his leather jacket, his knife, and his wallet and chain.  A quality handgun and holster, is a status symbol, just as his motorcycle is.  To understand this you would have to compare it to a large diamond on a woman's hand or a man driving a Porsche.  We are talking about different and unique social circles here, but they are very real icons to each group.  You or I may not care to drive around in an old beat up car.  But any car will get you there.  Women wearing Berkas, on a hot day in Southern Arizona, seem crazy to me, but I don't need to ask them why they wear it.  The guns aren't as simple.  There are many reasons possible for wearing one, but don’t ask.

A six foot, six inch tall customer, weighing well over 300 pounds came into the store with a little .22 caliber pistol on his hip.  I asked him why a big man, like himself, carried such a small weapon.  He was as much of a force, without the gun.  His answer was, "It draws heat."  I didn't understand the answer, so he further explained that he enjoyed being stopped by the police and being hassled.  He liked to banter with them.  Some folks are lonesome.

The funniest response I ever got to the question of why carry, was, "You would be surprised how many violent people there are out there."  The man was wearing a large gun and a long knife.  His answer, while funny, was actually a short form of the most popular reason.  They are afraid to walk this Earth without a sidearm.  In my decade at the Harley store, only one of my customers murdered someone.  It happened at a drug and booze party.  In the Harley store he was always sober and a very pleasant person.  Perhaps Fry's Market shouldn't sell liquor.  Wait a minute!  Haven’t we tried that?

Comments are welcome, Old Buz

Curmudgeons Anonymous

There is a bright new movement, being born in Arizona (of all places), called “Curmudgeons Anonymous”.  You will start to notice the members, around the world, wearing their member T-shirts, reading, “A proud member of Curmudgeons Anonymous.”  A curmudgeon is normally defined as a white, elderly male, unhappy with his world and the direction that he sees it going, but not prone to do anything constructive about it.  We are second only to the United States Congress, as a group of elderly white males, sworn to accomplish nothing.

The T-shirts will be available in red, for conservative members.  Blue, for the liberals.  Green, for the tree huggers and gray to identify associate members.  The gray T-shirted, non-voting, associates are either politically undecided, or men of color.  As you can see, we don’t exclude any male, over 65 and retired who spends a good percentage of their waking hours complaining.  We will also allow associate membership to someone who is employed, if along with their application they will include a letter from their employer, stating that they are an elderly disgruntled employee.  Any member of the group is allowed to take individual action, politically or otherwise, against anything, but doing so with your Curmudgeons Anonymous T-shirt on, or in unison with any other member or members, is strictly forbidden.  Elderly men of religion (the gullible) are offered full membership, with voting rights.  How is that for being open-minded?  Voting rights are not all that important, as the group takes no action.

You will be seeing Curmudgeons Anonymous discussion groups whining around the world, in coffee shops or bars and library meeting rooms.  We will be complaining about anything and everything, including our individual health and the doctors that we are forced to endure.

The membership fee is $10 for full members and $12 for associate members.  The fee is required as often as you feel that you need a new T-shirt.  The membership does include a new Beefy Tee shirt, with the group logo on the front and nothing on the back.  Please don’t send cash, stamps, a check, a credit card authorization, until the T-shirts are ready.  I’ll let you know when they are and where to send the payment.  For you young men who would like to join the organization, sorry, but at least you now have something to look forward to as you grow older and less effective.

Cheers, Old Buz, Founder and Chairman of Curmudgeons Anonymous  

"Uber-Capitalism"

The United States of America has entered into the era of Uber-Capitalism.  What does this mean?  It means that large dollar interests control the nation.  And we, the gullible, like it that way.  The most obvious sign of Uber-Capitalism taking control is capitalism moving from being controlled by the government to being in control of the government.  This is simply accomplished by allowing unlimited, corporate, unidentified funds to be “donated” to political campaigns to aid them in covering the skyrocketing costs of advertising required to be competitive in an election.  These giant funds may be unidentified to you the voter, but the candidate is well aware of the sources and their influence is absolute.  So….what do you care?  Well, it affects your quality of life, your cost of living, your health and your rate of taxation.  Otherwise, you are little affected. 

Let’s start with quality of life.  When corporations release pollutants into the air you breathe or the water you drink, the limit of pollutants is set by government agencies.  These agencies are controlled by your elected representatives and these representatives are controlled by large corporate dollars.  It is more cost effective in the short run to pollute rather than clean their waste.  If there is a cleanup down the road, it is done with taxpayers’ dollars.    No corporation ever gave a dime to a politician out of the goodness of its heart.  It wouldn’t be fair to their stockholders.  No, they expect returns from those “donations”.  They are seen as a wise investment and surely they are that.  What about energy production?  We don’t have to use coal and natural gas to degrade air quality.  We could use clean renewables like solar, wind and waves.  Someday we will.  But, we could develop these power grids very quickly with the funds we give to munition manufacturers to supply our endless wars of choice.  To switch to clean renewable energy is an attack on the corporations supplying our coal and natural gas.  Are you in one of the states where users of solar roof panels are taxed for trying to clean their air and the air of their neighbors?

A simple example of your cost of living being affected by large dollars can be seen in large sudden increases in the cost of gasoline at the pumps.  Most often these jumps in price are not brought about by the cost of crude oil, but by a gambling institution called the oil futures market.  Recently these very wealthy gamblers cost you over a dollar a gallon, at the pumps.  You working folks bought their yachts.  Each time you fill your tank, you are making a political donation.   Are you good with that?

How about healthcare cost?  We just experienced legislation that gives us “Affordable” Health Care.  The large health insurance companies, through their large political donations, pretty much wrote the law.  Don’t blame Obama.  All politicians are on the corporate teat.  The first clear sign of this you saw was the disappearance of “The Government Option” for health insurance.  It would have competed with corporate healthcare, if it were not controlled by corporate healthcare.  The second thing you might have noticed is that single payer AmeriCare was never considered.  Most of the other nations of the world with universal healthcare, have some form of single payer (government sponsored) healthcare.  Your healthcare is given for profit, not for your health.

“Taxation without representation” is the way of Uber-Capitalism.  The examples are endless, but the cause is that large dollar influence on tax law is much more powerful than your influence on tax law.  You can’t blame them; they are only trying to protect and grow their estates.  A simple example of money influence on taxation is “Capital Gains Treatment of Income”.  This treatment of income allows the taxation of the sale of property, sale of stocks, dividend income to be taxed at a much lower rate than income earned from fighting fires or loading trucks.  A friend of mine, who once worked for Price-Waterhouse, as a CPA, told me that, “Only those who work pay taxes.”  Does that mean that those who work pay more than their fair share?  Ever wonder why renters get no tax break, while homeowners get a deduction for the interest paid on their mortgage loan (usually most of the payment), as does the landlord of the rented residence they occupy?  It is all the same game, but it was made official by the recent Citizens United decision of your Supreme Court.  You belong to The United States of Uber-Capitalism.  We don’t need any new anthems.  The old ones will suffice.

Does any of this need fixing?  Superman is dead.  He fell off of a horse, was paralyzed and later died.  The job of saving the World is now yours.  “There is only time to iron your cape…..then, back to the sky.”

Comments are welcome, Old Buz