Jimmy

Political Genetics

 "Political views are genetic because they are byproducts of other heritable traits."

This blog has several faithful readers who skip any post that has political content. I understand. I emphathize and finally I have found evidence to do something about it. Recent studies have found that as much as two-thirds of what we call 'political beliefs' are inherited. And by inherited we mean genetically encoded. 

I would like to point out an article with a number of excellent links to data and test results that all point to a nature versus nurture answer to why some of your best friends seem to be raging political idiots. 

I have always wanted to think my conservative friends are not dolts when they expouse baseless prejudices. I also like to believe my liberal friends really don't see through such incredibly opaque rose colored glasses which make the world as simple as they muse it to be. 

But now we have numbers: 50%+ of political beliefs are genetic and generally speaking the most confusing and inconsistent beliefs and prejudices fall in this category of inherited nonsense. Since this is my blog and my world to construct I am going to chose to believe my friends are genetically inclined to hold such senseless positions and the true idiots are someone else's problem.

Harlequin Toad

Growth: A Bad Thing

It's easy to distain the message of Gordon Gekko and his real life Wall Street contemporaries - Greed is only good for a very few and their obsession with material wealth is destroying America for the rest of us. But we have to look more closely at the memes of corporate America and of capitalism itself. 

Not only is Greed Not Good but neither is Growth.

Lots of economists talk about the 'post-industrial' era but we keep slavishly marching our economy to the fading tune of manufacturing - making more things for consumers to buy. Where Oh Where is the Information Age?

The End of Growth by Richard Heinberg has been on the bookshelves for nearly two years and he wasn't the first to sound the warning call of unbridled growth. No time to read the book? Try either of these two articles - it's easy to see why growth can no longer be the goal of a post-industrial economy.

Article #1 Growth

"While this economic reconfiguration would not mitigate the effects of climate change and the depletion of natural resources it would create the social stability needed to cope with a new post-growth regime."

Article #2 Growth

 " . . . retooling our economy to accomplish this would create high paying jobs.  In fact, clean energy investments generate three times as many jobs per dollar invested than fossil fuels do." 

On Our Own

quote

“A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” — Thomas Mann

The truth is I find 'writing' to be natural even easy at times. I can turned out a couple a thousand words before lunch. A chapter a day is not a problem.

However, there is this other endeavor required of 'writers' in order to become a published writer. We often refer to this as editing. Or more often as *&!#@*!!! editing.

This is where I have been for the last month and where I shall be for the foreseeable future. May that I reach the end of editing my current novel She Loathes Me Not before the calendar reaches the end of summer.

Box Cat

Video: Big Cats & Boxes

The Real Message from the Democrats

The photo above was used my AlterNet recently to illustrate an article dealing with the democratic party and global warming - Fiddling While the World Burns: What We Should Do About the Democrats. The editors at AlterNet were, of course, implying the democrats in congress were sticking their collective heads in the sand and ignoring the problem. The article goes on to suggest un-nice implications including that which shall never be spoken - democrats might have been bought off by lobbyists of big oil too.

However, I would like to point out this is only one interpretation of the photo and truly the kindest one possible. Because I don't think the democrats are putting their heads in the sand, I don't think they are ignoring the issues of global climate change at all. No I think they are no better than the republicans who have all of the vitriol and shame heaped upon them from the left and the green middle. I think if you look again at the picture above you will see not a progressive politician with his head in the sand but just a politician delivering the same message they always give to anyone but the 1%.

We have to admit this folks, even as everyone with any sort of sense has come to the inevitable conclusion that global warming is real. The big truth is the bi-partisan message from Washington D.C. to anyone but the uber-priviledged. Their actions, even their words say to the voters each and every day -  Kiss My Rich White Ass.

these are a few of my favorite things

I am fond of bright colors and sugar and whiskers on kittens.