That's How the Light Gets In

On the Electoral College With all due respect to the wisdom and genius of the Founding Fathers, I believe they got one thing wrong: the electoral college. It is completely understandable.   I sometimes forget that there were no other democracies at the time; they were breaking new ground.   Whenever I hear politicians or pundits dodge hard questions by saying they don't want to engage in speculation, I think, "What cowardice."   The Founders had no maps, no manuals, no precedents to inform them other than the ancient Greeks, whose democracies were only for a small minority of the people, or the democratic principles practiced by some Native American tribes. So, it is understandable that they were hesitant to turn over all the power to all the people.   Even today, I think if we're honest, not many of us are completely comfortable with 100% suffrage.   I know I've felt that democracy is good, but I'm a little nervous about "those guys" v...

Well John Henry said to the captain "By   god I ain't no fool Before I die with a hammer in my hand I'm gonna get me a steam drill, too, lord, lord Get me a steam drill, too" - parody by the great Smothers Brothers They had the right idea.   Instead of millions of workers being put out of work by robots, workers should have ownership of the robots that replace them, which they then lease to the companies that they once worked for, giving them a wage, a stake in the success of the company, and the opportunity to do other work as well.   This would be not too dissimilar to the annual dividends that all Alaskans get from the energy companies, although there will need to be an alternative as we move away from fossil fuels.   This would all fall under the broad umbrella of taking care of the common good, a concept that we've too often replaced with individualism.   Entrepreneurial spirit is fine.   I had it when I ran a small business. ...

On Bucking the Odds A good friend of mine expressed this sentiment concerning the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court: "He'll get appointed no matter what Democrats do or the public does."   The same could be said about Donald Trump and Republican Senators and Representatives carrying out their agendas.   That conclusion, while often true, reflects an attitude that disturbs me.   It's an attitude of resignation and defeat, where I would prefer an attitude of committing to the struggle despite the odds.   Now I agree that one should be as objective as possible, particularly in terms of strategizing in the face of overwhelming odds.   One's options can be extremely limited.   But if you quit the fight before it's over, you're just accepting victimization, which can quickly turn into seeking pity.   I prefer losing in the ring to seeking pity for quitting the fight.   I believe even the person quoted above believes, or wants...

On the Benefit of the Doubt, for Countries and Catholics For the past 50 years I have given a pass to average citizens when it comes to the actions of their governments.   I will continue to do so for the citizens who live under monarchies or dictatorships, because they have extremely little voice in public policy, and dissent can be very dangerous, if not fatal.   However, citizens of democracies I now hold more accountable. The events of the past two years have caused me to change my thinking.   During that time when the actions of the Trump campaign and administration were abhorrent, I first blamed them.   Then, gradually I began to give a considerable share of the blame to Republicans in Congress, who have allowed it. But listening to the comparisons to the Nixon administration gave me additional insight, things I didn't remember or was unaware of dispite living through the Watergate era.   Namely, Republicans then did not act until the polls s...

Inspired by "Is religion a force for good in the world?" - the debates with Christopher Hitchens Let's compare general religious tenets with general humanistic tenets: I assert that to be a good humanist you must follow the rules.   To be a good religious person you must break the rules. Religious:                                             Humanistic: love thy neighbor                                   love thy neighbor do good works                                       do good works live according to the scriptures              live according to what can be drawn from evidence (science) try to follow the dictates of god       ...

The National Rifle Association-backed gun advocates claim that passing this law or that law wouldn't have prevented this mass shooting or that mass shooting.  It's a completely false argument.  It's like saying that passing this election reform law or that election reform law wouldn't have prevented Donald Trump or Mitch McConnell or Paul Ryan from being elected.  It may be true, but it would be a good start. - Pete Barkett   02/22/18

Black Lives Matter - I Should Have Said You know how you always think of something to say right after it's too late?  Well, I got lucky.  I got a second chance. At our pizza place, a regular but infrequent customer came in and commented on our "Black Lives Matter" sign, saying the usual, "all lives matter."  He took his pizza and left, and, of course, a little while later I thought of a reply. This guy comes in about 5 or 6 times a year.  So, a couple of months later, he came back and again said, "all lives matter."  A rare opportunity emerged.  I said, "You're a union guy, right?  So, if the company was locking you out and trying to destroy the union, you might picket and carry a sign that said, 'Union Jobs Matter', not implying that other jobs don't matter, but that union jobs are under attack." His response was to completely ignore that, but we did talk about his decades-long union experiences for a while. ...