If you live in the United States today in more places you can
legally
light up a marijuana joint. Public opinion about the legalization of
marijuana seems to have shifted around the nation and state by state
(currently, pot is legal in some form in 16 of the 50 U.S. states). It
appears America is becoming a nation that's increasingly tolerant of
the use of marijuana. Advocates of legalized pot smoking want to equate
it with alcohol, saying it is equally "harmless". Hmmmm Last time I
looked alcohol ruined or took the lives of a lot of people. Yet alcohol
is a socially accepted drug. So pot legalization advocates try to tie
the two together to make smoking marijuana appear "normal". Strange
they don't also link smoking cigarettes to smoking pot, given that they
are both ways of smoking. But then, smoking cigarettes is seen here as
evil, so the pot heads never mention the link between the two.
Even President Obama now says he sees nothing wrong with legalizing
pot. But then, that guy changes his position (his positions "evolve")
as often as the wind changes direction when doing so is a political
benefit to him. It's apparent that there is no stopping the
legalization movement here. My own state of Oregon is expected to be
the next to make the public use of marijuana legal, but even now there
are many "marijuana medical clinics" here where one can smoke joints
(when a doctor's prescription is furnished) to his or her content.
Having written that, there is no sense in presenting for and against
positions for legalization. But as one who is against the idea I am
interested to see what happens when some of the negatives of legalizing
marijuana comes to fruition. First, smoking gives you that "cancer
thing". No doubt smoking pot will bring with it, just as much as
conventional smoking, more diseases and that will increase health care
costs. Will health insurers raise policy prices for pot smokers, or
even on non smokers too, in order to pay for the necessity of increases
in drug, doctors and hospital visits that increased smoking pot would
create? And what about auto insurance costs. With millions of people
smoking pot while driving their automobiles, I would expect auto
insurance policies (and deaths and injuries from the accidents they
cause) to go up...way up. Driving while intoxicated on pot is about the
same as driving drunk on alcohol. Both can be deadly.
Pro legalization advocates say that legalizing marijuana will drive
drug dealers out of the pot selling business. But there is no guarantee
that the underground market would significantly diminish. In a legal
market, where marijuana is taxed, the well established illegal drug
trade has every incentive to remain because it can sell the pot more
cheaply. Marijuana legalization would also do nothing to stop the drug cartels'
control on other illegal trades such human trafficking, kidnapping,
extortion, piracy, and selling all those other illicit drugs the pot
heads admire.
I also anticipate a whole lot more kids using and becoming addicted to
pot. Sure, many kids already use it. But making it legal and knowing
that even mom and dad can puff greatly lessens the idea that smoking
pot is not good for a young mind. Research says that constant pot usage
before the age of 25 (the brain is not fully developed until about that
age) can decrease the person's IQ (No, I am not a pot smoker. I was
just born with a low IQ). Sanctioning another intoxicant that kids want
to use is probably not a good thing for the society at large. Problem
solving, concentration, motivation, and memory are negatively affected
by habitual pot smoking. Teens who use marijuana are more likely to
engage in delinquent and dangerous behavior, and experience increased
risk of schizophrenia and depression, including being three times more
likely to have suicidal thoughts.
I asked my physician here in Oregon about how many medical marijuana
prescription use she gives out. She can't tell me how many of her
patients ask for those prescriptions, but when I asked if marijuana
really is a good way for those with pain to get relief from it she said
it is indeed a way for them to feel less pain, but that there are many
other pain relief prescriptions that are as good or better than using
marijuana. Too, some of their pain relief is because smoking may be a
placebo to the users. I suspect that many of those who get marijuana
prescriptions today do it not so much for pain relief, but simply so
they can legally smoke joints. Otherwise, there would be other kinds
of legal drug clinics besides those for marijuana drug use. At present
there are not. It seems that smoking joints as "medical therapy" has
been given special treatment by the governments that regulate it. Hmmmm
I wonder if pot smokers would accept marijuana therapy only in pill
form, with puffing on joints banned. I doubt it.
Anyway, I am departing . You may light up when ready...
Monday, June 2, 2014
Memorial Day Traditions
Another Memorial Day has past, ironically, hardly recognized.
Every year in the U.S. Memorial Day falls at the end of
May. But it
seems now to be a little recognized "holiday". I guess it proves that
remembering people who died in war isn't a celebratory gesture. It
should be of a more personal and quiet recognition. There are many
reasons it is tragic when a soldier dies, but the biggest one may be
the age of the deceased. Whenever a young strong person dies "early" it
seems like he or she has been cheated out of what is natural human life
span. All the experiences we face in life, good and bad, should be a
human entitlement. It is the same kind of situation as when a child
dies before the parent's death. That just shouldn't happen that way. I
think our human nature is to be far more concerned, when the one who
passed away hasn't been given a normal time span in which to life his
or her life.
Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day, mostly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave and there are some ritual practices at the cemetery. It's quite a solemn time. I suppose most nations celebrate a kind of Memorial Day. I do know the Russians make it a very big day in their lives, probably because so many Russians were slaughtered in W.W. I and W.W. II. Just about every Russian citizen has personal ties to soldiers or civilians killed in those wars. Seeing the old Russian men dressed in their military uniforms of long ago is touching in a way.
One the other side of the view of Memorial Day is the fact that many people, like me, have never been touched by death of a family member in a military conflict. They have no family members or any relatives impacted that way. So their reaction to Memorial Day is often to just ignore the holiday. I do that, and I served in the navy after I graduated from college. Memorial Day is one of those national holidays that has a schizophrenic profile. It is recognized with seriousness or completely ignored. There is very little reaction to it in between those two extremes. Anyway, if your own family has been touched by a war time death at the hands of a combatant, remember the loss for both the deceased sake and out of respect for society as a whole.
Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day, mostly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave and there are some ritual practices at the cemetery. It's quite a solemn time. I suppose most nations celebrate a kind of Memorial Day. I do know the Russians make it a very big day in their lives, probably because so many Russians were slaughtered in W.W. I and W.W. II. Just about every Russian citizen has personal ties to soldiers or civilians killed in those wars. Seeing the old Russian men dressed in their military uniforms of long ago is touching in a way.
One the other side of the view of Memorial Day is the fact that many people, like me, have never been touched by death of a family member in a military conflict. They have no family members or any relatives impacted that way. So their reaction to Memorial Day is often to just ignore the holiday. I do that, and I served in the navy after I graduated from college. Memorial Day is one of those national holidays that has a schizophrenic profile. It is recognized with seriousness or completely ignored. There is very little reaction to it in between those two extremes. Anyway, if your own family has been touched by a war time death at the hands of a combatant, remember the loss for both the deceased sake and out of respect for society as a whole.
Trivial Social Media Conversations
Is social media, social or anti social. I wonder. The more I
see of it
and observe the users of social media the more I think that people who
constantly use social media do so to avoid physical contact with
humans. When people post inconsequential notes in a habitual manner,
it might be a defense mechanism acting to cover their lack of
interaction off line. They tell themselves that by posting such things
they are in fact socializing. But they are often socializing only with
themselves in doing so.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to take my time logging on to Face book and sifting through such posts as (these are real ones I just saw a few seconds ago in conjunction with my writing about this subject).
"Hot and stick today. Time to get myself some Gazpacho"
"Me eating Dim Sum at Dim Sum Suk"
"Chillin out loud" (A picture of two empty glasses is shown)
"Go Conchita. Rise like a Phoenix!" (Don't ask me to explain it. I have no idea.)
"Thank God it's Friday. LOL"
"For some reason I'm sitting here now listening to Billy Squier music"
"Hmmmm" ( That was it...just the "Hummm")
Had enough? It is all mush we don't need or want to see and a wasteful use of time for both we and the posters. And remember, this is just a typical slice of social media life that I saw at one glance on an ordinary day. Do we speak to each other the same way when talking in person? Maybe. But we also say significant things when we are interacting face to face. As much as I think most cell phone chat is an abomination and waste of time, social media posts and twitters are probably even more vacuous than cell chat.
I suppose those kids of posts are attempts to garner attention from others. It's a "look at me" manifestation. But if people want to be noticed why would they not post more meaningful things that viewers would actually read and take interest in? The answer may be that social media posts are mostly trivial because the social mediums themselves are trivial. Perhaps they are living up to the low expectations of Face book and the others when they post garbage. It surely is easier to write or post pictures of such fluff than to actually think and converse in a useful or interesting way.
The electronic evolution has freed the slug inside us and encouraged us to be less than we once were. Trivia is now mainstream conversation and the serious....well, you rarely find that on social mediums.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to take my time logging on to Face book and sifting through such posts as (these are real ones I just saw a few seconds ago in conjunction with my writing about this subject).
"Hot and stick today. Time to get myself some Gazpacho"
"Me eating Dim Sum at Dim Sum Suk"
"Chillin out loud" (A picture of two empty glasses is shown)
"Go Conchita. Rise like a Phoenix!" (Don't ask me to explain it. I have no idea.)
"Thank God it's Friday. LOL"
"For some reason I'm sitting here now listening to Billy Squier music"
"Hmmmm" ( That was it...just the "Hummm")
Had enough? It is all mush we don't need or want to see and a wasteful use of time for both we and the posters. And remember, this is just a typical slice of social media life that I saw at one glance on an ordinary day. Do we speak to each other the same way when talking in person? Maybe. But we also say significant things when we are interacting face to face. As much as I think most cell phone chat is an abomination and waste of time, social media posts and twitters are probably even more vacuous than cell chat.
I suppose those kids of posts are attempts to garner attention from others. It's a "look at me" manifestation. But if people want to be noticed why would they not post more meaningful things that viewers would actually read and take interest in? The answer may be that social media posts are mostly trivial because the social mediums themselves are trivial. Perhaps they are living up to the low expectations of Face book and the others when they post garbage. It surely is easier to write or post pictures of such fluff than to actually think and converse in a useful or interesting way.
The electronic evolution has freed the slug inside us and encouraged us to be less than we once were. Trivia is now mainstream conversation and the serious....well, you rarely find that on social mediums.
Chinese Spying On Corporations
Did you see the Chinese reaction to the claim by the U.S.
government that China has gone way over the top in stealing technology
from private U.S. businesses. Six of the larger U.S. corporations,
Westinghouse Electric, U.S. Steel, SolarWorld, United Steel Workers
Union, Allegheny Technologies Inc. and Alcoa were named by the U.S.
government as suffering huge losses from China's cyber attacks and
theft. When nations can't create fast and well they steal, and China
steals more than any other nation.
The theft is so bad that the U.S. is now at the frustrated level, given that for many years China has stolen and spied outside the usual government spying for political and military intelligence. Now that theft has become almost never ending. Instead of just spying on that military plane or other military target as all nations do, China uses it's spies to hack and provide information from U.S. technological inventions and then gives the information to Chinese companies. Despite the protests by the United States, it's nothing new. China has basically copied every western technological invention that has been produced the past 30 years or so, because it is rarely capable of creating it's own innovations through it's own research.
Of course the Chinese government says that the charges are false and should be withdrawn. It claims China never spies at all.....the delusionsal speech of dictators. What else is new? What can be done about the out-of-bounds, non military and political spying out there? Nothing! China is in a catch up fast phase that wants to catch up on technology and innovation with more developed economies. So it must steal to do so.
And who is to say which kind of spying a nation can do? The U.S. and every other nation on earth spies for military and political purposes. Why is that any less ethical that a government is spying on another government's most successful and innovative corporations? So nothing will come of the compliant by the Obama administration. It's the fact of life in our high tech, high communication, world that just about anything can be stolen for any purpose, and will be. I just hope they steal Reality TV...all of it!
The theft is so bad that the U.S. is now at the frustrated level, given that for many years China has stolen and spied outside the usual government spying for political and military intelligence. Now that theft has become almost never ending. Instead of just spying on that military plane or other military target as all nations do, China uses it's spies to hack and provide information from U.S. technological inventions and then gives the information to Chinese companies. Despite the protests by the United States, it's nothing new. China has basically copied every western technological invention that has been produced the past 30 years or so, because it is rarely capable of creating it's own innovations through it's own research.
Of course the Chinese government says that the charges are false and should be withdrawn. It claims China never spies at all.....the delusionsal speech of dictators. What else is new? What can be done about the out-of-bounds, non military and political spying out there? Nothing! China is in a catch up fast phase that wants to catch up on technology and innovation with more developed economies. So it must steal to do so.
And who is to say which kind of spying a nation can do? The U.S. and every other nation on earth spies for military and political purposes. Why is that any less ethical that a government is spying on another government's most successful and innovative corporations? So nothing will come of the compliant by the Obama administration. It's the fact of life in our high tech, high communication, world that just about anything can be stolen for any purpose, and will be. I just hope they steal Reality TV...all of it!
Income Tax Day
April 15th is the day of doom in the United
States. Uh, that would be
the date on which each individual and corporation must turn in their
income tax for and pay whatever taxes they have yet to pay, but still
owe, during the year. Income tax day is a universal pain in the butt. I
guess we should blame the Italians for the income tax. The word tax is
a Latin one that is derived from "Taxo", meaning "I estimate". Ha! If
you estimate your taxes and get it wrong now you will likely be
estimating from prison. About the only thing government is serious
about is getting tax money from its constituents. Roman emperor
Vespasian placed a tax on urine in the 1st century A.D. (Urine at that
time was collected and used as a source of ammonia for tanning hides
and laundering garments). They are so serious here now about getting
owed taxes law, for example, says that if someone reports their company
for tax evasion in the U.S., he or she will receive 30% of the amount
collected.
Since President Obama was elected president income taxes are disappearing on the lower end and increasing on the more wealthy. Around 47% of Americans did not pay income tax last year because they are "too poor" to pay. That seems to violate the old democratic axiom that anyone who makes any income should pay something in taxes because if not they will be irresponsible voters, voting for any politician who reduces or eliminates their tax liability (a method used repeatedly by Obama too win votes).
Then there are the tax write-offs, exclusions and loop holes in the U.S. income tax laws. They make it possible for some (mostly the wealthy) to lower their tax burden substantially. The U.S. Congress , who passes the tax laws, makes it very complicated for one to decipher tax laws. Just knowing what taxes you owe is difficult, meaning more and more income tax filers, at all income levels, use services to figure it all out. Each year over 1 million accountants are hired by people to figure out their taxes.
Despite the Obama cry that "the rich don't pay enough taxes" the IRS, the government's tax agency itself , says that wealthier Americans pay higher taxes than middle or lower income earners. The wealthiest 1% of the population earns 19% of income but pays 37% of the income tax. The top 10% pays 68% of the tab. The bottom 50% earns 13% of the income, but pays just 3% of the taxes. In my view everyone here pays too little in taxes, given all the entitlements they want from the government. Under Obama administration the federal deficit in the United States has tripled in the past 5 years, largely because his philosophy has been to hand out as much "free stuff' to his constituents as possible in return for their votes. It has worked so far if you don't believe the government should worry about paying its debts.
Historians say that tax laws have compromised citizens’ liberty more often than foreign invaders. Ultimately, all good tax systems tend to go bad. In fact, I doubt any nation today can say it has a "fair income tax" system. If you live in Denmark, Sweden or the Netherlands, for example, the average income tax rate is more than half of what the payer makes each year. It would be nice to get rid of this complicated and unfair income tax and replace it with a reasonable tax which everyone pays. Currently, there are only eight countries that do not make their citizens pay an income tax. They are, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait (which gets so much revenue from oil and gas it doesn't need an income tax), the Cayman Islands (a small population that thrives on tourist revenue), Bahrain (but they pay a high social security tax instead) and Bermuda and The Bahamas (bigger than the Cayman Islands, but also benefiting from tourists paying the bills).
May you never be audited by the tax police and may you find as many tax loop holes as possible.
Since President Obama was elected president income taxes are disappearing on the lower end and increasing on the more wealthy. Around 47% of Americans did not pay income tax last year because they are "too poor" to pay. That seems to violate the old democratic axiom that anyone who makes any income should pay something in taxes because if not they will be irresponsible voters, voting for any politician who reduces or eliminates their tax liability (a method used repeatedly by Obama too win votes).
Then there are the tax write-offs, exclusions and loop holes in the U.S. income tax laws. They make it possible for some (mostly the wealthy) to lower their tax burden substantially. The U.S. Congress , who passes the tax laws, makes it very complicated for one to decipher tax laws. Just knowing what taxes you owe is difficult, meaning more and more income tax filers, at all income levels, use services to figure it all out. Each year over 1 million accountants are hired by people to figure out their taxes.
Despite the Obama cry that "the rich don't pay enough taxes" the IRS, the government's tax agency itself , says that wealthier Americans pay higher taxes than middle or lower income earners. The wealthiest 1% of the population earns 19% of income but pays 37% of the income tax. The top 10% pays 68% of the tab. The bottom 50% earns 13% of the income, but pays just 3% of the taxes. In my view everyone here pays too little in taxes, given all the entitlements they want from the government. Under Obama administration the federal deficit in the United States has tripled in the past 5 years, largely because his philosophy has been to hand out as much "free stuff' to his constituents as possible in return for their votes. It has worked so far if you don't believe the government should worry about paying its debts.
Historians say that tax laws have compromised citizens’ liberty more often than foreign invaders. Ultimately, all good tax systems tend to go bad. In fact, I doubt any nation today can say it has a "fair income tax" system. If you live in Denmark, Sweden or the Netherlands, for example, the average income tax rate is more than half of what the payer makes each year. It would be nice to get rid of this complicated and unfair income tax and replace it with a reasonable tax which everyone pays. Currently, there are only eight countries that do not make their citizens pay an income tax. They are, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait (which gets so much revenue from oil and gas it doesn't need an income tax), the Cayman Islands (a small population that thrives on tourist revenue), Bahrain (but they pay a high social security tax instead) and Bermuda and The Bahamas (bigger than the Cayman Islands, but also benefiting from tourists paying the bills).
May you never be audited by the tax police and may you find as many tax loop holes as possible.
International Nose Picking Day
I'm so upset! I just found out I missed International Nose
Picking Day.
I didn't know there was a day when I could do that without social
sanction. Strangely, International Nose Picking Day falls on the same
day each year as the anniversary of the death of the world's greatest
English language writer, William Shakespeare. What could the connection
be? It might be that because many historians believe that Shakespeare
did not write much of what is attributed to him, he probably sits above
in writers heaven and thumbs (not picks) his nose at those eggheads who
doubt him.
The strange people who celebrate nose picking each year say that on that glorious Shakespearean style day we should do one or more nosey things. Of course, first we should pick our noses to our noses delight. Polls show that 91% of humans who are asked if they do, declare they often pick their noses. Anyway, nose picking is the act of extracting dried nasal mucus and foreign bodies from the nose with our fingers (you use yours on your own nose and I'll use mine on mine...no sharing, Please!) Though this is a disgusting practice to observe in others it is a universally habitual one. The average person picks his or her nose at least 4 times each day. How many times have you picked yours today?
The other things that are recommended for nose picking day are to: tell your favorite nose picking stories in group sessions, to practice nose hair maintenance (mainly, to clip those unsightly nose hairs from public view), to host a nose party with games that give Kleenex tissues as prizes, and to get a pair of those funny glasses with the big nose and wear them while in public. Thank God there is no recommendation to consume the contents of the nose pick. I don't even want to know if some chef is cooking a nose pick dish. And I don't know about you, but I sure hope no one sends me a "Happy Nose Picking Day" E card on International Nose Picking Day. That would be something to sneeze at.
This International Nose Picking Day things is too nasty and bizarre for me to continue writing. The good news for we who think nose picking should be kept a private act is that on February 28th, about two months before International Nose Picking Day, is International Don't Pick Your Nose Day. It's a good idea, but how much fun can that be? Anyway, may all our nose picks this year be fulfilling ones.
The strange people who celebrate nose picking each year say that on that glorious Shakespearean style day we should do one or more nosey things. Of course, first we should pick our noses to our noses delight. Polls show that 91% of humans who are asked if they do, declare they often pick their noses. Anyway, nose picking is the act of extracting dried nasal mucus and foreign bodies from the nose with our fingers (you use yours on your own nose and I'll use mine on mine...no sharing, Please!) Though this is a disgusting practice to observe in others it is a universally habitual one. The average person picks his or her nose at least 4 times each day. How many times have you picked yours today?
The other things that are recommended for nose picking day are to: tell your favorite nose picking stories in group sessions, to practice nose hair maintenance (mainly, to clip those unsightly nose hairs from public view), to host a nose party with games that give Kleenex tissues as prizes, and to get a pair of those funny glasses with the big nose and wear them while in public. Thank God there is no recommendation to consume the contents of the nose pick. I don't even want to know if some chef is cooking a nose pick dish. And I don't know about you, but I sure hope no one sends me a "Happy Nose Picking Day" E card on International Nose Picking Day. That would be something to sneeze at.
This International Nose Picking Day things is too nasty and bizarre for me to continue writing. The good news for we who think nose picking should be kept a private act is that on February 28th, about two months before International Nose Picking Day, is International Don't Pick Your Nose Day. It's a good idea, but how much fun can that be? Anyway, may all our nose picks this year be fulfilling ones.
Hats
If you watched the classic film, 'Easter Parade' this Easter
or notice some newspaper photos of Easter Bonnets you might be
wondering what happened to all the hats people used to wear. Those
garish looking Easter Bonnets has thinking about hats. I
only wear a hat to protect me from the sun, and only if I am going to
be exposed to it for a great deal of time. Otherwise, I am not a hat
wearer because they don't seem to fit my personality. They feel
uncomfortable on me, and I don't see any fashion aspect to them when
worn by me. Fashion seems to be the main reason people wear them
today, though some others like me wear them only to protect against the
elements, because they have always worn them or to hide a bald dome or
some physical attribute for which they are self conscious. I general,
I think men wear them more often for utilitarian reasons and women wear
them more often as fashion statements.
My only hats are baseball caps used to protect my fair skin from the sun. My favorite is the one I bought for a dollar in Beijing at the Great Wall of China. It says, in Chinese, "I climbed the Great Wall". That's a bit outdated because I doubt if I could make it up more than a few steps these days. Maybe I should get a new one that says, "I am too old, out of shape and lazy the climb the Great Wall." It's one of the few hats I own, but then, I have no desire for any other style than that. Speaking of that, the best way to make yourself look incredibly stupid is to wear a baseball cap turned around, the bill facing the back. It screams, "Look at me I am stupid".
Hat's have been around since 3200 BC, this according to the cave wall paintings of the time. In 70 AD a young Danish tribal chief fell into a bog in near perfect condition along with his pieced leather and fur cap. This is one of the earliest physical representations of hats that has been found. Maybe he was the cool dude of the times. Some say that the most recognizable male hat came about at the end of the 1700's in England, the 'top hat'. Now that's stylish! I think a person with as little class as me would be laughed at if I wore a top hat. But someone with intelligence, money and power, a Warren Buffet for instance, even today would look good in a top hat. Top Hats are still around in places of wealth, as in country clubs, at the opera or other exclusive places that would bar me if I tried to visit. Top hats are for the rich and famous, baseball hats for the common crowd.
Anyway, hats have a long history as markers of status, occupation, and even political affiliation. There are as many types of hats as are personality types, and that's a lot. The goofiest hat in use today may be those political campaign hats that say ridiculous things like, 'Harry Jones- Vote for America's Savior'. Given that the last great generation of hat wearing was in pre W.W. II days, my theory on those who still often wear hats today is that they tend to be more daring and unconventional personalities who want to set style, not reflect it. It's not likely that hat wearing will ever disappear, mainly because it is a way to draw attention to the face. Women, in particular use them for that reason. People who are fashion conscious will always like them. If I were fashionable and had on a hat I would tip it to you right now. You'll just have to use your imagination for that.
My only hats are baseball caps used to protect my fair skin from the sun. My favorite is the one I bought for a dollar in Beijing at the Great Wall of China. It says, in Chinese, "I climbed the Great Wall". That's a bit outdated because I doubt if I could make it up more than a few steps these days. Maybe I should get a new one that says, "I am too old, out of shape and lazy the climb the Great Wall." It's one of the few hats I own, but then, I have no desire for any other style than that. Speaking of that, the best way to make yourself look incredibly stupid is to wear a baseball cap turned around, the bill facing the back. It screams, "Look at me I am stupid".
Hat's have been around since 3200 BC, this according to the cave wall paintings of the time. In 70 AD a young Danish tribal chief fell into a bog in near perfect condition along with his pieced leather and fur cap. This is one of the earliest physical representations of hats that has been found. Maybe he was the cool dude of the times. Some say that the most recognizable male hat came about at the end of the 1700's in England, the 'top hat'. Now that's stylish! I think a person with as little class as me would be laughed at if I wore a top hat. But someone with intelligence, money and power, a Warren Buffet for instance, even today would look good in a top hat. Top Hats are still around in places of wealth, as in country clubs, at the opera or other exclusive places that would bar me if I tried to visit. Top hats are for the rich and famous, baseball hats for the common crowd.
Anyway, hats have a long history as markers of status, occupation, and even political affiliation. There are as many types of hats as are personality types, and that's a lot. The goofiest hat in use today may be those political campaign hats that say ridiculous things like, 'Harry Jones- Vote for America's Savior'. Given that the last great generation of hat wearing was in pre W.W. II days, my theory on those who still often wear hats today is that they tend to be more daring and unconventional personalities who want to set style, not reflect it. It's not likely that hat wearing will ever disappear, mainly because it is a way to draw attention to the face. Women, in particular use them for that reason. People who are fashion conscious will always like them. If I were fashionable and had on a hat I would tip it to you right now. You'll just have to use your imagination for that.
Green Day
Every year April 22nd is Green Day, a world wide alleged environmental educational day. This started in 1970 and many consider that the birth of the modern environmental movement happened because of Green Day. That is good because humans do pollute and destroy their environment too much. But I wonder sometimes if some of the rhetoric about environmentalism isn't killing the movement itself. The gross, exaggerations about the "global warming" theory, for example, has made many distrust anything that movement says. Falsified data, bizarre conclusions and very selective and slanted views don't help convinced others of a theory. In short, the environmentalists have dropped the ball with their poor communication skills.
Nonetheless, the Green movement has been an overall success in making many people in many countries (though few in the underdeveloped lands that struggle so much economically that being green is a pipe dream, and where much of the environmental abuse happens) better educated and more aware of the need to reduce waste and make choices that are less harsh for the environment. But I think the environmental movement has clumsily mis stepped in its attempts through the arrogance and intolerance in its confusing messages. Perhaps it should narrow its focus on real environmental threats and not demonize those who resist the gospel of the movement. If so, the public might be more receptive to the messages environmentalism sends out.
The language environmentalists use is often false, silly and deceptive (the term "climate deniers" may be the best example of disingenuous rhetoric by some environmentalists) . "Global Warming", for instance, as a name for a theory that human beings change climate, is so wrong that the movement itself denounced the term and substituted a less silly "climate change" for it. And ignoring the idiotic ramblings of shysters like Al Gore was a move forward. But what is the message today about the subject? Uh, it's too bizarre to ever understand. And this is why theories that humans control climate and are changing it should be banished from the Green crowd's rhetoric. Instead, focusing on real environmental problems that humans know are real might be a better approach and make the world take the message more seriously.
My own suggestion is to promote the world overpopulation problem in poor nations as the single biggest environmental concern (it clearly is), and the one that humans can most easily attack. Reduce the population and all the other environmental concerns start to disappear, as resources are no longer consumed at alarmingly high levels. It's a simple concept that people see every day and fully understand and believe. Unlike politicians, who are politically correct and concerned about offending those whose support they need, the environmentalist can speak freely and honestly to point that the huge population boom is the real deleterious impact on the earth. People don't listen when the speech is nonsense, as in the global warming silliness. But they do see overpopulation's effects every day of their lives.
I see the Green movement as one of the most important vehicles to educate and enable the population to force the political world to make the changes necessary that really could make the world run cleaner and with less damage to the environment. Gee, if it really would happen the way I envision maybe we can draw straws to see who gets to be a member of the Al Gore firing squad......
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