Response to Guardian on new book about Conservatism.

Liberalism, which I define as the philosophy based on the equality of man, equal justice for all, and voting rights to choose the laws under which you live, the executives who enforce those laws, and the judges who interpret and apply those laws, has made great strides since John Locke, but has not succeeded. To be successful the Representatives who make our laws must be removed from the process. They cannot and do not Represent the people. They are bought and paid for by the rich and powerful. Our founding Fathers did not believe we are wise enough to govern ourselves,so they concocted the two bicameral houses of Representatives to make our laws. They proudly stated that it is a Representative Republic, not a Democracy, and that Actual Democracy was impossible because all the people could not gather together and vote. This is a falsehood. Nonetheless, the Constitution has intermediaries for all direct votes: Representatives vote on laws, not the people. Members of the Electoral College vote for the Executives, and the Executive appoints the Federal Judges, who aren't answerable to the people, the legislature, or the Executive; Jefferson said it was as if they weren't even part of the country. Liberalism has succeeded to the level it has, all over the world, because it approaches freedom for the individual and justice for the individual. It will completely succeed when it is an actual democracy: one where the people vote directly on the laws - without the corruption of Representatives, directly for the Chief Executives - and  not members of the electoral College; and directly on the Judges. Such a government will not be perfect, but it will be "more perfect" than any Representative, Conservative, government.

Response to a NY Times essay about "baby boomers".

Nihilism, by any other name is surrender to giving up the life we have, giving up pursuing happiness, loafing until death do us part.  Bull crap. There is work to be done. There is immortality, or at least very long life to pursue.  There are 40 institutes of aging and/or longevity on earth and they're doing serious , and good, work toward that end.  And there is freedom, justice, and equality to pursue, in contradiction to those who would steal our labor, money, and freedom for their personal aggrandizement, their retirement,  and their lack of faith or hope in forming a more perfect union, or more perfect societies.  There's man's work to do and not sit around and whine that my time has come or is coming.  Work to overcome the fear of the second law by remembering that you can put more energy into a system and keep it going, make it more perfect, more efficient. There's science to do, life to live, children and grand children to educate.  There are problems that many of us are trained to see, if not to overcome.  Take your nihilism and loaf with you soul. I seek work and adventure and longer days. Man and society  may not be perfectable but they are capable of more and more perfection toward some arbitrary asymptote of perfection. Do not go gently into that good night.

Response to trustng science more than religion...

Roger Duronio It's not "trusting", it's convincing: I see, hear, research information from all around me and from my fellow men, living and dead. I can follow the arguments on motion from Archimedes, to Newton, to Einstein, and literally weigh and measure and predict the speed of falling objects, the path of a baseball. I see that everyone has 5 fingers and toes on each of two hands and feet, and I follow the course of evolution on earth from 4.5 billion years ago to today and understand how the genes and their interactions, in one body,one species, all species has led to the current set of life on this planet. Science gives us the ability to take it's conclusions and "do things": make cars, planes, houses, ball parks, churches, schools, bars, etc. Religion, however, and unfortunately, cannot and does not enable us to take it's dogma and produce physical changes for our species and world. It is sterile. Science is productive. One gives us control over what we understand, the other attempts to control us with what we can not, and do not, and won't ever understand: the Spirit world of magic that gives hope, false hope, in trying to salve the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune while living here and now.

Response to NYTimes article on the elderly and retirement...

I don't like getting personal in these 'response' notes...BUT, I'm a 75 year old, twice incarcerated (13 years total in prison) who has a masters degree in physical chemistry, 30 years as a computer jock ( just put Ubuntu onto my 5 year old hp and have a dual boot with windows, now.) and even as oneof the worst people on earth I still have skills and abilities that the society is cheating itself of by not employing me in fields where i can, and wish, to contribute. We have always been a country of mavericks, look at our politics now... This is just a simple, but personal, point, the nation is cheating iteslf from people like me, and millions just like me, because of fear and ignorance and the "new political correctness" where there is no 'forgiveness, compassion, hope of rehabilitation, one failure is a life's failure today. I'm an atheist but I grew up in a Christian environment and know Christ's intent on salvaging 'lost souls', etc. I don't want or need anything but an opportunity, like many of age and background, to bring my science, my computing skills ( even as just a heads down programmer) to bear on the productivity of this country. Not being able to contribute is worst part of prison. I'm still in that position, and it's cheating my country of what I, and all likeme, can do. Pity. And I fill my time and have an honest mundane courier job. And scorn self-pity.

A curse on both their houses...

The Republican members of the House intelligence committee have obviously assumed a position that is callously indifferent to the truth, indifferent to their oath to protect the Constitution, indifferent to the will of their constituents, and indifferent to the consequences of joining Trump in obeying Russian orders over their own judgement. I am ashamed to have memorised many of our founding documents when, in an earlier age, we respected those documents and what said and meant. We must arm ourselves with a love of truth, a love of freedom and courage, and the need to stand against these liars, these fools, these men who mock what all our soldiers died to protect. Damn these Republicans and the democrats who won't call them out for what they are: traitors to America. Damn their souls. A curse on both their houses.

Stop arming the baby killers with the best weapons.

The baby killers go into our schools and kill the 6,8,12,17 year old babies with very efficient attack rifles that the Republican leaders assert are the baby killers absolute constitutional right. I don't believe that's true. If it is true we must change the Constitution for the 25th time. Or we will keep arming baby killers to have our children slaughtered in their schools. We will not see them grow into parents, we will not see the scientists, doctors, writers, dancers, singers, truck drivers, coal miners, nobel prize winners they could have grown to be. But the baby killers must have the best weapons, the most efficient killing weapons that money can buy because the gun manufacturers, the NRA, and their ilk pay the Congressmen to make sure the baby killers have the best guns money can buy.

The only thing to do is go vote in November. Support the baby killers and vote Republican. McConnell and Ryan will be grateful, as well as Trump and the NRA and the entire military industrial complex. Support the babies and vote Democratic, but only if they swear to change the law and remove the military style rifles from the public.

Our failed military schools and the Generals of Trump.

What's happened to West Point and Annapolis that they put out Generals like Flynn and Kelly? What happened to the entire culture based on the commitment , an unquestionable and integral part of the basic character of American military for centuries, the culture of Duty, Honor, Country? The lack of moral fiber in these Generals is appalling. They lie at the drop of a hat. They have too easily acquired the "Get all you can, anyway you can, and the devil be damned" philosophy over "Duty, Honor, Country". Liars are not men who respect their Duty, who are honorable without thought or question in all they do, who don't care what country or organization they pay lip service to as long as they keep the power and responsibilities they seek, and believe they deserve. The entire educational system of the United States has failed this nation by educating intellect to the neglect of character but the self-serving, dishonorable, power hungry Generals are a grave danger to this nation and the worst examples of 'politicians' ever imagined or produced. Kelly and Flynn are, in the words of Shakespeare "Honorable men, so are they all, all honorable men" The Brutuses and Cassiuses of today.