Hot Button - Race

Racism has become a  hot topic since the tragedy in Charlottesville. There is widespread agreement that time has come for a dialog on race and racism. I am certain that this is an issue that is far too complicated for an 800-word column. So, I will be doing a series on this issue alone.

Let’s start with the concept of race itself. What is a race? Well, you think you have the answer. Obviously, there is a visible difference between black people, Asians, American Hispanics, and American Indians. There are also dark skinned and light skinned people of India. Are these different races?

There are Jews throughout the world, each with different outward appearances. For the most part, the outward appearance of most Jews is indistinguishable from the others living in a given location. Is there a racial difference or merely a religious difference?

Many Muslims have olive skin. Ah, but many Italians also have olive skin. How do you define that racial difference? What about the light skinned Muslims, or even the black Muslims?

These people are all different, they are all individual, and they have different backgrounds and cultures. But are they racially different? In the November 1997 edition of Anthropology Newsletter, a piece titled ORIGIN OF THE IDEA OF RACE by Audrey Smedley said this:

    "Contemporary scholars agree that 'race' was a recent invention and that it was essentially a folk idea, not a product of scientific research and discovery. This is not new to anthropologists. Since the 1940s when Ashley Montagu argued against the use of the term ‘race’ in science, a growing number of scholars in many disciplines have declared that the real meaning of race in American society has to do with social realities, quite distinct from physical variations in the human species. I argue that race was institutionalized beginning in the eighteenth-century as a worldview, a set of culturally created attitudes and beliefs about human group differences."

So, if there is no actual scientific distinction defining race, what is it? Here is what science does know. Around 200-thousand years ago There were different species of anthropoids roaming the earth. There were Australopithecus,  Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis. Homo Neanderthal and Denisovans. Suddenly a much more refined skeletal group,  Homo Sapiens Sapiens appeared. While Neanderthals were more robust and had a larger brain case, Homo Sapiens grew to be a more technologically and culturally advanced species. Evidence has recently been discovered that Homo Sapiens may have appeared in more than one place, but the traditional school is that they first originated from a single place in Africa. Regardless of exactly where in Africa they first appeared the origin is still African.

Over the millennia, wanderlust spread these people to all points of the earth. Although DNA testing has shown that Homo Sapiens likely mated with Neanderthals, the predominant species trait remained that of Homo Sapiens. Yes, folks, we are all Africans. It doesn’t matter if your ancestors are Scandinavian, Asian or South American, THEIR ancestors were ALL African. We look different because of genetic mutations in our single species due to location. DNA analysis and global testing have identified locales where genetic mutations have occurred and can identify your recent ancestry, but the basic human genome is, for the most part, the same for every human. We all evolved from the original African ancestor.

Our characteristic differences are in fact mostly mere cultural differences and have nothing to do with actually being different humans. Race is, if anything, merely a cultural trait. So let’s quit calling it a racial divide and identify the true culprit, culture. 

Throughout the world, culture has levels of economic distinction. In Europe, you have a culture of the nobility and a distinctly different culture of the low-born. While much of that difference has been slowly and painfully erased, there is and may always be a distinct cultural difference between rich and poor anywhere in the world. So now we can identify culture and economic status as the driving force for the divide we call race.

It could also be argued that education may also lead to those cultural differences. In fact, education leads to economic differences, which in turn leads to cultural differences. So we are still stuck with the cultural distinction in our differences.

In the “great melting pot” of America we have assimilated many cultures. Poor Irish and Italians came to America bringing the traditions of their homeland.  They were ostracized until both they and the rest of the country assimilated this new culture. Asians came to this country bringing an entirely foreign culture. Again assimilation became the key to acceptance. 

Freed slaves were the poorest of the poor. These people who had themselves been considered property suddenly found they had no property or wealth. The contentious slavery issue that had divided the country would not be settled with the Emancipation Proclamation. Those who had fought to free the slaves had no plans beyond emancipation. They weren’t about to take responsibility for feeding, housing, and educating the millions of former slaves. The slave culture was entirely foreign and repugnant to those who had never lived that kind of life. Free Americans weren’t about to assimilate that culture into theirs. Blacks, former slaves, were left to fend for themselves in a land that had no use for their class.

Fast-forward a hundred years and things began to come to a head. The civil rights movement was in high gear. Segregation was outlawed, schools were integrated, workplace equality was mandated, quotas and priorities are now granted to people of color. Yet, their economic and educational level still remains predominantly below that of other cultures. And although they are making gains, there is still an attitude that “we” aren’t doing enough for the blacks. In the black homeland of Africa, you have the same economic and cultural divide and it has nothing to do with “race.” 

Okay, let’s quit calling it a “racial” divide and give it a more logical nomenclature, “cultural” divide. When viewed from this standpoint it may give us a handle to address the “divide” portion of the problem. Next, I will attempt will cover the concept of racism and racists, why it exists, who practices it, and, hopefully,  how to end it.

Erasing History and Other Tragedies

By now I’m sure you have seen the tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia. In case you were on vacation at the South Pole and happened not to hear about it, let me bring you up to date. Keep in mind that I was not personally there and have no first-hand knowledge of the event happenings. Most of what I know has been from the left-leaning, Trump-hating media. Unlike most Americans, I have also sought out other reports as well. 

At the center of the Charlottesville, tragedy is a “larger than life” statue of Confederate General Robert Edward Lee. It was erected in the city park in 1924 and had stood peacefully for nearly a century to remind people of not the travesty of the Civil war but the proud Virginian who became superintendent of the US Army Academy at West Point and was asked by President Lincoln to head the Union Army. 

Lee disagreed with slavery and believed that secession was unwise. He wrote: “I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, & I am willing to sacrifice every thing but honour for its preservation...”

He viewed his service to the South not as a fight against the Union, but as a defense of Virginia. Declining President Lincoln’s offer Lee said,“I shall never bear arms against the Union, but it may be necessary for me to carry a musket in the defense of my native state, Virginia, in which case I shall not prove recreant to my duty.” Confederate States President, Jefferson Davis commissioned Lee General of the Army of Northern Virginia.  

It is indeed sad that the memorial to a man of this stature has become entangled in the craze for removal of Civil War history. It seems clear that there are those who would entirely erase the Civil War from the history of the United States. Arlington Cemetery was once Robert E. Lee’s home; should we dig up all of the American heroes buried there and plow under the cemetery ground? Will we eventually eliminate all images of those great men who happened to own slaves? Jefferson’s pictures will be wiped from the face of the earth, Washington will no longer be on the dollar bill. Should we rename Washington state and Washington DC? Oh, but the Washington Monument will just have to go. Where does this insanity stop? History is like yesterday’s football score; you may not like it but you can’t undo it.

Okay, back to Charlottesville. As with any action, there is always a reaction, both in physics and any other action. It was inevitable that there would be protests against the removal of the statue. Many people are not happy with this drive to remove relics of the Civil War. It is truly lamentable that the protest against removal included some of the worst organizations of our society. It is also sad that members of these organizations stood shoulder-to-shoulder alongside good citizens whose only wish was to bring to light the disappointment at the decision to remove Lee’s statue. 

Action-reaction, of course, a protest of this nature was bound to bring out anti-protesters, supporters of removal. Given the heated nature of this subject, it should also have been clear that there would be clashes, even violence. You can’t mix KKK, and Neo-Nazis with Black Lives Matter and Antifa and expect all to be calm and collected.  Of course, there will be clashes. It is the job of the police to see that clashes don’t turn violent. The best way to ensure that is for both sides to be separated by distance.  The Charlottesville police failed to adequately separate the two groups. Adding to the injury, there are reports that the Charlottesville mayor told the police to stand down when violence first broke out! If these reports are true, that mayor should be removed and prosecuted for inciting a riot.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not in the least supporting either the protesters or the anti-protesters. The violence was wrong. It was wrong for outside groups to become involved in a local matter. It was tragic that a crazed idiot took it upon himself to run down people with his car. Racism is the scourge of this country and of our planet.

Well, to no one’s great surprise President Trump was blamed, both by the media and many legislators. It’s strange that I haven’t heard anyone reveal that Trump invited White Supremacists groups or even David Duke to the rally. He probably wasn’t even aware that there would be a protest in Charlottesville. Does he even have a hotel there? I think not. Maybe he didn’t even know where Charlottesville was.

After the tragic incident of some crazed idiot plowing into the crowd -- incidentally, he may not have even known who all was in that group he hit; there could have been some of those he supported in it -- the President decried the violence and clash of racists “on both sides.”

Not good enough the Trump haters said. Okay, on Tuesday he expanded his condemnation saying “racism is evil” he proceeded to  include groups by name and continued, “and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the K.K.K., neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.”

For eight years President Obama stirred the fires of division and discontent every time a race riot broke out. At Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore all he could do was blame the white police. He praised Travon Martin, even saying that if he had a son he would look like Martin. What did the media do? Not much. They threw as much support to Obama and the other race-baiters as the possibly could.

Finally we have a president who doesn’t cow-tow to the media and says what’s on his mind and not what is politically correct for the moment. He doesn’t deserve the deplorable press he is getting on this and any other matter. Donald Trump isn’t a supporter of the Alt-right. He doesn’t even know what that means. Come to think of it neither do I.

The Great California Lifestyle

I have had friends ask why I don’t write much about California government. After all, I do live in Southern Cal. Well, what can I say that everyone doesn’t already know?

We all know the state is infested with Demoncrats. We know the Demoncrats have a super-majority vote in our state government and can do all the damage their evil heart's desire. We know that Proposition 13 was merely a speed bump for Democrat taxing; they simply rename taxes to fees and keep on digging into our wallets.

But, wasn’t there a proposition that limited the state’s ability to raise taxes without a referendum? Ah, yes, another speed bump. And again, they have managed to get around that with the “fee” gambit. Oops, there was a loophole in that proposition, that Jerry Brown just drove his bullet train through. They forgot to limit sales taxes and fuel taxes! So be prepared, friends and neighbors, starting July you will be seeing sticker shock at the pump -- and it won’t be the oil industry’s fault this time.

Okay, what about our California lifestyle? Isn’t is the greatest place to be living? Our home values are going up, the weather is great, we no longer suffer from water shortages, we have Disneyland.

Yes, our home values are going up. But don’t celebrate just yet. Your property taxes just went up too. And that drought thing here’s a secret they don’t want you to know ... it will be back.

As for lifestyle, check out the crime rate. Yep, it’s up. Why? I guess that’s what we should have expected when they opened the jail doors and shortened or commuted sentences for felons. And that death penalty we overwhelmingly voted to keep, well, those sentenced to death are still dying ... of old age. It seems that since we voted to speed up the process for death sentences, the bleeding-hearts in government can’t seem to figure out how. Maybe Jerry Brown can pardon them all on his way out when his term is up.

Speaking of our illustrious four-term governor, how the hell did he ever get back in the governor’s mansion? Wouldn’t you think the people of this state would have had enough of Governor Moonbeam after his first two terms? When he campaigned for his comeback third term he told us not to worry about having to put up with him for a forth because he was too old. Yet, another campaign promise was broken.

After the last election, our state became the political outsider. Sacramento Democrats are working overtime to thwart any and all presidential actions. Trump and the Republicans want to dump the ACA (Affordable Cara Act, aka Obamacare). Well, the geniuses on Sacramento have decided to do the socialist thing on their own and give everyone -- and I do mean everyone, citizens, illegal immigrants, and anyone else on California soil -- “free” healthcare. Of course, they haven’t said just how the state will pay for this freebee. I think we all know who will get that bill. It won’t be the elves digging up California gold, or the Hollywood millionaires who cater to these Demoncrats.

Yes, folks, life is great in this fine state. Even better if you speak Spanish, the unofficial second and soon to be the first language of California. Oh, and Disneyland, if you happen to have a small fortune laying around that the government hasn’t managed to get a hold of, you might be able to visit that tourist paradise and stand in the long lines for hours. But hey, the weather is nice ... mostly.

Trump the Climate Change

On June First, our president continued his pledge to undo the damage Barrack Obama did to our nation. This time President Trump announced the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Well, almost withdraw. Under terms of the agreement, we will not actually be able to completely withdraw until 2020, after Trump’s first presidential term. Until then the US will still be expected to be an active member, as well as a significant financial contributor.

Even though we won’t actually abandon the Paris accord, the Democrats, and their lap dogs, the mainstream media continue their campaign to discredit President Trump. Of course, this should not be much of a surprise. Our President can’t go to the restroom without the media throwing a negative spin on it and the Democrats calling for an investigation of the smell.

It is no secret that President Trump believes climate change is a hoax. He has said that on several occasions. But what, exactly, does that mean?

There can be no denying that the climate is changing. The climate has been changing since this planet finally cooled enough for there to be a climate. We have gone through extreme cold ice ages to warm, dry desertification periods like the one that created the Great Sahara.

Ah, but scientists have identified humans as being the cause of our latest climate change. Okay, maybe not all scientists. In fact, those that have condemned humans for creating the “greenhouse effect” have been revealed for creating slanted, if not actual false, data to support their cause.

Here are a few points to consider. First, the greenhouse effect is real ... thankfully. Without the greenhouse effect, we would be fried crisp, life could not exist on this planet. But did we cause it, and more importantly, can we control it?

Obviously, we didn’t create the greenhouse effect. Have we placed the greenhouse gasses out of balance? Climate change believers say we have. The primary greenhouse gasses are, in order of magnitude, water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone. There are others but these are the major contributors.

Water vapor makes up the largest portion of greenhouse gas, from 36% to 72%. This is a very effective component, as evidenced by the effect of clouds. Has water vapor increased? How can that be quantified? Can we control it? If we could control -- create or reduce -- water vapor in the air, there would be no droughts. No, we aren’t creating water vapor, nor can we control it.

Carbon dioxide makes up anywhere from 9% to 26%. There is no doubt that humans are generating carbon dioxide. But we are not the only contributor of this gas. At any given time there are on average anywhere from 50 to 70 volcanic eruptions every year. Besides the caustic gasses and lava spewed out by these beasts, there is a significant amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Then there are also thousands of wildfires raging continually throughout the world all generating, guess what, carbon dioxide. Do we contribute to this greenhouse gas? Undoubtedly, but how significant is our contribution within that 9 to 26 percent range?

Next, comes methane making up from 4% to 9% of the greenhouse gas. Methane is a natural substance on our planet. There are massive glaciers of methane in the oceans. It also rests in fissures within the earth’s crust. In fact, methane, aka natural gas, is being promoted by the Green people as a viable alternative energy source. But true to form these Greens point to the smelly methane in the flatulence of cows as the source of the nasty greenhouse gas. C’mon, cows? What about beans? They always give me gas. Should we do away with beans?

Rounding out the greenhouse gas is ozone, which makes up from 3% to 7% of the total. Remember a few years back when the lack of ozone created hysteria about a hole in the ozone layer over Antartica? The whole world had to change refrigerant to keep from killing the ozone. Now we have too much of it? C’mon, you can’t have it both ways. We either have too much or too little ozone. Take your pick.

Climate change is a natural occurrence and has been throughout the history of this planet. With or without humans the climate will change. Wouldn’t a wiser strategy be to devise ways to adapt to those changes? When the ice age was upon us, humans adapted to the cold by donning clothing and heating with fire. When the heat became overbearing, humans invented air conditioning and refrigeration. When glaciers melted and formed lakes and rivers, people moved to drier land. When the lush, verdant savannas of the Sahara turned to desert, most of the inhabitants moved to a friendlier climate. Those that remained learned to adapt to the hot, dry climate.

Humans are masters of adaptation. Yet we deplete our economies and stifle businesses in a futile effort to control the climate -- to change nature. We should be placing those resources in measures for adaptation to the changing climate. The Paris accord has no provisions for adaptation. We are wise not to be part of an enterprise that is doomed to failure.

Our Shadow Government

In 2008, Barrack Obama was elected President of the United States. As an avowed socialist, he did much that aggravated conservatives. Obama arguably even worked against several constitutional requirements and on more than one occasion disparaged that august document. 

All during Obama’s two terms, the news media gave him a pass for every action he did against the interest of our country. When he went on an international apology tour, the media was silent. When he bowed to foreign dignitaries, the media was silent. When he issued illegal executive orders countermanding immigration law, the media glossed it over. When the IRS, under his administration, sought to punish conservative organizations, the media winked as they reported it. For eight years the only public condemnation of actions by this anti-American president came from social media and Fox news.

What a difference there is when the shoe is on the conservative foot. There seems to be a shadow liberal government formed by the media and Democrats. Every action our duly elected president, Donald J. Trump, does brings down immediate condemnation in the media and instant rejection and retribution by Democrats. It seems our president can’t go to the bathroom without the media crying foul over the smell for weeks and some Democrat congressman or senator threatening an investigation.

Liberals -- okay, progressives, socialists, communists or whatever they choose to call themselves at the moment -- have become masters of intolerance. I get that they didn’t vote for Trump; I get that they have a heightened personal dislike for Trump; I even get that they are peeved about Trump thwarting their dream of creating a socialist utopia in this country. But by their absurd rejection of Trump’s every waking hour they are merely driving the wedge that Obama created between liberals and conservatives deeper. Perhaps at no time in the history of this country since the civil war has the divide been more pronounced than now.

The fires of dissent are being fueled by Obama’s “shadow government.” That’s right folks, our ex-president’s Organization for Action (aka: OFA) may well be behind this division. Funded by the likes of the noted subversive billionaire, George Soros, Obama has created and distributed a manual for resistance and disruption at any Republican meeting or Town Hall. The mainstream media have always leaned left. I’m sure it wouldn’t take much effort for the OFA to coordinate media disruption of the Trump administration. 

We only saw sporadic demonstrations -- freeway blocking, women’s march, a few protest movements, California’s threat to secede -- in the beginning, but the news media seems to now be on board with Obama’s OFA. Every time President Trump does or says anything, even the most benign things, the media casts it in a negative light. Several states and local governments are actively working against presidential and congress on things like immigration and climate change. There always seems to be a convenient liberal Federal Judge to thwart Trump’s executive orders. Although I can’t remember any conservative judge blocking any of Obama’s illegal executive orders. 

The fact is our president is doing exactly what he promised. No, that is not expected to appease those who didn’t vote for him. On the other hand, the half of the country that did vote for him are getting exactly what they asked for. By not recognizing that fact, the left is creating a massive us-verses-them environment and in the process not doing this country or it’s citizens one bit of good.

Yes, there is a very real shadow government that is actively out to subvert any and all actions by our legally elected president. And for what purpose? Nearly half of the voters in this country are conservative. This shadow government is driving the wedge deeper and hardening the conservative stance. These liberals aren’t going to win converts to their cause, certainly not this way. States like Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming are tending ever more toward the conservative cause, while California and New York are leaning further toward the socialist edge. Our country is experiencing a de facto Mason-Dixon line once again. The last time this occurred there was a civil war. Could this be in our future once again?

Just Plain Fed Up

To say that Donald Trump’s election was a surprise would be the understatement of the century. The democrats and Mainstream News Media were astounded, world leaders were flabbergasted, and  Hillary Clinton was devastated. Even republicans, especially those who lost in the preliminary election were surprised. Perhaps the most surprised person in the whole process was Donald Trump. This was evident the other day when at a televised outdoor meeting in the White House rose garden, he said in astonishment, “I’m president! Can you believe that?”

Meanwhile, political pundits and analysts keep poring over election results and shaking their heads. Columns and papers are published with a profusion of reasons for the election results. So far, none that I have read have even come close to revealing the true reason for Clinton’s loss and Trump’s win.

Did Hillary lose because of her gender? Well, she did garner some 2 million votes more than Trump. Did the Electoral College do her in? Nope, the electoral college merely leveled the field to give the less populous states a fair shake in the election.

Hillary blames former FBI director James Comey for the ‘October Surprise’, but now that he has been fired he is no longer the goat, he is a martyr. How about the WikiLeaks factor? C’mon now, everybody knows that politicians -- especially democrats -- are masters of shady deals. Was it really surprising that the Clinton campaign was out to do Sanders in and the DNC was in collusion with that strategy?

How about those pesky Russians? It looks like the democrats are going to ride this one out for every penny’s worth. But even if the Russians were behind the hacked campaign chair emails, did it slant the election? No, it only revealed what everyone already knew, Clinton was running a crooked campaign.

No, my friends, the real reason Donald Trump is sitting in the Oval Office today is because he is not and has never been part of the Washington political scene. People are simply fed up with politicians.

Ask any person who voted for Trump why they did so and you are likely to hear, “because he’s not a politician.” Right, as arrogant and bombastic as he is, Trump is no politician. And over the last 100 some days that has become painfully evident.

When asked a question, most experienced politicians will hesitate while weighing the politically correct answer for the moment then either double talk some political blather or dance around the answer and completely avoid the question. Trump has no filter on his mouth. What comes out is something regurgitated from his gut while bypassing his brain headed straight to his mouth. In truth, even he must be surprised at what he says sometimes. 

Well, there you have it. We were fed up with Washington politics, elected an outsider, and wound up with an amateur president. The only thing I can say about that is that the change is both entertaining and refreshing. One can only hope that his on-the-job training period ends before he does himself in. His ideas and intentions are all in the right direction. His execution of those ideas needs a good bit of polishing -- and maybe a zipper on his mouth.

Fly the Unfriendly Skies?

United Airlines has been on my no-fly list for decades, but the latest fiasco only serves to fortify my resolve to walk before flying that airline.

Back in the last century, I had the unfortunate experience of being booked on a United flight from Pittsburgh. In those days, the hub for United was in Chicago. Most flights across the country connected there. Everyone knows the weather in Chicago in the spring is dicey, but I had no choice in the matter. The flight was booked for me.

Now, I had flown on United before and wasn’t real fond of their service. Like I said, I had no choice in time, place, or carrier.

We boarded the flight in Pittsburgh expecting to be in Chicago in a few hours and routinely catch my connecting flight to Los Angeles. Five hours later we were still sitting in the aircraft on the tarmac in Pittsburgh. The Chicago area was under a tornado warning.

We were offered no refreshments or even water. We simply sat in our seats for five hours until finally, the plane fired up and we were on our way to Chicago. Of course, my connecting flight was long gone.

At the United counter, I asked how they were going to get me home. “You missed your flight”, the agent said. I think his name must have been Captain Obvious. I can’t repeat what I said, but eventually, a manager appeared. After a few more unprintable words, they finally booked me on a flight that would leave the next day. Whoa Charlie, now I have to be here overnight? Who’s going to pay for that?

After a few more choice words, the manager found me a room in the Airport Ramada hotel where the United Airline personnel stay. I said room, well, it did have a bed … and a shower. My room was in the basement of the building, but what the hey, it was better than sleeping in the terminal. And that shower was just what the day called for. Of course, some towels and soap would have been a nice touch. I would have called the front desk but there was no phone in the room.

The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful, but that was the last time I would ever fly United Airlines, friendly skies or not.

I have since heard horror stories of others that flew on United. Never could I even imagine any airline would beat and drag a person off the plane so one of their people could have a seat. Unfathomable draconian acts of this nature don’t even happen in third world countries.

Now the CEO of United Airlines has bent over backward to apologize to the doctor they beat and literally dragged off the plane. He even offered to compensate all the passengers that were on the plane. I hear that two of the security personnel responsible for this tragedy have been fired. Well, that makes it okay! Not hardly!

Far be it from me to even try influencing others in their flying choices, but I won’t be flying United’s unfriendly skies any time in the future.