Featured Post

Another New Book Available: States of the Union, The History of the United States through Presidential Addresses, 1789-2023

Mount Greylock Books LLC has published States of the Union: The History of the United States through Presidential Addresses, 1789-2023.   St...

Saturday, April 09, 2022

Looking back twelve years

 Because of a severe reaction to my second COVID booster, I will not be writing a new post this week. (Don't worry--it just means my immune system is still working hard!)  I am however planning a long post on our fourth turning.  To prepare for it, I am posting the first of two similar posts, written respectively in 2010 and 2015.  It is here.  Rereading a little of it I was struck by something: the New York Times recently ran a good story showing that earmarks are back.  It didn't mention the loophole that the same paper had discovered in 2010.

2 comments:

Bozon said...

Professor

Like most Americans who claim to think, I took vaxes.

I have an old friend who had to decide whether to insure big pharma drugs and devices (big ugly insurance executive job), who still claims that they are dangerous, mostly unhelpful, and long term effects unknown.

I have a doctor friend, late 60s, who got his second booster early, and had heart rhythm problems and inflammation for weeks, (and his 90 year old mother did too!).
His cardio doctor said he had seen other cases.

My first, and last booster, may have caused the only 2 paroxysmal Afib episodes I ever had.

All the best

Energyflow said...

Clinton, Bush and Trump were all boomer presidents, candidates for the Prophet role. Bush was a bit early. I think that Bin Laden made a clear point in that he wanted to lure America into destroying itself in useless middle East confict. He was successful. Vietnam caused waste, inflation, cynicism towards national purpose and cohesion. Certainly Mid- East adventurism has wasted money, time and national morale, unity on nothing, nowhere. Obama was more an Xer and Biden now a silent. The fact that The Russians in particular, but also the Chinese have prepared themselves and observed American mistakes while practising militarily and building up their economies, gold piles speaks for their wisdom. Neocon brashness, American belief in exceptionalism has led to weakness, mistakes which are now being exploited. Our country is divided as during the Civil War. Our president is the oldest ever and from the weakest generational type. Obama said that" Joe can only f*** things up". His remarks are always walked back by younger, more lucid subordinates. He was always like that. It is not just old age. Foot in mouth disease. There must be competent people out there who think. They were all weeded out by a conformist system. Multiple choice tests from kindergarten and don't ask stupid questions all the way through grad school and on and on. Clearly only idiots are at the top, except for crazy entrepeneurs like Bezos, Musk. This is why Trump became president. He had decision making capability. If everyone follows the crowd, lemming style or pretends not to notice that the emperor is naked then the system will collapse. Slowly decay creeps in. Everyone becomes over decades relatively weaker, more slothful, indecisive, overweight, self centered, easily triggered, anxious, isolated, friendless. Then an incident occurs and their life has a cause to go on a rampage, have a two minute hate. BLM, Russia, Trump. Just burn everything down and then you'll feel better like 1970s therapy sessions writ large, Madness of Crowds.