Update from the Heartland
No.818
28.8.17 – 3.9.17
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To
all,
Erratum: I should have learned
the lessen months ago. Apparently,
my eMail server does not appreciate imbedded images, which results in my
messages with imbedded photographs appearing as blank messages to recipients on
the distribution list. Last week’s
Update included my eclipse travelogue with imbedded images for those who may be
interested in such things; please see Update no.817 (August 2017) listed under
Blog Archive in the column to the left, under my book list. My apologies for the hiccup.
The follow-up news items:
-- It was a busy week for the DPRK with the U.S. seemingly
preoccupied with the consequences of Hurricane Harvey. The DPRK fired a Hwasong-12 ballistic
missile over Hokkaido, Japan, into the Pacific Ocean. Then, a 6.3 magnitude seismic event signaled a probable
nuclear event. The DPRK claimed
they tested a hydrogen bomb underground.
Whatever it was, the event was several times larger than previous
similar events [252, 389, 583, 733]. Whether it was a fusion weapon is not
certain beyond the regime’s claim.
I am not certain that it really matters other than if true it suggests
advancing technical capability in the hermit regime.
-- Hurricane Harvey [817]
made first landfall near Rockport, Texas, and then stalled over the
region. The storm meandered a bit,
made its way back into the Gulf of Mexico to gain some strength, and made a
second landfall just west of Cameron, Louisiana. For five straight days, the storm pumped mountains of water
into the Texas Gulf Coast with one location (Cedar Bayou) recording 52 inches
(132 centimeters) of rainfall in those five days – more than the average annual
rainfall (49 inches). The flooding
in Houston and Beaumont overshadowed the devastating wind damage around
Rockport. Harvey may well become
the most expensive storm in U.S. history, set all kinds of records, and will
take years to recover from the effect.
Comments and contributions from Update no.816:
From
a third party contributor:
“Without using meaningless stereotype labels, just what the [expletive deleted] is a ‘white
supremacist’ in the first place?”
Followed by comment
from a frequent contributor:
“I find that a fair question .
“Let me leave us with a meaningful quotation:
"The mental
infection known as political correctness is one of the most dangerous
intellectual afflictions ever to attack mankind. It appeals to
pseudo-intellectuals everywhere, since it evokes the strong streak of cowardice
notable among those wielding academic authority nowadays. Any empty-headed
student with a powerful voice can claim someone (never specified) will be hurt
by a hitherto harmless term, object or activity and be reasonably assured that
the dons and professors in charge will show a white feather and do as the
student demands. To a great extent PC is the revenge of the resentful
underdog."
--Paul Johnson
My reply:
OK;
I’ll bite.
As
I have written many times, I am no fan of political correctness, as we witness
in practical application. The
arbitrary interpretation of words commonly referred to as political correctness
is perhaps the greatest threat to freedom of speech we have yet seen or
experienced. I advocate for the
bigots, racists, homophobes, all of them, to speak freely. I want to see them and hear them. I do not want them hiding in the
shadows spewing their hatred. I
want them out in the open. That
said, Johnson’s rant is a bit harsh; not wrong, just harsh; yet, as noted
above, I defend his right to say what he says.
Re:
“white
supremacist” = a person who believes people without skin pigmentation,
sometimes referred to as Caucasians or white folks, are superior in most, if
not all, ways to citizens who were born with dark skin pigmentation. There is no basis for such beliefs
other than hereditary skin pigmentation; nothing else matters.
. . . a follow-up comment:
“For the record, I believe God created all men equally,
however some men from all colors mess that all up.”
. . . my follow-up reply:
Yes,
precisely. The key word is
created. Unfortunately, some folks
are taught from a very young age to hate, to distrust those not like them. Such childhood teaching is the perfect
incubator for racism and all other ‘–isms’ we suffer – “white supremacy” being
one of those ‘–isms.’
Comments and contributions from Update no.817:
Comment to the Blog:
“I enjoyed your writing on the eclipse, contrary to the TMI
idea. Giving the travel, weather
forecast, etc., makes a clearer picture, and that works for me. My only negative was that I didn’t
understand the ‘contacts’ (first, second, third, fourth) that you mentioned. As far as I know, I’ve never read or
heard that term in reference to an eclipse.
“I base my religion on nature, and the spiritual meanings of
the eclipse still enlighten me. I
watched it on TV, and the network I viewed showed a wonderful shot of totality.
The corona is a wondrous thing
that can only be seen when the body of the sun is completely blocked. I see that as a clear analogy for an
alcoholic ‘bottom’ and several other life processes. There’s more, too.
“I have seen a statement that the Navy works its sailors in
shifts ‘that would be illegal in trucking.’ My family background makes me aware that most truck accidents
result from fatigue, so that may be worth following up. Firing people one holds to blame does
not resolve systemic issues, and that is one.
“I have a friend who spent time in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s tent
jail. My friend is a devout
Christian and does not wish Arpaio dead as so many others do, but he and I
would see it as extremely appropriate if Arpaio had done time.
“I hope Houston gets all the help we can give in this
disaster. My heart goes out to all
those affected by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. This storm is unprecedented in its track and slow speed of
travel, and the disaster is a level of magnitude beyond a typical landfall. Let’s put real resources into helping
those people.
“I lived several years off and on in the 1980s in the fringe
of Harvey’s affected area and worked within it a couple of times. (As I wrote, a tornado warning was
issued for Morgan City, Louisiana, where I lived and worked several times for a
few weeks each time.) Around
Houston, that terrain, the ‘development’ of former wetlands, and a thirty-year
increase in flooding storms combine to make the Houston-Galveston metropolitan
area dangerous. The city, state,
and nation need to take a long look at that area once recovery is well under
way. Diagnosis, prognosis, and
treatment are in order.
“I have been considering our discussion of Confederate
symbols and monuments to Confederate leaders, but that is a complex topic. When my cognition makes enough progress,
I will email you about it.”
My response:
At
least one person enjoyed my eclipse travelogue. I should have explained the contact references; I thought
they were common terms; my bad.
first contact = moon’s disc begins to obscure the sun
second contact = moon completely obscures the sun
third contact = sun first reappears after eclipse
fourth contact = moon no longer obscures the sun.
second contact = moon completely obscures the sun
third contact = sun first reappears after eclipse
fourth contact = moon no longer obscures the sun.
I
failed to capture a reasonable image of the corona during totality. At least part of the corona was visible
with the naked eye like a halo around the moon’s disc. It was captivating just to watch it, to
experience it. I had to remind
myself to keep attempting to find the proper camera setting. No joy!
Re:
Arpaio. As I said, in general, I
liked his tough approach to incarceration; prison is not a holiday resort. However, he crossed the line when he
repeatedly and defiantly ignored a federal court order. He should suffer the same punishment,
as the rest of us would do, if we had done what he did. I acknowledge that he disagreed with
the district court judge; he chose the wrong path to deal with that
disagreement.
Re:
Harvey. Likewise. Yes, the storm track was quite atypical
to my knowledge. Also
unprecedented, they’ve received their average annual rainfall in a couple of
days. I don’t know any land region
that could take that level of rainfall, i.e., annual rainfall in a couple of
days.
Re:
Houston. As I understand the
non-storm situation, Houston has experienced extraordinary growth without the necessary
planning and building code refinements to protect people and property. They pave the land and wonder why they
experience floods.
I
await your Confederate symbols ruminations.
. . . follow-up comment:
“Thank you for the explanation of ‘contact.’ Seeing the corona was a powerful
experience for both of us.
“Sheriff Arpaio took the ‘tough’ approach far into cruel and unusual
punishment, even without the racism. Phoenix's combination of 100+ degree heat and temperature
inversions endangers the physical and mental health of the people he confined
in tents. Beyond that, the ‘tough’
approach neither rehabilitates the individual nor deters others.”
. . . my follow-up response:
Re:
“contact.” Now you know. My apologies for missing the
explanation in my original post.
Re:
“Arpaio.” I have never seen
Sheriff ‘Joe’ as concerned a twit about rehabilitation . . . only
punishment. He has never shown any
interest in contributing factors, only outcomes.
My
very best wishes to all. Take care
of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
2 comments:
I have finally decided the North Korean leaders are not as insane as they appear. After this much time, insane leaders would have gone the way of Idi Amin. I agree with a couple of articles I’ve read. What the Parks are doing is trying to remain independent. Having seen what happened to many other nations, they refuse to let their economy, and indirectly their government, be taken, over for the benefit of corporations in the “advanced” nations. Our next move, assuming we survive Trump, ought to be supporting their independent development by non-intrusive means. How to do that remains in question.
On the “political correctness” topic, I support people’s right to say anything they want that’s not covered by such laws as inciting to riot or inducing panic, but not a right to dictate others’ responses to their words. This is the USA, after all. Everyone has a right to be offended by bigoted, hateful, or aggressively stupid words and ideas. We are entitled to act on that offense, too. If I manage people, for example, it’s written into the employment agreement that certain behaviors are firing offenses. People may say what they choose so long as they take responsibility for their consequences.
I think you misstated Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s motivation. He has no interest in outcomes as seen in the long term. He just wants to punish people.
Calvin,
Re: “Parks.” Do you mean the Kim family?
Re: insane. I have never thought Kim Jung Un was insane in the clinical sense, nor his father or grandfather. However, they definitely dance to a different tune – a tune that is hard for us to hear.
Re: “ought to be supporting their independent development by non-intrusive means.” What the heck does that mean?
Re: “How to do that remains in question.” That has been the question for the last 64 years and remains the central question. The sad reality demonstrated by history remains that dictators need an enemy or adversary to retain the focus of their supporters and suppose systems. Kim is no different. Neither is Putin.
Re: offensive language. We need to be careful to separate freedom of speech as an individual citizen and as an employee representing a company, organization or group. The First Amendment protects individual citizens, not employees or representatives of organizations. “People may say what they choose so long as they take responsibility for their consequences.” To that I would say, spot on! Precisely! Full stop! Unfortunately, it seems most folks to do not make it to that conclusion. Part of our freedom is our right to decide who we choose to associate with depending upon any one or combination of social factors or spoken words.
Re: Arpaio. Well, actually, that is his expected outcome.
“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Cheers,
Cap
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