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  • Make America great? HDI is the right place to start

    For centuries, America has boasted about the great lifestyle its people share and how democracy is the best form of government.

    We brag about capitalism and all the opportunities that are available for those who work hard. The advertising we show to the world does not tell the true American story.

    We say nothing of crime, racism, sexism, xenophobia, and the ever-present wealth gap. We don’t discuss our troubled history that still plagues us today. Our poverty, poor education, and limited affordability for healthcare have the majority of America struggling. One percent of America has more money and resources than 99 percent of America.

    America always had a problem with the “haves” and “have nots,” and the “haves” like it this way. Consistently, rich politicians appear on news shows expressing what’s important to most Americans or pretending to know what Americans want. What we really want is easy.

    The Human Development Index (HDI), which was created in 1990 by a committee in the United Nation’s, was created to statistically measure and rate a country’s excellence in three main areas: life expectancy, education and per capita income.

    You would think that a country so rich in wealth and opportunity would lead the free world in this index. You would think that we would want to boast about the advantages available for our citizens and how well we all flourish. It should be expected that America rate in the top 5 of these great countries.

    Well, here are the top 15 countries: Switzerland (1), Norway (2), Iceland (3), Hong Kong (4), Denmark, and Sweden (5), Ireland, and Germany (7), Singapore (9), Netherlands, and Australia (10), Liechtenstein, Belgium, and Finland (12), and the United Kingdom (15).

    These United States are tied for 20 with Luxembourg, which means that there are roughly 19 countries that have better opportunities in wealth, health, and lifestyle than we do.

    We need to let politicians know that the type of America we want is one that stays in the top 10 on this index. We want opportunities for everyone who works hard. There is no reason that education and healthcare can’t be free, and in this country, we should have already wiped out homelessness.

    Crime is lowered by opportunities to learn and earn. Imagine that there are countries that never have mass shootings. Greed is killing us, my friend. The rich only care about getting richer, and democracy is not working for us. It is almost impossible to get the masses to vote a certain way, and both political parties have been detrimental to the majority of America.

    We need a better way, and it starts with making the top 5 of the HDI.

  • The disease of Greed

    It is hard to think of greed as a disease. The reason is that people have a choice to be greedy or not. There are some definite psychological effects of greed that explain much about what our country is going through.

    Scientists have discovered that greed is linked to the part of your brain’s reward center, leading to a pleasurable experience or sensation when a greedy person acquires something. That pleasurable sensation reinforces the greedy behavior.

    So imagine buying an extra house. You are living in your dream home, and you add another home, fix it up, and sell it. You make a 60 percent profit on the house so you buy another one. Then you do the same thing. How many more times can you do this without wanting more? When you absolutely love the benefits, it’s hard to say no.

    There is a part of greed that leads to social isolation. Most multimillionaire and billionaires experience this because they are so laser focused on making more money.

    A greedy person will do almost anything to satisfy that urge. In most cases of greed, we see where manipulation and deceit have been repeatedly used to fulfill their desires.

    Probably the worst thing about greed is that it lacks empathy and causes stress and anxiety. There are problems when you have a lot of money that many of us will never experience. When you are greedy, there is constant pressure to get more stuff. What’s worse is that you stop caring about the well-being of others as you pursue your prize.

    A greedy person is never satisfied, and that is why it always ends in a crash and burn scenario. Typical of Republicans is that they always want to give tax breaks to the rich, believing that the benefits will trickle down to the other classes. This has never happened in the history of America, but it is still their talking point.

    We saw ridiculous downsizing since President Trump has been in office, and already, he has reneged on his campaign promise not to touch Medicaid.

    The problem is greed, and as long as Congress allows, Trump will be greedy. I just hope that the checks and balances kick in before the masses in America reach their breaking point.

  • History — what goes around comes around

    President Donald Trump has a playbook. If we understood history better, we would have seen this coming. Trump has quoted Adolph Hitler and shown us that he is quite the fan of the dictator. At the end of his first term in office, he began to follow Hitlers actions to rise to power through the very system designed and created to keep people like Trump out.

    Never in the history of US presidents have we had one like Trump. In the modern era, no other republican president in the last 50 years would have even voted for him. There is no other time in America after the Civil Rights Movement that the country would have elected such a man.

    Hitler was quite radical in Germany, and his clear hatred of people labeled communists and Jews was apparent. Hitler was a part of the country that believed they lost World War I because of this group. There were three major events that led to the rise of Hitler, and there are also three major events that led to the rise of Trump.

    As recorded in the Holocaust Encyclopedia, these are the events that led to the rise of Hitler:

    June 28, 1919
    The Treaty of Versailles is signed
    Germany loses World War I in November 1918. Germans are shocked and horrified. Many people, including Adolf Hitler, refuse to believe that the loss is real. They falsely blame Jews and Communists for Germany’s defeat.

    This shock is intensified in June 1919, when Germany is forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty makes Germany accept responsibility for the war. Many Germans feel that the Treaty’s terms are too harsh. Germany has to make huge payments for damage caused by the war (known as war reparations). Also, according to the Treaty, the German army is limited to 100,000 troops. Finally, Germany is forced to transfer territory to its neighbors. The Nazi Party makes overturning the Treaty of Versailles a key part of its political platform. Many Germans welcome this Nazi promise.

    November 8–9, 1923
    The Beer Hall Putsch
    In the early 1920s, the Nazi Party is a small extremist group. They hope to seize power in Germany by force. On November 8–9, 1923, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party attempt to overthrow the government of the state of Bavaria. They begin at a beer hall in the city of Munich. The plotters hope to march on Berlin. But they fail miserably. The Munich police kill more than a dozen of Hitler’s supporters. Hitler and others are arrested, tried, and convicted of treason. This attempted coup d’état is called the Beer Hall Putsch.

    The failure of the Beer Hall Putsch encourages Nazi leaders to change their strategy. Instead of using force, the Nazis focus on winning elections.

    October 24 and 29, 1929
    The stock market crash in New York
    In October 1929, the stock market crashes in New York and sparks a worldwide economic crisis. This crisis is called the Great Depression. The stock market crash impacts Germany almost overnight because the American and German economies have become closely intertwined. This economic connection is a direct result of financial negotiations relating to World War I reparations payments. Unemployment becomes a major problem in German society. Joblessness, homelessness, and begging are commonplace. These economic conditions make Nazi promises more attractive to voters.

    In America, Trump was elected the first time for three major reasons: Many poor marginalized white Americans felt that they were forgotten by the establishment, and many benefits were going to blacks, Hispanics, and the LGBTQ communities; America was not ready for a female president; Hilary Clinton could not overcome her past and the perception the American people had of the Clinton’s overall.

    Despite Trump proving that he was not fit to be president of the free world, parts of America wanted him to “shake things up” in Washington, and that’s what he did. There are people who can point out some good that he did, but it is hard to overlook the tens of thousands who died monthly during the pandemic. Under Trumps leadership, America was not prepared to deal with the pandemic, and what’s worse is that a couple of months before Covid-19 hit America, Trump thought it was something the democrats made up.

    When Trump lost to Joe Biden, he attempted an insurrection just like Hitler in Nov. 1923, and it failed. The White Fear button was pressed during his second campaign as he began to prey on America’s prejudices. White people believed illegal immigrants were bringing drugs, particularly fentanyl, into our country as well as sending us all their worst prisoners. The democrats mishandled legislation regarding transgenders and some of their decisions were a bit ridiculous, particularly in how our tax dollars were being spent on transgender operations. Finally, the idea that DEI initiatives were unfair to white people. Add that to a very weak candidate in Kamala Harris and inflation, and Trump, the felon, returns to office.

    Trump now spends his days writing executive orders to dismantel America, alienate our allies and side with world dictators with the hope that he can become like them. It is a harsh history lesson for American citizens, but spoiler alert: Hitler ultimately is defeated — fyi.

  • Raise your hand if you voted for this?

    I love history! I love history because it allows me to stand in the present, take a factual look at the past, and in some cases, see exactly what the future will look like.

    This past and future vision has a caveat, which is whether or not we learned from and  acknowledged our mistakes. This is great given the fact that America never learns from it’s past and it never acknowledges it’s mistakes.

    We are now about four months into the second Trump presidency, and we have seen a calamity of executive orders that have harmed millions of people. From foreign aid funding being sliced and essentially killing humanitarian efforts across the world to thousands of layoffs of federal workers to the destruction of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to cuts in federally funded research programs at various universities across the country, all in an effort to somehow make America great again?

    Those against Trump’s plans seem to be waiting on others to step up and defend the American way. These “others” I speak of are those in the Republican party. Democrats are hoping for Republicans to have a conscious and stop Trump from destroying our country as we know it. They can not defend what he’s doing, and they are avoiding meetings with their constituents, believing the carnage will end soon.

    Funding for school programs that level the playing field and assist those who are struggling have been cut. Healthcare initiatives like vaccines for hepatitis B and the flu shot were sliced, and the mass deportation efforts have disrupted kids in school, workers for farms and other industries where migrant workers are now afraid to leave their homes for fear of deportation.

    The worst part of all of this is the fact that most American people are delusional about the Trump administration. It seems that those who believe it’s pure evil and those who think it’s the greatest are both wrong.

    As usual, the American government is repeating past mistakes. We are looking at fellow Americans being hurt by all these cuts with no regard to their well-being. We are waiting migrant workers living in fear every day of their worst nightmare coming true. We are seeing people’s lives devastated by Trump’s actions, and we don’t say much against it because it doesn’t affect us. After all, I’m not a federal or migrant worker. I have no use for social programs or welfare or DEI, and I don’t own a farm. There are still a lot of Americans that can make this claim, but for how long?

  • The blessing and curse of belonging

    God created all humans with a desire to belong. Humans desire to fit into a group to satisfy this fundamental need for connection.

    When America began, we understood that our ancestors relied on group cooperation for survival, protection, resources, and social support.

    We have a psychological need for grouping, which fosters a sense of security, reduces feelings of isolation, and contributes to positive self-esteem. For its conception, belonging is a good thing intended to unify and benefit each other.

    Well, somewhere along the way, we learned bias. We started dividing ourselves by our differences. Then, without empirical data, someone said one race was better than another. Hate began to infiltrate our ranks. You see, part of being a member of a group and reaping the benefits thereof, we begin to feel obligated to the group, and this leads to conformity — this is a part of the belonging curse.

    Conformity means that if my group goes left, I don’t want to leave the group because of the benefits, so I will just stay silent.

    Imagine benefitting as an active part of the group, and then the leaders of the group decide the want to start discrimination practices. Conformity makes you not leave the group, but you now have a choice. You could stay silent and do nothing, but you would be just as guilty as the perpetrators. Or, you could speak out — truth to power — and let the leaders know how wrong they are.

    We have many silent partners in groups today. They have benefitted from a certain privilege and feel guilty over their horrendous past. There are some that have the audacity to say it wasn’t me. No, it wasn’t, but it was the group you benefit from.

    Our president recently signed an executive order to allow businesses to discriminate. Belonging still gives us a choice. What are you doing with yours?

  • You are what you watch

    By the end of the 40s, America was embracing the latest technological advancement in the medium of television. It was a huge deal, especially  when it was made available for the “common man” and there was a TV in every house.

    Immediately, studies were conducted on the effects of watching too much TV and the results were astonishing: Watching too much TV will have negative effects on your physical and mental health, including obesity, sleep problems, and depression. It can also lead to a sedentary lifestyle and impaired social skills.

    But, according to current research, social media tends to have a more significant negative impact on mental health compared to simply watching TV; this is primarily due to the social comparison features, constant notifications, and potential for cyberbullying present on social media platforms, which can contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem, especially among young people. 

    For example, it is very easy to have compassion for an isolated incident. You are driving down the road and there is a bad accident. Someone is thrown from a car as a result of the crash. A normal person will have compassion instantly. One may stop and try to help, another may pray, and still another my call 911.

    I wonder how many people will question whether the injured person was a criminal? Who would want to know whether the injured cheats on their partner?

    Where does the judgment come from? This is the social media effect because in the course of a day, you might witness a horrible crash once in 10 to 20 years. In a single day of watching reels and shorts on social media, you could potentially see more than 10. Moreover, you will see a ton of fights, a ton of disagreements, horrible decision-making, and other negative scenarios.

    These images overload your brain, and you lose the cognitive ability to be empathetic. You stop caring and move to a judgmental position where you play God and decide whether to care about or blame the participants.

    Remember the outrage on social media after the insurance CEO was gunned down in New York? Social media played a huge role in this because, like TV watching, we are corrupting our souls by the filth we constantly pour through our eyes.

    A.I. will be worse.

  • How we measure greatness in sports

    Yesterday, the field of 68 was selected, and what we know as March Madness is now set. This is the favorite time of year for all basketball lovers, but especially those who are partial to college basketball.

    In my lifetime, I have seen some very dominant players in five different decades. There is always the argument over who is the best pound for pound player. I have never actually weighed in on this publicly because none of the mentioned superstar players ever played for any of my teams (I am and will always be a proud Detroit sports fan)!

    My opinion is based on the law of firsts. What I mean is there is something to say about being first. In the 50s and 60s, no one had more wealth than Jean Paul Getty. He was an oil tycoon and was able to sustain his wealth by making a deal with Saudi Arabia to be able to drill in the “neutral zone” between the country and Kuwait in 1949. This paid huge dividends for him, and he was the first to do it. There is definitely a benefit for being the first.

    In basketball, we talk a lot about the mystique of the Celtic dynasty in the 60s and how great Bill Russell was. However, much less is said about the innovation of coach Red Auerbach, who was a genius. So many aspects of today’s game came from him. Before Red was coaching, teams tried to build by having the best players and allow for natural talent to win games.

    Red understood that basketball was a team sport, and individual accolades could not trump great team play. Auerbach would be the first to utilize the sixth man and use bench players to maintain momentum.

    He emphasized defense and passing, and he revolutionized the fast break. When he started implementing these ideas while everyone else was basically competing in playground basketball, the Celtics thrived, winning a record 11 championships, which is the most of any franchise because of Auerbach.

    Wilt Chamberlain was the best big man of all time because he could do things no other big man could do. For a 7-footer, he was faster, stronger, more athletic, overly coordinated, and, of course, taller than everybody.

    They changed the rules to make it fair for the other players, and Chamberlain still dominated. Is it his fault that he was born with more talent than anyone else of his time?

    During Michael Jordan’s career, he had a similar scenario. As a 6-foot-6 guard, he was by far the fastest player, could jump the highest, and was quicker. The overall game of basketball sped up because of Jordan. No one could come close to guarding him, and his stats prove his dominance over the league. Jordan had a 48-inch vertical leap, and no one could come close to that. This fact alone made him the most explosive player in history. Again, the first.

    There is no other player like LeBron James. He is also the first of his kind, and his stats show his dominance. The reason James has played so long is that he is the perfect athlete. His speed, strength, coordination, and mental toughness make him the perfect athlete. He could have played any sport and dominated. So, to compare these players to each other makes no sense. They came from different times, and they all have one thing in common: Their greatness has everything to do with them being the first of their kind and having the particular skill and talent that each player had.

    This is great news for the fan because all we have to do is enjoy the talent and be thankful that we are around to admire it! Enjoy March madness!

  • Modern day house slaves function like their past counterparts

    During slavery, house slaves were unique in that they could live in the Master’s house and always be in close proximity to the family. They would learn domestic skills like cooking, cleaning, and even child care. Sometimes, the slaves would be taught how to read. Definitely, these house slaves had greater benefits than being just a field slave that worked outdoors.

    House slaves dressed better, did not have to work as hard, could get scraps, and other items considered trash by the Master. Life was definitely better.

    But at no time did the house slaves have any influence over the Master, nor could they even express their opinions. When the Master did something that they didn’t like or agree with, they’d better just keep it to themselves. The wrong kind of expression on your face could end in a backhand by the Master if he thought he wanted to say something about his actions. So the house slaves were just that – a slave and they had no opinion or independent thoughts of their own that they could express.

    In Congress these days, we have seemed to resurrect the house slave. Republicans in Congress, instead of serving at the pleasure of the people who elected them, are now serving at the pleasure of our new dictator, Donald J. Trump. He is never challenged, questioned, or  advised even when he makes a decision that violates the constitution.

    Now, let’s not be nieve and think that Democrats have no house slaves because they sat back and allowed Joe Biden to leave our border wide open. They didn’t wave or salute. Trump has been a bit outrageous with his latest decisions, and the recent town hall meetings in Republican districts have been very vocal about their concerns over Trump’s decisions.

    The bottom line is this: We can not properly implement democracy if the checks and balances won’t hold the line. In other words, Congress has a job to do, and it is not to be the Congress for the president, but for the people. We voted for representatives who would be the voices of the people. Our country has lost sight of this. If we continue down the current path, it won’t be long before we are all house slaves or we really have an insurrection.

  • Can we really trust the FDA? Not by its track record

    There was so much controversy about the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to head up the Food and Drug Administration because of his radical views and conspiracy theories. But if there was ever a government agency that needed shaken up, the FDA was it.

    Now, this is not a blog in supporting of RFK Jr., it is about the harm that has been done by the FDA to the American people because they refuse to let lobbyists keep their checks.

    Right now, there are over 100 countries that will not eat our meat. It is cruel and criminal how we treat chickens, pigs, and cows in this country — and we’re doing it to our own detriment. As a result, countries like Canada have decided to pass on our meat.

    There are some extremely dangerous and cancer causing chemicals that we put in our food that is extremely harmful. I asked A.I. for some specifics on the most dangerous of these chemicals. A.I. broke it down this way:

    The following chemicals are toxic and harmful to human health or banned in other countries. Some examples of these chemicals include: 

    • Lead: A metal found in some dietary supplements, vinegars, and spices 
    • Asbestos: A toxic substance linked to cancer, genetic mutations, and fetal harm 
    • Hexabromocyclododecane: A flame retardant used in some building materials 
    • Azodicarbonamide: A food additive that breaks down into other chemicals, including semicarbazide, which can cause cancer in mice 
    • Brominated vegetable oil (BVO): A food additive used in citrus-flavored drinks that may affect the thyroid 

    Other chemicals that are considered hazardous include: 

    Arsenic, Benzene, Chromium, Cadmium, Mercury, Chlorine, Hydrogen cyanide, Nitrous oxide, and Phosgene.

    Chemicals can be toxic in our bodies, so we should read labels carefully and by organic when possible. Also, processed food is an absolute thumbs down! Lamb and fish are better meat choices, and you should only consume whole foods.

    Our government is more worried about what fentanyl is doing to us than the true enemy, which is sugar. White sugar and other sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup are responsible for the obesity problem in America and all of the degenerative diseases that go with it.

    Artificial sweeteners are also known as sugar substitutes, non-nutritive sweeteners, or non-sugar sweeteners (NSS).
    Here are some common artificial sweeteners:
    Aspartame: A non-saccharide sweetener that’s marketed under the names NutraSweet, Equal, and Canderel.

    Acesulfame potassium: Also known as Ace-K, this sweetener is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar.

    Sucralose: A non-caloric derivative of sucrose that’s 600 times sweeter than sucrose.
    Saccharin: A non-nutritive sweetener that’s made in a lab and looks like a white, crystalline powder.
    Neotame: A sweetener derived from the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine.
    Advantame: An ultra-intense sweetener that’s 20,000 times sweeter than table sugar.
    Stevia: A natural herb that’s zero calories and 10–15 times sweeter than sucrose.
    Cyclamate: A potent sweetening agent that’s been the subject of safety and carcinogenicity studies.

    Artificial sweeteners are often used in foods and drinks to reduce sugar intake. They’re generally calorie-free and don’t raise blood sugar levels, but they have no nutritional value.

    So obesity is not a single person’s fault. The FDA has a dominant role in keeping you fat, sick, and unhealthy. There is no profit in healthy people.

  • Accountability is missing in our government

    I have posted on the problems we face because we don’t read. Critical thinking skills go right out the windows when we don’t challenge our minds to think.

    To leave yourself vulnerable to manipulation is a hurtful and disrespectful truth, but what is worse is that you suffer the manipulation, and you have no idea where it came from.

    Drops of water from the sky on a cloudy day are not a problem until the drops smell like urine. At that point, you have a few choices: Check the weather forcast; assume that someone obviously doesn’t like you much; or grab your umbrella and endure.

    I have not listed my favorite option because when you have been tricked or manipulated, the option isn’t there, and that is to hold someone accountable for the urine!

    I bring this up because the Democrats and Republicans have been playing a game with us. They flood us with information (knowing we won’t read or research anything), and they are never held accountable for lies.

    Why would President Biden allow so many illegal immigrants in our country? The Democrats never gave a reason for this. Clearly, this would not be their agenda as President Obama never did this. He publicly stated that if you were here illegally, you would be deported.

    We know Obama did this because it was the law. Republicans are always for less immigration at our southern borders, mainly because it does not benefit them in any way. It does, however, give an advantage to Democrats.

    You see, these immigrants end up in these so-called sanctuary cities, which are normally in blue states. This is a benefit to them because it raises their census. Biden signed an executive order as soon as he became president to halt a previous executive order from President Trump to not count illegal immigrants in the census. Why does this matter? Because the number of seats you get in the House of Representatives is based on a percentage of the US population. So then, if your numbers get padded by immigrants, you could potentially get more seats and control the House.

    Biden, in his fear of a Trump election win, would have tried this and any other method to gain an advantage.

    For the Republicans to tell the truth about this would not have been enough for the American people to get behind securing the border. So, instead, he made up lies about immigrants taking jobs, sending their criminals over to us to rape our women, steal, and sell drugs.

    See how we are so easily manipulated? Accountability is what is needed in our government, and it should be a consequence for knowingly telling the American citizens a bunch of lies!