Murder in America

At least 75,000 people have died unnecessarily from corona in this country due to a lack of leadership from the executive. Donald Trump is responsible for the deaths of 75,000 US citizens. 

In the coming months many more will die, tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, unnecessarily because of Donald Trump. 

If ever a coup was to occur in the US it would be now. 

Purposes

As a sentient being our ‘purpose’ is to preserve life.
Since that is ultimately a losing proposition the next best thing is to pass along our genes, while helping all of life do the same.
That and try to be nice.

Dying Right II

2994 people died on 9/11.
58,220 US troops died in Vietnam.

America grieved. 

America memorialized. 

145,000 US dead from Corona thus far and ‘masks are inconvenient’, ‘how does this effect me’, and ‘the economy must move forward’. 

To die in some useless war, to be blown to bits by a terrorist - matters. To die of a disease? - weak. 

Fuck your memorials, your medals, your flags. 

People don’t care if you die.

It’s only how you die that matters.

Civil Liberty

My father fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam in part for the freedoms our society enjoys. Guaranteeing our civil liberties was at the heart of what the founders were trying to accomplish in writing the constitution.

And yet the biggest threat to my freedoms and civil liberties today are the police - federal, state, local.
They themselves break the law and then tromp on our hard earned civil liberties as a matter of culture and policy.

And they wonder why they are hated? 

Dying Right

2994 people died on 911.
58,220 US troops died in VietNam.

145,000 US dead from Corona, so far, and most don't care. Not really.
The media wont put faces to names.
Masks are a nuisance.
And how does this impact me?

And really, at the end of the day, dying from a disease is weak.

People don’t care if you die.
It’s only how you die that matters.

To Negotiate With a Virus

We still haven't learned we cant negotiate with a virus. It marches on regardless of economic or political wishful thinking. 145,000 deaths so far and 60,000-75,000 new cases a day.

As things are now the plan seems to be in essence to develop herd immunity while waiting for a vaccine. Currently we are at about 7% infected. Herd immunity requires 50-60% of the population be infected. At 70,000 new cases a day that will require over a year to reach. 

In the meantime people will die unnecessarily and our economy will suffer horribly.

We are beginning to see a spike in daily deaths from the spike in cases that began a month ago. 1200 died today, July 22, 2020 - a death every 72 seconds - and it’s rising. 

It becomes clear we are going to need to completely shutdown again - this time to include aitravel and hotels. If we don't this is going to go on for at least another year at the cost of 400,000 to 1,000,000 lives and the development of a deep and lasting depression. Half measures will not work. 

Given society’s mobility we must act nationally, not just locally. We need to shut down nationally for 2-3 months right now and then reopen with a real plan. Do that and we can bring this under control with less death and overall economic damage. Do this and we could bring the virus under control by September and have the economy open, exactly as most of the wealthy countries worldwide have been able to do, and do it just in time for the election. 

Unfortunately that is unlikely to happen under President Trump, or in a society that asks first - what about me? how does this effect me?, and finds death by disease, weak. And so the price of ridding ourselves of this virus is going to be the death by a thousand cuts.  The unnecessary deaths of at least a half a million lives, and long lasting, economic devastation. 

One With the Sea

The sextant was invented in 1730. The marine chronometer in 1761. Combined, what we refer to as celestial navigation, began. Along with the compass, used by mariners since at least the first century blue water navigation became possible. Or so goes the myth.

Celestial navigation did not begin in the 18th century anymore than the Americas were discovered by Columbus. Reliable blue water navigation employing celestial navigation, began around 1300 BC by the Lapita in the south Pacific and was refined by the Polynesians. Compared to their techniques, western, machinery dependent, navigation is almost as soulless as GPS.

The Polynesians used the positions of rising and setting sun and stars, the direction of seasonal winds and swell, the air and sea interference patterns created by land and currents, the migration patterns of birds, weather patterns, water color and smell, to accurately navigate thousands of miles of unchartered sea and return safely to their homes. The techniques were passed down in song and demanded incredible memory and a keenness for nature’s subtleties. These sailors were truly one with their oceans in a way I can only dream of.

Pictured here is a map drawn from memory of most of the south Pacific by the Polynesian navigator Tupaia for Captain Cook in 1769. Cook was not impressed - too busy shining his sextant I suppose.

There is Beauty and Then There is Beauty.

A beautiful young woman is truly a site to behold. Stunning, breathtaking, her beauty perhaps only eclipsed by her power. An amazing creature.
And yet gazing on her I do not wish to be young again.
I am happy with my age and only too glad to now admire from afar.

But show me a beautiful boat.
And I’ll wish I was rich.

Money, Money, Money - II

All economies are exquisitely sensitive to our modern day existential threats. Witness the near total collapse of the world-wide financial systems with the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Corporatism and social democracies have no mechanism to address long range threats such as pandemics, global warming and/or automation and the loss of jobs, and autocratic governments haven’t the will.

At the root of the problem, money. Money became obsolete the moment it interfered with the advancement of human knowledge – space travel, scientific endeavor, moral enlightenment – we just haven’t figured that out yet. Money guarantees unequal distribution of wealth, deep poverty, unnecessary human suffering and human conflict. It is an exquisitely fragile system of resource distribution and our modern day global threats expose it’s inherent weaknesses. As the world continues to get smaller and more interconnected we have absolutely no choice but to move to a world without money. This is not a utopian fantasy, it is fact. Do it or we perish as a species, of this I have little doubt. But how?

Imagine a world where automation has expanded to include the harvesting of raw materials, processing them into refined materials, shaping, constructing and then distributing everything we need to live, and it is not hard to see how we evolve past money. Overseen by artificial intelligence (AI) that is dedicated to maintaining and improving such a system, aided by mobile repair and construction units, every material need would be provided for entirely by machines, for free.

Whether we realize it or not this is the logical progression of modern day industrial automation. Since automation promises price savings there is little doubt it will continue pretty much unchecked for the foreseeable future. But as it progresses more and jobs will be lost and money driven economies will eventually collapse. If no one is working, who is paying? It would be better to admit the inevitability of this and begin to plan for it aggressively, now.  In fact we should embrace it and make complete automation a national goal much as we came together and did the impossible landing on the moon in less than a decade.

As we displace workers with machines, we must retrain them in some facet of the automation industry, while paying them their old wages. As the next wave of workers then lose their jobs to automation, do the same. In fact make complete automation within 20 years our focused national mission. Create a national automation administration - NAA - in order to bring resources and expertise together with the common mission  of complete automation and freedom from material constraint for all mankind. Expedite automation in order to transition as painlessly as possible away from money to this more utopian life so as not to destroy societies so focused on money. At some point in this process much of the population will be employed in the automation industry at which point development continued but not brought on line until the system is completely ready to come online. Once completely in place - a literal throwing of the switch occurs - at which time - in one moment - money becomes obsolete, wages no longer needed, and mankind evolves.

Impossible? What will people do all day? Well, imagine a SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in such a world. Self-isolate while goods and services continue without a hitch. Patients cared for in their homes with the latest in medical technology and resource instead of in highly resistant microbe factories that we call hospitals – cost no longer a factor. Imagine a world devoid of poverty, famine, starvation, and much of the reasons for human conflict.  Imagine what the people of this future studying our times will say – 'they spent their entire lives going to a job they hated, so that they could eat? No job, no money, no eating? They focused their entire lives on materialism and killed each other by the millions over resources and riches. Absolute barbarism!'

As the world continues to get smaller and more interconnected, as automation progresses in our search for ever more wealth, we simply must move to a world without money. Either societies collapse and millions die or we evolve. This is not a utopian fantasy, it is fact. Do it or we perish.

Moments

Ever tire of the sun rising in the east?
I do.
Just once why cant it rise in the west?
Or not rise at all? Or never set?
Just once in five billion years?

Ever tire of useless social construct?
I do.
“Success” “Power” “Prestige” “Money” rings and perfect weddings. Over and over and over again. And then you die.

Ever wonder how many times your life has been lived in a million years of history? The great loves, the desires, the hopes, the dreams, the self-importance and immediacy of each and every generation amongst thousands upon thousands of generations.

And then they died, forgotten. Did they ever even exist?

As you will only too soon die, to be utterly forgotten.
Nothing new.
Nothing new.

Save:

A glimmer of sunlight.

Waves on rocks. 
A breath.
The smell and warmth of summer grass.
Distant bird call.
Far away laughter.

Moments.