Defense Budget

 Defense Budget

Foreign Aid

Republican Member of the House of Representatives from Tennessee, Tim Burchett, said he opposes funding Ukraine and other items in the bipartisan budget deal now directed into three lots for voting. I focus on him because he is typical of many.

Representative Burchett wasn’t talking today about his belief that the US Department of Defence is hiding information about UFOs. No, he believes that the Military Industrial Complex is driving the war in Ukraine. He is correct; much of the Ukraine and other defense funding is for weapon systems — aircraft, missiles, and ammunition made in America. That’s not bad because it means Americans are working.

The true problem is that America’s defense industry capability and capacity have diminished to a critical low level. A healthy defense industry advances technology that ultimately ends up in the private sector, such as the Internet. 

Instead of drudging up pat answers from the past, the House of Representatives must research and understand the actual competitive situation. There is plenty of research to share and to understand.

Here is what the National Institute of Standards and Technology says.

“What is the current state of manufacturing in the US?

The U.S. is ranked ninth in output per hour among 142 countries using data from the Conference Board. In 2021, Manufacturing total factor productivity was 3.4 % above its 2005 level. In 2021, durable goods was 8.7 % above its 2005 level. In 2021, nondurable goods was 1.2 % below its 2005 level.”

My former employer, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, sounds bullish.

“US manufacturing is undergoing tremendous transformation. As companies rebound from the global pandemic, they’re facing challenges on numerous fronts, including measuring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions footprints, enlisting and retaining talent, managing disruptions in supply chain, reinventing their business model, and protecting operations and customers from cybersecurity attacks — to name just a few. We believe that these trends will likely intensify in 2024 and that manufacturers of many stripes may need to increasingly adapt to compete.

Still, US manufacturing also seems on the cusp of a renaissance. The nation’s becoming a more viable and attractive location for onshoring and nearshoring by both US and foreign-inbounding manufacturers. Indeed, many manufacturers are rethinking their global supply chain footprints to make them more resilient and durable. Additionally, the sector is redoubling efforts to recalibrate business models, particularly through the adoption of digital technologies across the overall business from supply chains to operations to the customer experience.”

Three Ring Chaos

The Republican Spectacle

Most people have work to do during the day and will have missed the House of Representatives and Senate chaos today. It is an ongoing saga propelled by insanity from " Truth Social” and the like. 

In both legislative chambers, Republicans have brought dysfunction, and there is no denying or hiding it. Donald Trump dictates to House Speaker Mike Johnson. A cadre of extremists wants the Speaker to march as he is dictated. However, even the lawyer from Louisiana has the sense to know he must do his job — to address funding for Israel, Ukraine, and more, including addressing Immigration Reform. Trump wants no solutions, demonstrating clearly that he and his kind are insurrectionists bent on becoming a dictatorship or annihilation. 

Today, they tried to impeach the Homeland Security Director, Alejandro Mayorkas, who is doing his job under constraints because the House would not vote on the Senate Bipartisan solution to immigration and funding—because Trump says, “No.”

The Senate is tied up in procedural voting to slow the failure to pass two articles of impeachment. This is a demonstration of Republicans squandering the scarce time and resources needed to do their job.

Trump, House and Senate Republicans are a three-ring circus whereby Republican leaders can’t break from their cultist disease. 

The only cure for this is for American voters to elect Democrats and purge them. 

Next, I advocate an overhaul of the Republican Party. Please read my books.

Conscience is Human

James George

Out of Bounds

14 April 2024

Conscience is Human

Math is without it

"The concept of 'conscience,' as commonly used in its moral sense, is the inherent ability of every healthy human being to perceive what is right and wrong and, on the strength of this perception, to control, monitor, evaluate and execute their actions." National Institutes of Health 

In this series, I introduced the significance of math in the universe and explained that math prevails in outer and inner space, too. As humans, we seek to know who or what is responsible for everything, and some believe the power of creation is supernatural. I, too, am humbled by what I don't know.

One thing we know about humans is that we have a conscience and the ability to discern right from wrong. However, what are our measures for making such decisions? Humans create systems of governance that constrain and regulate behavior. History reveals that humans are not always kind or fair. Humans invented every form of religion known to us. We fight over it, which is ironic because belief systems are intended to help us know right from wrong. Indeed, mortal combat is wrong.

While sitting in a church pew as a boy, they sang "Onward Christian Soldiers, Marching onto War," I pondered why we are celebrating battle. "With the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe." 

I objected to the thought of having a "royal master." Yet, I accepted the idea of the rule of law as much as I knew about it. 

Darwin suggested that living beings persist by being the fittest, aka, the most powerful. Men are thought to be physically stronger than women. Are they mentally brighter? Physical strength might be an admirable quality in sports, though mental strength matters more in pursuing economic sustainability beyond professional sports. Men have no inherent advantage over women. 

According to psychologist Diane Halpern, "There are differences and similarities in the cognitive abilities of women and men, but there is no data-based rationale to support the idea that either is the smarter or superior sex."

I confess that I was brainwashed throughout my lifetime — by parents and their church, by schools and their preaching and teaching, and by a government claiming superiority over all else. 

In college, I resisted and have been resisting and challenging ever since. I gave up religion in exchange for free thought and the ability to discern right from wrong based on certain guideposts. To me, the best is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That creation by good human beings stands like math—out of the bounds of human corruption even when it is created by people.

The US Constitution and Bill of Rights are subordinate to the Universal Declaration. In contrast, we, the People, occasionally lose our way, and government by the people fails our moral obligation.

For the believers, it isn't God's fault, it isn't math's fault, it is our fault.

Human Inventions

James George

Out of Bounds

13 April 2024

Human Inventions

And Beyond

 “Could it be that rather than mathematics describing the universe, the universe is a manifestation of mathematics? Something constructible step by step from this system alone, from which its patterns are inherited? If so, the ramifications would be far-reaching. One might be able to skirt the need for a divine creator entirely, and equally momentously, recast all of science as arising not from physical, but purely mathematical origins.” Mathematics Can Do Anything But This, By Manil Suri, August 8, 2023

Logically and practically, humans invented many religious myths, with many beliefs centered on gods and goddesses. They did this because people need order and a way to understand and cope with reality. It would take thousands of years for humans to discover math, physics, and science as we know it. 

One proposition is that math existed in the universe before human beings. Some humans might say that God created humans, and we discovered math. Alternatively, some scientists say math existed in the universe without humans, and people eventually found it. 

I don’t know about mythical gods, though I do understand math. Some people have stronger math abilities than others, as it is a function of DNA and heredity. 

“Is it true that some people can’t do math?”

“Research shows that humans are born with an inherent sense of numbers, known as numerosity. The concept of numerosity is one of the only high-level cognitive functions mapped to a specific brain region. In other words, we are primed to do basic math, but culture gets in the way.” Elizabeth Landau

Manil Suri, August 8, 2023

Myths, the Human Frailty

 James George

Out of Bounds

13 April 2024

Myths, the Human Frailty 

Deficiency in Coping Behavior

I begin this series by titling it, ‘Out of Bounds,” and the reasons are multiple:

1. I am not a clinical expert.
2. Mythology involves beliefs in the supernatural.
3. Historical facts support my theory that all religions are human fabrications.
4. The propensity for human violence emanates from individual and institutional intolerance. 
5. Ignorance is the root of human vulnerability. 

First, I may not be an expert, though I apply my intellect to try to understand. 

Second, I entertain various theories, yet truth comes from using the scientific method. 

Third, I detest religions because they and their followers are forever at the root of human violence.

 Fourth, intolerance is a two-edged sword: 1) myth-based intolerance and 2) fact-based intolerance. 

Fifth, society is doomed when people stop learning and applying their ability to think factually and truthfully. 

I will make the case.

The subtitle is ‘Deficiency in Coping Behavior,’ which means people tend to come up short in self-control where self-knowledge leads to self-control and self-control to self-respect. If you don’t respect yourself, then you can’t respect others. 

This series is the pursuit of understanding and increasing self-knowledge.

Visit and Listen to Rural America

 For the Democrats to win in November, they need to canvas rural America and demonstrate an empathetic ear. I don't see them doing that in Ohio. Send Kamala. She could make a difference by reaching out to rural women.

Mt. Gilead, Ohio

Evangelical

 According to the Christian Gospel 

Faith comes in many varieties. In the American democratic republic, from the beginning, 

First Amendment Fundamental Freedoms

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Evangelical Christians can believe what they wish, though it is wrong to impose those beliefs on the population. That is simple.

Within the bounds of Christianity, there is no equivalence between Jesus Christ and Donald Trump. To say so is ignorant. For Trump to preach, it is blasphemy. 

Call off the stupidity and tell it like it is.

Lynne Sladky/AP Photo