Portland Proud

Homeless tents along the strand. The trash as repulsive as the social emergency it represents.

Graffiti along the highway. Tagging all of us with anger and despair.

 

Storefront windows smashed for ? 

Portland’s answer? Tax the ‘rich’ exclusively to throw money at it all by having the public vote for a tax 98% of them will not have to pay - metro's supportive housing services program. Oh well Portland, let me wipe my tears of awe at your generosity and giving - of other people’s money.

Meanwhile please keep pretending you actually care. 

Our homeless, the trash and disarray, our graffiti, our broken store front windows, police brutality, government indifference, and our willingness to force others to pay for it are all reminders of societal decay. We are losing a sense of community, compassion, yes even I dare say it - pride. Hard to feel prideful when marginalized, and when you know few care. 

Let the ‘rich’ pay for it so beautifully exemplifies what is increasingly becoming a narcissistic, compassionless society. 

Portland Proud 

Love Uncomparable

Love is neither hierarchal or comparable for that implies two dimensionality. Love is multidimensional, each and ever instance unique, a world unto itself. And beautiful.

Is This Some Sort of Joke?

If you took all eight billion people in the world and removed all the space inside and outside their atoms, forming a single cube, what size would it be? Something slightly larger than a sugar cube.

When you sit down on a chair you feel the chair's hardness pressing on your clothes and your clothes pressing on your skin. Well, no. Your clothe's atoms do not actually touch the chair's or your skin's atoms / you are never really in direct contact with any of it.

Your vision is limited to a tiny part of the entire electromagnetic energy spectrum - what we call light. If we could see the entire spectrum or even just infrared or ultraviolet, our 'reality’ would be completely different from what we experience now, we would be completely different from what we are now.

We exist in at least a four dimensional space/time universe but our brains are incapable of directly experiencing that.

We live in a universe so large and so old and so full of things that our brains are incapable of truly comprehending. Visualize a billion. Can't. A billion years, a billion miles, a billion suns - we simply can't do it. Visualize a trillion atoms that never touch, all grouped into you. Can't.

We live in a universe with a speed limit - 186,000 miles per second, the speed of light - nothing can travel faster than that. On even just a galactic scale that is painfully slow, let alone on a universal one. The nearest sun with planets (stellar system) to us is 4.3 light years away, Alpha Centauri. A light year is the distance light travels in a year at 186,000 miles per second. Sending a radio message at the speed of light to Alpha Centauri would require 8.6 years for an answer to our hello. The fastest manmade object ever to have left the earth would take hundreds of thousands of years to arrive there. Unless we find a way to circumvent the limitations of the speed of light to travel vast distances we have no hope of exploring even nearby stars let alone the 100 billion just in our galaxy alone. Intergalactic travel? The nearest galaxy to ours is Canis Major dwarf - a satellite galaxy to our Milky Way - is 25,000 light years away.

We were clearly designed to survive the plains of Africa. We did a good job of that. But we are clearly not designed to fully experience, or fully comprehend on a gut level, our universe. It appears we can't even explore or colonize beyond our solar system. Are we doomed then to only gaze outward, trapped in this tiny speck of space isolated from nearly everything else, limited by brains and senses meant for earth, knowing we can never experience almost all that there is - our universe - directly - or even fully comprehend it?

Why then did intelligence powerful enough to be able to come to realize that, even evolve?

Is this some sort of joke?

Intelligence For Dummies

Neil DeGrass Tyson recently confessed that he wonders at times if humans are smart enough to figure out the universe.

Sounds like an argument to augment human intelligence to me.

Rapist Dumb Dumb

An ex-president found guilty of sexual abuse and liable. The jury had three choices: rape, sexual abuse, and forcible touching. To choose sexual abuse means they believed Trump raped her but since there was no physical evidence they went with sexual abuse. 

Rapist

He is also dumb. He just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Had he just kept quiet she would not have sued him for liable. 

Dumb

As is his latest CNN outburst, again calling her a liar even after the verdict. She can sue him again for this latest liable. And again, and again, and again, until he figures out he needs to get himself under control. 

Dumb 

Oh yea Trump supporters a lying rapist who cant control himself, can’t shut up. Great choice for the leader of the free world. 👍🏻

Occam's Razor and Multiverses

Our universe is expanding at an ever increasing rate. We have no idea why. To explain it we have had to add in dark energy and dark matter to our description of the universe - inventions to explain observation.

Dark energy comprises about 68% of all the mass-energy of the universe. Dark matter is 32%, with normal matter - everything we are and have experienced - comprising only 4% of all the mass energy of our universe.

To explain the accelerating expansion of the universe scientists have invented dark energy as a repulsive force exerting a negative pressure contributing to Tμν, the stress-energy tensor, and behaving as a force against gravity - causing the universe to expand. It is 68% of all the mass-energy of the universe and yet we really have no idea what it is.

Several leading theories include the vacuum energy of space - space/time expands as a result of particles popping in and out of existence in empty space. Some think an extra-force in addition to the four described by the standard model of physics- gravity, weak and strong nuclear forces, and electromagnetism — the so called "fifth force" - is responsible.

Others have proposed a low-energy field dubbed "quintessence," or fields of tachyons  —  hypothetical particles that travel faster than light and thus back in time, or that dark energy results from the decay of ‘dark’ matter particles called erebons causing them to emit a form of energy that is driving the expansion, or it is a remnant energy that made it through previous iterations of our universe, among other ideas.

With all of these theories abandoning or at least significantly altering the standard model of physics is required. But there is one explanation that does not.

Dark energy is not energy at all - rather it is geometrical distortion of our space-time by forces lying outside of our universe. Our universe exists in a multiverse and our nearest multiverse neighbors - external universes to us - are pulling our universe outwards in all directions at once.

If we are to follow Occam's razor - of all the theories put forth to date - this seems the simplest. And if true it gives us a window to study the multiverse, something that exists outside our own universe. Pretty cool.

Multiverses and Balloons

Our universe is expanding. That expansion is accelerating. To explain this we look within our universe and say there must be some sort of repulsive energy we do not understand that is causing this expansion = dark energy. 

I am drawn to the word expansion. I think there is a big clue here. Our universe is expanding - into what? 

I’d guess into a multiverse containing other universes. Furthermore I’d suggest our multiverse neighbors are acting on our universe in a manner that is causing it to stretch outward in all directions. 

If true then “dark energy” is really geometrical distortion -resulting from the effects of extra-universe forces. 

As example imagine our universe is a balloon floating in the middle of a room. The pressure in the balloon is the same as outside it, and therefore the balloon is static - neither expanding or contracting.  

Now imagine the air in the room outside the balloon is being withdrawn at an ever increasing rate causing the pressure surrounding the balloon to drop. The balloon would then expand at an ever increasing rate, everywhere, into something we could not directly experience.

Since we could not directly experience what is occurring outside of our balloon universe we would look for repulsive energy within - our dark energy - to explain our expansion.  But in reality our universe would be expanding due to changes occurring outside of our universe = no dark energy required. 

If true, despite not being able to experience anything outside our universe,  we could still detect the effects a multiverse has on our universe - telling us a great deal about the nature and structure of the multiverse, and explaining our own expansion. 

Religion as Existential Threat

If you are a Christian woman you must accept that men are superior to you. God is a he. God created man in his image. Woman was an afterthought built from spare parts. Don't look at me - that’s what your bible clearly states.

Christianity says God sits in his barcalounger in the sky with his long white beard. He knows everything you are doing, saying, and thinking, because you’re just that interesting.

God sent his only son to earth - except that his son is God and also a ghost. To Christians in the US he was a good looking white guy who looked like a 1960's hippy. Odd since he existed in the middle east 2000 years ago and yet no-one noticed he was the only white guy in the crowd.

Now this "son” was in reality a poor brown immigrant - exactly the sort that most Christians in the US today would try to keep out with a wall.

He died a horrible, grotesque, slow and painful death, so we could feel better about what jerks we are.

He died - then he rose from the dead. Where did he go? Well he became god again, and the holy ghost forever and ever or until he returns again - yea, it gets a little murky here.

Christians you are victims of brainwashing and childhood indoctrination - a form of child abuse. You were force fed a pack of lies, myths, and magic, almost from the moment you could understand language - over and over and over again, until it became a part of who you are. What happened to you is frankly horrible - I see little difference from what happened to you - before you could have any say in it - and what Hitler tried to do with his youth groups.

Well so what? Its my life you say?

Well. Religion is divisive - us/them causing the deaths of millions over the ages.Religion promotes ignorance - It's God's Will.

Religion by its nature is judgmental and stifles original, critical thinking. “There is in every village a torch - the teacher; and an extinguisher - the priest.” Victor Hugo

Religion stands directly in the way of humankind evolving past magic and make believe and getting to a place where we can begin to solve our greatest existential threats - nuclear war, global warming, pandemics.

I think we should add one more threat to our list of our greatest existential threats. Religion itself.

Time to evolve beyond it or I fear we will perish.

Embrace

“ A human being is a part of the whole called the ‘universe’, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in all its beauty.” Albert Einstein.

Scientists believe the universe began with a near instantaneous inflation from a singular dimensionless point to a huge expanding universe - the Big Bang – some 13.8 billion years ago. Moments later the first primordial matter condensed from the energy released. In the billions of years that have followed much of that first matter has been transmuted within the fires of trillions of stars or in their last catastrophic moments when they exploded into supernovas, the force forming all the various atoms and molecules now in existence.

Within each of us is approximately a teaspoon of the original primordial matter. Everything else – everything – has been forged in stars. We are literally star dust.

We are this universe, the universe is us. We are not separate or even a special case. The division of man from nature is only a delusion of sentience. In my hand are atoms formed at the very moment time began. In my eyes atoms that formed as a star exploded. I have within me atoms from dinosaurs, atoms from ancient plants, atoms from creatures large and small that have roamed the earth, atoms from my ancestors, atoms from the moon, atoms from the sun, atoms from everything you can imagine. We are this universe, this universe is us. We must embrace - everything.

Widening our circle of compassion and embracing all that there is requires first the rejection of false human construct and the attainment of true knowledge of our universe and the perspective and resonance with all that there is such knowledge provides.

Religion, wealth, prestige, power, nation, rank - false human construct all - none of them real, all of them divisive, isolating, imprisoning, and appealing to our worst instincts of hate, selfishness, bigotry, separatism, and war.

The attainment of knowledge of our universe through science, mathematics, music, art, love, creativity, and sublime experience in simple moments of life, can only result in a greater compassion for all of life and a greater perspective to behold the incredible beauty of all that there is.

We are this universe, this universe is us. We must embrace – everything and everyone.

Republicans and Fiscal Irresponsibility

This latest “fight” over raising the debt limit has nothing to do with ‘fiscal responsibility’. Republicans have shown us, repeatedly, their willingness to spend freely by borrowing while not paying for things. Every time republicans have been in power since Reagan they have spent much, much, more than they have had, primarily on tax breaks for the wealthy, spending on the military, and subsidies to big oil and big pharma, while trying to cut money to social security, medicare, education, and healthcare - all the while driving up deficits tremendously while doing so.

Don’t get me wrong, democrats have spent a lot as well. The difference, as you can see in the graph, is that democrats attach strategies to pay for their spending and thus drive deficits down = fiscal responsibility.

The difference is also that democrats try to maintain a decent quality of life for average Americans instead of shuffling huge sums of cash to the fat cats and billionaires at the average American’s expense.

This is not a sudden concern about deficits and spending by republicans. This is the minority trying to exert its will over the majority by playing Russian roulette with the world’s economy and your retirement, your home, and your ability to pay your bills.

This is not about new spending. This is about raising the debt limit so spending that congress has already approved is paid for. This is about paying one’s bills. This is 100 % about extortion by a cynical minority to get their way in an unbelievably irresponsible, unethical manner.

If republicans want their way so badly I’d suggest they win the majority. Thats how a democracy works. In the meantime they need to stop threatening to destroy this country in an attempt to get their way.

Generations

As I’ve gotten older I marvel at the narcissism, certainty, and ignorance, of youth. Don’t they realize I was young once and that things have really not changed that much? That I can help?

No, they don’t.

You want to sit them down and explain the hard lessons that are so obviously coming to them, and help them. But they are not ready to listen. The kindest thing one can do is just be there for them.

It’s hard.

How many people had to endure that from me as I grew up? People I knew that had nothing to offer me, that in fact - knew. How hard that must have been.

I just want to say to them, thank-you for your patience and love. And I’m sorry.

Empty Human Construct, Empty Lives

Photo by Belinda Peterson 2023 

This plant took atoms from the air, water, and soil and using energy from the sun, made this, all by itself.

We are surrounded by the miraculous and stunning beauty and yet we choose to spend most of our lives engrossed in man made silliness and the mundane. 

The Miraculous Needn't Look It

At this moment there is an aircraft flying autonomously on an alien planet after having travelled 149 million miles through space to get there.

To date it has flown 50 times - the only craft to have ever done so in the 4.6 billion year history of the planet it’s on.

Now look at this photograph - a kids model airplane sitting in any high desert on earth.

Except, no.

It’s an entirely different world - Mars - and despite its appearance this craft - both the craft and how it got there - is so stunning as to approach the miraculous.

The Media's Colossal Fail

The media is underwhelmed at the charges brought against Donald Trump by New York’s District Attorney. 34 felony counts of falsifying business records certainly doesn’t feel nearly as dramatic as the media had hoped and hyped prior to the indictments. How disappointing, says nearly every major news media outlet out there. I’d agree. Disappointed by the media itself and its colossal fail on this entire story.

First the media blows it way out of proportion - with almost no facts - then after the indictments come out doesn’t bother waiting for all of the facts, or the trial, before describing the case as shaky, and poorly founded.

Only our modern day media would find a case ‘underwhelming’ where a US president paid hush money to a playboy bunny and a porn star to keep them quiet about having extramarital affairs, then falsifies business records in order to hide the affairs, makes payoffs so as to in effect lie to his constituents in order to protect his chances at winning the election, and then reimburses his attorney for the payoffs - who went to prison for doing what Trump had asked him to do - reimburses Cohen for the hush money payments that had been made at Trump’s request, with checks Trump himself wrote, as the president, at his desk, in the oval office!

The only thing I find underwhelming in all of this is the media’s lack of basic journalistic standard, and imagination.

Or put another way - the only problem I see thus far in all of this is the media’s colossal fail.

Who Is The Birdbrain?

A crow can remember your face out of the hundreds of humans it has interacted with.

Can you remember its face?

The History of Humanity

Roman Men Playing Morra 

Growing up in the United States our K-12 history classes focused almost entirely on narcissists, sociopaths, psychopaths and their wars. Kings, queens, emperors, military commanders, popes, presidents, and business leaders.

Is it any wonder then why we worship nation, military might, power, and wealth?

I want to know what an average roman merchant’s day was like. Asleep in the early morning in his home. What was his home like? Plumbing, water, heat? What was his bed like? His covers, his pillows. How did he awake in time to get to the market? He rises - how did he go to the bathroom, where was the bathroom, what did he use to wipe? Did he shave? How did he shave? Breakfast - what was it most often? He had no refrigeration - what did he eat for his breakfast? The clothes he wore - how did he clean them? He goes outside to his stable. What animal did he use to pull his cart laden with his wares. How did he harness the animal. What were the smells, the touch, the feel of his animal’s warmth, the leather used, how he felt as he harnessed the animal - a morning ritual - what were his hopes for the day? His hopes for his children, his marriage, his life? His walk to the market - what were the roads like? How crowded? The market - how did he sell his wares, what did he most often use for money - coins, barter, written records? His lunch - what was his lunch, his favorite snacks, favorite drinks? These are the sort of things I want to know - a day in a life can tell me so much more about a people and their humanity than a description of some war campaign waged by some general.

Imagine if we had grown up studying human history instead of the history of conquest, nation, wealth, power, and war. If we had learned enough about individual Romans so as to feel a human bond to them, so they were human - then those would be the sort of first questions we would be asking about Muslims, Russians, Chinese today. We would search for their humanity instead of giving in to the fear of the unknown and dismissing them as subhuman in preparation to mistreat them, war with them, brutalize them.

Rainy Days and Tiny Streams

When I was a little boy a small stream by the sidewalk near my house appearing out of nowhere during a cold, grey, rainy day - was magic. Crystal water cascading over pebbles, under floating leaves, around sticks, where none had been before was stunning to me, filling me with wonder, amazement and intense pleasure as I played in it - imaging all sorts of adventures and worlds - for hours. Rubber boots and all. 

Everything was so fresh, so in focus - I lived moment to moment so filled with a complete awareness and enrapture as I discovered my amazing world for the first time. 

That is how life should be, all of one's life. 

Moments

All that we have, all that truly matters, are moments of resonance with our universe through music, love, empathy, art, science, and sublime experience. 

What we do not have is prestige, purpose, rank, nation, god, power, importance - for all of that, all of it, is man made fantasy. Shallow human construct that deny you life.

We have moments.

Everything else, everything - is bullshit.

Interesting Times

On the same day that that international criminal court in The Hague, Belgium issued an arrest warrant for Putin for horrific war crimes and crimes against humanity for his vicious, purposeful attacks on civilians in Ukraine, Trump comes out in support of him. 

Oh yeah don't you know that the ICC is part of the deep state in America? In fact, everything the slightest bit out of line with Trump is the deep state apparently, or so the fantasy goes.

Meanwhile Trump is facing no less than 5 criminal indictments from New York state, Georgia, and federal investigations in Florida, New York, and Washington DC in the next few weeks. He is already threatening to release the names of the grand jurors responsible for those indictments in an illegal attempt at obstructing justice by intimidating jurors and is calling for protests in New York next Tuesday when he says he is to be arrested there. His call for protestors in New York to "take back this country' next week is a call for violence. 

Grand jurors are just jurors. They are just average people off the street - as any juror. He wants you to harm them simply because they reviewed all the facts and decided to issue criminal warrants based on the law. 

Meanwhile Tucker Carlson is actually claiming the moral high ground over Trump privately expressing his loathing of him while publicly licking his boots for - RATINGS. Oh yeah, Tucker - moral high ground.

Why the Fox news crowd and pro - Tumpies chose a spoiled rich kid Yankee from New York, born with a silver spoon inserted way up his butt, who received $300 million from daddy and then lost most of it, who has a long well-deserved reputation of swindling contractors who he has hired as a matter of policy - plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc., who pathologically lies about everything, cheats on his wife with porn stars, and grabs em by the pussy, as their cult leader will forever evade my understanding. A spoiled corrupt rich kid Yankee from New York City no doubt!

Interesting times.

Tick Tock

The doomsday clock is an estimate of how close humans are to destroying themselves with nuclear weapons, climate change, and/or biologic threats. It was begun after the invention of the hydrogen bomb in 1947. This year scientists moved the clock to 90 seconds - the closest it has ever been to our hour of destruction. 

The decision to move the clock forward this year was due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the increased risk of nuclear escalation. Climate change and heightened risk of biologic threats like Covid were also factored in.  

“We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality,” Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin, said in the release. “It’s a decision our experts do not take lightly.

Meanwhile empty headed, self-absorbed, meatheads play silly games to the delight of millions on TikTok. Aptly named - wouldn't you say?