The following take-down by an Australian is unfortunately too true. And will be ignored by the right. Sigh. Red card. A birthday message from Australia to America (by Andrew Brown, Michael West Media) As Belgium responded to the corruption of Trump and Infantino in the best way possible by thumping the US soccer team, Andrew Brown sends birthday greetings to a foundering empire. Dear America, Happy 250th, mate. Quarter of a millennium.

We just had Veterans Day in the US (honoring those who served in the US armed forces) which is not the same as Memorial Day (honoring those who died in the service of the US armed forces). That means we get to watch more lip service “Thank you for your service” statements performance theater. You don’t see these people giving those thanks to visibly disabled former service personnel. You don’t see these people giving condolences to families who lost family members in the service.

I recently played a short music set at a venue and the host introduced me as “Pete”. Hey, I’m standing in front of a live microphone too. I called out that the “r” in “Peter” is not silent and then proceeded to play. Afterwards the sound person said that they appreciated my calling out the host on getting the name right, adding that the host kept forgetting their name. I talked to the host at the end of the evening to ensure no ruffled feathers on his side.

Recent data indicates that churchgoers are happier than non-churchgoers. The real reason seems to be that the church community acts as a support group and that this would be the case regardless of whether the religion is true. I would assert that you can’t stop the analysis there. I haven’t seen data for this yet, but anecdotal stories indicate that some church communities intentionally cause more unhappiness for those outside that specific community.

Society is a fragile fabric, make up of the threads of gentlemen’s (and ladies') agreements. There is a distinct shortage of gentlemen (and ladies). As usual, feel free to disagree using this contact link. My world view is a hypothesis, not a belief.

Some idioms from a friend: First a fun one: Cæ sirek ceruf kunʋareʋ conkomes ʋymkomet momet. (The universe moved left one pink cow - sudden realization that changes a world view.) More political ones: Cæ surej kanuf cemy dølkomej ranuf. (More hugs and less beatings.) Cæ ŋymʋonej tyrʋomeceʋ dinu koret semjømes. (Treating people like things is evil.) Cæ duldumec cæu jennæmes. (Morals before loyalty.

I am amazed at Christians claiming and conflating the Ten Commandments with Christianity. Let’s start with the fact that the Ten Commandments are pre-New Testament, so pre - Jesus Christ. If you are going to be Christian, you should be focusing on Christ’s commandments to (1) love your God and (2) love your neighbour (which includes people outside your tribe/race/group. See the Parable of the Good Samaritan). Those get expanded upon in the Sermon on the Mount.

Lynn Ungar posted a really interesting note on substack talking about what she refers to as the Dominion, Individualism and Extraction (DIE) worldview. “Dominion is belief that a) you are superior and b) that your superiority entitles you to exert control over others who are inferior.” “Individualism: Not to be confused with individuality, which celebrates the ways that each person is unique, individualism refuses to see the infinite, complex ways that systems are connected.

Techdirt just published a blog post entitiled Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog - Whether We Like It Or Not. Techdirt has been a blog for 27 years dealing with the intersection of technology and policy, often targeting copyright, patents, censorship and privacy issues. They are now asking the question “But what happens when the fundamental systems that make all of those conversations possible start breaking down? When the people dismantling those systems aren’t even pretending to replace them with something better?

I heard a news interviewer asking someone about how they felt about Elon Musk’s applying normal business methods, specifically “move fast and break things” to the US Federal government and really wanted to be the one to answer the question. The question demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding that must be corrected. “Move Fast and Break Things” is not a business method, it is a Venture Capitalist approach to businesses.

Health Justice Monitor estimates approximately 200,000 annual deaths in the US potentially representing insurance-related mortality. I would be interested in information from anyone with actual expertise in this area who can review the methodology. US News reported “For example, an analysis from health policy research organization KFF found that major medical insurers offering plans to individuals via the Healthcare.gov marketplace rejected nearly 1 in 5 in-network claims in 2021. Yet while close to 17% of claims were denied, rates varied drastically among plan issuers, ranging from 2% to 49%.

Something I wrote a few months ago with nothing to do with current political events.

Following up on my previous post. Last night I was one of a lineup of musicians playing at a folk music monthly concert. I was third in the lineup and pointed out that it was Winter Solstice Night and that the holiday season stretching from Oct 31 to Jan 15 is full of holidays for many religions. Two groups later, a singer announces that she is going to play a song that she thinks expresses the real meaning for the season.