#283 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Thursday February 24)
Good morning!
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.” –Anne Lamott
I was quite moved by the above quote, which was the inspiration for the Wayfinder Family Services annual report (which features the word “Hope” on its cover). The key to me in these days when it is sometimes hard to face all the negative news, seemingly insurmountable problems and inept leadership, is that hope requires not simply the idea of hope, but the responsibility to WORK.
WHY HAVE NONPARTISAN EXPERTS WHEN YOU CONTROL THE LEGISLATURE?
As we all know by now, the Trumpist right is ingeniously changing the way in which laws are made and decisions are made, from the top down and from the bottom up.
From the “bottom up” states’ rights apparently is king in elections, abortion rights, and protecting the public health. State legislatures are lining up behind misinformation to restrict the ability of non-partisan experts doing their jobs and otherwise restricting right to vote, defying the best medical advice, and screwing around with elections:
The ability of elections officials to determine the result of elections now is going to be resolved by partisans in Republican-leaning states. No more will brave Secretaries of State or election commissioners be able to determine the validity and sanctity of elections. Now citizens can look to Republican-controlled state legislators to exercise their best non-partisan judgment!
The Supreme Court will restrict Roe v. Wade, such that abortion rights will finally and conclusively be the domain of the states. We already know what conservative states intend to do.
A number of states have enacted laws or are pursuing laws to strip state public health officials from imposing reasonable measures to protect the people, starting with restricting mask and vaccine mandates. Now, these states will rely upon the wisdom, medical expertise and non-partisan evaluation of politicians in addressing future public health measures. Here’s an article on this topic: Biden’s vaccine rules ignite angry GOP opposition
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-09-11/bidens-vaccine-rules-gop-opposition
Yet states’ rights apparently does not extend to the purchase and carrying of weapons. In those cases, states may not have the right to make their own laws when it pertains to carrying a weapon, either openly or concealed. I’m sadly confident that the Supremes will determine that the Second Amendment of the Constitution, as broadly interpreted (and misread) by the Supreme Court, preempts a State’s ability to require restrictions. If that’s the case, it may be that “open carry” will be mandated in California, New York and other states that otherwise would prohibit it.
AGAINST THE ODDS
I have been railing for years about the infectious and dangerous prevalence of gambling in our society, including state supported gambling. The Lottery, which purports in many states to provide increased funding for schools, really is a tax upon the poor, the desperate, the greedy, the addicted, and the stupid. One or more of these factors is at play each time someone purchases a ticket. And that’s what makes the state-sanctioned Lottery so pernicious—because it encourages the addictions and hopelessness of some. That it is state sponsored is immoral.
And does it ever make sense? Do participants in the Lottery have any appreciation for the statistics? In the words of the former head of the Minnesota lottery, you have the same odds of winning, whether or not you purchase a ticket.
There was a great article putting into perspective the statistics on the Lottery. It turns out there is a 1 in 258.9 million chance of winning the lottery, but a 1 in 12,000 chance of being hit by lightning, a 1 in 20 million chance of being canonized (which may be greater if you’re Catholic), a 1 in 700,000 chance of being hit by a meteorite, and a 1 in 4,464 chance of being in a chain saw accident. The odds in the Lottery just aren’t very good!
Here are things more likely to happen than winning the Lottery: https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/20-things-more-likely-to-
Happy day,
Glenn
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