From the Beach – v 1.0


Reading time – 3:05; Viewing time – 4:49  .  .  .

Comments from reality for our legislators:

We know.

And you know, too.

And we know you know.

And you know that we know that you know.

So, how come you’re saying stupid stuff? How come you’re lying and pretending to be ignorant?

Last Saturday saw the world marching for science, which shouldn’t have been necessary, because it’s kind of like marching for air. I mean, who isn’t in favor of air? Like air, why wouldn’t everyone be in favor of science? It’s done things like enabled the eradication of smallpox everywhere and we’re this close to eradicating polio – there are only 5 reported cases worldwide this year. Science has brought the entire world to unprecedented levels of prosperity. Who wouldn’t support disciplines that help us so much?

You already know that 97% of the world’s climate scientists proclaim loudly and clearly that the Earth is warming at an extremely rapid rate toward extremely dangerous consequences. You also know that the studies done by the remaining 3% of climate scientists were funded largely by – guess who? – the fossil fuel industries.

Donald Trump insists that global warming is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. Many Senators and Representatives (mostly with an R by their name) outright deny that global warming is happening, or they admit that the planet is warming but they deny human behavior is making things worse. They simply refuse to see what they don’t want to see and that’s the extent of their ostrich insight.

Why would they do that?

Why would they consign their own children and grandchildren to the devastation of ever-more severe hurricanes, and famine, the kind that’s sweeping across Africa right now? It’s already beginning to be seen in America, because increased heat and reduced rainfall are baking our agricultural lands. Why would they risk the political and cultural perils of the mass emigrations that have already begun? Why would they allow Miami, New York, Los Angeles and the rest of our coastal cities to become Atlantis?  It’s about short-term thinking and self-serving priorities.

We get it, because all we have to do to understand is to follow the money.

So, to those very same short-term thinking, self-serving politicians, just get this: We know. And we know that you know. We see you and we will remember all of it on the date of your next election.

We know.

Now a little definition clarity

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Entitlement – “A right to benefits specified especially by law or contract.”

The word “entitlement” has long been used to describe government programs that deliver benefits to our citizens, like Social Security and Medicare. The political right has done a marvelous job of shifting the simple obligatory meaning of the word to include a connotation of “freebies given to the undeserving.” Arguments abound over the sustainability of these programs, but the wrongness now slathered on the entitlement concept resides primarily within the haves who vilify the have-nots, the self-described makers portraying themselves as being fleeced by the takers.

Our contract law stems from English Common Law, so we’re steeped in many hundreds of years of belief and agreement that when we make a deal we have to keep our part of the bargain. A deal is a deal, so let’s define this properly.

Our governmental entitlement programs carry with them a contract to deliver the agreed upon benefits to the people. They don’t include options for Paul Ryan to offshore the obligation to private sellers so they can make a buck. So, to our legislators: figure out the funding challenge. And don’t fix this by dumping the heavy load onto the backs of poor people, because they’re entitled.

Bonus Selection

I’ve long wondered what it would take – what outrages were necessary – to motivate people to stand up and demand better. It seems we’ve found out.

Public dissent in the form of mass protests have become frequent and very vocal and the combined voices are having significant impact. A common chant of the crowds is:

  • “Show me what democracy looks like.”
  • answered by,
  • “This is what democracy looks like.”

The “this” in the response is the people in the streets standing up for what they believe in and demanding better.

That leads us to the current post of my friend Mardy Grothe. He is one of a small handful of Yoda-like people in my life, none of whom is short, green or has pointed ears. They simply are wise.

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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA

Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
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2 Responses to From the Beach – v 1.0
  1. dominickpalella Reply

    A shoe company CEO in America noticed an increasing demand for his products and called his factory in communist China to make more shoes for him. The party official there was wondering, why do Americans now walk more than ever? Is it because the weather is getting better? The CEO said no, there is a revived fad in our country where political organizations call upon our citizens to march, protest and complain about Republicans in control of our government. Unfortunately, when Democrats are in power, Republicans never walk much, but prefer to sit when they complain.

    The party official was puzzled. Don’t your politicians round up protesters and put them in jail, like ours? The CEO said no, they just don’t pay that much attention to them. You see, our Republican politicians, which we call our dedicated servants, know that for every ten thousand marchers in these parades, maybe a few dozen of them will actually live in their voting districts. Therefore, when our servants come up for reelection, we and other corporate CEOs will give them enough money to continue working for all our special interests if things get out of hand. In fact, Republicans are now trying to lower our income taxes more. While many of us never pay taxes, we always appreciate their dedication to duty!

    On the other hand, the CEO said, if our Republican servants aren’t reelected, we know that Democrats will replace them 99% of the time. This makes it easy for us to know which party officeholders we need to bribe next for favors. While the Democrats aren’t as vociferous in champion our profiteering causes, they generally keep quiet and behave themselves, and don’t interfere with our plans that much.

  2. Joni Lindgren Reply

    We know AND they (R) know why they are beholden to a false notion to deny what is happening to our environment and entitlements! If they acknowledged that the more frequent and harsher storms are a result of man’s activity, they would have to own up to the fact that they’re being paid off to deny the weather is changing and that drilling and fracking are responsible…..AND their buddies in Big Oil wouldn’t be able to give them their hand-outs to pass bills in Big Oil’s favor…….same with entitlements! The Republican politicians love their hand-outs too much!!

    Reminds me of what the tobacco companies did for 40 years and what Exxon did also for 40 years…..deny, deny and deny in the face of facts. Pay the politicians all off to keep quiet and turn the public into deniers who believe the lies too! All to play Russian Roulette with our health and environment. It’s sickening…..literally!

    If we don’t watch our legislator’s voting record and vote those off the island who don’t work for us, then we’ll have many more years of this abuse by sleezy politicians and corporations, especially Big Oil!