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Day Brown
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 Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:35 am Post subject: American Malaise |
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Carter was right, but now with the human genome, FMRI brain scans, and
better analysis of brain chemistry, there are some clues to what the
sickness is that is driving the rates of autism, ADD, ADHD, and
religious fundamentalism up.
Back when the FDA nutrition 'minimum daily requirement', MDR, was
first outlined, there were 7 neurotransmitters that they knew were
important to maximal mental development. Now, the number is over 150.
And besides the traditional vitamins and minerals like floride and
iodine, they see that traces of iron, copper, zinc, manganese, and a
wide variety of organic compounds from the biota in the soil are
important, but- missing.
80% of agribusiness grows just five crops: corn, wheat, rice,
soybeans, and cotton. And they do it by adding Nitrogen, Phosphorus, &
Potash. [that's a period] The trace miinerals and organic biota in the
soil that empower neurotransmitters to lay down new neural pathways
during learning and childhood mental development are not in the diet.
Hominds didnt evolve eating junkfood. The bog body stomachs and the
bone middens show over 100 different wild plants and animals in the
ancient diet. Which had the full set of these important
micronutrients.
The fact that Utzi, who died 5300 years ago had 22 different kinds of
wood on his person speaks volumes about the complexity of what had
been thot "simple Neolithic" life. With so little metal and
technology, they had to be really smart to survive, and now with an
abundance of technology, we subsidize the breeding of the stupid. And
neurotic, and psychotic, and make it even worse raising kids on sugar
cereals, junkfood, and soda pop.
So- the reason political demagoguery succeeds so well is the decline
in the reasoning power of the electorate. And the demagoguery also
produces unprecidented corruption and incompetence in the leadership.
All this has gradually been getting worse, and those few who have been
paying attention have been getting worried. One result is discussions
about "survivalism", apocalypse, and the proverbial schitt hitting the
fan. Another is economic irresponsibility, increasing entitlements,
decreasing incomes, and concer about the continued value of the
dollar.
Fortunately, most of the rest of the world has the same dietary
deficits and contamination, and they are, in their own way, just a
nuts, or they woudda dumped the dollar a long time ago. And its
getting worse. Jared Diamond, in "Collapse" shows how when resources
begin to get tite, the power elites do not cut back, but instead
*increase* their exploitation to convince themselves that everything
is fine. The beltway brain does not really understand the lower
classes, for it did, it would feel their pain, and the guilt would
make them uncomfortable. But like the Mandarins, close themselves off
in their own world, and dont realize there's a problem til the bricks
in the palace wall start flying over it.
There is a rational way out of all this, and the increasing focus by
well educated women and healthcare professionals on "organic" food is
having some positive results in some areas. But in a democracy, the
*majority* rules, and as we see by all the ad hominum and flaming in
the postings, most voters are not rational.
We see this in political strategy meetings on CSPAN, where they dont
discuss policy, but how to *sell* the policy they already have. And
that sell is not thru rational discourse. Even so, damn Yankees have
always been lucky, and may yet find leadership rational enough to
find a way to stabilize the situation. Which still leaves plenty of
room for serious concern. One of the kooks running around saying that
the entitlements will have to be reduced is Comptroller of the US,
David M. Walker. I heard him crunch the numbers for a national meeting
of CPAs, without having to spin any of it. But neither he, nor the
CPAs seem to be getting thru to the political leadership. After all,
all the CPAs have is logic.
Conversely, the liberal social scientists dont have the logic any
more. Their forums are empty while those who are paying attention are
considering the group think effects on their promoted policy.
Contaminated and deficient diets have different effect on different
gene pools because of different DNA markers. Turns out, people are not
equal after all. some of us are more adaptable to the economic
changes, while those who are not stress the social safety nets even
more.
Its all frighteningly complex and ambiguous. And Dr. Frued noted that
neurotics cant handle ambiguity., it is why they are so vehement about
their positions on the postings. The mass neurosis is shrinking the
common ground the republic is built on. And the elders. who grew up on
food raised on family farms and were the voice of reason... are
getting senile. But still voting. They get people from residential
care facilities who are too demented to pass a driving test, and drive
vanloads of them to go vote. They aint dead yet, but the future of
this republic will be if that cant be stopped.
The bunker boys going on about ammo and firepower mite be nuts, but
they are right to be worried about the need to be out of the way. |
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Neolibertarian
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| Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:50 am Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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In article <1177734938.541928.103700@y5g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
Day Brown <daybrown@hughes.net> wrote:
| Quote: |
So- the reason political demagoguery succeeds so well is the decline
in the reasoning power of the electorate. And the demagoguery also
produces unprecidented corruption and incompetence in the leadership.
|
Diet's the smallest part of it.
--
NeoLibertarian
"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."
---Will Rogers |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:06 pm Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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On Apr 27, 10:50 pm, Neolibertarian <cognac...@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
In article <1177734938.541928.103...@y5g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
Day Brown <daybr...@hughes.net> wrote:
So- the reason political demagoguery succeeds so well is the decline
in the reasoning power of the electorate. And the demagoguery also
produces unprecidented corruption and incompetence in the leadership.
Diet's the smallest part of it.
--
NeoLibertarian
"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."
---Will Rogers
|
Diet's part of it.
Stupifaction within the educational system is another factor.
And then, of course, there is the new orchestrated propaganda machine
in operation - which an american public has never been subjected to -
and is not wary of directed attempts to delude them.
That is why the neo-mandarins are removing as many civil rights and
popular influence upon governance as is possible - as fast as they
can. |
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Neolibertarian
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| Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:18 pm Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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In article <1177744005.823233.215770@n76g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>,
lorad474@cs.com wrote:
| Quote: |
On Apr 27, 10:50 pm, Neolibertarian <cognac...@gmail.com> wrote:
In article <1177734938.541928.103...@y5g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
Day Brown <daybr...@hughes.net> wrote:
So- the reason political demagoguery succeeds so well is the decline
in the reasoning power of the electorate. And the demagoguery also
produces unprecidented corruption and incompetence in the leadership.
Diet's the smallest part of it.
--
NeoLibertarian
"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."
---Will Rogers
Diet's part of it.
|
The smallest part.
| Quote: |
Stupifaction within the educational system is another factor.
And then, of course, there is the new orchestrated propaganda machine
in operation - which an american public has never been subjected to
|
You mean the one where they're attempting to discredit conservatism by
calling it "neoconservatism?"
--
NeoLibertarian
"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."
---Will Rogers |
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Day Brown
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| Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:57 pm Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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On Apr 28, 2:18 am, Neolibertarian <cognac...@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
Diet's part of it.
The smallest part.
Depends on your DNA; last I saw, there were 24 markers for autism; far |
less common in negros, far more common in Ashkenazic jews, but in any
case, sets up a sensitivity to traces of phytoestrogen that are in
plants grown exposed to petrochemicals. The FDA didnt worry about it
cause they already knew that small amounts of phytoestrogen didnt do
anything... to adults. Its in the birth control pill. Course, if you
dose little boys with it, what you get is an epidemic of faggots.
| Quote: |
Stupifaction within the educational system is another factor.
And then, of course, there is the new orchestrated propaganda machine
in operation - which an american public has never been subjected to
You mean the one where they're attempting to discredit conservatism by
calling it "neoconservatism?"
We'll see, the Arkansas Dept of Education school report is due out |
soon. But if its like previous years since gov Clinton left, the
performace of the small town Ozark schools will be instructive.
OTOH, their conservative values mean that if a parent does not want
corporal punihsment used, there's a form to fill out. No bully would
dare let his mom fill it out, but than, after getting his ass whipped
in the principal's office, the bullying stops. Last time I looked at
the reports from the small towns that came to mind, like Alread,
Leslie, Jasper, Hector, Red Star, Witt Springs, & Deer, they *all*
reported *ZERO* % rates of violence.
OTO, their conservative family farms values dont include raising kids
on sugar cereals, junkfood, and soda pop. These small towns dont have
fast food outlets, much less junkfood vending machines in the schools.
The clean local environment, which hasnt had industry or agribusiness
drew in lotsa young families who wanted to raise their kids on
*organic* food. The Dairy at Marshall dont use milk from cows treated
with hormones, and the bakery at Leslie, pop 627, makes organic
sourdough bread. The cultural values are so different that it'd take a
town with over 100 times the population to support businesses like
these.
You taken statistics? Have any idea what it means when the grades
routinely average in the mid 60th percentile? Or what it means when
schools have drop out rates in the single digits, graduation rates
near 90%, and college remediation rates in the teens? When I came
here, I thot hillbilly kids were spozed to be stupid. But then, more
recently, I saw Robert Kaplan, who studied the military in "Imperial
Grunts" say that half of the Green Berets grew up on family farms.
This is 1% of the total population providing 50% of the nation's most
competent soldiers. Hellooooo?
Look at the class photos in the entrance halls. the rate of obesity is
more like 10%, not 30%. The school reports give you the idea that they
are 99% WASP, but that's not egzactly true. In the first place, they
are nearly 1/2 Cherokee, who were farmers kicked out of GA by pres
Jackson. In the 2nd, they aint all that protestant, or even Christian.
Like other native Americans, they have been returning to their
ancestral religious traditions, and the wannabee indian Hippies who
moved here feel the same way about their Native European traditions.
The conservatives gloated for years at the failures of social programs
proving the Liberals were wrong. The Liberals in more recent times
have gloated at the obvious military failures and corruption proving
the conservatives were wrong. They were both right about that one
thing, but wrong about nearly everything else. All this disturbs
liberal senstitivies because it proves there is something different
about white people. And disturbs conservatives cause christianity is
in decline among the smartest sanest young people.
The thing that Clinton did was to initiate a testing program... for
*TEACHERS*. Teaching jobs had always been allocated by school board
nepotism, and Clinton forced all the cousins to leave the school
payrolls and go to work for a living. The fact that only competent
teachers would be hired drew competent teachers from other states. In
droves. They didnt like having their kids exposed to bad diet and
environments either.
Another thing that is happening is that transnationals are now
building new *manufacturing* plants here. The west side of the Ozarks
is having a net *immigration* of professionals from the coast and H1-b
engineers from Asia. But its all high tech operations without
significant pollution. Run the numbers on similar areas in the
country, West Virginia (There's a *reason* private Lynch was from a
small town there), Montana, Idaho, upland areas of terrain that is too
steep for agribusiness, and you'll see the same good school reports.
Altho, watch it for mining areas, operations have polluted ground
waters.
I cant say whether diet or environment is the cause for the malaise.
there is a feedback system going on during development during which
homeopathic levels of exposure can have powerful negative effects. And
there are likewise kids who bounce back from exposure and move on to
do well in life. But when it comes to groups, the effect becomes
obvious. The TV says that 1 out of 166 kids is autistic. The Ozark
rate, so far as I can tell, is 1 out of 4000. The rate for Amish kids,
(who *never* see junkfood) is one out of 15,000. Not that the Amish
dont have other problems from inbreeding.
When I was a kid on the farm, we fed the horses oats cause we wanted
strong smart horses. We fed the pigs corn cause we wanted bacon, and
nobody wants a smart pig. All us kids had oatmeal for breakfast. If
what I wanted was stupid fat kids, I'd raise them on soulfood. |
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Neolibertarian
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| Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:37 pm Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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|
In article <1177783040.157567.104080@h2g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
Day Brown <daybrown@hughes.net> wrote:
| Quote: |
On Apr 28, 2:18 am, Neolibertarian <cognac...@gmail.com> wrote:
Diet's part of it.
The smallest part.
Depends on your DNA; last I saw, there were 24 markers for autism;
|
We weren't discussing autism.
Science can't identify the DNA sequence for intelligence, if it can't
first define the intelligence phenotype.
Ergo, your ideas about nutrition are as far off the mark...at least.
Else how do you account for the poets and scientists who do not partake
of a balanced or nutritional diet-- and by the same token, how do you
account for the dim wits who do?
--
NeoLibertarian
"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."
---Will Rogers |
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_invertebrate_
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:45 pm Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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"Neolibertarian" <cognac756@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:cognac756-2911FC.02172728042007@newsclstr02.news.prodigy.com...
| Quote: |
In article <1177744005.823233.215770@n76g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>,
lorad474@cs.com wrote:
Stupifaction within the educational system is another factor.
And then, of course, there is the new orchestrated propaganda machine
in operation - which an american public has never been subjected to
You mean the one where they're attempting to discredit conservatism by
calling it "neoconservatism?"
|
The one that ignores the unprecedented secrecy policy of this White House,
that ignores questions of legality regarding our tactics in Iraq (like our
attack on Fallujah), that fails to scrutinize problems with the elections of
2000 and 2004 even as people go to prison for their efforts to help
Republicans, says nothing about the corruption that is wasting US tax money
in Iraq and is partly responsible for getting our troops killed, and lets
Republicans grandstand about UN Oil for Food corruption without commenting
on the primary role the US itself played in that corruption. And the one
that lets the Democratic Congress get excoriated for challenges to Pelosi's
leadership and questionable items in their military spending bill, without
pointing out that such things were well-precedented in the Republican
Congress.
Actually, I'm describing the mainstream media. It's just the big dumb dog
on the leash of the rightwing propaganda machine. The Democrats and other
left-wingers need to get a better leash. Partisan tug-of-war doesn't
necessarily benefit the American people, but it's better than single-party
dominance over the debate.
_invertebrate_ |
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Day Brown
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:49 pm Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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On Apr 29, 2:37 am, Neolibertarian <cognac...@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
In article <1177783040.157567.104...@h2g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
Day Brown <daybr...@hughes.net> wrote:
On Apr 28, 2:18 am, Neolibertarian <cognac...@gmail.com> wrote:
Diet's part of it.
The smallest part.
Depends on your DNA; last I saw, there were 24 markers for autism;
We weren't discussing autism.
Science can't identify the DNA sequence for intelligence, if it can't
first define the intelligence phenotype.
Ergo, your ideas about nutrition are as far off the mark...at least.
Else how do you account for the poets and scientists who do not partake
of a balanced or nutritional diet-- and by the same token, how do you
account for the dim wits who do?
|
Some *individuals* are lucky. The effect is only obvious in the
statistical data from large groups, such as voters who keep electing
asinine demagogues. There is an obvious decline in the rationality of
the electorate since the Founding Farmers.
The Fins did FMRI brain scans on their most violent prisoners to find
a constricted neural pathway from the pre-frontal lobes to the Corpus
Collosum. And they show that when emotionally excited, there is a
dramatic decline in prefrontal lobe activity. They really do "see
red", and Ramachandran can explain why. But in any case, what we are
observing here is a *genetically* driven structural characteristic
which bears looking into to explain why some gene pools have such
higher rates of violence.
They've found DNA markers for schizophrenia, and can trace higher
levels of occurance in some bloodlines. But they also realize that the
onset of the problem is triggered by exposure to pathogens. Which is
why Bouchard found that some identical twins remained sane despite the
other having breakdown. But the correlation was about 70%, that if one
was sane or insane, the other was. One twin was lucky, one was not.
As Ridley in "Nature Via Nurture" says, 'genetics loads the gun, but
environment pulls the trigger'. As in so many natural phenomena there
are feedback loops. Anyone who has written assembly language can
understand how the single replacement of one of the four DNA molecules
by one of the other four can have dramatic effects. Some which has
been demonstrated in cancer research focused on the mutation of cells.
Why would we think that mutations would only result in obvious
physical change and not sometimes also result in neurological changes
that affect talent and sanity, or the lack thereof?
Whatever the benifits of behaviorism are, such as Head Start, they are
no where near adequate. |
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Gunner
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:51 pm Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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On Sun, 29 Apr 2007 17:45:11 GMT, "_invertebrate_"
<_invertebrate_@wormhole.va> wrote:
| Quote: |
Actually, I'm describing the mainstream media. It's just the big dumb dog
on the leash of the rightwing propaganda machine.
|
Blink blink....now let me get this straight..you are claiming Mainstream
Media is rightwing?
Blink blink....
Gunner
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Bob Brock
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:57 pm Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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"Gunner" <gunner@lightspeed.net> wrote in message
news:j8q9339humv4ufctltduolfi31etjj0te2@4ax.com...
| Quote: |
On Sun, 29 Apr 2007 17:45:11 GMT, "_invertebrate_"
_invertebrate_@wormhole.va> wrote:
Actually, I'm describing the mainstream media. It's just the big dumb dog
on the leash of the rightwing propaganda machine.
Blink blink....now let me get this straight..you are claiming Mainstream
Media is rightwing?
Blink blink....
|
Hurts you eyes when the light comes on huh? |
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Day Brown
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:06 am Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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On Apr 29, 1:51 pm, Gunner <gun...@lightspeed.net> wrote:
| Quote: |
On Sun, 29 Apr 2007 17:45:11 GMT, "_invertebrate_"
_invertebra...@wormhole.va> wrote:
Actually, I'm describing the mainstream media. It's just the big dumb dog
on the leash of the rightwing propaganda machine.
Blink blink....now let me get this straight..you are claiming Mainstream
Media is rightwing?
Blink blink....
Depends on who getsta define 'rightwing'. But for one, no government |
has ever had to contend with the internet this much, so the attempts
by the Bush administration to control the flow of information and
manipulate it has never been so obvious to so many.
Then too, I voted for Goldwater in 64, and Nixon in 60. Whatever
"Conservatism" is now, its not much like what I supported. So, the
term "Neoconservative" seems reasonable to me. There's stuff that Bush
has done that'd have Goldwater rolling in his grave, and its a damn
good thing there's six feet of dirt on it, or he'd rise up to drag
that bastard back with him.
Goldwater point to the public in 1964: 'You go to war, you put
everything you have into it to win the damn thing, and then get the
fuck out." Bush does not understand who the enemy is in this war on
terror, and has not nearly allocated enough resources to win it. The
media looks right wing because it has not looked into the claims and
policy of the Neoconservatives ever since Bush took office. Oh, I know
it still looks liberal with all the hype about equal opportunity and
cultural diversity, but that's all feel good drivel that has no
significant effect on policy. |
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Neolibertarian
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| Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:37 am Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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In article <HQ4Zh.610$kg1.453@trndny04>,
"_invertebrate_" <_invertebrate_@wormhole.va> wrote:
| Quote: |
"Neolibertarian" <cognac756@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:cognac756-2911FC.02172728042007@newsclstr02.news.prodigy.com...
In article <1177744005.823233.215770@n76g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>,
lorad474@cs.com wrote:
Stupifaction within the educational system is another factor.
And then, of course, there is the new orchestrated propaganda machine
in operation - which an american public has never been subjected to
You mean the one where they're attempting to discredit conservatism by
calling it "neoconservatism?"
The one that ignores the unprecedented secrecy policy of this White House,
|
You need to define "unprecedented."
No administration operates transparently. It is a necessary precondition
to the office.
If you are indeed expressing the notion that you believe an
administration should operate in complete transparency, I'd contend that
you've never given the exigencies much thought.
Even James E. Carter had his dark machinations, some of which have only
come to light recently.
| Quote: |
that ignores questions of legality regarding our tactics in Iraq (like our
attack on Fallujah),
|
There was no legal obstacle to attacking Fallujah. If you're referring
to the use of incendiaries, you're sadly mistaken if you think these
were "illegal."
And their use was not "Republican." Or even "conservative."
| Quote: |
that fails to scrutinize problems with the elections of
2000 and 2004 even as people go to prison for their efforts to help
Republicans, says nothing about the corruption that is wasting US tax money
in Iraq and is partly responsible for getting our troops killed, and lets
Republicans grandstand about UN Oil for Food corruption without commenting
on the primary role the US itself played in that corruption.
|
None of this is specifically "Republican." Corruption has been painted
as a Republican Problem recently, mostly because they held
majorities--and the opposition party had been working overtime
attempting to wrest the reigns of power away from them.
It's frightening that you believe it to be "Republican" in nature.
| Quote: |
And the one
that lets the Democratic Congress get excoriated for challenges to Pelosi's
leadership and questionable items in their military spending bill, without
pointing out that such things were well-precedented in the Republican
Congress.
|
The Gops refused to debate Operation: Allied Force after it had begun.
But, as we all know too well, they are all hungry for power--and given
the circumstances, they're all alike. Or at least most of them are.
Politics is politics. The Democratic congress' challenge to the War in
Iraq is misplaced. It is also dangerously short sighted. Extremely
dangerously short sighted.
| Quote: |
Actually, I'm describing the mainstream media. It's just the big dumb dog
on the leash of the rightwing propaganda machine.
|
Wow. I know you believe that, and I've often seen it expressed here at
Usenet and at the radical Dem websites (Democratic Underground,
Antiwar.com, and Media Matters).
Sometimes I wonder how anyone could be convinced of that, especially
these days.
In the balance of the media, there definitely is no right leaning bias,
and there is even more definitely no bias towards this administration.
FoxNews, Newmax, and a handful of others hardly match the opposite
leaning bias.
Every scrap of information that has come out of the White House has been
subjected to extraordinary skepticism, perhaps far beyond what might be
considered healthy.
| Quote: |
The Democrats and other
left-wingers need to get a better leash. Partisan tug-of-war doesn't
necessarily benefit the American people, but it's better than single-party
dominance over the debate.
|
There's never been such, silly. The Gops aren't nearly as disciplined as
the Dems, and the Dems ain't perfect--even today.
The Dems aren't offering you even a single alternative. Not a single one.
That is frightening, as well. That you don't even notice that they're
offering no alternatives is more frightening still.
And I hope we survive unscathed anyway. But I'm an optimist.
--
NeoLibertarian
"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."
---Will Rogers |
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Day Brown
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:57 am Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
|
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On Apr 29, 6:37 pm, Neolibertarian <cognac...@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
The Dems aren't offering you even a single alternative. Not a single one.
I agree that the Dem alternatives, whatever they are, are not |
adequate.
| Quote: |
That is frightening, as well. That you don't even notice that they're
offering no alternatives is more frightening still.
And yes, its frightening. |
| Quote: |
And I hope we survive unscathed anyway. But I'm an optimist.
Hope is for the religious. Many wait for Jesus. Wallace, in his Anthro |
classic, "Culture & Personality", noted that when a system is on the
skids, and people's coping skills dont work so well anymore, they
engage in "magical thinking". A term he coined. Thus the rise of
"Wicca" and Fundies awaiting "The Rapture", and the leaders on Wall
Street and DC trying to get as much as they can off the ship of state
while the going is good.
Which is why the Dems dont have any viable alternatives. Since no
democractically derived political mandate can be had to reduce
consumption to a sustainable level, we'll prolly do it the old
fashioned way, with economic crisis and revolution. There is some
encouraging news about a new solar panel process to cut the cost by
90%, but even if that pans out, ramping up production would require
more rational leadership than I see likely to get elected.
There aint no free lunch, and the cheapness of agribusiness food
production has had some unintended hidden costs in less than maximal
mental development from in utero on thru puberty. Which has gone on
for a couple generations now. Moreover, ever since the pill came out,
the smart women have used it to reduce their fecundity with the idea
they could teach the craft to the welfare queens. Unfortunately, they
were wrong about that, and now the case loads have gone thru the
roof.
You cant run a modern technological economy with the progeny of stupid
bitches. And giving them the vote at age 18 has only encouraged the
election of demagogues pandering to the religion and ethnicity from
both the Left and Right wings.
There are some few glimmers of hope. I saw the left wing media you
refer to report on the *fact* that young criminals tend to have
fathers that are, or have already been, in jail. And ever since the
birth control pill, monogamy has only made it worse. Lotsa honorable
men stayed faithful to wives who bore no sons to follow them, while
the charming philanderers have left bastards on welfare all over the
county. Dr. Laura says "Well, you picked him honey." But- who did the
young women have to pick *from*?
Alt.psychology and the other social theory lists have been
conspicously quiet. They dont want to think about the meaning of the
human genome data, inherited hormone profiles, and neurological
structural differences that explain why Head Start is way too late and
their other programs have been so ineffective. Right wing draconian
law is not going to work either. The fundamentalist idea of "free
will" is asinine given the general level of psychological pathology.
Wise leadership would help, but the power elites are nuts as well. |
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Neolibertarian
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 5:26 am Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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In article <1177909056.542562.186830@o5g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>,
Day Brown <daybrown@hughes.net> wrote:
| Quote: |
On Apr 29, 6:37 pm, Neolibertarian <cognac...@gmail.com> wrote:
The Dems aren't offering you even a single alternative. Not a single one.
I agree that the Dem alternatives, whatever they are, are not
adequate.
That is frightening, as well. That you don't even notice that they're
offering no alternatives is more frightening still.
And yes, its frightening.
And I hope we survive unscathed anyway. But I'm an optimist.
Hope is for the religious.
|
I know you're merely having a conversation with yourself, and I hesitate
to interrupt you, but I take exception to this baseless generalization.
Hope is not exclusively for the religious.
Humanists and atheists also cling to hope. It's all that man has.
| Quote: |
Many wait for Jesus.
|
If you're referring to Christians, I submit that you haven't looked into
it at all. They're prepared for the resurrection, yes, but they aren't
"waiting" for Yeshua.
I didn't know George Wallace was an anthropologist. Sure he THOUGHT he
was--and a geneticist as well...but...
| Quote: |
in his Anthro
classic, "Culture & Personality", noted that when a system is on the
skids, and people's coping skills dont work so well anymore, they
engage in "magical thinking".
|
Define system. Define "on the skids."
Please show cause for "magical thinking."
HINT: correlation isn't cause.
--
NeoLibertarian
"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."
---Will Rogers |
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Day Brown
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 12:26 am Post subject: Re: American Malaise |
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On Apr 30, 7:26 pm, Neolibertarian <cognac...@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
Hope is for the religious.
I know you're merely having a conversation with yourself, and I hesitate
to interrupt you, but I take exception to this baseless generalization.
Dont worry about it, I'm just a Turing machine programmed to make |
those who lack scholarship look bad.
| Quote: |
Hope is not exclusively for the religious.
Humanists and atheists also cling to hope. It's all that man has.
The Stoics recommended realism. I wont try to define the terms, but |
see that many who call themselves humanist or atheist are nevertheless
religious. A truth atheist or humanist would not *care* whether others
believed in god.
| Quote: |
Many wait for Jesus.
If you're referring to Christians, I submit that you haven't looked into
it at all. They're prepared for the resurrection, yes, but they aren't
"waiting" for Yeshua.
As you define the term. There have been many posters who claim to be |
Christian who say they are waiting for Jesus.
| Quote: |
Wallace,
I didn't know George Wallace was an anthropologist. Sure he THOUGHT he
was--and a geneticist as well...but...
Your lack of education is showing, and not hidden by lame humor. You |
could at least have surfed. There's lotsa links, and Anthony
Wallace's classic anthropology work is still in print and on the
curricula in academia.
| Quote: |
in his Anthro
classic, "Culture & Personality", noted that when a system is on the
skids, and people's coping skills dont work so well anymore, they
engage in "magical thinking".
Define system. Define "on the skids."
Yes Wallace spends some time on the issue, but several indicative |
phenomena come to mind. As Machiavelli said, when a republic is on the
skids, honorable men no longer seek high office in it. Wallace would
understand. Systemic corruption increases as the power elites try to
extract as much as they can for as long as it lasts to store up
resources for after the collapse. Wallace would also understand how
Diamond outlines power elites that *increase* exploitation as
resources get tight rather than rationally cutting back on their
consumption to buy time to look for solutions. Its a phenomena of
group think that the increase in perks reassures the power elites that
things will go on a while yet.
| Quote: |
Please show cause for "magical thinking."
Wallace says expressely, but you see it in Diamond as well. For |
instance at Easter Island, somebody cut down the very last trees to
make rollers to move the giant statues they were creating as magical
guardians for an external threat that didnt exist. From then on, they
could not make boats anymore and lost access to most of their fishing
resources. It is psychological denial. Like nobody now really thinks
about the economic effect of the coming retirement of the boomers, and
how there's no way in hell that the more psychologically pathological
younger generation will not be able to economically support the
entitlements. Like Frued says, denial sets in. when you raise a
pertent issue, here or anywhere else, someone will only respond by
picking at some rather trivial point rather than the nub of the issue
at hand.
Policy is not upta the oppressed lower & middle classes, so they await
"The Rapture", or take up astrology, tarot, wicca, or whatever native
or European spiritual tradition exists in their ancestry. They also
buy lottery tickets.
Its a way to distract the mind from unpleasant realiities.
| Quote: |
HINT: correlation isn't cause.
so? |
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