Black and white

A review in the November 2nd issue of the New Yorker by Nicholas Lemann discussed the compromises made when the Civil War ended and the South was re-incorporated into the Union.  The South lost the war, but many of its ideas that were “southern” became part of “American” way of thinking.

Here’s one you might never have thought of.  (I didn’t before I read the review.)  The definition in the U.S. of who is “black” and who is “white” is a southern holdover.  What is President Obama with a white mother and a black father?  He is “black.”  We accept that someone who has one black  great-grandparent out of eight is labeled black.

Isn’t that strange?  That is a legacy of southern culture which is now part of the national culture.  You have to admit that is weird.

Wolf caves

Why did we have to wait months for a budget deal?  Wolf probably could have gotten this budget on day one.  A rise in the sales tax, the most regressive of all state taxes.  No firm commitment to keep state store revenues flowing into the state’s coffers.  And worst of all, a victory for the frackers and their Republican lapdogs in the state legislature to ensure that Pennsylvania continue its dubious position as the only state in the union without a severance tax on natural gas it produces.  

I am so disappointed in Wolf.  Why oh why are the Democrats never able to hold fast to their commitments?  Republicans have our number.  Hold out long enough, and our side caves.  I’m tired of it. 

Refugees

After the Vietnam War, the U.S.admitted more than a million refugees from Southeast Asia.  Many of them settled in the San Jose area.  I well remember the opposition.  At the time many of them arrived I was working for a state senator.  Constituents wrote in complaining about “those people” who didn’t understand American ways.

Some thought that Communist spies would be infiltrating.  The refugees didn’t speak our language.  They were different.  They ate dogs and cats.

I think almost everyone now would agree that the Vietnamese, Hmong, and Cambodian refugees have enriched the United States.  Like other desperate and poor people before them who came to this country yearning to breathe free, they have made us stronger and better.  

Now we hear similar arguments from the bigots who oppose bringing in Syrian refugees.  The refugees are Muslim.  They will be terrorists.  They don’t speak English.  

If you hear this kind of nonsense, speak out.  Talk about moral duty.  We need to be doing more.  Four million refugees are out there.  We can’t let poor states like Jordan and Greece and Croatia bear the entire burden.  This is an international problem.

Why are you a Democrat?

My friend Marian said that from now on when anyone asks her why she is a Democrat, she plans to reply, “Because I’m a Christian.”  I told her I couldn’t in good conscience make that statement, but I think it is a truly great response.

The end of Keystone Pipeline

Today saw a significant milestone in the fight against global warming.  President Obama has rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, a proposed 1,179 mile pipeline to bring tar sands petroleum from Canada to the Gulf Coast.  

This action has positive results.  It takes the pressure off the new Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau.  It solidifies the position of the U.S. as a leader in the fight against global warming.  It benefits the entire globe.

This week we also learned that Exxon deliberately withheld data or skewed data about the effects of emissions on global warming.  Exxon’s corporate lies have been compared to Big Tobacco’s lies about the effects of smoking.  

What Exxon did was so much worse.  Big Tobacco’s lies hurt individual smokers.  Exxon’s lies have affected the entire planet.

Spectre

It is funny how expectations work.  I read some rather critical reviews of “Burnt,” the movie starring Bradley Cooper as a chef, so I wasn’t expecting very much.  Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the movie.  I thought Cooper did a good job, I liked the cooking scenes, and I thought the supporting cast was excellent.

Tonight we saw “Spectre.”  James Bond movies are always fun, they are part of our heritage, and Daniel Craig is interesting.  Nevertheless, I thought the movie was way too long, and I found myself actually impatient at times.  I expected more, so I was disappointed.

Syrian refugees are coming!

Since the Civil War in Syria started four years ago, approximately four million refugees have fled from that country.  Many are living in countries that are less than prosperous–for example, Greece, Jordan, Turkey, Serbia, and Croatia. 

In the last four years the U.S. has taken in 1,854 of the refugees.  Out of four million, we have taken in 1,854.  This year we are doing better.  We are taking in approximately 10,000.  Germany is taking in approximately 500,000.

Many people in the U.S. don’t want us to take in any.  Most of the refugees are Muslim.  Might be terrorists.  Don’t celebrate Christmas.