May 21 2014: Combine the photographic talents of my sister Lucy with the beauty of France—and the results are spectacular.

France, and the whole of Europe have a great culture and an amazing history. Most important thing though is that people there know how to live! In America they've forgotten all about it. I'm afraid that the American culture is a disaster.

Johnny Depp

---

I love France—and have been there many times, though have never actually lived there. Accordingly, I have mixed feelings about Johnny Depp’s comments. You only really get to know a country—I would suggest—when you live there for a considerable period of time, and have to experience the same pleasures and frustrations as the citizens of that country.

For instance, France is notoriously bureaucratic, but that is not something you normally encounter much during a three week vacation. Yes, Europeans really do take three week vacations—and are all the better for it. Similarly, a business trip to Paris doesn’t normally involve an encounter with its income tax system.

However, I’m also deeply fond of the U.S.—so don’t regard U.S. culture as a disaster. That said, I do think the American Way of Life would benefit from a drastic overhaul—and I worry greatly about the decline of this extraordinary country.

Be that as it may, France is an astonishingly beautiful country—rich in tradition—and with a culture we could learn much from. If you haven’t been there, you have missed a great deal.

Go visit—and wonder.

---

---

May 20 2014: If the Democrats had any sense…(they are better than the Republicans, but it’s a moot point) they would zero in on a small number of critical political reforms—and would lead with gender equality. In the context of 2014, it is totally unjust, unfair, and morally wrong for women to to paid, and otherwise treated, as second class citizens. We men haven’t done so well. So, let’s share everything 50/50 and see what happens. In the context of 2016, it would be—and should be—an election winning strategy. It would also be the right thing to do. And, by the way, it would boost the economy.

One of the factors a country's economy depends on is human capital. If you don't provide women with adequate access to healthcare, education and employment, you lose at least half of your potential. So, gender equality and women's empowerment bring huge economic benefits.

Michelle Bachelet

---

WATCH WHAT THEY DO, NOT WHAT THEY SAY.  All political parties are coalitions of interests—s0 the acid test is how they vote. Currently, and since the George W. Bush administration, congressional Republicans have voted as if they were all solidly ultra Right Wing. This adds up to a self righteous, extremist set of beliefs which demonstrate a remarkably lack of  social concern.  In essence, they seem to believe that you are on your own—and if misfortune strikes, well, it’s up to the individual to cope—in most cases—without government assistance . In essence, Republicans pretend not to believe in government—except where National Security and the Legal System are concerned. Everything else, they seem to think, should be the province of the private sector which will self regulate. 

• ANTI OBAMA. They are opposed to anything and everything Obama either stands for, or wants to do—regardless of the merits of the idea or the National Interest.
• PRO ULTRA RIGH. They are consistently pro the ultra rich—regardless of the interests of most Americans—and pro corporate management.
• ANTI FINANCIAL REGULATION. They are anti any and all financial regulation—even though the Great Recession, which practically wrecked this country, could have been prevented if there had been adequate regulation.
• HYPOCRITES RE FREE MARKET. Contrary to what they say, they are anti the free market—because the special deals they cook up with corporate lobbyists essentially give one group or other a competitive advantage—which is the antithesis of free competition.
• PRO UNFETTERED CAPITALISM. They purport to be in favor of unfettered capitalism—which essentially means the free market operating free of regulation. The argument is that left free, markets naturally regulate themselves. The evidence does not support that view.
• ANTI WORKER RIGHTS & TRADE UNIONS. They are vehemently opposed to worker rights and trade unions—even though U.S. corporations working abroad have no problem at all respecting worker rights and dealing with unions—and in many case are more profitable than in the U.S.
• RACIST. They are racist without actually talking about overtly about race. It is no accident that the Republican party is so strongly entrenched in the South and in the hearts of white males.
• ANTI WOMEN. They are anti-women in a host of different ways. If they were not, gender equality would now be the law.
• ANTI GOVERNENT. They are consistently ant-government regardless of the issue—even though a series of popular government programs underpins the American way of life. They have devoted particular efforts to destroying the credibility of government and thus destroying the trust—social capital—which helps to make government and a nation work. This deliberate and systematic destruction of the credibility of government—which we need whether we like it or not—has had entirely negative results.
• ANTI ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS. They are consistently anti environment regulations even though the first serious pro environment legislation was passed by a Republican, Richard Nixon—and despite the fact that the health consequences of a polluted environment are self evident.
• MINDLESSLY PRO CORPORATIONS. They are pro corporations unconditionally despite the blatant malfeasance of many corporations—from financial institutions to fast food. They support the legal fiction that corporations are people when it is self-evident that they are not.
• MINDLESSLY PRO DEFENSE. They are mindlessly pro defense regardless of the requirement. Virtually all Americans want the U.S. to remain strong, able to defend itself, and capable of deterring aggression—but that does not mean we need to spend as much as we do (or as carelessly as we do). The MICC (Military Industrial Congressional Complex) has become a deeply corrupt corporate welfare system which costs this nation over $1 trillion a year (if all National Security expenditures are included).
• MINDLESSLY PRO LAW AND ORDER. They are mindlessly pro law and order even though the end result of ill considered law enforcement and excessive sentencing is to imprison a disproportionate number of citizens relative to the rest of the world and to have an an equally disproportionate impact on African Americans. Both the costs and social consequences of all this are devastating.
• ANTI IMMIGRATION REFORM. They are opposed to immigration reform despite the fact that the current situation is clearly so detrimental to the economy as a whole, and to millions of undocumented residents in particular.
• ANTI TAX REFORM & TAX INCREASES. Even though there is broad recognition that the existing tax system is excessively complex, grossly unfair, and offers too many loopholes which favor corporate interests and those of the ultra rich, Republicans are—generally speaking—opposed to tax reform—and are utterly opposed to any and all tax increases. No one likes tax increases but, in the US., we have the indefensible situation that currently the ultra rich, and many of the rich, pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes that those earning a fraction of their income. It makes no sense at all, for instance, that dividends should be taxed at a lower rate than regular earnings.
• ANTI NATIONAL PLANNING. They are opposed to any kind of industrial policy or national planning even though our competitors—who are mostly doing better than us (at least where the average citizen is concerned) all plan. In other words, Republicans reject planning—even though it demonstrably works—for ideological reasons.
• ANTI DIRECT ACTION TO HELP THE UNEMPLOYED. Unemployment undermines worker bargaining power so helps keep labor costs down. Republicans seem to believe that this is better for society than taking a range of possible actions to eliminate unemployment. They overlook the vast scale of the human misery involved together with the direct and indirect costs.
• PRO-AUSTERITY EVEN DURING A RECESSION. Even though the track record of austerity—tried both in the U.S. and Europe extensively since 2008—is one of dismal failure, Republicans seem addicted to it (with disastrous results).

Given the above, almost entirely negative, set of beliefs and policies—’most of which fly in the face of the evidence (and which Republicans do not adhere to anyway when in office) you would have to wonder why the Democrats have such a hard time getting their message across.

More on that issue later.

---

 

 

May 19 2014: Accidental attempted suicide—by chair

“I am not absentminded. It is the presence of mind that makes me unaware of everything else.”

G.K. Chesterton

---

TRADITION OF IMPRACTICALITY. I have written before about the family’s long tradition of impracticality—and I’m embarrassed to say I seem to be maintaining the tradition. My grandmother, for instance—a truly admirable woman, and someone I loved to bits—never learned to drive, was an erratic cook at best, and lived in a state of chaos. On the other hand, she did a vast amount of good both politically and on a personal level—so the fact that she couldn’t change a light bulb was a small matter in the scheme of things. And she spoke fluent French, was an outstanding poet, and was a completely wonderful person.

Paradoxically, my grandmother was an air raid warden in London during the Blitz in WW II—and apparently was quite expert at putting out incendiaries with a bucket of sand—so her impracticality wasn’t total—but based upon my observation of her during peace, it took a war to get here going. In WWI she was a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment)—a nurse’s aide who tackled the more unpleasant tasks because it wasn’t ladylike to be trained in nursing.

LATIN, A GREAT LANGUAGE OF LIMITED USE TODAY. The common denominator where my grandmother, mother, and my own lack of practicality is concerned is that all three of use grew up in houses where the practical was the province of servants. Whereas they, the servants, knew how to cook, clean, sew, and fix a leaky faucet—all useful, practical skills—I was taught italic handwriting (which I haven’t used for years) and Latin. Quite how such skills equipped me for life, I have yet to determine. That said, I have considerable affection for Latin—though have forgotten most of it.

I’m not entirely impractical—I do some things very well—but I have a tendency to think about abstract issues like unemployment rather than practical things like advancing my own immediate interests—or assembling a chair. I also have a peculiar sense of time (which is something I will endeavor to explain on some other occasion).

But, I’m dodging the issue. Let now now describe a perfect example of my impractical/absent-minded streak—which helps to explain why I haven’t blogged every day recently. I have been a casualty.

ENTER THE CHAIR. My colleague—who is exceptionally good at purchasing the right thing—bought me A new swivel chair recently. As normal, I worked late so didn’t start assembling the chair until it was dark—and then I chose a less well lit part of my study to do the deed because there was space. I could and should have brought over extra lighting—but I was tired and just wanted to get on with it.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF IMPRACTICALITY. The task was tricky but finally I thought I had it done. I set it down and then sat in it. I had inadvertently left out two bolts. As I leant back—feeling rather proud of myself—the whole chair collapsed backwards, the back of my head smashed against the tile floor, and I not only fell, but twisted my body severely in the process. Over three weeks later, I’m still feeling as if I had survived a severe kicking—and I’ll spare you the rest of the details—but much pain was, and is involved. Distracting, when one is trying to write.

Ironically, I was able to fix the chair the following day—when there was plenty of light—without difficulty.

DECIDEDLY EMBARRASSED. Yes, I feel extremely stupid—and now you know why I particularly admire anyone who has a practical skill. I was brought up to think of people who work with their hands as second-class citizens—never quite believed that—and have longed wished that I was more physically skilled myself.

But, I can write—and that, as far as I am concerned, is a gift beyond price.

And the good news? Well, the chair, now properly assembled, is the most comfortable working chair I have ever sat in.

 

May 15 2014: Is our media biased in favor of the plutocracy—and does it self-censor?

The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.

Malcolm X

---

MANIPULATED PUBLIC OPINION. I’m fascinated by how the U.S. media works—together with the quite extraordinary extent to which U.S. public opinion is manipulated.

No matter what the facts are, we are almost always deflected from an understanding of the reality—and the full implications of the consequences. Yet, on the other hand, most information is out there if you really go and look. But the important stuff has a tendency not to get the coverage it deserves—and as a consequence, a critical mass of outrage is rarely reached.

Clearly, secrecy plays a role too—to what extent, by definition, it is hard to know—but what intrigues me is how truly devastating news is neutralized to the point where it has almost no impact.

WE ARE TOLD WHAT TO THINK. It all adds up to a series of highly sophisticated and successful information operations which keep the U.S. population largely ignorant and unconcerned about a series of issues which are steadily degrading the American Way of Life. Here, the word “unconcerned” is worth stressing. If the media don’t appear to be concerned about an issue, then—by and large—people won’t be concerned either. We think of ourselves as independent thinkers guided by the facts—but the evidence would suggest, that is not true. Mostly, we are told what to think, what to  take in our stride, and what to worry about. And we accept this—primarily because everyone else seems to..

How do they do this? And who are ‘they?’

A number of methodologies seem to be involved in keeping public opinion relative docile in the face of facts which should have most Americans in a state of outrage. The following is a selection.

• OWN THE MEDIA WHICH THEN SELF CENSORS.
• OWN THE THINK TANKS
• IGNORE THE STORY
• LET THE STORY GET LOST IN THE SHEER VOLUME OF NEWS
• UNDERPLAY THE STORY
• BALANCE IT (which really means neutralize it) WITH AN OPPOSING POINT OF VIEW
• DENY ACCESS TO SOURCES
• DELAY THE STORY
• CONFUSE THE ISSUE
• EITHER DON’T GIVE—OR UNDERPLAY—THE CONTEXT
• RARELY—IF EVER—CONNECT THE DOTS
• LEAVE OUT INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS
• DISTRACT, DISTRACT, DISTRACT.

WHO ARE THEY? They are the people who own the U.S.—the 1 percent, if you will—and who like it this way.

WHAT BROUGHT THIS PIECE TO MIND.  A major Princeton study by Martin Gilens and Northwestern’s Benjamin I. Page concluded:

Economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.”

In short, the U.S. is no longer a democracy. It has the trappings of one—but in reality, it is a plutocracy.

Now, this was a major study based upon examining 1,700 policies over 20 years—issued by a highly regarded university and coming to a highly significant conclusion. But was it covered by the corporate media? Largely, it was not.

An incident like this doesn’t prove the point, but it certainly illustrates it.

---

May 14 2014: We writers tend to be a sedentary lot—but the truth is that you write better if you are fitter. Besides, we now know that sitting all day is, in itself, bad for your health. Is thinking?

That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.

Steve Jobs

---

WHEN WORK ISN’T WORK. I love to write so much that I’ll happily spend twelve hours a day working (except that it is not work to me—it is sheer pleasure). However, I have become increasingly concerned about the adverse health effects—so have been giving a great deal of thought as to how to counter them.

EXERCISE MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY. Apparently, exercising alone is not enough—or it’s not enough if you do it in one burst. However, reportedly what does help is getting up and moving around at regular intervals—so I have been successful in building that into my regular routine. Next is to exercise—albeit for short periods—multiple times a day. Will I be able to that?

I’m increasingly beginning to think that I will be able to. Where writing is concerned, I’m becoming increasingly disciplined—and the downside is dire.

THE ALTERNATIVE. Which reminds me: I recently commented that I was freaking out at the prospect of being 70 in just over a week’s time (May 23 2014).  Actually, I’m not freaking out—or even close—but it does make me think. Anyway, my friend, Tim—in his normal witty way—commented: “Think of the alternative.”

He has a point. In fact, given the number of siblings and friends who have died before their time, he has a very good point.

Still, I had to laugh.

---

May 13 2014: American entrepreneurship—like so much else in this awesome country-- is in decline. This, folks, is not good.

“I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive then I believe you are better off not doing it. A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.”

Richard Branson, Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way

---

REALITY UNAMERICAN. I hate to say this—though I’m going to—but Americans are so well brainwashed (conditioned) into a particular mental image of this Great Country that facing up to reality is considered to be virtually un-American.

FATALISM. It’s a great pity, because we’re not going to change until we see the need for change—and, more to the point—agitate for change. What does agitate mean? It means getting attention by every legal means necessary including million person marches. It means doing a great deal more than we’re doing now (which wouldn’t be hard because currently we seem sunk in a swamp of fatalism). That, by the way, is un-American. We are supposed to be a can-do nation—and once we were.

We were Americans once—and young. And then, starting in the Seventies, the ultra-rich got going and seized back the power they though they had lost as a consequence of the New Deal. In the process, they learned to rig the system in their favor—and, since it worked, they went on rigging it so much that the income of the rest of us started to decline—and it is still declining. No, that’s not fiction. It’s a well document fact.

NOT A DEMOCRACY ANY MORE. The core problem is that our politicians no longer listen to the average American any more. They listen almost exclusively 0nly to those who support them financially. And most of that money comes, in one way or another, from the ultra rich. That makes us a plutocracy. We are supposed to be  a representative democracy—which means those we elect should represent our interests. Clearly, they do not.

Mind you, where reality is concerned, I’m in no position to lecture. I’m so reluctant to face up to reality myself that I write fiction for a living. Where my fiction is concerned, reality is no more or less than what I choose to make it. How cool is that!

JOINER OF DOTS. But, I digress. Actually, I am also a trained economist, researcher, keen observer, analyst, and joiner of dots—and that side of me zeroes in on reality with the zeal of a Sherlock Homes. Confusing? Be glad you are not my subconscious. I am a great believer in the notion that my subconscious does all the work.

MYTHS. Here are just a few of the American myths:

• The U.S. is the greatest country in the world.
• The U.S. is the richest county in the world
• The American Business Model is the best in the world.
• The U.S. is the most innovative country in the world.
• The U.S. is the most socially mobile country in the world.
• The U.S. has the most prosperous middle-class in the world.
• The U.S. has the best infrastructure in the world.
• The U.S. has the best healthcare system in the world.
• The U.S. is the most entrepreneurial country in the world.

Whether the U.S. is the greatest country in the world or not is really a subjective judgment. However, where countries are assessed across a range of criteria, we do not fare well. As for being the richest country in the world, we are—but most of the wealthy is owned by a tiny minority. Where the other headings are concerned, suffice to say that they are myths. Our healthcare system is an overpriced, deeply corrupt, extortion racket.  We pay nearly twice as much for it as other developed nations and yet we get an inferior service,

ENTREPRENEURSHIP. Here, I’m going to focus on entrepreneurship. Sadly it’s in decline. Let me quote from Brookings:

Business dynamism is the process by which firms continually are born, fail, expand, and contract, as some jobs are created, others are destroyed, and others still are turned over. Research has firmly established that this dynamic process is vital to productivity and sustained economic growth. Entrepreneurs play a critical role in this process, and in net job creation.

But recent research shows that dynamism is slowing down. Business churning and new firm formations have been on a persistent decline during the last few decades, and the pace of net job creation has been subdued. This decline has been documented across a broad range of sectors in the U.S. economy, even in high-tech.

Here, the geographic aspects of business dynamism are analyzed. In particular, we look at how these trends have applied to the states and metropolitan areas throughout the United States. In short, we confirm that the previously documented declines in business dynamism in the U.S. overall are a pervasive force throughout the country geographically.

In fact, we show that dynamism has declined in all fifty states and in all but a handful of the more than three hundred and sixty U.S. metropolitan areas during the last three decades. Moreover, the performance of business dynamism across the states and metros has become increasingly similar over time. In other words, the national decline in business dynamism has been a widely shared experience.

While the reasons explaining this decline are still unknown, if it persists, it implies a continuation of slow growth for the indefinite future, unless for equally unknown reasons or by virtue of entrepreneurship enhancing policies (such as liberalized entry of high-skilled immigrants), these trends are reversed.

---

The time for true gender equality has come. Hell, it’s long overdue. Women are not being fairly treated—and it’s about time women started fighting back and we males did something about it. The current outrageous situation is yet another reason why the U.S. is in decline (and, sad to say, it really is—quite unnecessary).

“What would men be without women? Scarce, sir...mighty scarce.”
Mark Twain

“Well, it seems to me that the best relationships - the ones that last - are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is... suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.”
Gillian Anderson

---

HIGH REGARD. I have known a few women I wouldn’t like to meet in a dark alley in my time, but mostly I hold women in high regard and have long been of the opinion that you are a superior sex (and you’re so much nicer to look at).

WOMEN HAVE THE EDGE. Men are better at breaking things and killing people—our traditional role since we lived in caves and wrote dirty pictures on its walls—but women tend to be superior at just about everything else.

FACTS TO BACK THAT UP. That’s not just my opinion. There is plenty of formal research out there to confirm such things as :

• Women, generally speaking, being less confrontation politically.
• Women, generally speaking, being superior executives.
• Companies, where women are directors, being, more profitable.
• Women being at least as common as men in the military.
• Women being superior academically.

THE MAIN TROUBLE WITH WOMEN IS THEIR CHOICE OF MEN. The list goes on and on. Ironically, if women have any weaknesses—which, being human, you/they do, it lies in their physical and emotional need for us men which not infrequently causes them to make lousy choices and to tolerate treatment which, by any standards of decency, should be regarded as unacceptable. Here, I am not just talking about sexual infidelity—a separate issue—but about other issues (which we really could and should resolve).

SENATOR WARREN. Let me quote Senator Elizabeth Warren on the matter.

When I was a law professor, I spent years studying why middle class families were going broke. In my academic research on bankruptcy, I uncovered some grim facts:

• In one year, more women will file for bankruptcy than graduate from college.
• Having a child is the single best predictor that a woman will end up in financial collapse.
• Single moms are more likely than any other group to file for bankruptcy – more likely than the elderly, more likely than divorced men, and more likely than people living in poor neighborhoods.
• Single moms who had been to college are actually 60% more likely to end up bankrupt than their less educated sisters.

Women get hit hard. They still earn, on average, only 77 cents to the dollar that her male colleague earns. Bloomberg analyzed census data to find that women are paid less in 264/265 of major occupations – in 99.6% of jobs, women get paid less than men. Yet Republicans have blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act – a law that would make sure women don't get fired just for asking what the guy down the hall makes.

Minimum wage workers haven't gotten a raise in seven years, and today nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women. Mothers of very young children disproportionately work low-wage jobs in every state in the country. A minimum wage job no longer keeps a mother and baby above the poverty line, yet Republicans continue to block legislation to raise the minimum wage. 

And seniors? Because women make less than men throughout their lifetimes, they receive, on average, more than $4,000 less a year than men in Social Security benefits, yet women rely most heavily on those checks. At a time when Social Security is the only safety net keeping 14 million people out of poverty, Republicans continue to try to cut Social Security for women.

I know how lucky I was to have a woman in my life who was there when I needed her. She's gone now, but the best way I know to honor her memory is to , help another woman – or maybe join with a lot of people and help millions of women.

It's time. It's long past time. Minimum wage. Equal pay. Social Security. Doing something tangible in honor of the women who helped us.

THE NATURE OF POWER. It seems to me that Senator Warren is entirely right—but history shows that people do not give up power unless they are forced to. Doubtless there are a few exceptions, but, for the most part the powerful put  a great deal of effort into ensuring that they remain powerful. They tend not to be overcome with generosity of spirit. In fact, they tend to become greedier and greedier and they will do almost anything, not just to retain their positions, but to become even more powerful. Power is addictive, corrupting, relentless, ruthless, thoughtless—and cruel. Sociopaths just naturally gravitate towards its centers—and sociopaths are not the kind of people you want to be in power. They have charm but no values.

WE MEN ARE IN POWER. But, here is the thing. When it comes to the sexes, we men are in power—and we are behaving in the classic selfish manner of such such people. For instance, we know perfectly well that there is no moral justification for treating women like second class citizens—yet we prefer to maintain the status quo.

LADIES, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT. That leads me to the conclusion that if you women genuinely want gender equality, you are going to have to fight tooth and nail for it. We men are not going to give it to you. You are going to have to take it.

IF THERE REALLY WAS…If there really was gender equality:

• Productivity would rise because women would be more motivated.
• Companies would be better run and thus more profitable.
• The country as a whole would be better run—and Congress would be markedly less confrontational.
• Millions of women would be removed from poverty.
• Millions of women would be better paid.
• Such an increase in purchasing power would increase demand—something we are seriously lacking in right now.
• Growth would increase.
• People’s sex lives would improve significantly.
• There would be less stress all round.
• There would be less sickness and people would live longer.

WHY ARE WE MEN SO MEAN AND SO DUMB? When you look at it that way, you have to wonder why we men are so mean and so dumb. Hell, better sex would swing it for me any day of the week. But then I happen to really like and respect women.

WHICH MAKES ME WONDER. Which makes me wonder about what other men really think—because surely, if they really did like women, they would do the right thing and implement gender equality NOW!

---

“A woman is human.
She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man.
Likewise, she is never less.
Equality is a given.
A woman is human.”

Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

I hate to disagree with Vera, because it’s a lovely quote—but as I have said before, I happen to think that women are a little smarter than we males—and they have certainly got more sense.

---