DoctorD's Observations

Ignorance isn't bliss

At the moment, I am very impressed with how much I don't know.

Often, I am impressed (and sometimes disgusted) by how much others don't know, how much ignorance and false information is abroad.  Certainly this is true in the political realm; I' imagine that the "average" person knows more about their favorite sports team than they do about American government, its values, procedures, and traditions.  We are a better nation of fans than citizens.

So, if you asked in a public opinion poll "are you concerned that President Obama is simply ignoring the requirement of the U.S. Constitution that a balanced budget be submitted to the Congress for enactment each year," quite a lot of people I think would say yes, they are indeed very concerned.  At least a third of the population, I think.

Of course, there is no such requirement.  But any anti-Obama question will poll pretty strongly, because there are lots of people out there who don't know anything except what they hear on Fox News, the anti-governmental propaganda channel, which devotes all of its effort to spreading misinformation and, basically, any hope of some kind of American renewal.

But, I'm not concerned about that at the moment.  Rather, I am concerned with how much I personally don't know, which is substantial.

Here is an example:  if some kind of "flashforward" erased a lot of human progress, I would still be sure that it is possible to construct a 747.  That machines could be made to fly.  I would know that, but I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to go about doing it.

Take something simpler.  I wouldn't know how to reinvent the toaster, either.  Perhaps I would be able to toast bread over an open fire, I think I could do that, but I couldn't recreate the electric toaster with its curly wires that glow red hot.

This kind of ignorance bothers me.  I'm getting old, 67 going on 68, and I have spent most of my life learning stuff.  But, in all fairness, the best I can say is that I have just started to scratch the surface.  Barely.

I do think I know how to make brownies, though, at least from a mix.  Perhaps I should do that, since I can't seem to talk my wife into doing so.  That's one thing I do know, and very probably, there also are others.

I know that Rachel Maddow is the best-informed news commentator on TV.  I know that Apple is now a "bigger" company in financial terms than Microsoft.  And I know that there is an intersection in Santa Fe which Historic Route 66 actually crosses itself!

Boycotting BP?

On our recent motor trip through northern Michigan, I tried hard not to stop at BP gas stations.  But I also found that it was fairly difficult to do.  There aren't that many "services" up that way, and you have to get gas somewhere.  (Preferably, as noted previously, at someplace with a flush toilet).  BP has a lot of stations, and some of the better looking ones.  The one I did actually stop at, I liked.

I'm not sure when this happened historically.  After all, they are British Petroleum.  In my youth the gas stations were Standard Oil, Mobil, Texaco, Sinclair, Gulf, Shell, Phillips 66, etc.  Where did British Petroleum even come from?  What are they doing drilling in "our" offshore areas, and why are they selling gasoline here in the U.S.?

Apparently they acquired Amoco (which previously was Standard Oil of Indiana).  Apparently they also are drilling in Russia.

Honestly, I like the British, but this is just a bit too much globalization for me.

Da Yoopers Tourist Trap

Tourtrap

From the official web description:

Da Tourist Trap is one of the seven wonders of Yooperland. It is located on US 41 West of Ishpeming in the heart of Yooperland. The Tourist Trap is the ultimate Yooperland traveler's mecca. It has plenty of parking for autos and RV's, a field for your animals to empty their tanks and sniff around, and something rarely found at rest stops across the U.P. - two flushing bathrooms (most rest stops in the Upper Peninsula feature the non-flushing variety found at most deer camps in the U.P.).

I note that advertisements for the famous Wall Drug of South Dakota emphasize "free ice water."  Da Tourist Trap, in contrast, touts its free flushing toilets.  Each emphasizes an important concern of travelers in their respective regions.

North Country comparison

Wisconsin's Door County is a lot more "civilized" than Michigan's NP.  Actually, Door County (a peninsula) sticking out into Lake Michigan is more or less comparable to the peninsulas that stick out into the lake on the other side near Traverse City.  And both areas (given a similar climate) have wine and berries, and berries leads to good pies, and are lovely.

But the UP is a whole other story.  First, nobody lives up there.  And there is "nothing to do," if you want civilized pleasures.  The best book I found is the humorous You Wouldn't Like It Here:  A Guide to the Real Upper Peninsula of Michigan, by Lon Emerick.  It explains the reasons that sensible and more fortunate people ought to stay away.

Still, the UP does have a certain attraction.  We have been up that way three times, and keep going back.  The drive on US 2 along the northern shore of Lake Michigan is, I thought, quite pretty.  There aren't a whole lot places to stay, though.  Emerick's advice is to keep on driving, perhaps to Minnesota.

PS--it seems that the Yoopers call us "trolls," because we live down below the bridge connecting the two major parts of Michigan.  Which is, itself, quite dramatic:

The Bridge

Michigan bound

We will be leaving for Michigan in the morning.  This trip, because of time constraints, we will have to take the interstates eastbound.  Ugh!  The worst part is going south of Chicago, around the bottom of Lake Michigan.  Of the various routes available, the Skyway is apparently the best choice, although it is (or was?) under construction again and down to a single lane in some places.

The Skyway is apparently privately owned now, an exhibit in the raping of the American public sector by business interests.  The company that owns it is, I believe, headquartered in Australia.  Anyhow, it is another example of the public's desire to have governmental services without having to fork over the cash to build, operate, and maintain them.

There is quite a bit to see over that way, and I see tv ads regularly pushing Michigan tourism.  Also lately Iowa (which seems to me an unlikely destination) and Utah, which seems to me a lot more so.  Despite its political complexion, Utah is a very pretty state.

The problem with Michigan is the huge impact of the Bush Recession and, taking a longer view, the decline of the automobile industry and of manufacturing generally:

Sixty to Zero: An Inside Look at the Collapse of General Motors--and the Detroit Auto Industry

Alex Taylor III

But there is a lot of lovely scenery, with the Traverse City area (as I have said before) at the top of my list.

But I do also like the UP, I guess because it is truly remote.  Relatively few roads.  Not many people.  But of course, not really any virgin forest either.  Practically the entire US has been cut over, hasn't it.  Or mined or drilled or built upon.  And, as we are coming to realize, not only all the land, but also the oceans.

Anyhow, this trip, we are going not mostly as tourists, but for my son's wedding.  I am glad that he is getting married, and glad to be a part of the celebration.

Consequently, I am unlikely to be blogging for a while.  Hope you all out there do well.

The people speak?

The way yesterday's elections seem to be being interpreted is as an expression of voter outrage against incumbent officer-holders in both parties, as opposition to "Washington" and to the "Establishment."  I haven't heard it claimed to be a major victory for Republicans, and also certainly not for Democrats or progressives.

The main interest shown is in what these primary elections seem to foretell about the "real" Congressional elections upcoming in November.  Generally speaking, it has been thought that the Republicans would gain back some seats.  Apparently it is usual for that to happen in non-presidential election years.  But, in addition, there is some feeling that there is a lot of unhappiness with Barack Obama's "secular-socialist" government and specific policies, like health care reform.

But right now, I guess, the tea leaves are apparently not very revealing.

Opinion polls show that respect for Congress is very limited now.  And that is as it should be.  But that is hardly a call to throw out incumbents, to vote against anyone holding office.  Yes, the Congress, hasn't done anything like enough about the nation's problems, but that is mostly because of the Republican strategy of preventing anything good from happening while Obama is president and the Democrats have a Congressional majority.

I received one of those Republican "fake census" surveys, which is so interesting, since of course I am not Republican, and since some Republicans actually have been opposed to the census, regarding it as too intrusive.  But the Republican fake census is a heck of a lot more intrusive than the real thing, it is much longer and asks overtly political questions and seeks contributions, too.  One of the many questions was something like--"what do you think of having the government entirely controlled by the Democrats?"  

Which of course, they don't.  Under traditional rules, perhaps, that would be a fair statement.  But the Republicans have worked hard, threatening filibusters at every opportunity, to make it necessary to have 60 or more Senators in support of any measure, not a regular numerical majority of 50.  The result is that they, and not the Democrats, have been the controlling party in the Senate and, by extension, the Congress as a whole.  What we have been getting is the Republican preference for ineffectual, very confrontational, and fundamentally dishonest governmental inaction.

Anyhow, anyone who is upset with the recent situation ought to be voting against Republicans.  And it doesn't make much sense to vote against someone simply on the basis that they are holding office now.  

We will see how this all turns out, of course.  I wish there had been more discussion of the "specifics" of the various contests.  But I find it hard to believe that, come November, the electorate will simply say "a plague on both their houses," and vote against incumbent Democrats and Republicans in equal measure.  If they do, they are poorly informed, or stupid.  Often I do feel critical of the electorate, but really, I give them more credit than that!

On my own

My wife is out of town for a couple days.  I missed her almost immediately, and apparently she is missing me too.  She is in Virginia, with relatives.

Each of us has lost our (original) spouse, not briefly but permanently.  I dread the thought of either of us being truly left without the other.  

But, with her gone, I am watching The Hurt Locker, which is too violent to have on when she is here.  Didn't it win several academy awards?  Directed by a woman (Kathryn Bigelow)--who once was the wife of the director of Avatar, which certainly was a fine movie in its own right.  I have it on blu-ray, but didn't see it in 3-D.  Spectacular, a beautiful fantasy world.

Hurt Locker, though, is in an entirely different league.  I feel like it is real, not like it is a "movie."  Of course, I've never been at war, but it seems real to me, as best as I can judge.  How about the director lady?  Has she ever been at war?  I wouldn't think so.

How do you make this stuff up?

When my son was here yesterday, we saw Iron Man 2 together.  I liked it quite well.  But it was definitely a "movie" and not "real."

I ought to be going to bed soon, but I want to see the end.

Speaking of movies, both of the Blockbuster stores near us have closed now.  I guess that system for distributing video is in its final months.  As has happened with music, as is happening with software, and probably is happening with books and magazines.  Books look darn good on my iPad.  And movies do too, if you want to watch a show on something other than a great big screen.

Pretty soon everything will be downloaded over the internet.  Or, practically everything.  I guess some people even find their wife that way.  My son did, actually, and she is very nice.  Probably when he is on his own, as happens rarely, he misses her, too.

Distraction

Certificate

This country, and actually our world (look for example at Greece), face serious problems.  So why is it that we are knocked off course by absurd distractions?  Could it be a plot by people who don't want us to think and talk about global warming, offshore drilling, inequitable taxes, Bush Administration failures, the need to actively develop new jobs and better energy sources, etc.?

What's it all about?

Has it really been proven, definitely, that the moon isn't made out of green cheese?  Sure looks like it from here.  Have you ever had a taste?

On the "not being distracted" side, what is great is that we have quit bleeding jobs and are starting to get them back again.  The stock market has been up, too, and even the badly-damaged housing sector has improved a bit.

I am not "optimistic," we have been on a long spree since the early 1980s, living on credit, wanting more from government than we were willing to pay for, shipping jobs overseas, using scarce resources as if they would never come to an end, indifferent to pollution, and indifferent to inequity.  Just electing a good president, one man swimming against the tide, isn't enough to produce fundamental change.

No one ever said it would be easy.

Malfeasance

We have in the news right now two major stories involving corporate malfeasance.  One is the huge oil spill in the Gulf; the other is the financial meltdown of the economy.

To these might be added the recent coal mine disaster.

What is strikingly similar is that the business leaders involved in each are absolutely claiming no responsibility.  It wasn't their fault, they protest.

In addition, it is becoming clear in both cases that the organizations involved have done everything possible to weaken federal regulation, to avoid regulation, and to escape taxation.

You would think that the general public would catch on after a while.  

Fabulous

Fabulous