Esoteric Meandering Shouting Into the Void

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

Kindness seems like a basic concept but somehow it is lacking in the world we currently live in. Everyone has their nose in their cell phone and rarely looks up to notice if there might be someone near them in need. I know if you live in any large city in the United States, you see homelessness and people holding signs and asking for help, honestly most of us ignore them and I am as guilty as anyone.

There is a saying “No act of Kindness, no matter how small, is never wasted.” I realized that today, I am a generally nice person. I hold doors and greet people with genuine friendliness, too many times I have a joke or comment about something or nothing at all that I have zero compunction sharing. Today, like any other day I stopped to get gas and I noticed a guy sitting on the curb with a gas can, not asking for anything, just quietly sitting. I asked if he was waiting on someone, and he told me that he was out of gas and was just trying to figure out how he was going to get some because he only has a couple dollars. Filling up his 1-gallon gas can wasn’t going to break me, so I waved him over and filled it up. He thanked me and walked over to a car that was parked next a to pump and started to pour the gallon into the tank.

I suppose I had done my good deed and could have just walked away knowing that I had helped a little but something in me wanted to do more. I walked over to his car lifted the pump handled and tapped my card on the gas pump and put $20 in his tank. I drive around all day and know a single gallon isn’t going to take you very far. This guy, never asked him his name, was genuinely grateful for my small measure of kindness he said, “thank you” then said that he wished he could repay me, but he couldn’t. I told him that I was in a position to help and there was no need to worry about it and hoped his day got better. I walked back to my car believing that our interaction was over when, this guy who I had helped, came over to me and again said thank you and surprisingly asked, “I know it’s not much, but can I give you a hug?”  I accepted the hug, which I did not expect, and this guy told me that I didn’t know how much I had done for him.

A Small act of Kindness helped him and a hug from a stranger reminded me that ‘Kindness no matter of small is never wasted.’

Sappy I know, not my usual rant but I wanted to put this out in the universe as a reminder to everyone that kindness doesn’t cost you a thing but can mean everything to someone else.

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

June 12, 1967, Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, was a landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Crazy to think that was 56 years ago… in was born in March of 1967 and to think for the first 4 months of my life it was illegal for someone to marry an another that didn’t have the same skin color. It actually seems like an absurd case to have to bring before the Supreme Court… the right to marry someone you love just feels like too much government control over another’s life.

The Supreme Court overturned a Virginia Law banning interracial marriage base on the 14^th Amendment a unanimous Court struck down state laws banning marriage between individuals of different races, holding that these anti-miscegenation statutes violated both the Due Process and the Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

This is the exact prevision of the 14^th Amendment they sited, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

That same language was used to grant a woman’s right to choose in Roe vs Wade and recently to grant marriage rights to same sex couples. This is one of the amendments that we all should know but sadly most only focus on the 1^st and 2^nd amendments.

Recently this stacked lopsided court overturned Roe Vs Wade in holding that the Constitution does not provide a right to abortion, the Court overruled Roe. First, the Court held that the right to an abortion is not a fundamental right recognized by neither the Constitution, our Nation’s history and traditions, nor encapsulated by other, broader rights. This is a giant step backward from this court that continually like to present themselves as originalists that can only read into a 240-year-old document exactly what was intended at the time it was written. The 14^th amendment was drafted and adopted in 1868 at a time when racism was alive a well and women had no rights.

So, what’s next on this right leaning Federalist Society docket of laws to repeal. We know that Roe was the first on the hit parade. Obergefell v. Hodges granting marriage equality to same sex couples passed by 5 to 4 margins in 2015, now the court has a 6 to 3 right wing majority. Will that be next? Loving was passed by a unanimous majority in 1967 but that doesn’t mean it is safe from this court.

Only once in history has an amendment been repealed, that was the 18^th amendment ‘The prohibition law’. This court seems like they would like to repeal parts of the 14^th amendment or at least ignore them.

Let’s celebrate our steps forward and fight like hell not to go back to whence we came.

Thanks again for undergoing through another diatribe. 😊

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

The world that we live in is in the right place for us to survive and thrive. We are in the “Goldilocks” zone, as scientists call it. It is a special place and a fragile place as well. We know from observation that a little farther away from our sun and we would freeze and a little closer and we would burn to a crisp. The core of the earth is hot and parts of it seem always ready to come visit us from under the mantle. 

Nothing wrong with a little heat, it allows plants to grow and keeps us comfortable over much of the surface of the earth. Too much heat and things burn and die and provide a covering of smoke and ash that makes it harder to breathe and reduces our ability to raise the food we need to stay healthy. We are also very fortunate that we learned how to use heat to prepare our food which has provided us with larger brains giving us the capacity to be more intelligent than most of the other creatures of earth, but it does not always guarantee that we will act as if we are.

The earth does not move in a circle around the Sun; it is more of an elliptical path and our center of gravity moves as we go through this journey. If our planet had a major change in the route it takes on the journey or if for some reason it should tilt further on its axis we could be in very serious trouble. The fact that sometime in the future our Sun will no longer be there to nurture us and then we are all going to expire very quickly.

In the meantime we should be aware of how much we are causing our world to heat up and keep in mind the effects that may have on our future. For those that are sure it means nothing we will be hard pressed to change any minds. This is another argument like getting the vaccine to fight covid, some think it is needed and some feel that it does no good. Many of those that have felt that the vaccine was of no value are now pushing up the grass instead of walking on the grass, but we did cut down on the surplus population, can’t be all bad. (If you are not familiar with SARCASM you best start getting used to it).

We are all the inhabitants of this blue marble and regardless of whether you think global warming, the vaccine, or limiting who can own or carry a gun and what kind of gun is a right, or should be ignored or whatever, the common factor is that everyone feels that they are entitled. This does not always prove to be true; you may take the view that no one’s rights are any more important than mine and yet no ones are any less important than yours. In situations of this nature it is time to look to the common good and go from there. If that means you choose to always wear a mask so as not to pass on or hopefully catch an illness, wear the mask. If that means you forgo the ability to own or carry a gun everywhere you go, so be it, did you need to walk around being a threat or a target? As for global warming, be aware of those things that cause problems or make current problems worse and try not to contribute to them. In other words, “Do Unto Others as You Would Have Others Do Unto You”

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

Wildfire smoke is blanketing the U.S. East Coast. It won’t be the last time

The horrifying fire in Canada are just the lasted ridiculous almost comical event that is screaming at humanity that we are fucking up the global climate. Still there are nay sayers that continue to push the narrative that MAN with our incessant burning of fossil fuels has nothing to due with the continual threat. They say that the earth constantly goes through periods of warning and cooling and there is little evidence that the burning of carbon for the past 150 years has had an insignificant impact on the planet’s climate. While it is true that historically earth has gone through periods of warming and cooling, based on scientific evidence not as rapid a change has been displayed in the historical record.

The Huronian glaciation is the oldest ice age we know about. The Earth was just over 2 billion years old, and home only to unicellular life-forms. The early stages of the Huronian, from 2.4 to 2.3 billion years ago, seem to have been particularly severe, with the entire planet frozen over in the first “snowball Earth”. New University of Melbourne research has revealed that ice ages over the last million years ended when the tilt angle of the Earth’s axis was approaching higher values. So, what has gotten the earth out of periods where glaciers covered the entire planet is just a slight change in the slant of the of the poles allowing more of our stars rays to warm the oceans.

Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago (at the end of the Cretaceous Period), after living on Earth for about 165 million years. Surely there was some climate change during that period. I am sure there was but form my limited knowledge of dinosaurs they were primarily cold blooded so the temperature changes couldn’t have been that extreme for 165 million years for them to survive that long. The prevailing data says that the dinosaurs were knocked off their pedestal by a meteorite that’s impact clouded the sun and killing all the vegetation and presumably starting another ice age although not as dramatis as the Hurorian glaciation period.

Holy crap it took millions of years, giant animals walking the earth as well as volcanos and tectonic plate movement, but it took an intergalactic rock hitting the planet to take out the dinosaurs.

While our ancestors have been around for about six million years, the modern form of humans only evolved about 200,000 years ago. Civilization as we know it is only about 6,000 years old, and industrialization started in earnest only in the 1800s. The first big energy transition was from wood and charcoal to coal, beginning in the iron industry in the early 1700s. By 1900, coal was the primary industrial fuel, taking over from biomass to make up half the world’s fuel use. Growth in emissions was still relatively slow until the mid-20th century. We have been burning fossil fuels on a continual basis all thought the 3 centuries to power our homes and cities pushing tons of CO2 as well as other greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. In 1950 the world emitted 6 billion tons of CO₂.  After the mid-20^th century this had almost quadrupled, reaching more than 22 billion tons. Emissions have continued to grow rapidly; we now emit over 34 billion tons each year. The present atmospheric concentration of CO ₂ is the highest for 14 million years. Concentrations of CO ₂ in the atmosphere were as high as 4,000 ppm during the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago, and as low as 180 ppm during the Quaternary glaciation of the last two million years.

Even with this information there are still those that deny that mans burning of fossil fuels has nothing to do with the global climate predicament that we are facing. I know we are the cause of our own damnation. I do not say that we are killing the planet, we are killing ourselves. The dinosaurs walked the earth for 165 million years, modern humans have resided on the small blue rock for 6-10,000 years. At the rate we consume resources and kill each other our time will be a fraction of that. Future inhabitants if they are intelligent will say we were the weaker life form.   

Thanks for suffering through my depressing diatribe.  

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/08/politics/trump-indictment-truth-social-classified-documents/index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-indictment-released-rcna88592

The ketchup alert at MaraLogo must be at DEFCOM 1, in less than 24 hours there have been 2 separate indictments for Teflon Don… one with 7 counts and another with 37 counts. Finally, the justice system is going to hold the Orange Menace accountable for his actions. This is great news for those of us that have seen through his blatant disregard for the office he held and summarily disgraced and we know that we are still waiting on charges from Georgia and the election interference.  

The redhat mafia is predicably going to cry, “What about Biden? What about Hilary?” and completely disregard the fact that their chosen savior is a twice impeached, convicted sexual offender and now a federally indited bag of cholesterol in an ill-fitting suit. His decries of privilege and innocence will surely rase the ire of his minions and put federal agents in mortal jeopardy and that is not anything that should be taken lightly. He has wanted a Reichstag Fire, just as Hitler orchestrated in 1933 that turned Germany against the Jewish citizens, to galvanize his minority but armed followers. The fear is that these indictments may be the flame that lights that fuse.

As elated as those of us are to finally have some modicum of justice we need to keep our heads down but in the game and keep the pressure on to see the Mango Prince of MaraLogo  get the orange jumpsuit he so deserves.

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

Self-pity is the driving factor behind all of our worst problems.

We have a daily dose, or so it seems, of someone taking their frustrations and self-pity on others by getting a gun and killing as many people as possible. These big, bad, and brave sob’s pick schools, movie theaters and churches, nursing homes and other places people gather to impress upon society and a few very unfortunate individuals just how bad they feel for themselves. 

We have segments of society that believe themselves to be better than others that target businesses and homes of people they don’t like and destroy as much as possible, leaving signs like, “Go Back to Where You Came From”. Yet another example of self-pity that leads to destructive ends.

The killers are bad, and the vandals are not much better, but the worst of the lot are the politicians that take it upon themselves to determine they are going to create laws and an environment that all must live in, under my rules. The governors of Texas and Florida come to mind with the senseless rules on education, ban or burn books. Don’t allow certain things to be discussed in schools and no control over the possession or carrying of weapons. They feel sorry for themselves because even though they are personally in a position of power they know they cannot make everyone do as they have been told. This just isn’t right because when I was a child mommy always let me have my way and now that is not happening, and I don’t like it.

One Senator is bound to stop the President’s programs at all costs. The programs may be just what is needed. It is just that we are opposing political parties and I want my opinion to be the rule everyone follows, not his. 

Everyone wants to be the best, and we hear it from all sorts of sources. The Roman Catholic faith is the one true religion. The Seahawks are the best football team, Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. All claims that may be true for some but not for all and if the fact that others do not agree with you is more than you can stand that is too bad but just like today tomorrow the sun will rise in the east, get over it.

When it comes to education, we must continue to teach history and not leave out the ugly bits. We don’t need to celebrate them, but we do need to address them as they are a part of who we are and we need to do all within our power to insure that the ugly bits are not part of our now or our future.

The media and social media are filled with comments that can best be described as “Oh Pity Me”. Most have nothing to seek pity for, they just want to see if they can use a social platform to hurt, harm, or destroy someone they do not like or that just happens to be the target of the day.

Many businesses took it upon themselves to move the hub of their manufacturing out of the country. The unions expected too much, decent wages, health care benefits, retirements, and so forth. This is cutting into the profit margin for the investors, and the company executives that are all looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The more we have to pay the labor force the less our bonus will be. So, pity me, do not think of all the people that are losing their jobs, homes and futures because the only one that makes a difference is me. 

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/mrna-vaccine-melanoma-reduces-relapse-therapy-trial-shows-rcna79543

https://www.mskcc.org/news/can-mrna-vaccines-fight-pancreatic-cancer-msk-clinical-researchers-are-trying-find-out

I have attached 2 articles that have medical breakthroughs in treating and possibly curing cancer. Yes, cancer the big C word that no one wants to hear their doctor tell them they have. The big question is what will the vaccine deniers say?

The first article is about individualized MRNA treatment for melanoma (skin cancer). Off the top of my head, I would guess the states that will promptly ban this treatment or at least downplay it will be the states that have the highest propensity for skin cancer… let’s all say them together…

FLORIDA

TEXAS

ARIZONA

Did you guess the same three? These are the states that squawked about the COVID vaccine, especially FLORI-DUH.

I live in one of these moronic states where some of the population still believe that an MRNA vaccine is somehow going to change their DNA. These are the same people that think rainbows flags are turning children gay.

Messenger RNA is a type of RNA that is necessary for protein production. Once cells finish making a protein, they quickly break down the mRNA. mRNA from vaccines does not enter the nucleus and does not alter DNA. I know that is a little bit of science, but I am certain that many do not know what MRNA actually is.

As far back as 1978, scientists had used fatty membrane structures called liposomes to transport mRNA into mouse and human cells to induce protein expression. The liposomes packaged and protected the mRNA and then fused with cell membranes to deliver the genetic material into cells. 1987 — NIH launched the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks. The flexibility and rapid-response design of these networks acts as a framework for future responses to other viruses and infectious diseases, including SARS-CoV-2.

So, for all the yahoos that say that the MRNA was developed to fast and there is no way it can be safe the history claims to differ.

The anti-science community is trying to drag us back to the day of the bubonic plague when 1000s died from rats off ships and hand washing wasn’t thought to have been necessary. Is this really the world we want to go back to. The Civil war taught doctors and nurses that bacteria rapidly spread through contact and hand washing saved countless lives.

We have to recognize that the world has changed, viruses have gotten more prevalent and pervasive because of deforestation and population density, new technology is going to evolve to meet the challenge. MRNA is the latest round of medical innovation, and it is poised to save lives for those that want to embrace the technology. For those that want to stick their heads in the sand let Darwinism be your guide… evolve or move aside that left the rest of us move forward.

Thanks for letting me go on a science and medical tirade.   

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

The value that is placed on higher education, monetarily speaking, would be better understood if that money were being spent on educational resources. Most colleges and universities have very large athletic departments and a good deal of the money taken in goes to support that “resource”. Athletic scholarships are a common item on most schools’ wheel of fortune and that has always been a bit of a question for me. What attribute does one have to have to earn one of these scholarships? What is it about the person that has an average GPA but does really well on the football field that makes him such a catch for any institution of higher learning?

I am aware that a great many people cannot believe anyone would ask such a question, it is almost unthinkable. Everyone knows that football is what makes a college great, not the academic department but the athletic department. That is why coaches make more than professors and even more than the dean, it is that important.

The student that becomes a top doctor or engineer or whatever that relies on usings one’s brains to make a better world will never get his or her name into the book of alumni of the greatest because that book is reserved for the athletes. Most of the really important discoveries and inventions of our world did not come from a locker room, they came from a lab. The people that study and develop and invent are the people that should be celebrated but are often ignored. There are folks that are fountains of knowledge about who won what game or prize that cannot tell you who invented the polio vaccine or developed the system to stop and elevator from falling.

Not making it to college does not mean that you are stuck flipping burgers because there are trade schools that need students. It is helpful if you don’t mind getting dirty and doing some hard work. As odd as it may sound, we still have need of people that can build things and repair things. One of the issues with putting in solar power is that power companies think that if we lose the grid or limit it, we are going to put them out of business. If they were to get the people working for them now trained to service, the solar equipment they could offer another service and remain a viable business.

Another way to get an education is to join the military, which only about 1% of our population does. This will require a willingness to put yourself in harm’s way and to be a part of a different way of life. The educational opportunities are there if you wish to take advantage of it and many people have attained master’s degrees and some even PHD’s.

The difference between being in a suit and tie or a coverall job is illustrated very well by a British Comedy called “Are You Being Served”. The plot takes place in a department store and most of the characters are sales staff that have a pecking order of when they are able to wait on a customer and as a result how much they make. The one character is the maintenance man, and he is a union employee. It does not matter to him how many or if any customers come in the store as he gets paid and very well it seems like his pocket is always full. The sales people not so much the leads do okay, but the others are always short.

Getting back to the college education issue, we need to find a way to make it possible for those that desire to follow that path to do so without putting them in debt for the rest of their lives. We need to find a way for people to have treatment for illnesses without causing bankruptcy as well. Other countries accomplish these things and still seem to prosper so the question has to be Why Can’t We?

On a political level we need to start electing people that will do “the right thing even when no one is looking” instead of the self-serving money-grubbing lot that we have been getting for quite some time. Our national educational status has been going downhill for long enough. We need to put quality education back on the agenda for this nation along with school safety and if that means gun control, so be it. At present we are the only nation that has live shooter exercises in our public schools, aren’t we proud?