FRIENDS & FAMILY IN AMERICA

 

Dear George,

Social structure--Mr. Washington, thus 'family' structure was essentially set almost literally in stone when you marched along the Delaware and across farm fields to fight for this new Republic.

It's now 2022 and I doubt you'd recognize much [even in Philadelphia] let alone understand the 21st Century family/social structure that looks more higgledy-piggledy than steady.

For one, a man may 'marry' another man and a woman may 'marry another woman...It is a mystery even to heterosexual folks as to how or why they are/were attracted to the person they married, but not to others they only dated. Hense, the mystery of why a man would be attracted to another man [romantically] or a woman attracted to another woman would be equally puzzling...

That aside...For another, divorce and remarriage is commonplace. So common that 49% of all first marriages end in divorce, with lesser-known statistics for the failure of second marriages at 62% -or- that 70% of third marriages collapse. Was the custom of arranged marriages a more stable system that broke down as more and more couples were allowed to select their own mate based on emotion?  Or was there something else? 

Paring and procreation among critters in nature typically follows specific cycles like seasons or the maturity of surviving offspring. Except for elephants most herd animals are not emotionally involved, but function on pure instinct for species preservation. Even with our nearest 'relatives' among other primates there's accepted order--again designed to protect survival of the species.

As a consequence of evolution what broke down in humans between the demise of the Neanderthal and the emergence of modern Homo Sapiens? Apparently, we-humans have a larger brain, [than most plants & animals] but has our ability to 'think' become our greatest handicap? Do we 'think' too much? Is there too much emotion with not enough reason involved with our thought processes?  

Watching the 6 o'clock news - everyday - certainly offers [circumstantial] evidence to support that premise... 

*Finding Our Roots... My family DNA hopscotches all over this planet. 

Via ships from Norway, chromosomes landed in Scotland then Ireland then France. From there distinctive genetic qualities sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to merge with members of the Chippewa Nation in the Northern Great Lakes region of Upper and Lower Canada. 

Time marching into another century [with wars shifting the original border between the new American Republic and Mexico] many former Spanish colonists remained in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. And in the decades since, some of those decedents have also met up with some of those who carried that original Norwegian DNA. 

And as immigration exploded from passenger ships to passenger planes immigrants from Turkey and Egypt landed here along with those from South Korea and South Vietnam. Then blind dates, dances, schools and careers brought that mosaic of characteristics together with those from Norway, Ireland and Scottland and France to create the amazing 'salad' of DNA that is my family, from 10 different countries...

Not only is every culture from every country represented in Canada and the United States, but my family polymers coiling around each other from 10 countries make up characteristics found in my nephews, nieces, son-in-laws, daughter-in-laws, sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws, grandchildren...You get my drift.

But more than that--with so much [human] variety in my family there is no place for discrimination. We've all gotten to know each other over the years with birthdays, anniversaries, Thanksgiving/Chuseaok, Christmas, New Years, Cinco de Mayo, Tet Holiday, Hung King Festival, Saami [Flag] Day... Because we're all related and because we're close there is no space for intolerance.

When I look around much of North America my family isn't unique. Longtime friends, former coworkers and neighbors were born into families filled with descendants from Europe, Africa, South America and Asia. Sooo, Fellow-Travelers as we end 2022 and look to 2023 how is it we're still harboring any hate for anyone? We are them and they are us...

**Who Lives Here... Where is here? I don't mean 'here' as in Canada or United States or France or Argentina or Ethiopia or any specific country. By 'here' I mean EARTH...

This is IT folks. No matter how many galaxies the Web telescope reveals or how many rockets NASA, Musk or Bezos send beyond the ozone - you and I have only one 'home' Planet Earth. We all live here together. No person is here illegally. No person is illegitimate or an accident.

If it is true, then that humans and other mammals and plants and birds and fish and insects have only Earth to call home then is it also true that if one bullet or one arrow or one spear is aimed at even one other person--any weapon is also pointed at all of us? 

Why is one leader in Russia terrorizing 'cousins/family in Ukraine? Why did Putin dimmish the credibility of his entire adult life as a leader along with Russia's Global standing to alienate international investment that brought jobs for his fellow citizens? Why aren't friends and colleagues in NATO and the UN and those who know better stepping in to stop 19th Century thinking that scars us all well into this 21st Century?

Why is China threatening their cousins in Taiwan? Does the leadership in China not have enough landmass to cultivate or people to invent to move their progress forward without taking from one tiny peaceful island? This is more disappointing 19th Century mentality.

Why is Iran and most of the Middle East continuing to suppress women when it stalls their advancement, pushing it back by 2,000 years? And why is the rest of their population though educated, but oppressed with new ideas subjected to silence? This mindset is 1st Century AD.

Why aren't 'we' doing better? Why aren't you and I complaining louder and longer every single week to those we elect and pay - to do the job of leading  w-i-t-h   e-t-h-i-c-s?

Spoiler alert--to all self-serving, corrupt leaders both elected and corporate [in this country and everywhere else]  you can't take it with you!  I can assure everyone that you're going to die with exactly the same amount of money you had when you were born. Zip-Zero-Nada. So, folks all that remains is 'how' you will be remembered which will reflect on your children and grandchildren. Do you want to be revered or reviled... 

*Castro started out with the best of intensions, but messed up big time...Gandhi never swayed from his mission... Who wants to be remembered with someone like Castro? Who wants to be remembered with someone like Gandhi? 

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning mystery, suspense novelist and former journalist...

Patchwork Publishing, LLC

Mystery Podcast | a podcast by stbeshore@msn.com (podbean.com) 

  

 

VOTING IN AMERICA

Dear George,

By delegates from 10 of the 13 extent states, I read you were elected [unopposed] as the new Republic's first President. 

Obviously, there were laws to draft and the organizational structure of day to day governing to set in place, so--time was of the essence. Also, there were vocal sceptics and critics, and those still loyal to the Crown convinced that it was only a matter of [a short] time when this experiment would implode. So those doubters needed to be convinced this new nation could work--sooner than later.

The confusing and unusual creation of America's Electoral College was formed with the best of intentions - originally - so states with smaller populations would have an effective say in choosing a President. [Well in theory that is unless states move the 'goal-posts' for certain precincts.]

ELECTORAL COLLEGE: In a nutshell: The electoral College was created by the framers of the U.S. Constitution as an alternative to electing the president by popular vote or by Congress. Each state elects the number of representatives to the Electoral College that is equal to its number of Senators [2 from each state] plus its number of delegates in Congress. The District of Columbia [DC] has no voting representation in Congress but has 3 Electoral College votes. There are currently 538 electors in the Electoral College and 270 votes are needed to win the presidential election. [source National Archives]

However, after George declined to serve beyond two four-year terms a 1796 rush for the top created America's first hotly contentious election between the Federalist, John Adams [a suspected monarchy sympathizer] and Republican Thomas Jefferson [branded a French revolutionary sympathizer]. And - 'we-the-people-' haven't had any peace since...

*But--have 'we-the-people/voters' brought much of that on ourselves? I don't know if George Washington knew or even met Englishman Alexander Tyler, but Tyler's 1787 comment on the 'new' United States experiment was insightful. "A democracy will continue to exist up-until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result democracy will finally collapse due to that fiscal policy."  

[Okay Fellow-Travelers has anything like that happened recently--like--student loan forgiveness?]   

TRUTH IN [POLITICAL] ADVERTISING: Truth in advertising laws in the U.S. are monitored and regulated by the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] The laws exist to protect consumers, but not apparently--voters. So, if you're duped into buying tomatoes advertised as "organic" when they weren't grown in soil mixed with high quality goat poop--just ordinary dirt--then you're protected by all kinds of laws, standards and regulations. However, if you voted for someone running for a high political office based on their promise to: "unify-the-country-and-work-with-colleagues-from-both-parties"--but that has 'not' happened--then you're stuck...

Apparently when it comes to political ads - that's where the FTC jurisdiction ends because political ads regardless of how packed they are with all manner of deception is entirely protected by the First Amendment. Because--the core of the First Amendment protects "freedom of speech". Case in point. In 2006, Congress passed a law that criminalized making false claims about one’s military service. A local candidate in California who was falsely claiming he’d won the Congressional Medal of Honor, was brought up on charges. His case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

"And the Supreme Court said, 'No, First Amendment applies. You can lie about your military service. ... You can’t ban lies in public discourse.'" 

People can say anything they want in a political-speech. [Except on Facebook or Twitter if your 'speech' is considered by them to be hostile or 'too' opinionated...] Further--there is a difference in 'allowances' for Broadcast Networks like ABC, NBC, CBS -and- Cable Networks like CNN and FOX...Anyway...

**Buyer/Voter Beware. Lies in our political forum no matter how corrupt or outrageous--are protected!

VOTING: Beyond voting for a person our 'say' in what and how those [elected] people respond or don't--[to issues] by those who have been entrusted with so much in the hands of so few has steadily eroded since 1796. 

Weekly surveys since Jan 2022 show the list of priorities for Ms. & Mr. Main Street [we-the-people] in no particular order is: a] inflation, b] illegal immigration/border security, c] minimum national education standards, d] national healthcare for citizens--same as federal employees and Congress/Senate enjoy, e] phased in environmental regulations based on updated infrastructure and a return to recycling, d] election integrity, e] fiscal and policy accountability f] less government [g] mortgage/interest rates [h] weak supply chains [i] crime/gun safety... 

Does writing to or calling the office of your federal or state representative make a difference? Yes, but from my experience a significant number of other people also need to call or write and then--too often if what is important to you only becomes a national ground swell, like birth control rights for women. 

***Besides the Separation of Church and State--perhaps there also needs to be a Separation of Medicine and State -and- a Separation of Education and State... 

Look what happens when voters truly get to choose as they did in Kansas. And that outcome startled all Kansas legislators. Because the Constitution of Kansas requires voters 'not' legislators to approve any changes to their state's Constitution--no politician with their own bias [like individual arrogance in Texas or Mississippi] could make changes for their own political ends. AND--under those circumstances "we-the-people" would truly have 'our' say--our vote on issues directly would make a difference, because--we can't typically rely on those we voted for to keep their word. 

****So going forward--what would happen if social issues went directly to the people nationally for a vote instead of presented as legal issues decided by the Supreme Court? 

Why can't American citizens vote nationally to decide about ABORTION? Why can't American citizens vote nationally to decide about GUN SAFETY? Why can't American citizens vote nationally to decide about IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS and BORDER SECURITY? Why can't American citizens vote for TERM & AGE LIMITS...

You get the idea, but those who seek to keep authority and control in their [self-serving] hands will object--arguing these issues are too "complicated" to include on a Mid-Term Election ballot or General Election... Hogwash. Worded correctly without double negatives or deliberate complex jargon--'we' can and should take more of those arbitrary decisions away from people too easily influenced by campaign support contributions and their personal interests.

My husband and I come from fairly large families, many of whom are spread out in three Canadian provinces and 30 US states as are many of our friends. And 'none' of those friends or relatives would send their spouses out on their own to select wallpaper or upholstery without equal, personal input! 

But for some reason we-sheep provide less supervision to total [political] strangers who: lie, cheat, enrich themselves, waste our tax dollars, flaunt standards and regulations we're expected to follow, send military to wars then don't support their needs when they return, dilute primary education, don't keep up with basic infrastructure/water/electric grid/bridges, and live as if they're entitled...

What's wrong with 'us'?  Are 'we' that lazy?  Should there [finally] be a 3rd viable political party in the United States like John Adams' Federalist Party?

Joe Biden is presently America's 47th President and in that historical lineup of forty-seven people how many have served with merit? Well--the likenesses of my picks can be seen at Mount Rushmore. That's it! In 231 years, only four presidents 'served' their country and served with distinction...

What does it take to lead unselfishly and serve with distinction?   What does it take to fulfil the responsibilities of a Mayor, a County Commissioner, a Prime Minister, a Premier, a Governor, a President?    What does it take?    It takes--ETHICS... 

Without a government for a year, Belgium shows what happens to politics without politicians - The Washington Post

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning novelist and former journalist...

Patchwork Publishing, LLC

Woodrow And Wren...The Rule Of Three-Chapter 1 | Mystery Podcast (podbean.com)

24 Sussex Drive-Chapter 1 | Mystery Podcast (podbean.com)

RETAIL IN AMERICA

 

Dear George,

There weren't malls or 'life-style-centers' when you were elected, or credit cards--but commerce still flourished when you were President. Why? Well for the same reason commerce thrives in this century...Though supported mostly with 'plastic' and more recently an algorithm [currency] maintained by vast amounts of electricity ...

EASY CREDIT: Once upon a time there was the Gold Standard that limited governments to the amount of money, they could circulate based on their total gold reserves on hand. 

This meant [oh gosh] governments had to not only present a budget- they also had to follow that budget. [Those were the days.] 

However, our federal-slight-of-hand money magicians claimed that due to the hording of gold by the populace during the depression and following war years--the Gold Standard limited the government's ability to support more economic growth... O-k-a-y 

Since then--gauging the skill of those in positions of elected office mange fiscal policy--you already know how well this has worked. Cause spoiler alert it's now 2022. Deficit-spending [by definition is an oxymoron] that creates debt--for you and me. What follows - more often than not also causes an increase in taxes to pay for the government's deficit-spending spree...

But how to keep the masses distracted and happy and 'believing' they're moving forward? 

Prior to 1970 credit cards were not stacked in the wallets of every working adult like a multiple-choice filing system. Buy now-pay-later for the average consumer was limited to revolving credit with several neighborhood merchants or specific department stores. Dinners Club and American Express was typically limited to high income executives and business travelers. Beginning in 1958 a very enterprising Bank of America think-tank leader in California, by the name of Joseph P. Williams saw how creating a single credit system would be more convenient for the average consumer and less of a risk for local merchants than so many revolving lines of credit. 

From Joseph's flash of inspiration there and then--VISA was born, and the consumer has been making monthly payments on everything imaginable ever since...We got sucked fast into accounting quicksand with no concept of what that piece of plastic truly meant. 

At first all retail, restaurant and service businesses like salons and barbers were thrilled because initially people stopped worrying about prices. This was a fun new toy. We could leave our cash in the bank. The common shopping battle cry was "charge-it"! We were spending drunks until the statement arrived in the mail and at.18 people like me [with less sense than an earthworm] almost went blind with shock. My dad very calmly explained to me that when I charged $100 - then spent that same $100 from my savings account for other expense then I was short $100. In other words, in debt. Fortunately, I learned that credit-card lesson well when I was young and still living at home.

Decades later when my husband and I had three offspring in college at the same time--our mailbox averaged 11 credit card "invitations" a week for these same three people who had yet to graduate and still wouldn't have gainful employment for several more years! 

So, for decades and decades our GDP has been built largely on a pyramid of plastic. Retail sales would not be as robust as they have been without the credit card.

VIRTUAL RETAIL SHOPPING: But with modern technology--retail and investment and 'shopping' is even more exciting though somewhat riskier especially if the electricity goes out or a few satellites fail...

The world of cryptocurrency that arrived first called Bitcoin caught on as an investment by a slick promotional marketing campaign designed to pick the pockets of people with more money than good sense. By convincing backers, they could store profits [any amount of ill-gotten gains] from the scrutiny of arbitrary government control [thus jail or taxes] and earn a higher return--what was basically a pyramid scheme caught bullet-speed attention. 

Other enterprising computer programmers were swift to copy that same concept and create their own
[coin] asset by which actual borrowed or hard-earned money was deposited somewhere in cyberspace... 

Since January 2018 the S&P 500 shot up 78%. Just the sheer volume of millions of actual dollars--that became billions in four short years forced the attention of New York as well as global stock markets to list Bitcoin and the other 150+ cryptocurrency sellers. Transaction fees and steady deposits made this market class valued at over 919 Billion as of July, 2022--down from just over 1+ Trillion in May. 

But tossing money into cyberspace gets even more fun -or more absurd - depending on one's perspective.  Now let's pretend. We can go shopping for digital real estate in an imaginary location or buy digital art and/or fashion -with- some of that simulated computer-generated currency. 

Amazingly enough "Le Musee Imaginaire" isn't new to this century. In a 1972 French documentary producer Maurice Bejart projected moving images on various surfaces. for his concept of an imaginary museum. Okay-what am I missing? I understand the desire to escape reality once in a while-but have an entire generation of people been teleported to a mental Twilight Zone? And just how will a digital fur coat keep anyone warm outdoors in Calgary, Alberta in January? Or how does a digital meal provide nourishment? Can hardly wait to hear those explanations...  

ADDITIVES, PRESERVATIVES & DYES: Did the downhill slide of our society begin with Froot Loops? 

With easy credit, simplicity of online shopping and convenient delivery to your door the distinction between 'want' and 'need' hasn't blurred it's evaporated. And about the only event that forces most consumers to evaluate their consumption is either a personal loss of income or general inflation--like what's happening now...

Do we 'need' potato chips to live? No. However, with decades of warm and fuzzy marketing of television ads with families having picnics on beaches--we have been conditioned to 'want' potato chips. But not only for picnics, how about for everyday lunches with our soup or sandwich too? Then pretty soon that product is in the weekly grocery cart and adding another $5 to $7 to our grocery total.

From the snack aisle of our favorite grocery store we head down the cereal aisle where to be more accurate the cardboard box in which most of those products are contained has more nutritional value with less salt, sugar, gluten and unpronounceable chemicals to maintain a freshness. If we were still sending people into the afterlife in pyramids, then Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms and Count Cholula and all of the others along with crackers, cookies and candy would still be safe for archeologists to eat 100 years from now. Yikes...! 

Question: is all of those preservatives, dyes and stabilizers preserving and stabilizing us or are they causing allergies, sensitivities or latent health issues as we age? Just curious...

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning mystery suspense novelist and former journalist

Year Of The Dog-Chapter 1 | Mystery Podcast (podbean.com)

24 Sussex Drive-Chapter 1 | Mystery Podcast (podbean.com)

Patchwork Publishing, LLC

MANY LAYERS IN AMERICA

 

Dear George,

Was everyday life simpler Mr. Washington when you took office in the 18th Century? Plumbing was certainly simpler because there wasn't any--though chamber pots under the bed and a trip through snow or rain to the outhouse might have seemed complicated. 

But here in the 21st Century there seems to be a surplus of stuff 'we-the-people' really don't need making aspects of daily life more cumbersome than convenient. 

Though I'm not about to give up my indoor plumbing the technology that harnessed electricity--seems to have compelled certain compulsive people to sit up nights to create more and more--for its own sake. We can't live without toilet paper, but we can certainly live without Alexa or Siri--and likely should for our own personal private security...

*STREAMLINE: If it's a truism that "less is more" then let us examine the proposed additional staff of 86,000+ IRS employees. [Though, from where these additional people will be sourced is a puzzle since employers everywhere across this nation are short staffed and 'Now Hiring'.] 

Anyway...Simplify the U.S. tax code to a flat rate system -and- completely update the entire IRS computer technology infrastructure [software-hardware-telephones] into the 21stCentury--before it's over... 

In 1913 the U.S. Federal Tax Code pamphlet was 4 pages! Count on one hand with a digit left over! Those four pages included forms and instructions! [Sometimes I really hate where my research takes me...] Okay, I'm calmer...

One hundred years later, the U.S. Tax Code is 6,871 pages 'not' including 'any' forms or instructions! [Back to being tense.] Adding the Tax Regulations and Official Tax Guidance the entire U.S. Tax Code publication is just under 75,000 pages. [Tolstoy's "War and Peace" said more with less.] 

Presently our taxing structure is a patched arrangement of 70s & 80s & 90s programing, software and hardware. [The Smithsonian Museum's income tracking technology is more UpToDate!] A flat tax rate - with no loopholes - paired to a replaced computer network will support efforts by the present staff [of 93,000+] to solve their back log then keep pace with future deadlines, scams and identity issues.       [Jan 20, 2021 Blog: INFRASTRUCTURE IN AMERICA]   

*PURPOSE: Historically, NASA has never been on time nor on budget. That aside--with a planted flag and bragging rights what did landing on the moon offer Earthlings in the way of progress for their civilization? In fairness, many NASA research spinoffs found their way into mainstream commercial products and applications. Some made their way to store shelves because they were rejected by NASA as not viable under space conditions. Regardless, some medical advances/devices, technological advances and lifestyle advances came our way. NASA spinoff technologies - Wikipedia 

However--were those advances worth the millions [now billions] in research and development cost overruns? Could private industry have ultimately made the same discoveries for less? The Mars Rover program $1.08 Billion, the WEB telescope at 1.04 Billion, the Artemis program 93 Billion [estimate]. Could some of that money have been used to develop better recycling breakthroughs for plastics, toxins and other trash in landfills and our ocean? Further NASA isn't tasked with reusing or recycling. Every rocket has been a one-off. NASA began to make salvage strides with the Space Shuttle program that returned 133 of its 135 missions safely--but ceased in 2011.

And--unless the [environmental] plan is to make Planet Mars our landfill for the tons and tons and tons of accumulating and future toxins from batteries, solar panel parts and wind turbine blades--WHY--are we spending precious resources and billions [$$] more on Mars? Ahhh, wait there's more. We have an even greater paradox for our Climate Czar/John Kerry, for Green Peace, Siera Club & the Paris Climate Accord... I don't hear anyone speaking up about the malicious toxins emitted with literally every-single-rocket-launch by NASA and Musk/STARSHIP and Bezos/BLUE ORIGIN. 

IF every adult human and every chimpanzee drove a diesel guzzling Hummer back and forth down every California freeway for a year the damage to our air/ozone still wouldn't compare to the Tourist-Space-Program, the Mars-Space-Program or the Moon-Space Program or satellite space programs. NASA has no [disclosed] study on the climate impact of rocket engine emissions, but Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide, Acidic Water, Black Carbon and Aluminum Particles are all discharged by solid rocket booster motors. Bezos' VSS Unity Rocket used a hybrid mix of solid and liquid propellants while Space X Falcon used liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene. Both fuel sources emit 4 to 10 times EPA accepted Nitrogen Oxide levels. And--Starship flights emit 2,683 Tonnes of CO2 plus 1.7 Tonnes of nitrous oxide. Nitrous Oxide is 298 times more harmful than CO2...

Did Mr. Kerry--our Climate Czar with his BA in English--miss the nitrous oxide chapter on hazardous greenhouse gases? Further, [hypocritically] while Kerry travels extensively around the Globe via private jet [still holding major amounts of oil & gas stocks] little is known about his off-the-books appointment. His position is called a black-box. Someone who is Black Box is considered a Mission Critical Expert. Heaven help the environment of our planet from 'experts' like John Kerry and Al Gore. Many--sober prayers--please.  

If you're hyperventilating and need to find a brown bag, I totally understand...  

*CAUSE-AND-EFFECT: Do career politicians have a short attention span? The only long-term planning I see in any political strategy is an individual politician's quest to remain in office. Other than that, the vast majority of 'their' planning is limited to slogans for the next reelection campaign and maligning the character of any competition. In other words, mostly short-term. But worse yet, do voters have an attention deficit? 

Josh Sager in part wrote in his October 2014 feature titled "The Shockingly Short Political Memory of the American People" "The average American is categorically incapable of remembering political events that happened more than a few months in the past, never mind accurately assigning blame or credit to the politician involved. Unfortunately, this is extremely dangerous as it makes it virtually impossible to achieve democratic accountability at the polls. Crimes and triumphs from last year[s] are forgotten rather than used to make decisions. Americans tend to vote based on a snapshot of their circumstances at the time of the election and this problem has been worsened by the incompetence of the mainstream media." [Jan 15 2021 Blog: JOURNALISM IN AMERICA]

What individual politicians 'cause' has important social 'effects', especially when with arrogance they stubbornly 'refuse' to listen to their electorate--any electorate. Politicians continue to debate valid gun-safety, but voters know exactly what 'they' want to see changed and how. Politicians continue to intrude beyond any mandate into medical decisions. An inflation rate of 2% began to rise steadily from January 2021 to 9.1% in June 2022 [it was actually higher] because a major element in modern-day life [fossil fuels] continues to be vilified. And that same steady inflation rise gets amplified by supply chain shortages because steadily over the last 25 years lobby pressure steered misguided politicians to tolerate manufacturing profits and jobs [and taxes] relocated overseas and into the control of autocratic governments. 

Someone posted a question on Facebook a few weeks ago that caught my attention. The post was in response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. "If shutting down Russia's oil pipeline system was intended to hurt the Russian economy--then what was intended by shutting down the Keystone Pipeline project?"  [Coincidently, if left in place, Keystone would now be ready to go onstream this Mid-Term election.] 

The quest for energy independence 'was' identified as a national security strategic goal of administrations before Regan. An increase in North American fossil fuel production [and reserves] was seen as a military advantage and benefit to the decades of OPEC oil pricing dominance that risked fuel and heating prices for American citizens volatile and vulnerable. 

With that, in 2005 a Phase I pipeline proposal was made by Alberta based TransCanada Corporation then approved in 2007 by Canada's National Energy Board. [Canada, United States and Mexico make up one continent--so none of this early planning--post 9/11--happened in a vacuum.] 

In 2008 ConocoPhilips acquired a 50% stake, and the United States Department of State under President George W. Bush issued a Presidential Permit authorizing the construction, maintenance and operation of facilities at the U.S. Canadian border. Phase II, operational since 2010 delivered Canadian crude oil to U.S. Midwest markets and Cushing, Oklahoma. Phase III opened January 2014 completing the pipeline path from Hardisty, Alberta to Nederland, Texas. Phase IV became temporarily delayed by President Obama as a classic political 'hot potato' after it attracted opposition and negative attention from environmentalists as part of the battle over climate change and fossil fuels. In January 2017 President Trump renewed the construction permit-that-met with renewed theater then was promptly revoked by President Biden, January 2021. [June 2021 Blog:  FOSSIL FUELS IN AMERICA]

Because there's more to fossil fuels than combustible engines in vehicles--halting the fourth and last phase of Keystone along with slowing other petroleum production interrupted major manufacturing and supply chains right here. Everyday products [from medical equipment to disposable diapers] account for about 500,000 individual manufactured goods. The 'cause' of revoking Phase IV [and other permits] 'effected' not only prices at the gas pumps--but everything else----everything.

PROPAGANDA: If we tell a lie long enough, even we can begin to believe it and we can believe it so devoutly we might swear to it in a court of law. How amazing is that? 

Included with the definition of propaganda are two other words I found both interesting and disturbing: a] misinformation and b] indoctrination. So, propaganda covers a wide area of puffery, but there's no way to justify either misinformation or indoctrination in a functioning democracy. Busy with our lives, Main Street America believed propaganda and indoctrination only happened in communist countries with a single state-run news source. [We bought into a slick Madison Avenue style marketing-message for generations.]

Regardless of what you think of Donald J. Trump--his stick-in-the-spokes of traditional politics and media reporting exposed a major amount of 'dirt' swept under the rug of polite political society for       d-e-c-a-d-e-s. We-the-people just had no idea, because the rigged-game [against you and me on Main Street] was never openly discussed. 

When Trump descended that New York escalator June 2016--he quite literally became a bull-in-a-political-china-shop [policies & statements] that made fixed members of both the Republican and Democratic Party panicky. Former FBI Director Comey--loyal only to his own interests--initially set out to cover-his-career-butt when he began to expose Democratic Campaign meddling. Comey swiftly reversed course after he realized that Trump didn't have--and would never have--anything to match the rooted DC political machine. 

Make no mistake, the citizens who voted 'for' Trump knew exactly who and what he was--but what millions of Main Street citizens were 'actually-voting-for' was a long overdue shake up of DC. The Swamp is 300 years deep--with too many entrenched people who had [and still have] too much to lose with someone like Trump around. 

We can call and write and speak up to our state governors and legislators to insist they force Federal Term Limits and Age Limits on this 2022 Mid-Term Ballot--using the same wording and the same ethical arguments that Congress used in 1951 to limit all Presidential Terms...

We're not stuck. The ratio of [legal] citizens over the age of 18 in the U.S. compared to state and federal legislators is 3,273 voters to one politician. Even though I haven't counted the 499,686 elected members of city councils, county officers or school boards [nationally]--Main Street still outnumbers politicians in elected office. They need us--we don't truly need [all] of them...  

Without a government for a year, Belgium shows what happens to politics without politicians - The Washington Post  

Sherry Todd-Beshore is an award-winning novelist and former journalist.

Shadows And Light-Chapter 1 | Mystery Podcast (podbean.com)

Woodrow And Wren...The Rule Of Three-Chapter 1 | Mystery Podcast (podbean.com) 

Patchwork Publishing, LLC

  

:

CHOICES IN AMERICA

Dera George,

When you formed your cabinet, President Washington, your choices were several uniquely qualified people from an impressive list--mainly the very folks who 'built' the new Republic's Constitution from the remains of former British America. 

George Washington's 4-member Cabinet was: *Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State [lawyer, architect & philosopher] *Henry Knox as Secretary of War [Senior General of Continental Army During Revolutionary War] *Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury [lawyer, MA philosophy--founded Federalist Party] and *Edmund Randolph as Attorney General [lawyer]

Scoot ahead from 1788 to 1861 and Abraham Lincoln's 7-member Cabinet had expanded by three. During his administration Lincoln filled the position of: Postmaster General, Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of the Interior. 

Leaping into the 20th Century--in 1945 Harry Truman's Cabinet grew to--11. Along with circumstances like war[s] and massive manufacturing growth and governing a greater land mass, Truman needed to add: a Secretary of Defense, a Secretary of Agriculture, a Secretary of Commerce and a Secretary of Labor. 

Mary, Mary quite contrary how does your [federal government] garden 'grow'?  Substantially... And, not necessarily in keeping with the actual needs of an increase in population. 

The original intent was for DC [District of Columbia] to function as a 'minor' federal body with 'major' influence and authority entrusted to each state government. States were granted sovereignty--because state legislators lived and worked closer-to-their-peers/voters. However, after World War II that began to mutate, because our federal law makers went from a strict isolationist policy in global affairs to one with our noses in everyone's business. [CIA formed 1947] Our elected members of Congress and the Senate saw communists and fascists and Marxists and anarchists--hiding under beds and in closets--everywhere...

We have now arrived at our destination--2022 and "we-the-people" still get to vote George, but 234 years later there's a massive, unwieldy governing layer of people who are chosen for us... 

Joe Biden's Cabinet has 23 appointed people. We didn't vote for any of these 23 people. People with Cabinet positions [with qualifications often arbitrary] who are permitted to head up a vast network of federal departments with substantial discretionary budgets and vast influence. [Example: Trump didn't make Ben Carson who was an actual medical doctor, our Secretary of Health and Human Servies--instead Dr. Carson became Secretary of Housing and Urban Development?? Then, Trump appointed former socialite Betsy DeVos [w/a BA in Business Economics] as our Secretary of Education??  

 [Resisting the urge to scream into a pillow I'll remind everyone here that I'm a Registered Independent, who has voted for candidates from both major parties though sadly, not necessarily for the one who could do the best job--but for the one who might do the least harm!] Moving on...

1.] Secretary of State  Anthony Blinken--BA Social Studies from Harvard with a J.D. from Columbia School of Law. The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate is the President's chief foreign affairs adviser and carries out the Presidents foreign policies through the State Department and the U.S. Foreign Service. [2022 Budget $58 Billion]

2.] Secretary of the Treasury  Janet Yellen--BA from Brown in Economics with MA and PhD in Economics from Yale then taught at Harvard. The Department of the Treasury is responsible for crucial functions that help keep the government running, that includes paying all U.S. bills and obligations, collecting taxes and managing all federal finances. [2022 Budget $1.7 Trillion--down from 6.8 Trillion in 2021.]

3.] Secretary of Defense  Lloyd Austin--4Star General, Graduate of West Point with a BA Science, MA Arts in Counselor-Education and MA Business Administration. The Constitution rests all military authority in Congress and the President. However, it's impractical for either Congress or the President to participate in every aspect of Defense affairs, therefore the Secretary of Defense and reporting officials exercise military authority. [2022 Budget $722 Billion]

4.] Attorney General  Merrick Garland--BA Harvard in Social Studies with a J.D. from Harvard Law. The Attorney General is the Head of the Justice Department and attorney for the United States in all legal matters. The A.G. gives legal advice to the president and the heads of other government agencies on request. The Attorney General overseas the federal prison system and all other systems pertaining to incarceration. [2022 Budget $7 Billion]

5,] Secretary of the Interior  Deb Haaland--BA English with a JD in Indian Law from University of New Mexico. The Secretary of the Interior manages the conservation of federal land and natural resources along with other agencies: Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey [USGS], Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Parks Service. [2022 Budget $17.6 Billion]

6.] Secretary of Agriculture  Tom Vilsack--BA Arts from Hamilton College, Pennsylvania and J.D. from Albany Law School.  The USDA provides leadership on food handling, all agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition and related issues based on public policy and available science for its related effective management. [2022 Budget $26.55 Billion]

7.] Secretary of Commerce  Gina Raimondo--BA Economics with a MA in Philosophy & Sociology with a J.D. from Yale Law School. Primarily responsible for creating conditions for economic growth and opportunity. [2022 Budget $11.5 Billion]

8.] Secretary of Labor  Marty Walsh--BA Social Science from Woods College of Boston College and former President of Labor Union Local 223. Department of Labor is responsible for standards and issues of wages and hours worked, occupational safety, employment services, unemployment benefits, labor statistics, work related rights and workplace conditions. [2022 Budget $504.5 Billion]

9.] Secretary of Health and Human Services  Xavier Becerra--BA Economics from Stanford and J.D. of Law from Standford. Responsible for health, welfare and income security programs--overseeing other agencies such as: Food and Drug Administration [FDA] the Center of Disease Control [CDC], National Institute of Health [NIH], Administration for Children and Families [ACF]/Foster-care and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS]. [2022 Budget $131.8 Billion]

10.] Secretary of Housing and Urban Development  Marcia Fudge--BA of Science in Business from Ohio State University and J.D. from Ohio State Marshal College of Law. HUD is responsible for ensuring all communities provide housing and building handicapped accessible. Also fair, equal and affordable housing--both rental and owned. [2022 Budget $68.7 Billion]

11.] Secretary of Transportation  Pete Buttigieg--Began at Harvard with a major in History & Literature then won a scholarship to Oxford where he earned a BA of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Transportation oversees the: Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Highways Administration, the Federal Railways Administration and the National Highways Traffic Safety Administration. It is responsible to develop and coordinate policies that provide an efficient and economical national transportation system with regard to need, the environment and national Defense. [2022 Budget $88 Billion]

12.] Secretary of Energy  Jennifer Granholm--[Had early ambitions for a Hollywood career and appeared on The Dating Game] then earned a BA Political Science and French from California Berkley, later earned a J.D. from Harvard.  Department of Energy is responsible for managing the U.S. nuclear weapons program, energy infrastructure policy and funds scientific research related to energy production and distribution. [2022 Budget 227.8 Billion] 

13.] Secretary of Education  Dr. Miguel Cardona--BA Science Education from Connecticut State University, followed by a MA Science in Bilingual & Bicultural Education, then a PhD in Education. Mainly oversees [recommends] matters related to education in the U.S. from kindergarten to college and university. However, since education in the U.S. is not centralized as it is in most other nations, the department scope is limited. [In 1993 public school education in America was rated 6th globally, by 2018 global standards for public school education rated America at 27th! What happened?] Since Covid, the numbers are not clear. [2022 Budget $188.16 Billion]

14.] Secretary of Veteran Affairs  Denis McDonough--BA History & Spanish & taught History in Belize then earned a MA Science in Financial Services from Georgetown School of Foreign Service. The V.A. is charged to provide health, education, disability, funeral and financial benefits earned by all veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces. [2022 Budget $301.4 Billion]

15.] Secretary of Homeland Security  Alejandro Mayorkas--BA Arts from Berkley and J.D. from Loyola Law School. Post created by former President George W. Bush [after 9/11]. This new department oversees the Coast Guard, Federal Protection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration, the Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA]. NOTA BENE: Since this new cabinet post was also included in an amendment [H.R. 3199] to the presidential line of succession--this post should be filled by a U.S. citizen by birth. Since Mayorkas was born in Havana Cuba, how was this appointment confirmed?] [2022 Budget $52.2 Billion]

16.] Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency  Michael Regan--BA Earth & Environmental Science from North Carolina State University then MA Public Administration from Georgetown University DC. The EPA oversees national efforts for clean air and water, ensuring contaminated lands and toxic sites are cleaned by responsible parties and enforce environmental standards and regulations as directed by Congressional Laws. [2022 Budget $11.2 Billion]

17.] Director of National Intelligence Agency  Avril Haines--BA Physics and J.D. from Georgetown University. Has principal authority to ensure maximum availability of and access to [any/all] intelligence information within the intelligence community, consistent with national security requirements. Oversees and directs the implementation of the National Intelligence program and acts as principal adviser to the President and Homeland Security. [2022 NIA Budget 4.2 Billion, CIA $62.3 Billion, Military Intelligence $23.3 Billion]

18.] United States Trade Representative  Katherine Tai--BA History from Yale University and J.D. from Harvard. The USTR works toward opening world markets and to create higher living standards for other nations. Provides trade policy leadership and negotiations for multilateral trade and investment. [2022 Budget $73 Million] 

19.] U.S. Ambassador at the United Nations  Linda Thomas-Greenfield--BA Arts from Louisianna State University and MA Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Represents U.S. interests globally and keeps the U.S. State Department informed of events at the United Nations. [2022 Budget included in State Department]

20.] Council of Economic Advisers  Dr. Cecilia Rouse--BA Economics from Harvard and PhD. in Economics from Harvard.  CEA assists and advise the President in preparation of the Economic Report. Gathers timely and authoritative present economic information and trends. Appraises various economic programs. Develops and recommend national economic policies that foster free competitive enterprise to avoid economic fluctuations. [2022 Budget $132 Million]

21.] Administrator of Small Business Administration  Isabel Guzman--BA Science from University of Pennsylvania, Warton School of Business. SBA mission is to provide small business owners with resources and support to start, grow and expand their business. Offers financial counseling, contracts loans and loan guarantees by partnering with local and national banks. [2022 Budget $1.06 Billion]

22.] Office of Budget and Management  Shalanda Young--BA Psychology from Loyola University of New Orleans and MA of Heath Administration from Tulane University. Prepares the President's budget proposals. Budget development and execution for government-wide implementation of policies, priorities and actions in everything from the department of defense to NASA. [2022 Budget $98.5 Billion]

23.] White House Chief of Staff  Ron Klain--BA Arts from Georgetown University and J.D. from Harvard Law. Managing and designing overall White House staffing system, control flow of people into the Oval Office, managing flow of information and decisions to and from President's desk, directing and overseeing all policy development, advise on various issues set for the president, protecting all political interests of the President, negotiating for legislation support and appropriating funds with Congressional leaders, Cabinet secretaries and additional political groups to further the President's agenda. [2022 White House [staff budget] of $49.6 Million for 567 people.]

*Vice President  Kamala Harris--BA Political Science & Economics with J.D. from Hastings College of Law...The V.P. is second in the presidential line of succession. As President of the Senate the V.P. operates in both the executive and legislative branches of government and is sometimes formidable [Dick Chaney] but too often marginalized. 

**United States President  Joeseph R. Biden--BA double major History & Political Science, minor English with J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law.  Harry S. Truman described the job of the U. S. President [besides the obvious] as responsible for Foreign Policy, is the Social Head of State, spends a lot of time persuading people to do what they 'should' do without persuasion, has the most authority but believes in the Magna Carts and the Bill of Rights and should be a Cincinnatus [of civic virtue as understood by the concept of citizenship]... [2021-2022 Budget $6.011 Trillion]

............................

And, now--Fellow Travelers--you may have notice that one million dollars doesn't go as far as it once did--quite scary. You also know who to call or write to...Please do.

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is a former journalist and award winning novelist.

Patchwork Publishing, LLC

2022 SO FAR - IN AMERICA

 Dear George,

When you were president the budding republic of 13 original colonies [that became states] would be considered far more manageable by a 21st Century comparison. Then at the writing of the Declaration of Independence you only had an estimated 2.5 million [opinionated] people to govern.

If you've been 'watching' over us and puzzled by our rather messy 'progress' since 1776--you know there are 50 states [somewhat united] and five territories [Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa & Northern Marina Islands] with a revised 2021 estimate of 331+ million [opinionated] people to govern. [I use revised numbers due to a steady southern border invasion of 7,400+ people daily after the calendar flipped over to 2022.] Moving on...

Since June marked the halfway point and 18 months of a new administration with our 46th President and 117th Congress--what have these people been doing about some of the major headlines? 

Well, the President revoked 65 of Trumps Executive Orders then signed 77 of his own Executive Orders and Congress has passed 85 of the 9,633 bills introduced--of which 42 made it to the President's desk for signature... And since this is a mid-term election year--IF--you hear an incumbent politician brag about the bills they introduced or voted for, don't be too impressed. Because--as you can tell by the math 93% of each typical 15-page bill never makes it off the House floor. 

And of equal note most proposed legislation does not make the news either unless IT IS news like...

INFRASTRUCTURE: Virtually all of our aging and vulnerable infrastructure that was 'new' post WWII and Woodstock--is still aging and vulnerable. 

In my January 20, 2021 Blog titled "Infrastructure In America" I highlighted AIRPORTS--MASS TRANSIT--U.S. SEA PORTS--WATER--BRIDGES -and- INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY directly tied to: Federal Defense, Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, Medicare, State Department & Transportation Department.

What I selected 18 months ago [as Biden took office] was only the tip of a very tall pyramid of a seriously neglected 50 years of general maintenance. And - Fellow-Travelers 18 months ago every item then was beyond critical.  

Bush and Chaney wasted time and spent our money chasing weapons-of-mass-destruction. But, Obama attempted to address this [federal & state governmental] negligence with a 2015 Executive Order. However, key Democrats and 'progressive' groups objected to "permitting provisions as a possible erosion of environmental protections". Trump tried again several times, first when he had both the House and the Senate in May 2018. But his 1.5 trillion infrastructure investment plan faced major objection by his own Republican Senate as too costly. They should have done their homework then because five years ago more than that was needed, and the money would have gone farther. In April 2019, Trump and Democrats agreed on a $2 trillion plan, but for some reason the Dems objected to a local, state, federal and free enterprise cost sharing structure. There was a $1 trillion pared down version that surfaced in February 2020, revised back up to $2 trillion in April--then everything shutdown due to Covid. 

Okay. Short-sighted-self-serving-bureaucrats aside--where is the $1.2 trillion bipartisan November 5, 2021 Infrastructure Bill now? 

Funding was slow. [No surprise there because securing loans took longer.] By April, 2022 - of the $110 billion actually released only $52.5 billion went to federal highways and $20.5 billion for public transit leaving $73 billion, still unspent [supposedly] for some high-speed broadband infrastructure. An additional $27 billion for bridges, airports, drought resilience and rural highways is to be released over the next five years. Really? Everything I identified and more is still aging and frankly a national security threat - like our water supply and our electrical grid. But there seems to be no end of funds to subsidize wind, solar, EVs and various war/military actions - why is that? And, has some of the attention/funding toward updating our infrastructure list been hijacked by the new Computer Chip Bill? Gosh, didn't that happen in a blink.... 

Dear George, please come back or at least send sober reason from the Cloud......Anyway...  

INFLATION: Our 2022 inflation of 9.1% is tied to a convoluted fraud exploiting fear of an entirely human-compromised environment. Remember warning the deterioration of our ozone layer was due to the use of aerosol sprays? Well that trendy-villain has since been replaced by claims of lawless and immoral fossil fuels.  

For a resource that quite frankly launched the American economy and revolutionized so much international industry everywhere on Earth [after he left federal politics] Al Gore began to systematically target any fossil fuel as singularly responsible for harming Earth's entire environment. The focused campaign for which he was a nationally and internationally recognizable spokesperson was initially labelled Global Warming, but more recently in the last few years, it's now Climate Change. 

Environmental concern began from a sincere base then became deceptive, so stay with me...

Just as industry abuses of factory workers spawned the creation of unions--early government/military and industry abuses of our environment created environmentalists...Specifically Sierra Club founded, 1892 and Greenpeace formed in 1969. 

Initially and for several decades' unions played a valuable role in improving working conditions and wages, but by the 1980s unions had evolved into more of a hindrance than a help. Unions ceased focusing on their 'members' in favor of flexing major influence to justify their continued relevance then pervasive corruption caused trust to decline.

The Sierra Club's original focus was the national parks and preservation of unspoiled natural resources. Greenpeace got its foothold initially in 1971 when founders managed to organize 7,000 protestors to block the Peace Arch Border Crossing between British Columbia and Washington. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission planned a test of its Cannikin underground nuclear weapon in a tectonically unstable island off Alaska called Amchitka. [Obviously, no one at the department of Atomic Energy consulted with anyone at the U.S. Geologic Survey or Army Corp of Engineers--because the possibility of triggering multiple earthquakes causing a tsunami didn't occur to any of the excited nuclear physicists.]

Success, typically, breeds more success and it can also breed a sense of not just justified power, but too often it can breed as sense of entitled authority. And so, from a justified halt of an unnecessary and dangerous experiment grew 50 years of blocking, new nuclear power plants, new hydroelectric dams and water reservoirs, routine sabotage and protests of oil drilling, mining, fertilizer farming, anything genetically modified - regardless of benefit.

As union leaders expanded their influence and became bullies - so has the environmental lobby. I explained in even more detail several major contradictions with policies and subsidies that assert 'saving' our environment in my October 13, 2021 Blog "Green And Clean In America" then a follow up Blog June 2, 2022 "Fossil Fuels In America". 

N.A.T.O. MEMBERSHIP: And the point is? And the point of the U.N. is?

Human history is packed with the exploits of tyrants masquerading as leaders. I truly thought Putin was wiser, but regardless of his 19th century thinking in the 21st century - our species truly needs to move beyond this primitive [war] mentality or regardless of technology, true progress via peace isn't possible. 

While Russian tanks spent literally months lining up along the Ukraine border - Putin was 'testing' just how far he could go 'this-time' as he had been successful capturing Crimea with really no Global consequences. NATO and the UN failed that test. So, what if Ukraine wasn't [still isn't] a NATO Member it was a sovereign nation of progressive hardworking people intent on continuing an evolution to full democracy. [Isn't this the form of government we sought to push on Iraq and Afghanistan?] 

NATO with the UN could have resolved to put out the 'fire' Putin started before it spread. Instead, Putin's bold invasion and NATO's reluctance along with an inept U.N. sends exactly that message to China and Iran and North Korea and others which has a high possibility to escalate even greater military actions.  Now what?

GUN SAFETY: Oh, George, there's that pesky 2nd Amendment again. But when you and the rest of our founders entrenched "the right to bear arms" into our Constitution - citizens and the military only used single shot muskets. So, 300 years later those [now] entrusted with the responsibility to lead do need to amend some of this Amendment because the intention and the original meaning of the-right-to-bear-arms is being abused...     

RIGHTS TO CONTRACEPTION: Who invited any of our 'elected' public servants into the nation's bedrooms? Nowhere in our Constitution anywhere does any governing body have the authority to dictate reproduction...

And speaking of the U.S. Constitution the original concept of the new Republic was of a single party that consisted of both liberal and conservative ideas and policies structured to benefit the majority of citizens. Further, the intent was for the central government in the District of Colombia to play a minor administrative role with major governing settled at the feet of each state legislature. What has evolved since WWII is more and more and more federal oversight and infringement - everywhere. 

IMMIGRATION: The unregulated, steady flow of people we-know-not-who may finally get attention since the governors of Arizona and Texas began to bus the thousands of illegal immigrants from their states to DC. After struggling to cope with the financial and resource drain with no help from federal legislators or current cabinet members, finding these thousands of people on their doorstep changes the picture substantially. 

Besides the primary crime of innocent migrants dealing with human smugglers the secondary crime of these same folks vacuuming shelter and food and other resources from our homeless citizens is an extension of our broken immigration...   

Because this is a Mid-Term Election year - we can get the attention of people who want to keep their elected jobs - so make sure they 'do' their jobs...Call and or email and call again and email again...

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning novelist and former journalist...

Patchwork Publishing, LLC 

 

FOSSIL FUELS IN AMERICA

Dear George,

When you were President Mr. Washington, what caused inflation in the colonies? For heat there was wood, coal, peat and/or colonizing other warmer countries.  For light there were candles, that too often set things on fire or oil lamps that weren't much safer. For clothing there was wool, cotton, linen and silk. For transportation there was horses. But, in Colonial America, no oil...

The discovery of oil in 1859 changed everything. Though the invention of nylon was another 76 years away with Spandex and Lycra an additional 24 years beyond that. When nylon surfaced in 1935 the fashion world took swift notice. 

Leap two decades into another century and by 2022 thousands of clothing items from formal evening wear to workout togs contain some or mainly Spandex. I'm not sure the Olympics or even any sport is possible today without clothing made from Spandex! 

My convoluted point here, is, that none of these inventions [or the 500,000 others] were possible without the discovery of oil--of which [most critics 'still' drive vehicles with combustion engines] none have seen objections even though plastic-based products increased by 8.7% each year--every year--since 1934...

None, that is, except those plastic straws. When the entire population of Baby Boomers were in high school [never mind 'when' that was] we only used paper straws. But by the end of the 60s plastic had replaced paper as cleaner and more durable. In the scheme of things why the organization "Lonely Whale" targeted the humble, tiny drinking straw as an environmental pariah when every day in America we use 60,000 plastic water bottles--is a puzzle...Why didn't they malign plastic water bottle manufacturing? Why indeed...

Since mock environmental activists like [child-star] Greta Thurnberg are quick to accuse the older generation of planet mismanagement I'd like to point out that the vast majority of Baby Boomer offspring began life and graduated to potty training in 'cloth' diapers. 

The [Jan 2018-Jan 2019] estimate for the number of disposable diapers just in the United States for one year was between 28 and 34 Billion! For America alone this meant about 250,000 trees were used as well as over 3.4 billion gallons of oil. For that amount of fossil fuel we could have powered over 5,222,000 cars in that same 12 months. [Do I see a show of hands from the gallery of environmental activist switching immediately [back] to cloth???]

But hey - I'm just getting started so strap in with your tray tables up...

Let's continue with WIND!...Building 'one' wind turbine requires 900 tons of steel, 2,500 tons of concrete and--drum roll please-- 45 TONS of  [NONRECYCLABLE]  PLASTIC. [And ohhh the math on this one is a stunner.] To make one ounce of plastic requires 4 gallons of crude oil. Because there are 42 gallons in one barrel, it takes one barrel of oil to make about 10.5 ounces of plastic. [Stay with me now.] One U.S. Ton equals 32,000 ounces, but 45 Tons breaks down to 1,440,000 ounces of plastic--therefore in one moderately sized [250 foot] wind turbine, in the production of plastic alone requires over 13,700 barrels of oil! Okay John Kerry what 'shade' of 'green' might that be...

When I was contracted by Oil Week Magazine in 2010 to write a feature on wind-power, my research did 'not' make several advertiser/investors happy - at all. They weren't happy because even with huge government subsidies wind-power wasn't ever going to be cost effective nor was it ever going to supplement our energy needs/electrical grid--unless--there were much smaller turbines beside every chimney on every roof.  AND-- none of the utility companies would allow that. Infact--they have steadily acquired vast acres of land for wind farms and solar-farms and no longer encourage individual solar panels on residential or commercial roof tops.

And speaking of SOLAR...Making one 320 watt solar panel requires 16.4 barrels of oil. [One barrel of oil refined for vehicle gasoline use equals 19 gallons.]. However, not all solar panels are created equal which means the best [golden] efficiency standard of all available photon rays emitted by the sun and absorbed, is 24%.

Then too - if you're curious about the toxins and landfill issues created by wind turbines and solar panels - I was down this [similar] road with my October 13/2021 blog GREEN AND CLEAN IN AMERICA. 

We absolutely need to be responsible caretakers of this planet we all share--but not at the fraudulent expense of creating pseudo solutions with consequences that are more trendy than remedy. One prime example has been the push for gas powered vehicles to be more fuel efficient...Great cause, but in order to make our trucks, vans and cars more fuel efficient they had to be lighter. But, in order to be lighter many parts and the outer shell designs had to be made from plastic instead of metal. Today 50% of our cars are plastic including safer/softer dashboards and durable airbags. [More plastic, as you realize now means more fossil fuels.]

From oil industry byproducts 21st Century consumers [here and everywhere] have toys, car seats, small and large appliances, computers and cell phones, IPads and electronic Notebooks. There's synthetic rubber for tires, doors, window profiles, flooring, insulation. From paraffin wax there's shoe polish, cosmetics and safe covers for wires that conduct electricity. Farming uses fertilizers synthesized from fossil fuels like nitrogen and potassium - as well as pesticides. Detergents, made by heating fats and oils react with alkali and glycerin in soap making. Besides Tupperware and Glad food containers there's shipping and packing materials - and - furniture...And...

To even suggest purging America of fossil fuels [by 2030] is somewhere between ignorant and irresponsible.  [Just visualize the few items I listed above as gone by 2030.]  A good deal of the 'supply-chain' begins with the 131 operating refineries. Eliminating them eliminates most of the U.S. manufacturing sector. Just the medical field alone requires ultrasound systems, defibrillators, exhalation and inhalation valves and tubes, CT systems, X-ray machines, dozens of types of surgical and general band aids, protective masks, gloves, gowns...Just the numerous types of sanitized packaging alone is critical to medicine. 

This brings me to the latest 'green' trend - which is the mega-push for electric vehicles. Hybrids like the Prius make more sense, but costly EVs  would not bother me so much IF the same environmental-mentality that seeks to eliminate all fossil fuels by 2030 wasn't the same short-term thinking that halted development of new reservoirs and hydroelectric damns. Granted hastily planned damns indiscriminately set to block the natural flow of rivers disrupted fish and certain animal species, but those same fish and wildlife found homes in and around the damn created lakes. 

Presently U.S. electricity by [aging] sources are:

*1,793 Natural Gas-powered plants, generating 34% of our electricity;

*400 Coal-powered plants, generating 30% of our electricity;

*61 Nuclear-powered plants, generating 20% of our electricity;

*1,444 Hydro-powered plants, generating 7% of our electricity;

*999 Wind-powered plants, generating 6% of our electricity;

*1,721 Solar-powered plants, generating 1% of our electricity;

*1,076 Oil-powered plants, generating 1/2% of our electricity.

Question: with wind and solar only providing 7% of our present needs then 'how' in the next eight years or even 18 years will wind and solar leap to supply the remaining 93% without producing thousands 'more' turbines and panels - that require more fossil fuel to produce? 

An environmental tug-of-war between special-interest-groups [Green-New-Deal] who perceive the rest of us [Main-Street] as living with a callus disregard for the planet's environment - shouldn't be an all-or-nothing attack. What happened to major recycling? The recycling rate in the U.S. stalled at 34.6% in 2014. Since then greater federal subsidies went to far more expensive programs like solar, wind and EVs, while scaling back on the smaller residential and community based collection projects for paper, plastic, metal and glass has caused increased dumping in our oceans and landfills. 

**Inflation and supply-chain issues can be resolved by increasing oil production and the refining of our cleaner gasoline and clean natural gas. And a more "thoughtful-transition" will improve our ability to reduce threats to ocean life and land, but understand the climate IS changing because Earth's climate has been changing for 4.3 billion years...Just saying...  

Sherrie Todd-Beshore is an award-winning novelist and former journalist...

Patchwork Publishing, LLC