Diversity

Two interesting articles, one each in Smithsonian and National Geographic, inspired me to title this post diversity. But first, I checked my blog to see if, and when, I used the title Diversity in any past blogs.

I was disappointed to find only two, both from 2015. Links to each below. 

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2015/02/foreigners.html

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2015/10/strength-of-diversity.html 

I was even more disappointed, even dispirited, if that is possible in my current state of throwing-up-my-hands at the constant examples of America's decline, to find that the sentiments I expressed are not only relevant to today, but indicative of the incredible lack of progress, nay, backsliding, that has occurred in our country as the result of the influence of the America First mantra, and the misguided attacks on DEI, the D standing for diversity.

The article in the Smithsonian focused on a relatively new science called aeroecology. (I had to add this word to my dictionary, by the way, to remove the indicator for a misspelling, another indication that this field of study is very new).

In a nutshell, aeroecology is the study of the ecosystem which exists in the air. Here is a link to the article. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/new-science-aeroecology-tells-more-about-amazing-creatures-humans-can-ensure-survival-180987151/ 

Without going into the nuts and bolts of the piece, suffice it to say that there is a lot going on up there, just above our heads, and a lot for us to learn, about the species we share this planet with, as well as the  knowledge we gain and then apply to ourselves, simply by paying attention.

The specific item that most caught my eye, is the opening story about how birds are effected by the beam of light that emanates from the Trade Center Memorial. And, how by studying those effects, especially in connection to cyclical bird migrations, simple solutions can be provided to both memorialize the tragic events of 9/11 while also saving the lives of birds who are experiencing disorientation due to the light beams. 

Another example is the research that has suggested that bird collisions with wind turbines can be significantly reduced by painting one of the propellers black. A much better plan that to stand in the Oval Office and claim that wind power is killing birds so we should stop investing in it, an excuse, of course, that has nothing to do with caring for birds, and everything to do with pushing the narrative that green energy is too expensive or not environmentally sound, or whatever else the current resident of the White House can think of to help his friends in the fossil fuel industry.

While that article just brushes against the topic of diversity, the idea being that we need all kinds of energy sources, that we can't rely on just digging in the ground, the October National Geographic article about tigers who have changed their stripes, hits at the core of the topic.

In that report, there is an excellent visual of the area in India where tigers have lived, a map which shows the various tiger reserves and how they are "connected" via natural corridors which enable the residents to move between them.

Why is this important?

To prevent inbreeding, or, in other words, increase diversity.

As I stated in my post from Feb 2015, nature rewards diversity, in this case by providing a larger gene pool when tigers from different lines are able to mate and reproduce.

Unfortunately, in the case of one of the tiger reserves, Similipal, not only are there are no continuous links to the nearby tiger reserves, the closest reserve has no tigers left. As a result, there was a coat color anomaly that was spreading through the population; tigers with an all black back, as if they are wearing a black coat or cape. 

That's right, tigers more black than striped.

Fortunately, that recessive gene is not dangerous in itself. The progeny with the black coat do not seem any less healthy than other wild tigers. What worries those who are studying these tigers is the potential susceptibility to a genetic disease that will be harmful, perhaps fatal. In the words of one of the leading researchers, this kind of genetic isolation was a ticking time bomb. As a result, there is an active program to relocate tigers from other preserves.

But not just any tigers and not just from any preserve. This is where the true science comes in as there needs to be some DNA mapping and comparisons to tigers from other reserves, and even tigers from the past, a part of the research that involves taking DNA samples from tiger hides kept in various collections and museums. There was also  some work comparing the DNA of the common house cat, all to understand the development of various diseases that are passed along from one generation to another, defects that are magnified when inbreeding becomes the only source of new life.

Of course, like any human intervention in nature, there is only speculation, scientifically based speculation, but still speculation that relocating tigers from other reserves will be the answer. In the bigger picture, tigers in India are starting to recover, thanks in part to the assistance to provide that inter-connectivity between reserves. Still, one can't help but wonder if one day such a color mutation results in all black tigers, and the realization that the striped tiger of our experience might only be alive in pictures for some future generation.

Which brings me back to the shortsighted foundation for the current attacks against diversity, equity and inclusion, which frankly, if you were to ask someone who is anti DEI which one of those three they dislike the most, diversity, equity or inclusion, they might struggle choosing one since those concepts, on their own, seem, not only fair, but American. I chalk it up to a population that prefers to latch onto acronyms and headlines and shortcuts when deciding whom to blame, as opposed to actually thinking about the words themselves.

Kind of like antifa which is short for anti-fascism. 

I mean, really, who in America is pro fascism? Considering the loss of life, nationally and globally which resulted from the battle against fascism during WW2, one would think that most Americans would consider themselves to be ant-fascists. Against fascism.

Again, no connection between the words and the way it is being used by people whose only goal is to create as many US vs THEM scenarios as possible.

Diversity.

Sounds like a no brainer to be in favor of it, whether it be in reference to food, music, what we watch on TV or read about. Literally in all our life's experiences, things outside our particular routine is what we all seek, out of curiosity, or for pleasure, or just as a respite from the normal, perhaps boring, but necessary routines of our life.

So, perhaps, the next time you are conversing with someone who is complaining about DEI, ask them, at least as it relates to diversity, whether they prefer monotony in their life.     

And, perhaps do some research on the attacks against your own ancestors when they first came to America, attacks by people claiming the very same thing that the bigots of today are claiming, that people from Europe with their traditions and culture and beliefs, would dilute the America that existed at the time. Would change what it meant to be American, a claim, that is certainly true as the America of the 1930's was very different than the America that existed in the 1880's before the great migration of Europeans to our shores.

Of course, I think it became a better country, more diverse, one might say. But hey, when your real motivation to being anti-immigration, is based on race, based on not wanting people from shithole countries, to come here, not wanting people with a color mutation different from their own to share in the American experience, which itself, has been a continual melting pot of people, traditions, cultures, it is simply racist. 

And, considering how nature works by demanding diversity to produce stronger progeny, just plain stupid. 

  

Good Fortune

Nora and I went to the movies this past Tuesday to see "Good Fortune". If you haven't seen it, but planning to, you may not want to read this post until after doing so. 

The basic plot of the movie is that an angel named Gabriel, played by Keanu Reeves, who is the texting and driving angel, meaning that he lightly taps on the shoulders of people who are texting and driving to refocus their attention to the road, thereby preventing an accident, is dissatisfied with his job. 

He wants to do something bigger.

He wants to save a lost soul.

As it happens, he has been observing a young man named Arj, played by Aziz Ansari, who also wrote and directed the film, who is having a hard time, and starting to doubt his way in life. He is living in his car, his conversations with his father always seem to include comments on how great his cousin is doing, his job at a local hardware store is less than rewarding. 

As luck would have it, however, he meets an extremely rich person named Jeff, played by Seth Rogan, while performing his other job, doing tasks for people who are too busy (or lazy) to do them themselves. In this case, Arj is hired to clean out and organize Jeff's garage. As is happens, Jeff is looking for a new assistant, so they agree to give Arj a one week trial. Things are looking up.

In addition, Arj meets a young woman at the hardware store, and asks her out to dinner. Jeff suggests a restaurant but it turns out to be extremely expensive, and Arj makes the mistake of using the company credit card to pay the bill. Even though Arj tells Jeff that he has spoken to Jeff's accountant about repaying the money, Jeff fires him.

At this point, Arj is back living in his car, he now has lost his task job, and, to make matters worse, after falling asleep at a local Denny's, he comes out to the parking lot to find that his car has been towed. Since he doesn't have the money to get it out of the impound lot, he now has no place to live either.

This is when Gabriel reveals himself to Arj in hopes of rescuing him, as Gabriel thinks that Arj may do something drastic, that he is truly a lost soul.

In an "It's a Wonderful Life" set of scenes, Gabriel shows Arj what he would be missing in his future, what he has to live for. Sadly, those scenes, one in which Arj works for a delivery company that passes out piss bottles for the drivers since the schedules are so tight, there is no room for bathroom breaks, one in which he is married to the girl he recently met, Elena, but they are living at her mother's house, don't do much to convince Arj that life is worth living.

So, Gabriel switches Arj's life with Jeff's to prove to Arj that just because Jeff is rich, he is not happy. 

That is the lead up to the scene that you might see as an ad for the movie, where Gabriel tells his supervisor, Martha, played by Sandra Oh, that when he gave Arj the comfortable life that Jeff led, it did, indeed, solve his problems. 

When Martha demotes Gabriel to human, by taking away his wings, for switching the lives of Arj and Jeff,  Gabriel reveals the truth of the switch to Jeff, because he cannot regain his status unless Arj agrees to switch back. Arj agrees but asks for a few more days living the good life, because he wants to take Elena to Paris for the weekend.

Then, unfortunately, Arj has a car accident, while texting and driving, and is left in a coma. Since he cannot agree to the switch, Gabriel is stuck as a human and Jeff is poor. 

At this point, Hollywood steps in to help right the ship, so to speak, although there are many funny scenes with Gabriel working as a dishwasher, getting his first pay check (why is the actual amount so much less, he asks his boss who explains taxes to him), and Jeff who takes a job delivering food for a company that he previously owned but making very little money.

Arj is not able to date Elena because she is still fighting to make things better at the hardware store by trying to unionize it, and Arj has inadvertently taken on the demeanor of the privileged rich. Also, Arj's father no longer knows him, so, while he can interact with him as a friend, he is no longer his father.

Still, when Arj recovers, he avoids Gabriel and Jeff; he remembers those future scenes and has no desire to live that life.

The turning point comes for both Arj, and fittingly, Gabriel, when Arj realizes that he misses Elena, and for Gabriel when he meets his boss's,wife, someone he saved from an accident when she was texting and driving. He realizes how important that life had been.

In some ways, I thought Gabriel's epiphany much more powerful than Arj's.

So, in the end, Arj agrees to switch back, instantly returning to the Denny's parking lot where he had first found his car was towed. Immediately, someone from Denny's offers him a ride.

In the meantime, Jeff finds the unpaid bill for Arj's car at his house and pays the debt, plus, as the majority stock holder of the food delivery company, he changes the working conditions for his employees, a result of his having performed the job himself.

The film ends with Arj living the life he was shown, but living it happily with Elena, whom he loves, despite where they lived, and, due to the effect of her striving to gain better working conditions for her and her workmates, he quits the delivery job, inspiring all of this co-workers to do the same.

A happy ending.

But is it realistic?

Of course, the point of going to the movies, of entertainment, is to suspend reality, at least for a little while. And, while I applaud the moral about always trying to improve conditions, for oneself and one's fellow workers, have, in fact, often bemoaned the success of the rich and powerful to convince working class people that unions are bad, unnecessary, even as they suppress wages and limit benefits, I can't get my head around the idea that Jeff would actually change his behavior just because he spent a few weeks living in the real world.

Possible, perhaps, but likely, no.

Just look at what is happening as we speak with far too many of the really rich people who are either bending the knee to the wannabe king by donating to his inauguration fund or his devastation of the White House, or are actively supporting him as he continues to grant them tax breaks, and allows them to bend the laws to their advantage. 

Too many of the those who could actually make a difference in limiting Trump's attempts to dominate law firms, universities, corporations, are falling in line, simply because they value their riches over the future of America. 

They are supplicant, when they have the means to resist.

Maybe Good Fortune will resonate with enough regular people to remind them what is really important in life, love, knowledge of and contentment with one's identity, and, that you can't take it with you is a reminder of those beliefs. Even more so, perhaps more people will realize that the accumulation of wealth might be a goal promoted by the angel who was jettisoned from heaven.  

That the real definition of Good Fortune is less about money, and more about happiness and a balance between striving for comfort and improving the lives of those who flit in and out of your life. 

And about eating a really good taco with friends and those you love. 

 

 

No Kings Protest

Today there will be another No Kings protest, marked by thousands of individual marches and demonstrations taking place in all 50 states, attended by what will certainly be millions of people, perhaps even tens of millions. 

Unfortunately, Nora has an all day activity that was planned months ago, and since she is driving there and we only have one car, neither of us will be attending, unlike the one that was held this past June. 

Here is a link to the post I did after that event. 

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2025/06/protests-and-civil-disobedience.html 

Since I won't be there, chanting and celebrating my First Amendment right to assemble, I thought I might delineate the many disagreements I have with the current administration, and some of the more egregious actions that have occurred, and are ongoing.

But first, a comment on Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's recent assertion that it is the GOP that is the party protecting our Constitutional freedoms.

Johnson uses as his comparison, the restrictions that occurred during the pandemic, presumably the suppression of various medical treatments that were awash on the internet, and, of course, the lock downs, the encouragement of social distancing, and the wearing of masks.

While, in retrospect, it is debatable that keeping kids out of school was a wise policy, in the long run, given the data that now shows that kids were not prone to COVID, and that perhaps emphasis on the reduction  of illness, hospitalizations, and death would have been a better message, as opposed to prevention, which seemed to suggest that a vaccine would prevent the illness, there is a point to be made that some mistakes were made by federal and state officials.

And, to be blunt, that telling Americans what they should do, in any sphere of life, rarely goes well. If nothing, we can be a rebellious population, even to the point of acting like two year olds who repeat the word often told to them as they begin to explore their world and become mobile - saying NO.

We love to say no, even when we are told something that is for our own good.

So, again, Johnson might have a point of two when saying that there were some restrictions placed upon Americans from 2020-2022. Of course, the fact that Trump was president in 2020 when the lock downs occurred, that his administration worked with the vaccine manufacturers on Project Warp Speed to develop the vaccines, and gave them immunity for side effects, by the way, seems to be facts that he forgets.

Also, the simple facts that over a million Americans died from COVID from 2020 to 2022, that during a few different stretches, 3 to 4,000 people were dying every day, just as many who were killed on 9/11, and that the scientific community was continually learning how to combat this unique virus, also seem to elude him.

Were mistakes made? Certainly, in the name of saving as many lives as possible, and in an abundance of caution, our national reaction may have been too aggressive. But that is hindsight. When bodies were piling up outside morgues and we really had no clue how to treat the people who were gasping for breath and dying in droves, the best advice was all we had.  

To me however, I believe that far more lives were saved because of the recommendations as to how to combat the spread of the disease. Hopefully, we will not have a similar pandemic in my lifetime in which no coordinated national actions are taken to reduce its spread, thereby having a comparison to know for sure, but I vehemently disagree with Johnson using those restrictions and recommendations as examples of a government suppressing free speech.

More importantly, after Johnson's impassioned statements that the No Kings rallies were a wonderful example of how American freedoms are being protected by this president, he went on to describe the protests as gatherings to express a Hate America agenda. Now, certainly, he has a right to his opinion, but when a government official, in fact, the man who is third in line to the presidency, states openly that people who disagree with his political viewpoint hate our country, that is not an example of defending our Constitutional rights. Worse, it gives tacit approval for those who agree with him to justify any type of violent counter protest or activity against those America Hating people. 

Even further, Johnson also likes to couch his rhetoric as a reflection of God's will, as if he has a direct line to the mind of the Almighty. The fact that, perhaps, some people believe that God is encouraging them to attend No Kings protests today, doesn't enter his mind. Or that their understanding of the founders very specific desires to cut ties with England and its King, may be driving them to the streets today.

Lastly, and most importantly, most of the people protesting today, not only don't hate America, they love America, or at least what their perceptions of what America was and could be again, without Donald J. Trump in the White House.

Johnson completely whiffs on his interpretation of these protests, as the reality is, Americans only engage in public displays of their opinions because they love America. Those that don't vote, or don't care, or think their actions won't matter, stay at home. 

Mr Johnson, we don't hate America but we do hate what America is becoming under the leadership of Trump. Perhaps someday you will be able to understand that attacks against Trump's cruel policies emanate from a love of America and what she can be, as the vast majority of people who will be chanting NO KINGS believe.

As promised then, and in response to an acquaintance who asked me why I don't like Trump, here is my list, in no particular order, as is my First Amendment right to express.

- Executive order declaring that trans people are not people which is resulting in them being kicked out of the military and being denied health care, among other things 

- Firing of DOJ lawyers who worked on cases with Jack Smith. This action, remaking the DOJ with people who will do his bidding reached a new low in the last few weeks when he replaced the US Attorney in eastern Virginia with one of his personal lawyers, an insurance lawyer, to boot, who promptly indicted James Comey and Tish James, after the previous DOJ attorney, a longtime Republican, failed to do so, citing a lack of credible evidence

- Targeting FBI agents who investigated and helped prosecute January 6th criminals. Also, those who were photographed kneeling during some of the George Floyd protests

- Pardoning the January 6th criminals, en masse, even those who admitted to beating up police officers, even those who were caught on tape battering those officers and vandalizing the Capitol building

- Threatening Canada, Greenland, Panama

- Selling out Ukraine, favoring Russia, although this assertion needs context. I think the real issue is Trump will never forgive Zelensky for not investigating Biden, and, of course, Trump has a serious bromance with Putin, so in some ways, this is more about supporting his buddy, and dissing an entire nation of people because he has a grudge against their leader

- Similar to above, attaching a huge tariff against Brazil because their legislative and judicial branches had more guts than ours, as they indicted and jailed their ex-president when he tried to remain in power illegally, a man who supported Trump

- Treating the two plus million Palestinians as so much garbage, due in part to his deep seated racism, but also due to his love affair with strongmen who have no qualms about killing large sums of people to remain in power

- Executive order altering birth right citizenship. Punishing children for the sins of their parents, as un-Christian an act as you will ever see a president enact, not to mention in violation of the Constitution.

- Freezing monies already approved by the previous Congress. Again, unconstitutional as Congress has the power of the purse, allegedly.

- Tariffs against virtually every country in the world, many for no reason other than a personal like or dislike of their leaders (see above for Brazil), some in direct violation of his own treaties (like for Canada and Mexico), some with vague references to trade imbalances that are justified with a calculation that is unrealistic at best, nonsensical at worse, but all, bordering on unconstitutional considering that they all represent a tax on American businesses and consumers, which, again is supposed to be within the purview of Congress

- Attacks on the federal work force. Although his attack dog, Elon Musk has retreated from Washington DC with his tail between his legs, OMB head Russel Vought has famously said that he wants all federal workers to be afraid of losing their jobs. As this attack of public service continues, it may very well take a generation before Americans regain the belief that serving their country is a noble cause, and worth the sacrifice in monetary compensation

- Deporting people without due process. Again, perhaps unconstitutional, but certainly not in keeping with America's lofty sense of justice and fairness

- Allowing DOGE to access sensitive data. We really don't know how this may transpire, but should there be a massive breach of taxpayer and citizen data, there should be no surprise if the source was allowing people loyal to Musk, not America, gain access to government data bases

- Ending USAID programs. Many Americans most likely don't care about this atrocity since so many have bought into the selfishness mantra of America First, but it will result in the death of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands or people across the globe, especially children. So much for a kinder, gentler hand

- Revoked legal status for migrants who used the CBP One App to apply for asylum. Again, probably flying under the radar, but this extremely mean policy basically said, too bad if you followed the law before, the law has changed. Talk about pulling the rug out from under someone. I would imagine no American would stand for being told they were being arrested for committing an act, in the past, that used to be legal, but isn't now, but when "those" people are described as invaders and criminals, we fail to be outraged

- Scrubbing federal data bases of references of "woke" subjects and references, such as war heroes that were black, or the name of the airplane that dropped the atomic bomb on Japan (Enola Gay), and, of course, any reference to climate change

- Revoking student visas, and rejecting apps for students applying to American colleges if they have expressed any opinions that the administration doesn't like. So much for freedom of expression

- Executive order boosting coal. So ridiculous, it's hard to fathom such a backwards action

- Extortion of law firms and universities. At first, this one was working. But now it seems that there is some unity, at least among the academic world, to resist trading federal dollars for how they develop their curriculum, who they hire, who the admit into their schools, etc, although the business community is still all in on capitulating to Trump's demands, this being most recently displayed at the White House when a bunch of rich corporate types wrote checks to Trump to pay for his ballroom.

- Firing and take over of the Kennedy center board as well as attacking the independence of the Smithsonian

- Firing of a slew of inspector generals whose very job is to find fraud, waste and abuse. This act in particular demonstrated how much of a fraud was that whole exercise played out by Musk and Trump. Musk wanted to neuter many of the federal departments that oversaw his business interests, and Trump just wanted to eliminate any oversight into his criminal activity

- Hiring of a bunch of Fox personalities. When asked by a Trump supporter why that bothered me, I asked them how they would feel if Biden had recruited from CNN and MSNBC to fill some important posts in his administration. It seemed like that individual hadn't considered that could happen, didn't seem to think about such a possibility when defending Trump's Fox obsession. Not to mention his naming people like Linda McMahon and Kristi Noem for important cabinet posts. Perhaps all those attacks on DEI are correct, there must have been a white male somewhere with more experience to run such important departments

- Blowing up boats and killing people in contradiction of international law, and providing no evidence or proof to support the action. The fact that the admiral in charge of that area recently resigned, may indicate that there is no real proof, just Trump and Hegseth flexing their manliness, while Congress completely abdicates their constitutional obligation of oversight, and consent

Amazingly, that is not even close to a full list of things that have made me conclude that America is in decline, as I have stated so many times, or that Americans have lost their way. 

Shock and Awe to such an extant that it is too hard, too sad, to keep track of all the horrendous actions being taken, becoming normal, due to the lack of any accountability for Trump.

As I said in the post referred to above, I don't know if protests, even massive ones, are enough. I still envision that some type of violence, real or provoked, will enable Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, or some other form of martial law and that an America citizen will be killed by a national guardsmen or soldier during one of Trump's deployments. The fact that it will almost certainly happen in a blue state, will be no surprise.

And, with all the active gerrymandering going on in red and blue state legislatures, even the 2026 and 2028 elections may not matter, may not reflect the will of the people, or the fact that at least 60, perhaps as much as 65% of Americans are not happy with this administration.

If it all results in some type of performative election, as they have in Hungary and Russia, places whose leaders Trump admires most, then maybe we will have the ultimate example of a breach from our Constitution, the election of someone who is not only not allowed to run, but is unqualified and unpopular, but who holds all the cards, as he likes to reference.

I guess time will tell, but in the meantime

The decline continues.   

 

 

Jane Goodall and the Warrior Ethos

After reading about the great military meeting that took place a few weeks ago, as ordered by Defense Secretary Hegseth, I planned to post some comments. 

But then the death of Jane Goodall was announced and an out of the box kind of thought seeped into my head about combining my thoughts about the two into one post.

Not sure if it will work, but here goes.

First, in order of importance, Jane Goodall.  

If you would like to read a really nice tribute, and summary, of Jane Goodall's life, paste and copy the link below. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/2025/10/jane-goodall-fame-research-conservation/684433/?utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20251002&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&lctg=67f130672e8e571a90087893&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20Dail 

Jane Goodall was born the same year as my mother, 1934. I say this because I did not realize this until seeing it stated in the above article, and in the various obits that appeared after she died. 

Why does this matter to me? I guess because I am continually amazed at the accomplishments by women of this era, those born in the 1930's and early 1940's, who were attempting to continue the legacy of those brave and forward looking women who lobbied, and sacrificed, for the right to vote which was finally achieved just a few decades before.

An anecdote which is at the beginning of the article I mention above, relates the story of when Goodall was offered a job by the famed anthropologist, Louis Leakey, to study chimpanzees in Africa, British colonial authorities balked at the idea of a young women being alone in the forest, so her mother offered to go with her. That was in 1960!

Of course, I was only a child when Goodall began her amazing work in the jungles of Africa, but when I learned of her, as a young adult, I thought of her as a young women, not much older than I, even though the age difference was 24 years. I guess I always considered her more of a cohort, in age, than someone of my mom's generation, which makes her career and her influence over the years even more remarkable.

The article also mentions the disdain that many of Goodall's male colleagues had for her work. She treated her subjects with respect, even naming them. To me, that demonstrates the strength of her research, and the humanity as well. She didn't think less of the animals she was studying. 

When she was the first to prove that chimps used tools to retrieve food from tree stumps, and that they had reworked that stick into the tool to help the process, it was ground breaking. To me, that kind of discovery could only be obtained, be open to, by someone who looked at her subjects through the eyes of a humanist, not just a scientist. The very thing that some of her colleagues didn't like about her, groused about her, that lack of scientific training, is the very thing that allowed her to observe without preconceived notions of animal's inferiority to man.

Considering that Darwin's theory of evolution was a hundred years in the past, it's a wonder that so many of the (male) researchers of the day were not able to look at chimps with an eye to finding similarities to humans as opposed to how inferior they were to us.

So it should come as no surprise that Goodall became an advocate for saving the habitat of chimps, and all the animals with which we share this planet. 

Even more than that, Goodall became an advocate for making the world a better place for humans as well. Her organization Roots and Shoots focused on improving the living conditions for those who lived close to and among the animals most in need of protecting, which emanated from her belief that if the people had better sanitation, better living conditions, better ways to grow their own food, they wouldn't need to eat those animals, or clear the land where those animals lived.

Which brings us to Hegseth and his military meeting.

While there was some speculation that he might announce a bunch of firings, it turned out the purpose was to tell the leaders of the United States military, how to do their job. And specifically, how we need to get back to the macho version of the military that an insecure person like Hegseth, and his boss, Trump, deem necessary to demonstrate our collective manliness.

The phrase, "me thinks he doth protest too much" rings loud, considering the president served nary a day in the military due to a medical exception, while Hegseth, after serving, (and I give him credit for that), spent the last ten years railing about how soft the American military has become, by allowing women in combat, investigating sexual harassment claims by women in the military, and promoting women and people of color to positions of authority over any white male.

But even more importantly, so he says, the military has stopped creating and building the warrior ethos that needs to exist, both to scare our adversaries, and to vanquish them in battle.

Now, if I wanted to be sarcastic, I would say that Hegseth spent too much time reading the history of Sparta, or the conquests of the Roman Legionnaires.  Or that he must have really enjoyed those stories about throwing young boys into a pit to fight, as a way to separate the warriors from the weak.

Considering Trump's obsession with having his face on coins and mountains, perhaps they share that fixation on all that is Roman.

Also, if sarcasm was the goal, I might ask if Hegseth and Trump are planning a ground war anytime soon, as it seems that the nature of war, when both sides are adequately armed as is the case for Ukraine vs Russia, has turned to remote attacks via drones, long range missiles, targeted bombings. So, while it is quaint to think of our armed forces as the biggest, baddest men on the block, don't we also need really smart people, even nerds, if you like, to program the technology that is in use today. I certainly don't see a near future with battles featuring hand to hand combat with bayonets drawn, do you?

But let's get to the real danger of Hegseth's philosophy which, I believe, is bad for America, and especially bad for our armed forces.  

First, for the individual soldiers who are attracted to the idea that a warrior ethos makes them a better man, they might want to ask themselves if such an attitude will make them better fathers, husbands, citizens, when their military career ends. 

While a belief system that inspires our soldiers to think, act and lead like warfighters might lead to victory on the battlefield, it hinders the adjustment that veterans face when taking the next hill or killing one's enemy, is no longer a viable coping mechanism when dealing with the daily demands and tribulations of life.

Just ask any of the family members of the 17 veterans who kill themselves every day, a number that is staggeringly higher as a percentage than for non-military people of the same age. 

Or perhaps we should look to the number of veterans that are homeless in America, a number that has decreased in the last few years, thankfully, but is still indicative of a group of Americans that struggle to cope once outside the military.

Do we really think that making them emotionless warriors who are trained to kill without thinking, will provide them with a better mindset when dealing with noisy children, a daily routine that is less than exciting, various family members who may disagree with them, or any of the innumerable problems that face us everyday where violence is not the solution?

Hegseth wants a strong army, fine, but he seems to think that the soldiers who make up that army are plastic soldiers that can be replaced with a new batch when they become worn, or weak.

Of course, for a man who has a history of treating women like play toys, again, like his boss, perhaps that is consistent. 

Even worse, America is also a victim of such thinking, as this administration seems to think that being the bully of the globe will make everyone else respect us more, and do what we want. Like the tariff chaos that is ongoing, Trump has forgotten the kindergarten lesson that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Perhaps I am wrong, but the bullies I encountered in my life, whether as a child or an adult, did not earn my respect. Perhaps fear, but not respect. And certainly not a desire to see them succeed. So it should come as no surprise that this America first selfishness that goes hand in hand with "my way or the highway" is driving our traditional allies away. 

Or perhaps Hegseth and Trump think that "turn the other cheek" and "treat others as you would want to be treated" are too woke for their world view of warrior ethos.

I truly believe that most Americans would prefer that we treat our fellow Americans, as well as the other 8 billion people who share our planet, as Jane Goodall engaged with the primates she lived with and studied. That we should hold out an open hand to help rather than a closed fist to hurt.

Unfortunately, I also believe that many Americans, perhaps more than half, are on board with treating our enemies inhumanely. That all is fair in war, including killing civilians, bombing schools and hospitals, stealing children from their homes, because, well, I guess because that is what they would do to us. 

And, if there is one thing that Trump is superior at, it is telling us who we should hate, who we should consider less than human, who is out to get us. 

Whether it is the people in the boats that he is blowing up in defiance of international law, or the two million Palestinians that he thinks should be killed, or moved, or starved, or the immigrants who come here to seek a better life but are from a country that isn't white enough, or the federal workers who don't kiss his ring, whether they be in the DOJ or FBI, or any department that democrats like, or the countless number of Americans who love America but despise how Trump is remaking our country, Trump has an endless list of those we should hate, and consequently treat as if they were less than human.

So sad that people like Hegseth and Trump talk about America first yet enact policies that place Americans last. Even sadder that people who are on board with such cruelty, claim to be Christians as well.

And so the decline continues. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Blame Game, Two

In the past week, someone accessed a blog I wrote from 2010. As is my custom now, if it was written before 2020, I open it to verify that it has been updated to a larger font. This particular one needed that process.

While reviewing it, I was impressed with what I wrote, so much so that I decided to copy and paste it in its entirety, rather than provide a link. Here it is. Again, this post is from 2010, two years into Obama's first term.

---- 

As I have said many times before, I read the Philadelphia Inquirer with special concentration on the commentary/opinion section. One opinion columnist that I respect and admire is Trudy Rubin. She demonstrates a strong understanding of our efforts and policies in the Middle East and, generally, maintains equanimity in her evaluation of the administration in charge, regardless of political party. The following is an email which I sent to her today.


Ms. Rubin,

While I agree with you that the anti-Muslim rhetoric is dangerous, I think we need to blame liberals as much as conservatives for the escalation, or more precisely, liberal politicians who are more concerned about winning an election than they are about stating the truth.

It is easy for you and I to write/blog that the current anti-Muslim trend runs contrary to our respect for individuals rights (freedom of religion) and the constitution (separation of church and state). But rather than taking a strong stand with facts and clear cut points of reason and fairness, many Democrats are straddling the line for fear of losing their seats in November. Even the President has waffled in his public statements on the issue.

The truly sad part is that this current blame-the-Muslims-for-everything is just another version of the blame-the-gays from the 80's which resulted in the anti-gay marriage movement or the blame-public-employees trend which pits everyday working Americans against their neighbors (who make about the same amount of money).

When an economy is struggling, it is easy to gain a following if you can find a scapegoat, so all of these dramas exist to distract Americans from the real source of our problems. The fact that our deficit is growing due to the Bush tax cuts that reduced our national income, the unfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the shift of income from the middle class to the very rich and the aging of our nation is ignored because that would require us to face the hard truths about capitalism's problems, the militaristic streak of our politics and the notion that we have a divine right to an ever increasing standard of living.

You mentioned President Reagan in today's column. He is considered the saint of conservative politics yet everyone forgets that his approval ratings in his first term were even lower than President Obama's are now and that he doubled the national debt during his eight years in office. However, he slayed the communist dragon so today's conservatives/republicans have taken a page from his playbook, replacing the evil Soviet empire with today's bogeymen. It is clear that they will not only not work with President Obama but will do everything in their power to see him fail. And the Democrats, rather than standing up to them are caving because, unfortunately, they are really not that much better as they too are more concerned about staying in power than they are about governing.

Finally, the real fault lies with the American voter. And again, you won't hear many politicians or pundits blaming us. We cheer speeches that anoint us as the greatest nation in history then disprove that point by denying our fellow citizens the basic need for access to adequate health care and by encouraging legislation that defines marriage in a way that prevents some of our population from enjoying the emotional and economic fruits of this institution. We have such compelling issues to address and the best form of democracy in which to address them, yet we are lucky to see 30% turnout at primaries and get all excited if we reach 60% for November elections.

Anyway, this turned out to be longer than I expected. If you are interested, I have included a link to my blog of 9/12 and perhaps I will use this email to you for today's blog (I hope that is not a problem for you).

Thanks for whatever feedback you might provide,

http://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2010/09/testing-strength-of-our-freedom.html

Regards and respect,

Joe Pugnetti 

---

A few points here.

First, as I have mentioned a few times, I not only don't see much progress since I penned that post, but regression.

Let's look at some specifics.

I mention that the blame-the-Muslims rhetoric of the time was just another version of blame-the-gays from the 80's; correspondingly we now have blame-the-illegals. No real basis in reality, just another boogeyman to hold in front of the cameras, or in the social media world of clickbait, both as red meat for a political base as well as an excuse not to look in the mirror for the real culprit behind America's present downward spiral; the electorate.

This is not to say that my favorite boogeyman, the ultra rich, whom I believe are most responsible for the decline of the standard of living, or more precisely stated, the purchasing power for the middle class, are off the hook. No, they are the ones controlling so much of the narrative via the ownership of all the large media companies, not to mention the favors they are granted due to their deep pockets during the election cycle. 

Still, I blame us, the voters, for falling for so much baloney. For believing that poor people are the problem, that environmental regulations aren't necessary and that climate change is not real, that livable wages are somehow bad for business, that CEO's must be paid hundreds, even thousands of times the salaries of those who work for them, just to name a few.

But mostly, for convincing ourselves that politicians are the problem, even though we elected them, then pretending that we want accountability from them even though we don't demand it from ourselves.

How else do you explain electing a convicted felon with a history of massive exaggerations, if not outright lies (they are eating the cats and dogs!), a man who spews gibberish and word salad statements, IN ALL CAPS, daily on his social media account, a man who was convicted of sexual assault, openly bragged about grabbing young women's genitalia, cheated on all three of his wives, yet is the darling of the religious right.

But it runs deeper than that.

Look at the current kerfuffle on display in Washington over the government shutdown. 

On one side is the Dems who have finally decided to draw a line in the sand, after being the all-talk but no action party since January.

Now, certainly I give them credit for trying to hold the line at what may very well be a 30, 40 50%, if not even higher, increase in medical premiums for those who purchase their health care insurance from the ACA. Sure, they caved back in the spring (thank you Chuck Shumer), but they are holding firm, so far. (I can't say that I don't expect some kind of capitulation in the next week or two, though.)

But perhaps had they had a spine when Israel began slaughtering Palestinians in the name of revenge, many of those one issue voters who were mad at their reluctance to say no to Netanyahu, wouldn't have stayed home in droves last November. 

Or even better, rather than admitting that some of the fault concerning inflation was due to the spending bills they passed, bills I agree with by the way, but which still caused some of the inflationary pressure on our economy, that rather than acknowledging some of the fault, then sympathizing with the plight of the American people, they chose to focus on issues, which again, I support, issues like trans rights and reproductive rights for women, while overemphasizing the fascist tendencies of Trump, a political strategy that does not resonate with an electorate that is struggling to pay the bills. Trump is certainly a wannabe dictator, has even bragged that some people like a dictator if prices ease, crime drops, etc, but that is the point. He knew that the economy was the battle, and the Dems message was too esoteric, certainly true, but harder to grasp.

What is so frustrating is that in the meantime, the GOP, to a person, keeps saying that the Dems are shutting down the government to give free health care to illegals.

Again, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to spend a few minutes researching the issue to understand that this assertion is far from true. I mentioned Reagan in that letter above. Well it was President Ronald Reagan who signed into law in 1986 the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) that mandates that everyone, regardless of ability to pay or lack of insurance coverage, must be treated at emergency rooms throughout our country. Yea, I know, pretty woke.

So, when you see a GOP representative or spokesperson claim that the Dems want undocumented people to get health care at emergency rooms, yes, we do, as that is the law.

In addition, there are some people in America that are "lawfully present". Here is a pretty encompassing definition.

The category of lawfully present individuals is extensive. It includes U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals, who are persons born in American Samoa or Swain’s Island. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), also known as Green Card holders, are considered lawfully present as they have permission to live and work in the U.S. on a permanent basis.

The definition also includes those with humanitarian protections. This group consists of individuals granted asylum, refugees admitted from abroad, and people granted parole into the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are also included.

Many individuals with temporary, non-immigrant status also meet the definition of lawfully present. This includes people with valid non-immigrant visas, such as students on F-1 visas or workers on H-1B visas, who have not violated the terms of their admission. The definition also extends to individuals with pending applications for asylum or for adjustment of status to permanent residency while that application is being processed.

Now, we can certainly debate whether all those groups deserve the designation of lawfully present. Heck, Congress can pass a law changing it. But for now, that is the law, so those people are entitled to health care, and yes, even at the expense of the American taxpayer, although, to be frank, I would think that a Christian nation would approve of giving health care to all people, regardless of which boxes they check on any legal list of who should be treated humanely.  

Also, here is a definition of who is excluded from this designation.

The primary group not considered lawfully present consists of individuals who entered the United States without being inspected and admitted or paroled by immigration officials. Entering without authorization places them outside the bounds of any legal presence recognized by federal benefit laws.

Another group not considered lawfully present are individuals who entered with a valid visa but remained beyond their authorized period of stay, known as overstaying a visa. Once their period of admission expires, their presence is no longer authorized. An exception exists if the individual has a pending application for a change or extension of status that allows them to remain in the country while it is processed.

Notice that the first group mentioned emphasizes that those who enter the United States illegally are not entitled to federal benefit laws. Nor are those who enter with a valid visa but overstay the terms of that visa. Full stop. 

Although, again, even these people must be treated at an emergency room hospital if they show up hurt or dying or pregnant due to EMLATA.  

So while one can say that this issue is not as cut and dried as both sides say, as there are some illegal aliens permitted to receive health care, it is not because the Dems want to give it to them out of thin air, but because that is the LAW. 

What truly alarms, and sickens me, is when I see the Vice President of the United States say on TV that Americans don't want their tax dollars being used to give "free" health care to undocumented people. 

Speak for yourself, sir.

I prefer to be able to say on my Judgment Day that I was OK with paying the health care costs with my tax dollars of someone badly hurt, pregnant, or dying even if they were not born in America while I guess JD prefers to be like the innkeepers who shooed away Mary and Joseph because they didn't have any money, and were foreigners.

And, to circle back, it is all the more mind boggling that so many people believe that we don't have enough money in America, the greatest country in the history of the world, allegedly, to provide health care for all Americans at a reasonable cost, but are OK with the Big Beautiful Bill that made permanent all kinds of tax breaks for the super wealthy, as if they are struggling by on macaroni and cheese and hotdogs every night at dinner. Especially considering that they have all kinds of tricks to hide their income from taxes to begin with. 

But at least we will have a new ball room at the White House in the next few years. 

 

 

  

   

 

 

health care for the undocumented 

Crusing Pennsylvania, Part 2

If you didn't notice, or read, Part 1 of Cruising Pennsylvania, here is a link.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2025/09/cruising-pennsylvania-part-1.html 

When we left our intrepid travelers, we had purchased some really cheap gas in New York State, while just missing out on a free joint. We crossed into PA not long after the gas purchase, then arrived in Bradford, PA just as dusk was darkening to night. 

Another nice hotel.

In case you were wondering, I booked the trip myself, events and hotels. For those of you who are experienced travelers, that may not sound like a bid deal, but for me it was a first. As I built our itinerary, I attempted to balance which sites we determined were priorities, while keeping an eye towards travel times between sites. I knew we had one long travel day from Gettysburg to Aliquippa, and was fine with the ride home at the end of the vacation taking 3 plus hours, but wanted all the in between car routes to be in the 100 mile or 2 hours or less range.

To accomplish this, I first roughed out the places we wanted to definitely visit, then assigned days to each spot. 

Saturday in York for the rail trail bike ride

Sunday in Gettysburg for the museum and military park

Monday on the road to Aliquippa with a stop in Pittsburgh

Tuesday to Cleveland for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

Wednesday in Erie, Pa to explore the Presque Isle State Park

Thursday at the Kinzua Bridge State Park

Friday for the covered wagon tour of the Grand Canyon of Pa.

At that point, I filled in the extras we might have time to see, for instance, the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, which, due to the turnpike tunnel fiasco detailed in Part 1, we had to cancel. We also had a stop at Rimrock Overlook as a possibility, as well as a half day at Ricketts Glen State Park, perhaps on the way home.

As it turned out, we were only able to do one of those three alternatives, as you will see in the paragraphs below.

Related to the length of drives, of course, was where to stay. Since we had accounts with two hotel chains, I went on their websites and began the search for hotels in the area of the destinations we had already determined to visit.

I know some of you probably use Vrbo and maybe like to use Airbnb. Not sure if we are just not comfortable with staying at someone's home, or if I am hesitant to stray from the traditional path of staying at hotels. Perhaps as we begin to travel more, I will expand our search parameters in terms of housing.

That being said, I did attempt to book hotels which advertised hot breakfasts included. Of course, the reality of what a hot breakfast means from one hotel to another, can vary, but all in all, I had a goal of attempting to book rooms in the $100 range if they included a hot breakfast, or $75 range if we would need to seek out a diner for our first meal of the day.

Having a real breakfast was important to us because we knew that our lunches might be light, and in deference to Nora's diabetes diagnosis, which, kudos to her, she has under admirable control, but which still effects when, what and how often she eats. We had a box of snacks with us for the trip, and I don't mean a single box of granola bars or Kind bars, but a box with multiple boxes of various snack bars. We made use of that stash multiple times a day, yet returned with enough to carry us into the next week. In fact, we still have a few, almost two weeks since our first day out.

I was successful in this goal, booking a rather cheap hotel in York for less than $150, total, for the first two nights, then, after a free overnight stay at JW's, three nights in the Choice Hotel family, which totaled right around $310, all of which included a version of hot breakfast.

Before returning to the actual events of the trip, at one of the morning meals, Fox and Friends was on the TV. I decided to pay loose attention, as I can't recall ever watching the show in the past, and felt it important to take the time to see how they presented the news.

As it turned out, Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, was on the show. To be fair, we were only in the breakfast area for 30-40 minutes, couldn't hear everything being said, and I didn't listen all that closely to boot. But what I did hear, and what I read of the words crawling at the bottom of the screen during Dolan's time on the couch, almost made me lose my lunch, or breakfast, in this case.

A few times my mother and I have discussed reasons why I am a lapsed Catholic. Should she ask again, I will ask her to watch the interview during which a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, during a discussion of the recently assassinated Charlie Kirk, called him a modern day Saint Paul, and spoke with reverence about Kirk's work with Turning Point.

Now, while I have come not to expect much from the Catholic Church and was disappointed, overall, with Pope Frances despite my admiration for his efforts, see a link a few paragraphs below, it truly boggles me how a fairly high ranking member of the Catholic Church could praise a man like Charlie Kirk considering all the divisive and outright hateful things he has said about the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the undocumented people in America today, not to mention his seemingly complete dismissal of the slaughter being perpetrated by the Israeli government against the women and children of Palestine.

This especially galls me considering both Pope Frances and the newly selected Pope Leo have been less than enthusiastic about the treatment of the undocumented in America and the Palestinians. Has neither Dolan or Kirk read any of either popes communications and opinions on those subjects?

Appalling! 

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-tribute-to-pope-francis.html  

To me, Kirk represented, in many of his opinions and dialogues and debates, the exact opposite of what I was taught during eight years of Parochial School. When I compare Kirk's most popular takes on society, I find a huge gap between his stance and that of Jesus as depicted in the Sermon on the Mount.

Perhaps Cardinal Dolan who will be replaced soon as he has reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, was angling for some kind of a future guest role on Fox as a "religious" expert. So sad.

Back to the trip.

On Thursday we drove from the hotel in Bradford to Kinzua Bridge State Park, with a stop at the Rimrock Overlook. While it was a slight backtrack, travel time wise, it was worth the time.

We were lucky enough to be the only people at the Overlook. It was gorgeous! We walked a bit around the rim, took a bunch of pictures, and even descended a story or two down a stairwell gouged into the rocks which led down through the woods below to a beach. We didn't venture that far down, knowing we didn't have time to get to the bottom, but it was a very peaceful and pleasant walk around the top.

The ride to Kinzua was only about 30 minutes. From the parking lot, you can glimpse the bridge which extends from the visitor center out over the gorge then stops. We walked through the displays and information areas of the building first, then walked out to the bridge, and out to its end.

Magnificent!

About 20 years ago, a tornado roared down the gorge and ripped away about half of the bridge. The twisted metal still lay on the ground, a few hundred feet below. After reinforcing what was left, it was decided to allow tourists to walk to the end, gaze out over the railings and down to the floor. Again, a bunch of pictures followed. 

Even better, there is a path that you can easily walk to the bottom. It was pretty cool to look back up at the people taking pictures over the rails, and the bridge which just hung there in space, as we traversed the trail. At the bottom, you can get up close and personal with the bridge supports that are cut off where the cement should meet the steel, and the pieces of steel and metal lounging about just as they landed on the fateful day a few decades ago.

I had read that the bridge was being reinforced and that it would be closed off and on beginning earlier this year, but fortunately they felt comfortable allowing it to be accessible during the late summer and early fall for a few months to take advantage of the foliage as it shed its summer colors for the season.

I say this to warn you to check the schedule if you would like to visit so you aren't disappointed.

After walking down to the bottom and up again, we made a purchase at the visitor center, then walked across the driveway to a food truck that seemed to be stationed there on a permanent basis. We had a nice lunch, well more like early supper, under a tree at a picnic table. This enabled us to drive to our next, and last destination without being hungry.

Once we arrived in Mansfield, we checked in to our room, dropped off our bags, then walked down to the desk and asked for a recommendation for dinner. The clerk gave us two options although she commented that there would be more choices if we drove to the next town, about ten miles away. We decided not to do anymore driving and opted for a local tavern, which caused us a bit of consternation when we walked in, there being no one to direct us to a table, or even to be bothered to greet us, or so it seemed, but then I realized that they had an outdoor eating area. 

We had eaten almost all our dinners outside, again, thanks to the wonderful weather we were fortunate to have, and once settled at a table, a waitress came right over and everything was fine. After dining, back to the hotel where we relaxed, placed the next day's clothes at the ready, and recounted some of the amazing things we had already seen, knowing the next day would be the last day of the trip.

Friday dawned cool, but still clear. Another perfect day seemed at hand. We drove to the covered wagon tour establishment, arriving a bit early. As it turned out, it was not a big tour, the wagon being only about half filled, which gave us lots of room to spread out and even move around as the tour guide pointed out various sites. It was a real horse drawn wagon pulled by two very large Belgian horses, brothers, Reuben and Jessie, as we were told by the guide.

We moved at a leisurely pace into the Grand Canyon of PA clip clopping along a well traveled path with walkers, bikers, e-bikers, joggers, beside the Pine Creek, which is pronounced crick, as per the tour guide who made a point that we were not to say creek in his presence. During the tour, we saw an osprey and a bald eagle, both cruising the above the crick in search of food.

After the tour, we drove to a point at the top of the canyon, a spot the guide had pointed out when we were directly below it. Again, incredible views from above. We hiked a few miles, occasionally stopping to take in the vistas, then returned to our car for the ride home. 

We considered a stop at Ricketts Glen State Park, but had been told that the summer's lack of rain made for less of an enjoyable walk around the park if seeing the waterfalls was desired. 

We decided to wait until the spring, and are planning an overnight trip.

Pennsylvania is an amazing state with a grand history related to the birth of our nation, as well as a myriad of adventures awaiting any traveler interested in outdoor activities or scenic overlooks, or a deep dive into history.

Yet, like so many people looking for fun and to explore, I hadn't visited any of the places we sojourned to during our trip, other than Gettysburg decades ago, despite having lived in the state my whole life. And there are still so many more to see!

I guess the lesson being, you never know when your next great adventure will be, perhaps even only a few miles away, if you don't look around and search.