The United Nations needs to quit, and reconstitute itself without its structural flaws – namely the US, Russian, and Chinese veto. That’s an embarrassment and the veto reveals that the nature of the body to be a puppet, always trumpeting the interests of the rulers of the world.
I know a few people who were home-schooled as kids, and who grew up to be fine, decent people. I even new one who was incredibly precocious and was tutored (in addition to a good private school education) by both father and mother. Everyone in my high school class knew he was going to be somebody in the sciences and, he is! Yay!
I mentioned this in the comments of my last posting, but I think it’s worth going into a bit more detail.
If any ad can impress me, it’s impressive; I am a hard target.
The US’ attitude toward Cuba has always been that of the frustrated empire. Basically, the US is still pissed off that its attempts to buy Cuba were rebuffed by the Spanish.
Warning: Discussion of Violence from a Favorable Viewpoint.
This is something I’ve been pondering for a long time, and I have no answers. But it bothers me; I feel like everyone ought to understand the dynamics of power and be able to resist people who seek to abuse the system for their own ends.
Back when I was CEO of NFR, in 1999, I broke labor laws by sending an email to all staff on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, reading, “your assignment today is to listen to the full speech by Dr King (link) and think about it while you take the rest of the day off, or you can come in and work.”
I have added another book to my recommended reading list [stderr] Nancy Isenberg’s White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. In the last few months, I have gone backward and forward through it, trying to make sense of how the facts it exposes fit with my historical understanding.
If you pay any attention to US history, you know that slavery and racism are one of the supporting institutions that have defined and shaped the United States. You cannot understand the United States without understanding slavery and racism. But, that understanding has always felt incomplete, to me; I knew there was more. Obviously, there are details, but what is the big picture?
I’ve been a bit quiet and distant lately, or I feel that I have.
Out here, it was pretty calm, and boring as usual.