Yes, it’s common knowledge that few citizens think Congress cares about them – about 74 percent on a recent poll, another poll had it in the 80s. Two large and lengthy articles have been written this week about new ways to redesign Congress and new ways to collect votes.

Fewer but larger state districts

If states had only two or three districts and each district had several representatives based on election percentages, this would make gerrymandering virtually impossible and would guarantee both parties (or more) would represent each district. Many countries already use this model, e.g., Australia.

Rank voting

This idea has been around for several years. Instead of counting votes exclusively for one party or another, the vote would include the total vote from all parties and the highest count would win. (For a detailed review, see ‘Ranked Voting – 2’ post published on April 2, 2022). Several states already have moved to this method first made by Alaska. This method does not change congressional seats.

What is new is the degree of angst among political writers that the two-party system will, in fact, destroy the nation. Now, party choice among the electorate is close to equal which means an evenly split Congress that can’t get anything done. Worse, the abuse of gerrymandering has become so extreme that minority races and opposing liberal-conservative representation do not have equal vote status – even when they vote.

The other condition is that if two weaponized parties continue to fight one another, both parties will move to extreme political positions. Does this seem familiar? This is the issue that bothers political thinkers.

These changes have a tough road ahead – especially in Dixie. Changing the structure of Congress requires changing the Constitution; while we’re at it, why don’t we change the Second Amendment as well?

Ancient Mariner

Everyone should make a point of continuing to learn new things about life and nature. Like exercises, we do it every day, right? However, mariner offers a few classes below that are interesting.

֎ From Scientific American, issue July/August 2023, is an article that suggests to us that bees are as intelligent as many birds. For example, they can problem solve both by trial and error and by learning from fellow bees; they also express emotional traits like happiness and PTSD.

֎ This coming Wednesday, July 5 on PBS a new series premiers called Human Footprint, a series that explores the creation and destruction caused by humans on the planet.

֎ Also on PBS online is the examination of the human mind as it is influenced by the subconscious. Mariner has recommended this film before but if you haven’t seen it, it explains the society we live in today. Look for ‘Hacking the Mind’.

֎ Science News has an article online that questions whether exercise is good for mental health. It suggests a yes and no scenario. The article gives an overview from which the reader can select more detailed information about exercise and health. See https://www.science.org/content/article/exercise-actually-good-brain

֎ What does ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’ mean? For those who may not know the meaning, it’s a bad habit.

Ancient Mariner

The post heading is the title of a book by Donald Worster.[1] It is about the relationship between humans and the planet. In a sentence in the book, he says, “We are not of this planet.” Nevertheless, Mr. Worster lives in a romantic relationship with unspoiled nature, its beauty, balance and environmental discipline. He opens his book with several descriptions of the completeness that can be had while experiencing nature unimposed by human disruption.

However, the book describes how humans continually find ways to avoid their responsibility as a member of the planet’s ecosystem. He does not write negatively, as mariner and his cohort Amos might, his words reflect hope that as nature becomes consumed beyond human sustainability, humans will find relief in becoming part of nature’s reality; they will return to a relationship of respect “where wolves can be heard howling in the night.”

Humans found a way to fly even though they do not have wings. The impersonation of birds is grotesquely expensive to nature. This is a clear metaphor for how humans consume the environment for self-gratification but without allegiance to the natural world.

Mr. Worster ends the book with the hope that circumstances will balance the relationship between humans and the planet. Unfortunately for Mr. Worster, this book was published in 1993 before the next step to avoid a natural existence became notable – artificial intelligence.

Despite his negative and bitching style, mariner is at heart a romantic and a humanist. Reading this book was both romantically pleasing and depressing at the same time. Donald Worster speaks to mariner’s dream that one day mariner will replace his automobile with two ponies and a cart.

Ancient Mariner

[1] The Wealth of Nature by  Donald Worster, 1993, Oxford Press ISBN 0-19-507624-9

Last year and early this Spring mariner wrote about some deals he made with indigenous wildlife in his yard. Indigenous means Creeping Charlie and moles, both known as pests.

The deal with Creeping Charlie is that mariner would let the weed be ground cover within the bounds of a long flower garden; The deal with moles is that they would eat Japanese Beetle larva.

These pacts have worked reasonably well, especially in the flower garden. The moles could die of obesity and still not control the beetles. Mariner must live with the fact that he has the only garden landscape in his area of town. All his neighbors have large garages and helicopter pads so the neighborhood’s beetles come to feast on flowers and apple trees. Further, all the neighbors like grass cut frequently so it looks like green dirt; mariner cuts one-third the length of the grass blade when it reaches six inches, ergo, mole bumps are not an issue.

Many gardeners are familiar with quackgrass. It infests lawns without notice but when it meets a flower garden, its long white roots sneak in about four inches deep. The only recourse is to dig up the roots, which disrupts the garden plants and is laborious. But there is good news! Mariner has discovered a chemical that will kill ONLY grass – garden plants be not afraid. The chemical is quite effective. Be sure not to spray it on grass you want to grow. In two or three days the grass turns brown and dies. His experience is that no ornamental plant was disturbed.

The product is: CLEANSE 2EC, active ingredient is clethodim.

Ancient Mariner

֎ Mariner always suspected there was something wrong about the Holy Bible: A school district in Utah pulled the Bible from the school libraries because it had ‘vulgarity and violence’ in it. That explains why, in the name of Christ, European explorers felt free to murder American primitives and take their valuables.

֎ A Google-style database that holds the nation’s history of who voted when and where so that election administrators can track voters who moved or who had voted, has been attacked by one or two idiots on social media who claim the database was used to throw elections. Now several idiot states are calling for its demise. Meanwhile, Google marches on . . .

֎ Uganda President Yoweri Museveni signed into law legislation that orders the death penalty for individuals even looking like they may be gay. This is a low point in human breeding practices.

֎ A new social media company has joined ranks with Twitter, Tik-Tok and Facebook. Its name is ‘Nextdoor’. Nextdoor sets up in local neighborhoods and behaves like the New York Post: gossip makes good headlines. It interfered with a Seattle suburb’s elections when a liberal won the election. She has been heavily trashed by the electronic newspaper. A good example of “all the news that’s fit to print”.

֎ Not to share only bad news, good news is that mariner saw an eagle fly low across his yard the other day. Eagles are a natural predator of rabbits!

Ancient Mariner