Thursday, December 27, 2018

My Heroes

Well ‘heroes’ might be the wrong word…
these are people I greatly respect for their accomplishments.


People who helped explain the world around us:

Carlo Rovelli (b1956 - )
Books: “Seven Brief Lessons on Physics”, etc.

Einstein (b1879 - d1955)

James Maxwell (b1831 - d1879)

Michael Faraday (b1791 - d1867)

Lucretius (b99 - d55 BCE)
Wrote the poem “On The Nature Of Things” that stirred the beginning of the Renaissance when rediscovered in 16th Century

Epicurus (b341 - d270 BCE)
Created Epicureanism: Living a good life believing in science rather than gods

Democritus (b460 - d370 BCE)
First person to postulate the existence of the atom


People who corrected the misconceptions many of us had:

Jared Diamond (b1937 - )
Books: “Guns, Germs and Steel” and “Collapse”

Richard Elliott Friedman (b1946 - )
Book: “Who Wrote the Bible?”

Jorgen Randers (b 1945 - )
Book: “2052 - A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years"


People who helped level the playing field between the rulers and those they want to rule:

M.L. King, Jr. (b1929 - d1968)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (b1933 - )


People who helped us face the severe racial inequities in America:

Ijeoma Oluo (b~1980)
Book: "Mediocre, The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America"


People who did things I wish I had done:

Neal and Linda Goldstein (b~1947)
Sold their house and traveled around the world smelling the roses from 2015-2020


People we thought were good, but were not:

William Cody (Buffalo Bill) (b1846 - d1917)
Killed thousands of buffalos for sport, and killed and scalped native Americans to gain notoriety.
See Ch. 1 in this book:


People brave enough to publicly question what most people believe:

Richard Dawkins (b1941 - )

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Daniel C. Dennett (b1942 - )

Christopher Hitchens (b1949 - d2011)

"Your religion, you may believe, came into existence when its fundamental truth was revealed by God to somebody, who then passed it along to others. It flourishes today because you and the others of your faith know that it is the truth, and God has blessed you and encouraged you to keep the faith. 
But why do all the other religions exist? If those people are just wrong, why don't their creeds crumble?"


Thursday, December 6, 2018

GOP in WI, MI and NC Show Their True Colors

The GOP loved democracy when people voted for them, but when the people vote for Democrats, Republicans become UnAmerican.

GOP in Wisconsin think they know better than the people:

GOP in NC blatantly steal mail-in ballots:
Note: The GOP candidate in NC (Mark Harris), who supported the stealing of mail-in ballots, is a pastor. What hypocrisy!

Want more… how about the GOP in Michigan:


Make no mistake, this is not a case of “well, both parties do it”...
In 2010, 2014 and 2016 when DEMs lost elections big time, there were never any allegations they tried to subvert the will of the people and vote for petty power grabs during lame duck sessions. And the DEMs have never tried to restrict voting in GOP leaning districts. There is a disease among the GOP causing them to believe the will of the people, and even the Constitution, is not to be respected. I’m quite sure the Trump impact has been the catalyst to most of this, but the virus has been lurking beneath the surface for a long time.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Are We Headed for an American Civil War II?

Leading up to the Civil War, Southerners were doing such onerous things to people, they became the enemy. Southerners believed only white people were worthy, and the majority of Americans, who disagreed with them, went to war to stop their unAmerican actions. 

The North won and ended the unAmerican practices of the South. But did the North eradicate the sickness… or just subdue it? Would anyone be surprised that the majority of Trump supporters wish the South had won the Civil War?

Today Trump supporters believe only white people who think the way they do are worthy. If you are gay, you are evil. If you are not white and Christian, you are not really an American. And all scientists are part of a liberal conspiracy to lie about things that are not supported by the Bible. These beliefs by Trump supporters are resulting in laws that are unAmerican… they have become the enemy.

The majority of Americans do not believe these stupid things (as shown by the vote count of the 2016 election). If this majority cannot defeat the enemy by electing a huge majority of American-value representatives, then I fear Civil War II is on the horizon. Americans cannot allow the enemy to usurp America and twist it into another autocratic country. If necessary, we must, and will, fight. 

Trump supporters are generally delusional. Among their delusions is the thought the Second Amendment will save them if it comes to a fight. But the truth is that the Second Amendment works for all Americans. And there are more of us than them.

We are at a point where the country hopefully will elect a President in 2020, or 2024 or perhaps even as late as 2028 who has the will of Abraham Lincoln. Who sees the enemy for the evil they are and will fight to defeat them. And this time, we must eradicate them so our great great grandchildren will not have to fight an American Civil War III.