How to Fix a Primary Election

I'm not very savvy with elections, but a couple of months ago I thought it would be interesting to register to vote for the political party whose primary I wanted to vote in so that I could help determine who would be on the ballot for president.  I thought it would be a twofold benefit: first, I believe my vote will hold more value than the regular election where the area in which I live is mostly votes one party all the time, and even then the rest of the state cancels out our votes; secondly I wanted to help choose a candidate for the opposing party that I thought might annoy the heads of the political party. 

Imagine my joy when registering I saw that I could vote for the opposing political party's candidates in the primary without having to join the party. (Some states offer this option, not necessarily all.)  This led to an interesting debate as my friends and I watch Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders numbers from the primaries in other states.  Is it possible that constituants of Hillary have figured out to register for voting in the Republican primaries in order to trump up Trump?  Would Trump as Republican candidate for president mean an instant win for Democrats?  There is so much at stake in the US at the moment.  It is probably a long shot that anyone could connive such a thing and play it out on a grand scale, but it is fun to imagine.  And what is going on with Rubio, Cruz and the others?    

Cross Word Puzzles, Japan, & the Arab Spring Revisited

As a child I used to watch my grandmother do the crossword puzzles.  It was part of her morning ritual.  When she came to a word that she couldn't figure out she'd ask the younger generations hoping we knew what was going on in the pop culture and could help her out.  Suddenly the crossword became a family game and we could all play together.  Ten years ago I picked up a newspaper and for nothing better to do, I started it.  How pleased I was that some of the more difficult answer could easily be obtained by a quick search on the internet or just catching up on current events.  Suddenly the use of the crossword puzzle to educate and keep one up-to-date seemed to make sense.  I enjoyed it as a hobby, but because of family demands had to drop it a couple years later.  Now I find myself dabbling with the crosswords again.  As I give some of the clues to my teenagers we can fill in most of the puzzle without going to a Crossword Dictionary or the internet.  There are days when I just want to 'cheat' and I pull out the internet.  I am still learning.  For instance I leaned yesterday that Japan's constitution, Article 9, prohibits the country from declaring war, or rather suggests that it can defend itself, but should not use war to settle matters of state. However they could use a military to keep peace, for defense, and help the United Nations in peace keeping missions. This Article was written just after World War II, and makes sense in light of that.  In 2014 Japan added Article 69 clarifies and amends Article 9 allowing Japanese military to also defend its allies.  There was some question as to the way this article was passed.  However the Japanese Diet, also known as the Japanese Kokkai or National Assembly  (started in 1889 under the Meiji Constitution and reorganized in 1947), recently enacted a series of laws to allow for the support of its allies.  As we learn new things like this, perhaps it gives us a different understanding and appreciation for other cultures and the lessons that history has taught as we look at current conflicts. 

In the same paper was an article about how the US was backing certain groups in Syria against ISIL (aka ISIS) near Aleppo and how Russia and Turkey were doing the same and wound-up firing on the people the US is supporting.  One may ponder, why are they firing on each other if they have the same enemy?  We tend to forget that it is more complicated than that.  Recall the Arab Spring that started in Tunisia in 2010?  The discontent with Arab rulers spread quickly.  By 2012 Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen all had new leaders because of the civil protests that had erupted.  Meanwhile there was ongoing civil unrest in  Bahrain, Syria, Iraq, Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Sudan, Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Western Sahara, and Palestine with some of the Libyan unrest spilling into Mali.  It was during this time in Syria had major protests against President Bashar al-Assad, who in turn enforced violent crackdowns.  The United Nations in their report in 2012 stated that the conflict in Syria had turned sectarian.  That is to say, Shia versus Sunni, versus Alawite. (The government was primarily Alawite.)  There has been fighting in Syria ever since.  Interestingly there were elections help in 2014 and several candidates for president were able to run.  With 30 countries watching the election procedures President Bashar al-Assad won the election. Due to rebels, Kurdish and ISIS control of parts of Syrian land, 60% of the country could not vote.  So as we hear reports of the allied groups against ISIS/ISIL, we need to remember that Syria's troubles are like a complex Gordian knot that need to be unwound and solved carefully and with thought.  So many countries have soldiers, weapons, and other investments in the country.  How much is too much?  And what of the people?  If peace was intent of Japan's Constitutional Article 9, what will be the intent of the people of Syria in the future?  For what should we hope?

Supreme Court Justice Scalia

Every time a Justice steps down or dies politics get really interesting.  The Supreme Court is meant to interpret the United States Constitution.  By doing so it helps to keep the other two branches of the government, the Executive (the President) and the Legislative (Congress),  in check. 

Has there been a more interesting time for a Supreme Court Justice to die?  As a nation we have almost a roulette situation on our hands.  The feuding political parties could make it impossible for President Obama to get a nomination through the system before his term expires, and with presidential elections this November, the fight for president just became serious.  Hopefully it will inspire people who don't normally vote to sign-up this year.  This should be exciting.

Zika Virus Revisited and Government Responses Questioned

Retraction from what I wrote yesterday.  The US has indicated today (3 Feb 2016) that there is at least one patient now that acquired the Zika virus through sexual relations
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-35478967

There continues to be an enormous amount of media coverage creating hype and panic over the Zika virus.  There has been a push in some Latin American countries for abortions to prevent the birth of children who may have been exposed to Zika while in the womb, and suggestions in countries with  known cases for their citizens to not have children for the next several years.  This shows a real ignorance of the virus. 

The response from the governments, especially Brazil, is reminiscent of the panic in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s when it was feared that the world was overpopulated.  That was instigated by the publication of The Population Bomb written by Paul Ehrlich in 1968 advocating immediate action to curb population growth, which he considered a cancer.  Around the same time the US government in a move toward population control suggested families be small and planned.  Under Title X of the Public Health Services Act of 1970 (1), the US government provided (and still provides) different forms of contraception to help maintain planned families.  What are the upsides to a country having smaller populations? Economists are in debate as to whether it helps to keep the country's economy strong, but citizens tend to move toward urban areas, have longer lives, better educations, and better health care. It all sounds great until we learn that it is the poor and marginalized who are the victims of this population control. Starting in 1907 the US saw its first eugenics laws passed in an effort to shape society into an ideal.  It was the marginalized, poor, and those from Mexican or African descent that were targeted for sterilization, especially in California (2).  Population control through contraceptives, abortion, and media pushes to not have children are called the new face of eugenics in the modern era in many circles, and we must consider it especially in light of the responses by governments in fear of the Zika virus.  Aldus Huxley in his Brave New World Revisited cautioned the public, "In politics the equivalent of a fully developed scientific theory or philosophical system is a totalitarian regime.  The Will to Order can make tyrants out of those who merely aspire to clear up a mess.  The beauty of tidiness is used as a justification for despotism.  The future dictator's subjects will be painlessly regimented by a corps of highly trained engineers.  Thanks to technological progress, Big Brother can now be almost as omnipresent as God.  Christ promised to be present where two or three are gathered together.  He did not say anything about being present where thousands are intoxicating one another with herd-poison.  To give organizations precedence over persons is to subordinate ends to means.  What happens when ends are subordinated to means was clearly demonstrated  by Hitler and Stalin." Let us be careful to not lose ourselves as individuals and be suckered into a herd mentality, as economists call it.  Let us carefully watch over our governments and make sure that the policies made are for the greater good, and not social engineering by the elite. 

Referencing:

(1)  http://www.hhs.gov/opa/title-x-family-planning/index.html

(2)  http://www.uvm.edu/~lkaelber/eugenics/CA/CA.html

The most important thing about the Zika virus: don't panic.  It is not contagious, it is transmitted through a certain mosquito. 

The United States of America has confirmed six known cases of patients with the Zika virus in New York, Arkansas, and Virginia.  Separately the California Public Health Department has identified several cases since November. Of those identified in the US, they occurred in people who travelled to Latin America.   And what about the dreaded possibility of microcephaly that supposedly comes with the Zika virus?  It is more common than we realize and even more common than autism in the USA.  The Foundation for Children with Microcephaly is here in the United States. (see link below)  Other countries may have their own support foundations.  I watched a video put out by a journalist in Latin America with microcephaly.  I'm attaching the link here because it is worth watching, especially if you are afraid.

Foundation for Children with Microcephaly     http://childrenwithmicro.org/

Journalist article     http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35472410

CDC Information on the Zika Virus     http://www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html

Using Ovens for Heaters

While visiting an elderly friend, their relative came for a visit.  She and I were shocked to learn that her aunt was using the oven for a heater.  The worst part is there was old food in the containers on the stove, plastic bags filled with food, and an container of olive oil laying on its side over the open oven where it had been knocked over.  My friend did not realize that the plastic knobs on her oven could melt (they were right above the door in the front), nor did she realize that plastics have high BTU and combust at lower temperatures than other things and could have set the place on fire.  She also didn't realize that using the oven to heat her home increases the amount of carbon dioxide in her home, giving her the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.  Why was she using the heater?  Her heater wouldn't work.

The use of ovens for heating IS NOT recommended.  Use a portable heater if you can, or an electric blanket.  Even heating something in your oven and taking it out to set it on a cutting board is more preferable to using the oven to heat your home. 

If your heater's pilot light has gone out, contact your gas company and they should relight it for you free of charge (mine does for free, but ask).  If it is a mechanical failure of the system, have a technician check the furnace. 

Be safe this winter and make sure your friends and family are too.  For more information on the dangers of using the oven as a heater because of carbon monoxide poisoning see the CDC website. (Link below.)
http://www.cdc.gov/co/faqs.htm

http://ota.dc.gov/release/dangers-using-your-stove-home-heating

Black Rose Versus Red Rose

Last night my teenagers asked me if I was a red rose person or a black rose person on Valentine's Day.  This definitely required some discussion because black roses have had different meanings over time.  Supposedly true black roses only found naturally in Tibet.  The roses that we can get are those with deep reds and maroon coloring, but as much as they look black, they are really a shade of red.  More often roses are blackened with ink.  Sometimes they are also charred.

The language of flowers is thought to have originated in Persia and spread to Europe in the 18th Century.  The thought was every flower, color, and number of flower could convey a message and lovers and friends would not have to actually talk, their conversation would occur through the flowers.  (Next time you watch a movie and the characters are handing each other flowers, remember that.)

Red roses have always meant love and respect.  (Different shades could add meaning.) Black rose usually meant death, hatred or farewell.  At one time it was not atypical for men leaving for war to have black roses to give to their loved ones when they didn't think they would return.  It is also common at funerals.  In Gothic writing, especially current writing the black rose can be a symbol for vampires or black magic.  The black rose was also once used as the symbol for anarchy.  Perhaps more famously it was used in the Phantom of the Opera as a symbol of undying love. 

When posed with the question of whether I was a red rose or a black rose person, with the younger generations the idea of the black rose is getting a new meaning.  The question posed was really asking, 'Do I believe in love and romance at Valentine's day, or do I stand in opposition of what the day has come to mean in our consumer society which dictates the candy, hearts, and dinners for two?'  There are movements within the college crowd to make Valentine's Day color black instead of the cheery red in protest.  My answer, I like the multicolored roses for Valentine's day.  They are festive and full of life and celebration.  It makes sense as one of my children was born on that day and we celebrate that instead of Valentine's day. 

So, which are you desire this February, red roses or black?