Monthly Archives: February 2016

Faith, Feelings, Fellowship

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The mariner has often commented that the comic strips are the most important part of the newspaper; he reads them first. Often, whether the reader is aware or not, an underlying reflection is triggered in the brain – evading every protective or judgmental barrier – to provoke contemplation.

Mariner has written many articles and posts that often put him at odds with his local congregation and friends. Often, it is the mariner’s use of the term “pew Christians.” It is a term implying that the Lord’s work is needed away from the pew. The term also signifies that the Church doctrine has displaced personal commitment to the works of Jesus with the priorities of managing a building, budget and charitable giving.

The mariner accepts the cultural forces that focus on the physical and personal experience provided by ecclesiastical practices; we all need rejuvenation and the role of the church as a focus on moral and spiritual behavior. But…Jesus never had a church, to oversimplify.

The mariner was provoked to write this post by a comic strip:

Zits-feelings-1

Very few pew Christians are comfortable focusing their faith and works out in the community – especially engaging personally with those in need. Many parishioners belong to their church first to have fellowship and second to feel that they are responsible citizens supporting a higher calling. The idea that the parishioners are called by Jesus to be among the needy, the morally lost, and the forgotten, is not a requisite. Charitable giving from a distance is acceptable but no ‘feelings,’ please – just gifts.

One need not be a biblical scholar; the two great commandments cover the subject. God does not find the parishioner – the parishioner must find God and love that relationship ‘with all one’s heart, mind, and strength.’ Further, the parishioner cannot practice elitism, vanity, prejudice or pride. It has always been difficult to be a Christian.

In this era of significant change to culture, politics, economics, and religion, the local church is under great pressure to modify its practices. There is a barrier to changing the ecclesiastical paradigm; the pew-based worship of the Trinity is the way it has always been. Whole generations have grown up and passed on who were committed to the local church and its role in the sacraments. The fellowship and gratification of belonging still is an important role for the church and will always be so. But it is time to change the manner in which church-goers execute their commitment to the Trinity.

W. Edwards Deming, a renowned economist and an influential writer about change in business and any organization undergoing change, said that a paradigm shift (changing the model of practice) cannot be created within the old paradigm. It requires a new energy, a different approach, and different priorities – to which the old paradigm is incapable of morphing. History has proven Deming correct. This does not bode well for pew-based churches.

The American culture – politics and all – is moving toward a populist ethic. This transition is brought about by the disruption of oligarchic practices which interfere with the ‘American Dream,’ a concept based on the fairness that everyone’s vote is equal, that anyone can be President, and that the profits of the nation are distributed fairly. This means that every institution and organization must move toward populist ethics. For the Christian Church, this means that prejudice, pride, exclusivity, and social obligation, are under pressure to provide a Christian role based on the public, not the pew.

The mariner has had personal experience wrestling with the shifting culture versus ecclesiastical practices that go back hundreds of years. Deming is right: there is no vision for future community-based priorities. Whatever changes are possible, those changes must accommodate the pew model. Somewhere in the community, new parishioners will forge a new role for congregations. In the meantime, pew-based churches face hard times during the transition. The public wants ‘feelings,’ not ritual.

Ancient Mariner

Are the Primaries Forcing Change?

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On January 9, mariner wrote a post that suggested Donald is a ‘reagent.’ A reagent is a soap, acetone, alcohol, metals used in hydrolysis – any chemical or solution that cleans something. Soap in the laundry removes dirt from clothes. Paint remover removes paint. Acetone removes fingernail polish, etc.

The mariner’s philosophical alter ego, Guru, speculated that Donald would dismantle the Republican Party very much like paint remover removes paint. Even in these early primaries, one can see how Donald is splitting a significant number of republicans (and some democrats) away from the traditional hierarchy of the Republican Party.

If Donald remains the front runner through Super Tuesday primaries, he already will have changed the power structure by creating populist conservatives who are not satisfied with the establishment side of the Republican Party. On the democratic side, both Hillary and Bernie are advocating populist solutions as well. It may be that there will be enough change in Congress – whether new members or members who respond to the new populism – that collaboration will return to Congress via the newly formed wings of both parties. The longer Donald holds forth, the more influential the new conservative wing will be. Should he actually be nominated, the old establishment will be permanently changed – as if a reagent had washed away the old power structure.

Donald as a reagent is speculation at this point but one cannot ignore his domination of the early primaries.

The time remaining until the election in November will be entertaining: Hillary is a detail person, Bernie is a visionary, and Donald is an amoral pragmatist. If Donald holds a lead in delegates through May, the republican super delegates may well force a brokered convention. Marco and Ted will split establishment voters; neither will have enough delegates to power through the entire primary season unless a brokered convention selects one of them.

All this being said, it is early in the game and the mariner’s speculation isn’t worth a lot.

Ancient Mariner

 

Reassurance

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The mariner gave his alter egos the day off today. He is free to walk on the sunny side of the street.

In the current Atlantic magazine, James Fallows has an article about “the real America.” Fallows and his wife took a nationwide tour of cities in their two-seat airplane; they flew at an altitude of 2,500 feet. Starting with a flight to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2013, through a trip to Mississippi last fall, James and Deborah Fallows made extended visits to two dozen cities, and shorter stops in another two dozen, covering a total of 54,000 miles in their single-engine propeller airplane. The longest swing was from November 2014, when they left Washington for the West Coast—with stops in West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Arizona—until the following July, when they returned via Montana, Colorado, Nebraska, and Ohio.

The Fallows discovered a layer of American ingenuity that is never reported in the news media. In fact, James is serious when he recommends that citizens stop following the news. Some excerpts:

“For instance: Last spring we met a group of San Bernardinians in their 20s and early 30s who called themselves Generation Now—San Bernardino. They were white, black, and Latino. (The city is about 60 percent Latino, 20 percent white, the rest black or Asian.) Some had finished college, some were still studying, some had not gone to college. They worked as artists or accountants or in part-time jobs. But all were involved in what you could call a raveling-up of the town’s tattered social fabric….

“I was just pissed off,” an artist in his 20s named Michael Segura told us. “By the time I was old enough to vote, everything was in such terrible shape in San Bernardino. We just heard all the time that it’s a city of losers. We’d had enough.” In early 2013, just after the city declared bankruptcy and appeared to be at the depth of its hopelessness, he and a handful of friends began efforts to engage the city’s generally disaffected residents in improving their collective future….

“Through my working life, as a California patriot I have waited for the time when the news-media base would shift to the West Coast. I am waiting still. But nearly everywhere we went we were surprised by evidence of a different flow: of people with first-rate talents and ambitions who decided that someplace other than the biggest cities offered the best overall opportunities. We saw and documented examples in South Carolina, and South Dakota, and Vermont, and the central valley of California, and central Oregon.” [end quote] See:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/03/how-america-is-putting-itself-back-together/426882/

Primarily, labor lost its political dominance in the US because of rapid technical advancement in the computer industry; Capitalists, those who bought the computers, have become more important – the demand for labor has dropped steadily. Given Fallows’ extensive, on-the-street comments, it is a good sign that, from the bottom up, Americans already have started Bernie’s revolution.

Good reading if the reader wants a sunny day.

(But you can’t watch or read about the news)

Ancient Mariner

Get Some Sleep

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In the March 2016 issue of Scientific American magazine is an article titled ‘Brain Drain.’ The article overview is copied below:

“Every day the brain eliminates a quarter of an ounce of used proteins that must be replaced with new ones. The waste-disposal process traffics half a pound of detritus a month and three pounds a year, equivalent to the brain’s own weight.

Where do these wastes go if the brain lacks the elaborate network of lymph vessels that transports wastes outside the nervous system? New research has recently found detritus-carrying passages in the brain that are most active during sleep.

The glymphatic system, as these fluid vessels are known, may become a critical target for the treatment of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s that result from the buildup of toxic proteins that are not cleared from the brain.” © 2016

 In the mariner’s opinion, the direction of this study, that is, discovering the mechanics of waste disposal by the brain, will  expedite cures for dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and a host of other neurodegenerative issues as well. Already it has been proven that dementia and Alzheimer’s are caused by toxic proteins that interfere with brain processing – the same protein clusters that normally should be channeled out of the brain into the lymphatic network.

The cleanup happens almost entirely while we sleep. Advice: commit to a daily routine that assures you get all the sleep you need – especially the deep sleep cycle. Over the years, this may be the best deterrent to dementia. Still, more needs to be explored by neurologists before we can speak with authority. Perhaps a cure for folks already affected by mental disorders may be in the offing.

For many decades, it has been known that frequently exposing the brain to new experiences, including learning, physical activity, and interpersonal activity exercises the brain, keeping the ‘little brain cells’ trim and growing – even in older years.

So there you have it: How long have we been taught to eat well, get plenty of sleep, and live an active life?

Watch the author, Maiken Nedergaard, speak about this article online at ScientificAmerican.com/mar2016/nedergaard

  • – – – –

In the battle of Apple versus the Federal government, all the giant data firms are joining Apple to prevent the FBI from gaining access to an Apple iPhone. This issue could result in a major showdown between corporate independence and national authority. Big time lawyers and lots of cash are part of the defense for data corporations. This show may be more interesting than the primaries; there is a good chance it may go to the Supreme Court and may, if decisions fall toward the FBI, cause a rift in the independence of international corporations.

REFERENCE SECTION

The Live Science website has an entertaining article about the Sea Snail, a tiny, improbable creature that flies through the water like an insect. Other side articles are entertaining as well. See: http://www.livescience.com/53759-snail-swims-like-flying-insect.html

Ancient Mariner

Government versus Apple

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Mariner had brunch with Guru this morning. Talking with Guru in the morning is a mistake but his views are intriguing. Consequently, the mariner spent the rest of the day contemplating Guru’s views on the issue of governmental jurisdiction versus corporate independence.

“You know,” Guru started, “The conflict between Cliven and Ammon Bundy in Nevada and Oregon versus the Federal Government is the same conflict as  Apple versus the FBI.” (see: January 4, 2016)

The example of the FBI versus Apple occurred because Apple refused to respond to a warrant. NBC News described the situation as follows:

In a 40-page filing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles argued that it needed Apple to help it find the password and access “relevant, critical … data” on the locked cellphone of Syed Farook, who with his wife Tashfeen Malik murdered 14 people in San Bernardino, California on December 2.

“Despite … a warrant authorizing the search,” said prosecutors, “the government has been unable to complete the search because it cannot access the iPhone’s encrypted content. Apple has the exclusive technical means which would assist the government in completing its search, but has declined to provide that assistance voluntarily.”

Conflicting views on the situation revolve around two perspectives:

  • Any government has the authority to impose on a corporation’s policy and operation if the corporation operates within the government’s jurisdiction and the issue can be discerned as a threat to the wellbeing of the citizenry.

There is precedent for government imposition on corporations in many areas: EPA regulations, tariffs, equal opportunity legislation, land management, OSHA requirements, building codes, and many more. On the other hand, Apple claims that cryptic operating system defenses protect the privacy of customers [and customer data Apple doesn’t want to share]. Further, Apple claims that release of a solution to the cryptic software would be leaked to the general public regardless of best intentions to protect it; the consequence to Apple would be that their operating system and customer databases would be open to the public – especially to competitors. This perspective, at its core, is sensitive both to ‘big brother’ offenses by government and invasion of corporate secrets. Guru took the issue to a broader level:

  • Businesses and corporations are special entities that comprise the private sector; private sector entities are not accountable to the government unless they perform a criminal act. Further, private sector entities are accountable to the public to abide by the rights, freedom, security and privacy of that public.

The broader issue, then, is whether corporations should be accountable to a nation’s authority as set forth in that nation’s constitution, law, regulation, and, indirectly, the wellbeing of that nation’s citizens. In the post of January 4, 2016, mariner addressed the broader issue from the standpoint of State versus Federal management of land within the State and whether any government could seize a private sector business if that business is in violation of environmental regulations.

An update to the Cliven Bundy grazing violation is that Bundy has been indicted for violation of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, weapon use and possession, assault on a federal officer, threatening a federal law enforcement officer, obstruction, extortion to interfere with commerce, and interstate travel in aid of extortion. Found guilty on even a few of these charges, Bundy will end his life in prison. Cliven is no Apple. But the principle is the same. Apparently, the US can arrest Apple managers or otherwise halt Apple operations if the corporation’s resistance can be determined to be a felonious act. Does Apple have gun toting henchmen?

Stay tuned….

Ancient Mariner

Water and Monarch Butterflies

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A staggering four billion people may be facing water scarcity. A new study shows that two out of every three people on our planet simply do not have enough water to meet their basic needs.

“We find that four billion people live in areas that experience severe water scarcity at least part of the year, which is more than previously thought, based on those earlier studies done on an annual basis,” said Arjen Hoekstra, co-author of the new study, in an interview with Tech Times.

This doesn’t mean that we lack water in the world. In fact, previous studies have shown that we have more than enough water to cover all of our needs. Instead, the issue is getting the water where it needs to go; water isn’t available at all times, and isn’t always available in the places where it’s needed.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said that two-thirds of the worldwide population could suffer from water shortages by 2025. The organization said that 70 percent of available freshwater is utilized on agricultural practices but inefficient methods and faulty irrigation systems waste about 60 percent of it.[1]

  • –   –

This water shortage issue is one of many economic, environmental, and national issues that make up part of the refurbishment of the Nation’s infrastructure. Further, other nations also must come to terms with the policies and practices of water distribution. The global population already is experienced in the policies and practices of managing oil – another commodity; practices include war, immoral business practices and hoarding profits. The difference is that human beings are fortunate if they live as long as five days without water; oil, by comparison, is a convenience. How much more intense would be the battle over water rights?

Another serious issue that can be lumped under American infrastructure is the large issue of global warming. If, in fact, the planet’s oceans will raise an average of nine feet at the shoreline, Trillions of dollars will be lost at beachfront destinations, factories, homes, and utility facilities. There is no organized plan to deal with this catastrophe; there is no technology to deal with this catastrophe. Twenty-foot berms and flood gates like the ones used in Louisiana don’t stand a chance.

At the Bing/News website is a lot of charted information and historical comparisons of temperature that are highly informative.

See:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=January+global+temperature+record&filters=tnTID%3a%22EBCB2A1C-158D-452c-AFDD-1AD4FF97E939%22+tnVersion%3a%221295326%22+segment%3a%22popularnow.carousel%22+tnCol%3a%2210%22+tnOrder%3a%22c049ee40-830e-4fe7-b380-32bd3b9a163e%22&efirst=8&FORM=HPNN01ularnow.carousel%22+tnCol%3a%2210%22+tnOrder%3a%22c049ee40-830e-4fe7-b380-32bd3b9a163e%22&efirst=8&FORM=HPNN01

 

REFERENCE SECTION

Some readers may be put off by the name “Aljazeera” and may find that there is more news about Middle Eastern conflict than may be of interest. However, don’t throw the baby out with the bath; even if the television broadcast is not to your liking, the Aljazeera website is deliberately American in its reporting thanks to a separate media branch located in the US and a staff of Americans. Aljazeera’s Indepth section has an independent view of the American scene which often provides independent insights about the US. See: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/02/vote-donald-trump-elections-republican-160210114053274.html?utm_source=Al+Jazeera+English+Newsletter+%7C+Weekly&utm_campaign=420320dfb2-weekly_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e427298a68-420320dfb2-224505437

Mariner mentioned this next topic last year about this time. This is a reminder. 90% of Monarch Butterflies are gone. The issue is that between weed killers in rural areas and not much space in urban areas, the milkweed plant is disappearing. Planting a few milkweeds here and there will help the Monarch more than one would expect. If you want to raise Monarchs – a bit more effort than just planting milkweed – see:

http://www.monarchwatch.org/rear/

Mariner planted several milkweed plants among the shrubbery. For a good selection of websites and techniques, search “feeding monarch butterflies.”

Be prepared for an onslaught of milkweed eating beetles. They are bright orange and there will be so many the milkweed disappears under the pile of beetles. For a broad education on the Monarch and the milkweed, see:

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2005/jul/072201.htm

How to control Milkweed Bug, see:

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/insects/plant-bugs/milkweed-bugs.aspx

A good site for how to grow milkweed is:

http://www.gardenguides.com/89349-plant-grow-milkweed.html

[1] http://www.techtimes.com/articles/133631/20160215/4-billion-people-face-water-shortage-rising-populations-agriculture-drive-water-demand.htm

Ancient Mariner

 

Anyone seen any Good Economic News?

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The mariner searches continuously for good economic news. Good news is hard to find. It was C.S. Lewis who said, “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth…” In the opinion of many top drawer economists – especially international economists – Growth in national economies will be sparse if even possible. Generally, the opinion of economists is that the US is in better shape since the 2008 recession than the rest of the world. But, as Satyajit Das says in his book, The Age of Stagnation; Why Perpetual Growth is Unattainable, the US is in bad shape, too.

Almost universally, economists warn that the US is still fooling itself, that is, our leaders, banks and citizens still hold out for some unknown event that will sustain our current standard of living. Statistically, we already know our children will not have as good a life as their parents have had; the ‘fringe benefits’ of the older generation, such as pensions, comfortable salaries, union benefits, and the idea that retirement is an automatic reward for life’s labors, may be meager if these benefits exist at all.

The big bank situation still remains an issue; banks still gamble in hedge funds and other questionable investments to compensate for slowing growth in the US economy. Our nation sits at a point similar to Japan and Iceland which were hard hit by the recession. Japan still has not recovered and suffers a flat GNP today; Iceland actually went bankrupt trying to hold up an empty economy. Both nations have begun a slow recovery only after government, business and the citizenry realized their coffers were empty and took painfully austere steps to pay back the national debt (and personal lifestyle debt) used to prop up failed economies, reduce the standard of living for everyone, and suffer inflation (which has the effect of cheapening the currency therefore making debt dollars less expensive).

There is a possible light at the end of the US tunnel: many economists believe that the US has enough wealth, especially through taxation reform, to have a bit of cash to invest in a massive upgrade of the nation’s infrastructure and also open new growth markets associated with renewable energy and, through scientific and technological resources most nations do not have, reduce energy practices that destroy the environment.

As if copying the French Revolution handbook, GOP presidential candidates struggle to own the prestige of the Christian Church and undercut secular entitlements at the same time. Definitely an ethical oxymoron; where is Joan when you need her? The democrat candidates support the idea that the unknown event may occur, bringing peace and harmony back to the middle class. At least there is a possible event suggested by the economists, that is, tax reform, infrastructure, and renewable energy, but readers must not forget the words of C.S. Lewis. The truth we will find is that the US and its citizens have been borrowing for years to sustain an unsustainable standard of living. The standard of living for everyone will take a hit while that debt is paid off.

Ancient Mariner

Blame it on the Elections

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By now, most readers know the mariner is influenced by three alter egos: Chicken Little, a character quick to feel that the world is in crisis and no one will help; Prophet Amos, a character with distinct disapproval of the ways of human beings, chastising irresponsibility on every front; Guru, a way-out thinker who becomes lost in ethereal pondering and cannot fathom that Homo sapiens still exists. Reality and the Cosmos are so much larger than the self serving indulgence of human beings that the whole Earthly mess is just an insignificant phenomenon – an indifferent event on a Solar System planet drifting somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy.

There are other influences, primarily interpersonal alertness, an appreciation of tasteless humor, and an accumulation of experiences across a lifetime.

Concentrate all these egos and experience into a very short timeframe surrounded by incompetence and disregard for very important social activity, and the mariner becomes depressed. What Chicken Little, Amos and Guru find significant is irrelevant to the masses, to friends and neighbors. No doubt, depression is common among many during election time.

With eight Presidential candidates remaining, mariner fears the worst. None qualify in his mind to deal with the plight of American humanity – indeed all of humanity. His acquaintances, who by and large are bright, insightful people, do not feel the need to respond to crisis, irresponsibility, or endangered culture; it is enough to vote their preferred person (likely limited to their own political party) while disregarding the fact that democracy has all but disappeared and, given our candidate choices, will continue to disappear.

There’s always the millennials who still trust in unbridled dreams of the future. But Amos does not buy this; they are just young Homo sapiens – same as their ancestors. Further, by 2100, the African continent alone will grow 6 billion more humans adding to gross overcrowding and further disintegration of the Earth’s biosphere.

All this aside, which is the best candidate of a poor lot? Mariner has great difficulty deciding – knowing that the great issues of his alter egos will go untended no matter the choice. We must turn to small victories of great importance: Can the voters replace a 1985 Congress with one that can function in 2016? Amos has his doubts.

Ancient Mariner

 

The Morning Line February 13 2016

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The Morning Line February 13 2016
Here’s the morning line out of Vegas:
Hillary Clinton
 
1/100
 
99%
 
Donald Trump
 
8/1
 
12%
 
Bernie Sanders
 
8/1
 
12%
 
Marco Rubio
 
9/1
 
10%
 
Jeb Bush
 
17/1
 
5½%
 
Ted Cruz
 
18/1
 
5%
 
Michael Bloomberg
 
28/1
 
3½%
 
John Kasich
 
50/1
 
2%
 
Joe Biden
 
66/1
 
1½%
 
Ben Carson
 
750/1
 
Negligible
 
Carly Fiorina
 
750/1
 
Negligible
 
Rand Paul
 
-
 
Suspended campaign
 
Martin OMalley
 
-
 
Suspended campaign
 
Rick Santorum
 
-
 
Suspended campaign
 
Mike Huckabee
 
-
 
Suspended campaign
 
Chris Christie
 
-
 
Suspended campaign

Betting $100 on Hillary will win the reader $1. Marco is back where he was two weeks ago: 4th place. As mentioned previously, Ted continues to be unpopular with the betting crowd, dropping from 4th to 5th. Bernie held his odds but moved to a tie for 2nd with Donald. John Kasich leaped from 200/1 to 50/1 but still ranks below Michael Bloomberg.

Ben and Carley should cash out at this point and save some money.

The big day to reflect long-term odds will be after March 1, the day when eight states hold their primaries. Most of the states are in the southern part of the US.

Swing states–also called purple states or battleground states–hold 85 electoral votes, more than enough to tip the balance in either party’s favor:

Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. 

Ancient Mariner


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
A Government of the People….

			
						

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The mariner is concerned that some readers passed on the post about oligarchy. Philosophically and pragmatically, oligarchy is a nemesis to democracy. The extreme separation of financial class is a dangerous indicator that Americans are losing the right to govern themselves. One need only read the causes of the French Revolution[1] to have an eerie sense of the same thing all over again.


It is not an accident that the republican party is conflicted between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz; it is not an accident that Bernie Sanders has awakened such large numbers of democrats. As the American population moves left,[2] American governments are run by ninety percent incumbent officials – more or less elected for life and representative of a culture long gone from today’s social awareness. Already, the concept of electing representatives of ourselves has disappeared. The major reason is that too many elected officials are tied to bribery by those who can afford to bribe, namely the wealthy class and corporations. That the Supreme Court could envision that money is free speech is a significant indicator that oligarchy is alive and well.


Imagine a government where our representatives could not receive financial support except from the Federal Election Commission. That one change would require those who campaign for office to be more attentive toward their jurisdictions. Turnover may happen often enough that we may not need term limits.


In any case, the next President will be a different kind of leader. The next job for citizens is to elect fresh representatives in Congress – wholesale!


Ancient Mariner


 


[1] See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_French_Revolution


[2] See: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/01/why-america-is-moving-left/419112/