The 4 R's of summer

Rumination, reflection, resolve and sometimes even remorse

The Straight Goods Cyber Forum
with Larry Solway

Commentary:

  Do back-to-school kids have to write, "How I spent my summer holidays?" Talk about sterile.
  The two months away from Straight Goods was time for rumination, reflection, resolve and sometimes even remorse. In no particular order:
  I reflect on the basic stupidity of people when I see otherwise sane, sensible, prudent people, often of advanced years (like mine) riding bikes with no helmets. The Libertarian (less government is good government) Tories believe that people should take responsibility for themselves so they rescinded the mandatory helmet rule for everyone over 18. So we have the sorry spectacle of parents with no helmets biking with helmeted kids.
  When you are grown-up you are allowed to be really stupid, and call it "freedom." Kids can't wait to start drinking, smoking, staying up late and riding without a helmet. In freedom of choice states like New Hampshire (Live Free or Die) and Ohio - what would you expect from someplace where if your name was Taft you got elected - there are no laws to oblige motorcyclists to wear helmets. Better to be concussed or dead in a trauma ward I guess.
  Under the heading of "remorse," should feel I guilty because I have managed to hold on to more of my worldly goods than some others? We just sold the house, freed up a substantial amount of money, invested it for income and we will walk hand-in-hand into the twilight. What really makes me twitch, if I think about it too much, is that I can afford to live in a spacious loft-type apartment in the heart of downtown knowing that there are thousands of new apartments being built and none of them will be available for people with low or welfare incomes. Am I a "let 'em eat cake" person? Maybe it'll work out as long as I don't feel too smug about reducing possessions, having some spending money, selling one car, being able to ride my bike to my boat, and just sitting around being a senior philosopher.
  Under "rumination" comes a cascade of events. There is the coronation by default of Paul Martin who seems to be straining mightily to revive his "liberal" roots in spite of his rightward bent. And who can ignore the chaos on Wall Street and the tragic impoverishment of millions of people who thought retirement was right around the corner. The classic irony is that some declare Capitalism is proving itself to be inherently vulnerable and others just as adamantly insisting that the market crash proves Capitalism works.
  To make disaster seem like a character builder, the White House distracted us with an economic summit in Waco Texas that was long on pep rally and short on value. If brave b.s. doesn't do the job there is always War. The argument is about whether war on Iraq will work or not. Two oilmen run the executive branch. They will make war over crude oil. They want to democratize Iraq (I hear laughing) but Saudi Arabia will have no part of it. Bush and Cheney declare their undying wish for a "transparent" (where did that word come from?) democracy for Iraq. But it's all hollow given that America's chief oil supplier Saudi Arabia wants no truck or traffic with silly stuff like voting or women's rights or education that doesn't brainwash kids into being terrorists.
  Finally I was taken aback, but not surprised in this self-serving society, to hear someone who was asked how they felt about billions of dollars going into gambling and lotteries. The answer: "Whatever keeps taxes down is fine with me." Many years ago, when government was feeling around the edges of the lottery as a new revenue source, I reminded people that state-run lotteries were fundamental in many poverty-stricken countries whose populations were so beggared that they would grasp at anything. Visions of ragged little kids hawking lottery tickets in the streets of some grimy Latin America slum danced before my eyes. But hey - if it lowers your taxes who cares how much social disorder it creates.
  I'm going to get the last word on this with a series-in-the-making about the billions worldwide poured mindlessly and without profit to anyone into gambling initiatives fostered by government. And I will have to remember sadly that casinos came to Ontario under an NDP government.

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