The Generalist

One's identity is far more than one's profession.

Civic Concerns

by on

Emergency Management

Communities led by effective people prepare in advance for emergencies by having the people and materials ready to respond. When an emergency happens, there is an organized response. Once the most urgent needs are met, the recovery phase kicks in to get the community back on its feet. These three phases of activity are the essence of emergency management.

Across the US, towns large and small have fire departments, ambulance corps, and police units that are committed to being prepared to respond rapidly. They spend many hours training, executing simulations, and keeping equipment response ready. All of this is systematic, much of it is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s comprehensive standards and best practices.

But all of that readiness can be sabotaged by elected officials who fail to act, or who seek to economize inappropriately. Much of the City of Cape May, NJ burned to the ground not once, but twice for this reason. In the current Hurricane Helene emergency, Tennessee governor Bill Lee, a Republican, deferred declaring an emergency, instead proclaiming September 27 a “voluntary Day of Prayer and Fasting.”

Quoting Heather Cox Richardson, “Observers pointed out that with people stuck on a hospital roof in the midst of catastrophic flooding in his state, maybe an emergency declaration would be more on point. . . .

“The federal government’s efficient organization of responses to natural disasters illustrates that as citizens of a republic, we are part of a larger community that responds to our needs in times of crisis.

“But that system is currently under attack. Project 2025, a playbook for the next Republican administration, authored by allies of the right-wing Heritage Foundation and closely associated with Republican presidential candidate Trump and vice presidential candidate Ohio senator J.D. Vance, calls for slashing FEMA’s budget and returning disaster responses to states and localities.”

Politics matters. We do best by serving the common good through good government and pooling our resources. The rugged independence and individualism of Ayn Rand was dead wrong.

by on

Dire Warnings

I think of the New York Times and the Washington Post as media leaders with journalistic integrity. Talking Points Memo is one of the leaders in independent, reader-funded media. Today, both of these sources warn that Donald Trump is a danger to America and the world.

Let that sink in. It’s not political rhetoric; the Times quotes no less than 91 individuals who know Trump well from working with him. If you have been dismissing the negative press about Trump as political noise, I beg you to read the materials linked below. We must end Trump’s cult before it destroys all that we hold dear.

Trump’s Military-Fantasy Complex

In a series of three posts over the past month, TPM’s Josh Kovensky has been unpacking the many disturbing elements of the emerging Trump II plan to harness the military for its own political ends in ways that are outside the bounds of American tradition and may be outside the law.

David Kurtz – Talking Points Memo

Opinion | The Dangers of Donald Trump, From Those Who Know Him
What 91 people who know the former president say about his character.
Opinion | Donald Trump Is Unfit to Lead
He failed the tests of leadership and betrayed America. Voters must stand up to him in November.

by on

Candidate Contrasts

“Everything Trump has proposed would make the economy worse.” It’s not just the idea of steep tariffs on imports. Trump insists tariffs are paid by the seller, but they aren’t. When you buy a product from China, the importer pays a duty that he includes in the retail price the item sells here in the US. We pay the higher price, not the maker in China. Higher prices reduce demand, so China sells less product and suffers lost profits.

Critical thinkers continue to be baffled by the loyalty of Trump followers to their leader. Despite unpopular policy, lies, and frauds, they prefer him to any Democrat. Here are a couple of lists of issues that compare the positions of candidates. Circle the positions you agree with and see which candidate is like-minded with your views and values.

Guides dot vote presidentialDownload
2024-Vice-Presidential-Guide-Sept-2024Download

Did these lists miss important issues? Comment below.

by on

What’s So, and What’s Not?

I’ve mentioned this before, and as the deluge of misinformation escalates, it’s time to repeat it. There are good ways to train yourself to recognize what true and what’s not.

GSAN: Pet rumors debunked | Bursting online bubbles
Social media warning labels demanded by attorneys general from 42 states, how extremists use social media, and Springfield, Ohio rumors debunked.

Our advertising-supported media must avoid offending their extremist readers lest they lose readers. Consequently, news reporting tries to balance the criticism they level on both sides. The competition for prime media space is not symmetrical. If you are unfettered by scruples, you are free to say whatever works to dominate the news cycle, even if it is clearly nonsense. Only so much information fits above the fold on the paper or into the politics segment of the evening cable news.

If one side launches something outrageous to the other, everyone covers it, regardless of merit. As a progressive, I assert that there is so much genuinely negative, truthful news about former President Donald Trump that his handlers and his propaganda machine must manufacture distracting information to displace the steady flow of scandelous reality. So we get these stories Vance has made up about immigrants eating pets. This fills space that might otherwise be devoted to reporting about DJT’s mental lapses, suspected affairs, failed legal moves, etc. Amazingly, he can even admit to lying, justifying himself doing so on the basis that he had to dupe the mainstream media into covering the southern border crossings issue.

Low-information voters succumb to confirmation bias. They believe that the other side is more evil than their own candidate. They excuse his plans to cheat because they believe that the opposition is cheating. Fight fire with fire, they say. The misinformation bubble is tough to burst. Subscribe to Get Smart About News.

by on

Bafflegab

We have all heard it. A torrent of sentence fragments is spoken by someone who should know what they are talking about. The tone and delivery are confident, and hearing the incomplete thought, you might even think you should understand and be able to complete it by inference. But, the speaker goes on with another and another so fast that the listener doesn’t have time to process. Ultimately, you are baffled about what was said because nothing intelligible was said. If the speaker is powerful or respected, the confidence they projected may cause you to feel embarrassed to ask for clarification. The speaker has filled the available airtime with confident-sounding noise but has said nothing meaningful or quotable.

Technology allows the press to transcribe each word of such utterances. Journalists can pour over the word salad and sometimes infer meaning. However, objective critical thinkers are not inclined to be so accommodating. They recognize the rhetorical technique for what it is: bafflegab.

Doug Muder develops this insight about such journalistic indulgences, “sanewashing,” better than I can . . .

The Word of the Week: Sanewashing
For the press that headlined every Biden flub, Trump’s wild delusions aren’t news. At least now we have a word to describe their failure. Let’s start here: At a Moms for “Li…

by on

2 lpm (Lies Per Minute)

“A team of NPR reporters and editors reviewed the transcript of his news conference and found at least 162 misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies in 64 minutes. That’s more than two a minute. It’s a stunning number for anyone – and even more problematic for a person running to lead the free world.

Politicians spin. They fib. They misspeak. They make honest mistakes like the rest of us. And, yes, they even sometimes exaggerate their biographies.

The expectation, though, is that they will treat the truth as something important and correct any errors.

But what former President Trump did this past Thursday went well beyond the bounds of what most politicians would do.“

~ Domenico Montanaro, NPR News Team

And, it’s not even news! It has become what the media and the rest of us expect from the man who would end the need to vote for his followers, the weird, mentally sick man who wants to dominate America and the free world.

What motivates those who follow and worship a self-serving politician with no integrity, no morals, and no redeeming virtues that anyone can name?

by on

What’s New?

Eight years ago, I delved deep into the roots of Donald Trump’s ascendence in the GOP. What was visible then is only more visible now. We become inured to these things at our own peril.

The “Silent” Minority

George Conway has it right. Donald Trump is not mentally fit for office.

He conspicuously lacks the character for enlightened governance as well. Yet at least 40% of voters prefer him to any Democrat. That tells us that they have some core belief and/or fear that draws them into Trump’s fantastic promise that life will be better with him in power.

Here’s David Brooks at the Aspen Ideas Festival speaking about the rise of Populism.

by on

Ordinary Americans Less Polarized

Time Magazine presents evidence that, at its core, America may be less divided than it appears. Ordinary people, when not trying to impress those of like mind with their solidarity, have similar values and priorities.

The article explains how our minds trick us into thinking that something we hear often is the majority [accepted] view. This is an important consideration as we approach the election. If we can focus on issues instead of personalities, we have a better chance of finding common ground.

Kamala and DJT are avatars for two competing political camps. The media loves to liken the election process to a sports event, a race, or a high-stakes game. That frame deflects us from the issues and encourages us to attribute far too much influence on outcomes to those individual personalities. It takes well-coordinated teamwork and skill in negotiation to move a political agenda ahead.

When we vote for either of the personalities in the race, we are voting for a team of people. We are voting for the team’s platform of intentions. We are assessing which would be best for the nation and for us individually. How much does it really matter who leads those teams? Look at what they want to accomplish and who the other players are.

The Polarization Myth
The growing evidence that—even heading into this year’s election—Americans are less divided than you may think.

by on

Rethinking Economic Beliefs

For many years I was a believer in the idea that taxation throttled back the economy and inhibited prosperity. I bought into the idea that government spending somehow diverted money from those who produced stuff. I was wrong. It’s never been more clear than in recent years when we watched massive tax cuts trickle up as corporations bought back their own stock to enhance the value of executive stock options.

Historian Heather Cox Richardson’s Column concludes, “As the [trickle-down] system comes under increasing scrutiny, Biden’s renewal of traditional economic policies is showing those policies to be more successful than the Republicans’ system ever was. If Americans turn against the Republican formula of slashing taxes and deregulating business, those at the top of the economy stand to lose both wealth and control of the nation’s economic system.”

June 7, 2024
Two big stories today that together reveal a broader landscape. The first is that the Bureau of Labor Statistics today released another blockbuster jobs report. The country added 272,000 jobs in May, far higher than the 180,000 jobs economists predicted. A widespread range of sectors added new jobs, including health care, government, leisure and hospitality, and professional, scientific, and technical services. Wages are also up. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have grown 4.1%, higher than the rate of inflation, which was 3.4% over the same period.

She notes that claims for unemployment insurance were up a bit despite the favorable job numbers. I’d be interested to know if there is a seasonal uptick as schools let out and summer pastimes beckon–but that’s my cynical side speaking.