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Category: Current Affairs

SHAKESPEARE WARNED US ABOUT INCREASED CRIME & LAWLESSNESS

SHAKESPEARE WARNED US ABOUT INCREASED CRIME & LAWLESSNESS

In his play Measure for Measure, one of Shakespeare’s characters observes: “We must not make a scarecrow of the law, Setting it up to fear the birds of prey, And let it keep one shape till custom make it Their perch and not their terror.” In today’s national society and our state we have increasing crime and lawlessness. Repeat offenders are arrested and quickly released to go out and commit more crimes.  There is a troubling escalation of Juviniles committing serious felonies without sanctions. The theft of cars is rampid as is the use of stolen cars…

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IS “OUR COUNTRY IS BANKRUPT, FISCALLY, MORALLY AND MENTALLY”?

IS “OUR COUNTRY IS BANKRUPT, FISCALLY, MORALLY AND MENTALLY”?

John Humnicky is a retired computer engineer from Woodinville. A few days ago he wrote an opinion piece for the Seattle Times. It began: “Our country is bankrupt, fiscally, morally, and mentally. Courts have been prostituted, and sometimes law enforcement is not even attempted. Congress is a heterogeneous conglomerate of diversified interest and when it adjourns there is a general sigh of relief from the populace. It commands no respect from anyone and its chief function seems to be subject…

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STOP THE WORLD – I WANT TO GET OFF

STOP THE WORLD – I WANT TO GET OFF

That was the title of a 1961 Broadway musical production that was later made into a movie.  Given local, national and world events it seems like an appropriate title for our present state of affairs. Locally, we have a “shooting war” going on in Tacoma and Seattle. Graffiti, homelessness and daylight robberies are daily events in these cities.  Nationally, the seat of our government was invaded by a mob determined to overthrow a valid election in Washington D.C. at the…

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ARE YOU “MAD AS HELL AND NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE”?

ARE YOU “MAD AS HELL AND NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE”?

A friend sent an article “The Bitter Heartland” by William Galston https://www.americanpurpose.com/articles/the-bitter-heartland/ who sees the dissent and protests of today due to a toxic class resentment. He writes: “They” see “us” as presiding over a long-term decline in their quality of life without lifting a finger to help. Blue-collar wages have stagnated for decades; good jobs for which they are qualified have evaporated. Their suffering went ignored by elites in both political parties until Donald Trump emerged as their champion. They…

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THE TRAGEDY OF AFGHANISTAN

THE TRAGEDY OF AFGHANISTAN

Associated Press writers Nooman Merchant, Lorne Cook and James LaPorta have written a revealing report about the loss of the war in Afghanistan. They write that in the last 20 years some $2 Trillion dollars of American taxpayer money has been spent in that country with a loss of 2448 American military deaths.  About $83 billion Dollars was spent on the Afghan forces in sustaining its army and police. That’s in addition to the $145 billion spent by the US…

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E PLUBUS UNUM AND THE HIJAB IN AMERICA: “THE MELTING POT OF THE WORLD”

E PLUBUS UNUM AND THE HIJAB IN AMERICA: “THE MELTING POT OF THE WORLD”

In Philadelphia,  Kimberlie Webb, a practicing Muslim, worked as a police officer. Although she had worked as a police officer since 1995, it wasn’t until years later that she requested permission to wear a religious headscarf or hijab while in uniform and on duty. The headscarf, or hijab, is a traditional head covering worn by Muslim women. The police department denied Webb’s request, but she showed up at work wearing the scarf anyway. Her supervisors told her to go home….

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WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO BEAUTIFUL SEATTLE?

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO BEAUTIFUL SEATTLE?

From the time the pandemic began in March last year to the present time I have not been to Seattle until I recently had a doctors appointment in Seattle. Driving along the freeway, as we approached the outskirts of town,  I was shocked by the extensive garbage along the sides of the area next to the freeway and by litter from homeless camps.  There were homeless shelters and camps all along the freeway as we drove on I-5 to downtown…

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THE HIDDEN IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MISUSE

THE HIDDEN IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MISUSE

A documentary,  The Social Dilemma, was shown the Sundance film Festival some time ago. It describes how data is collected and used from Internet and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others. The documentary outlines the enormous quantity data and our personal use of it is being monitored and utilized. It also describes the intricate manipulation used to influence us. This manipulation of our human behavior and the collection of data is done for profit. The monitoring of…

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TIRED OF POLITICS, PANDEMIC AND WILDFIRE SMOKE?

TIRED OF POLITICS, PANDEMIC AND WILDFIRE SMOKE?

The news every hour of every day is political wrongdoing and conflict. The pandemic news is all about conflicting information and warnings about our future. The outside air is smoke and harmful to our lungs. And, I haven't even started on Seattle politics, graffiti, arson and looting. So, here's a change of subject. It's not very important, but it's better than the news. The Importance of Keeping Things in Proper Perspective In 1545 Duke Cosimo de Medici commissioned frescoes for…

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DONALD TRUMP AND NONSENSICAL FALLACIES

DONALD TRUMP AND NONSENSICAL FALLACIES

There is a virtual unlimited supply of nonsensical claims and arguments that have been made by president Trump, but two of the recent are truly noteworthy for being logically inconsistent and just plain absurd. One involves his recent attacks on mail in voting as fraught with the risk of fraud and manipulation.  His claim in a tweet, in capitals for emphasis, was: ""MAIL-IN VOTING WILL LEAD TO MASSIVE FRAUD AND ABUSE." He further claimed: "IT WILL ALSO LEAD TO THE…

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