Somewhere in this posting is buried a totally irrelevant sentence,
having nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the material it accompanies. See if you can spot
it. (This is really a subterfuge on my
part to get you to read this entire posting but look for it anyway.)
Putting on My
Economist’s Hat
In
the room in my home which I am presumptuous enough to call my “study” (that’s
where my desk, computer, library and paintings are), sits an album containing
copies of the published letters to newspapers here in Florida which I have
written over the past eighteen years.
One
early one (an undated copy but probably around 2003 or 2004) suggests
“protectionism” as the solution to the nation’s economic ills, particularly in
the areas of job creation and preservation which would supposedly kick off
economic growth by increasing consumer spending. The credibility of that position goes back,
in this country, to Alexander Hamilton, a believer in protective tariffs.
Over the years, my views have changed to
a more globally oriented position, recognizing that our economy cannot exist
without integration with that of other nations: In a word, globalization! Even though I lack real credentials in the field of economics, I still am ready to pass on my ideas because, as I have often said on this blog, I frequently doubt the believability
of recognized economists since there are always highly respected economists
advocating diametrically opposed theories. Milton Friedman and John Maynard
Keynes are examples. I liken them all to
alchemists and astrologists which throughout history have occasionally been taken
seriously.
 |
| Lighthizer |
My
thoughts in this area have changed and grown.
Apparently, Robert Lighthizer, President Trump’s chief trade advisor, is
back where I was a decade and a half ago.
I hope that his ideas will evolve to a more global approach once his
mistaken direction has been proven wrong.
I hope it doesn’t take an economic disaster for that to happen. Without change and growth, we’d still be in
the Middle Ages. Through the mechanics
of feudalism, those years actually saw economic problems dealt with more
realistically than they were in the more savage preceding centuries, known as
the Dark Ages, but that, and succeeding systems, are not good enough for us
today in our undeniably global economy.
Jack Lippman
At
one time, back in my working days, I headed up a risk selection (some called it
“underwriting”) department in a small life insurance company in New York City. Basically, our task was to make sure that we
knew the medical, and often the personal, histories of the folks our company
were insuring. We had a lot of tools
with which to do our job, and we worked closely with the reinsurance companies upon
which all small life insurance companies depend to be competitive with the
“big” companies. A senior executive of
one of our reinsurers, known throughout the industry for his wry sense of
humor, frequently described a common attribute of a significant number of
people applying for life insurance.
They, in addition to possessing hearts, livers, lungs, and the rest of
the usual bodily parts, were all endowed with good “forgetters.”
Sometimes,
this hitherto unknown organ resulted in their not mentioning on their insurance
application the two heart attacks they had experienced a few years back nor the
chemotherapy they underwent for that lump that was removed a year before. It wasn’t really their fault; the blame lay
on their “forgetter.”
(Those
who were in the business, and who might still be around, know about whom I am
talking. Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, Charlie
ran the stateside branch of the old Cologne Reinsurance company, now part of
Berkshire Hathaway’s General Re.)
Which
brings us to Brett Kavanaugh. Need I say
more?
But
I will, anyway. The Democratic strategy,
obviously aimed at the upcoming mid-term elections, can be simply explained
with four words. “Payback for Merrick
Garland.” Mitch McConnell should be blamed
for bringing great, if not fatal, problems to his party.
If Judge Kavanaugh is hurt in the process, it is his fault for not anticipating
that what the Republicans did to Barack Obama’s 2015 nominee would influence
the way the Democrats would react to his nomination. Did he think he would get
through just as Neil Gorsuch had? No
way, Brett, not with mid-term elections coming up! Chalk that up to naivete. Perhaps he went into the nominating process
with his eyes wide closed, awed by the fact that he was nominated.
As
for Kavanaugh’s testimony and that of Dr. Christine Ford before the Judiciary
Committee last week, she was totally believable. She was truthful and was not confused over
details. If she wasn’t absolutely sure
of something, she said so. But she could not come up with corroborating
witnesses who were at the party.
Kavanaugh
was also sincere and believable. He was obviously emotionally distressed by the
fact that regardless of whether or not he is elevated to the Supreme Court, a
lifetime of building a fine reputation had been permanently stained. (A highly perceptive friend read his distress
as a manifestation of shame on his part, which would lead one to believe more
strongly in Dr. Ford’s claim than in Judge Kavanaugh’s denial.) I wonder what personal
conclusion the esteemed Arizona sex-crimes prosecutor who did most of the
questioning for the Republican members of the Committee made. She had certainly dealt with such
contradictory and conflicting testimony many times before. Whatever the truth is, I feel she has a
pretty good idea of where it rests.
Someday she might write a book.
My
take on his testimony is that he was so drunk that evening that he didn’t
remember a thing about what had occurred.
(See the first two paragraphs of this piece, the “insurance” part.) He did admit to having occasionally “fallen
asleep” after drinking. If this were the
case that evening, which he denied ever even taking part in, it would have left
him unable to remember it happening and to account for anything which might
have happened during that period when he was “asleep.” It would not have found a prominent place in
his memory bank, so quite correctly, he remembered nothing and replied
honestly. The FBI investigation might or
might not shed more light on what happened.
I doubt it. Hypnosis might do
that but I don’t think the Senate nor the FBI will go there.
I
drink beer too, but I am no authority on it.
A six-pack usually lasts a least a month in my refrigerator. Assuming
each beer is the equivalent of a 12 oz. bottle, here is the way it affects
me. I think the same might apply to most
beer drinkers. I cannot really remember
the last time I had more than two beers at a sitting, but I have in the far distant
past.
1 beer – No
effect.,
2 beers – Little
effect, but I am aware that I have been drinking. Feeling good.
And groping back far into my
memories:
3 beers – Borderline
drunk. Feeling great. I won’t drive.
4 beers - Drunk -
If no food consumed, ready to fall asleep, otherwise, just woozy and unsteady
on feet.
5 beers - Drunk enough so that I can’t remember what
happened.
I
wonder what would happen if the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were
replaced by a panel of high school juniors and seniors of both sexes,
representing both public and private secondary schools.
My bottom line: Regardless of whether or not Brett
Cavanaugh molested Dr. Ford 36 years ago, his demeanor at the Committee
hearings, his snapping back at questioning Senators’ questions, his becoming
angry in the face of hostility and his general arrogance clearly indicated that
despite his recognized legal acumen, he is unfit to serve on the United State
Supreme Court, where Justices cannot be allowed to lose their “cool.”
JL
Excess Sexual
Drive
In
the big scheme of things, what is the purpose of life? Some scientists say that, just like other
forms of living things, the purpose of life for homo sapiens, us, is to
reproduce. Our other achievements,
scientific, intellectual or practical, may be remarkable but the main thing is
that we are born for the purpose of continuing our species’ existence by
reproducing. In that way, we are no
different from insects, reptiles and other kinds of life.
In
order to do that, we are born with sexual drives which are intended to lead to
our reproducing. The intellectually
based institutions we have established to see that we accomplish this, such as
marriage, are incidental to the pleasurable sexual activity which drives us to
actually perform the intended task.
Men
and women are provided with slightly different sexual drives because their
roles are different. Most men are outwardly more aggressive while most women
are more subtle in their approach to the acts leading to reproduction. Both, however, consciously or not, direct
their behavior at reproducing the most desirable progeny. That is why men chase after what they
consider to be pretty women. That is why
women take steps to become attractive to men, and select from among the ones
they attract, the ones they feel will produce the most desirable
offspring. Look at the eyeliner even
ancient Egyptian women wore! What was
that all about? Why are businesses such
as Sephora or Victoria’s Secret so successful?
Whole
industries (men’s and women’s apparel, cosmetics, fitness, weight loss,
jewelry, fragrances, nail salons, beauticians and barber shops, for starters) are devoted to taking advantage of this drive and making money from it. Women want to attract men and men do not want
to be rejected by the women to whom they are attracted. Both want to look good! Even look “sexy.”
And when someone looks in a mirror and asks
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is fairest of them all,” they don’t give a
damn what the mirror thinks, it’s what someone of the opposite sex thinks. Even if we do not consciously act this way and
sincerely believe we might be merely grooming well to please only ourselves and our families, that
behavior is initially conditioned by our built-in sexual drive.
Biology,
recognizing that failure to reproduce or producing offspring not surviving long
enough to reproduce can cause the demise of a species, provides creatures with
an overabundant sexual drive in order to maximize reproduction. Although unnecessary for homo sapiens for a
variety of reasons, we still are provided with that overabundant sexual
drive. That’s where problems start.
The
drive is there long before the social institution of marriage comes into play
and it remains long after the reproductive role in marriage is fulfilled. It is there among those who never marry or do
not reproduce. Outlets for this
excessive drive are found to be acceptable or unacceptable in varying degrees. They run the gamut from the innocence of gay
and lesbian relationships and various out-of-wedlock relationships to the harmful evils of pedophilia and bestiality
with a middle ground which includes adultery, prostitution, pornography,
masturbation, celibacy, polygamy, sexual harassment, rape or combinations of
one or more of these outlets. This is
nothing new. The Bible refers to them
frequently.
 |
| Harvey Weinstein |
Usually
these outlets for excess sexual drive are referred to in the context of males,
but they apply to women as well, although one hears less about that. Think
about this when you hear about business executives and politicians whose
careers have been affected by their involvement in some of these outlets for
excess sexual drive.
One of the
challenges faced by today's engineers and scientists is harnessing this almost
universal overabundance of human sexual drive and using it in the development
of self-driving automobiles.
JL
Over
the past few years there has been a reduction in the number of visits by the beautiful
Monarch butterflies which we had been used to frequently seeing. Aware of the migratory habits of the Monarch
butterfly, scientists have attributed this to the deforestation of certain
areas of Mexico where some Monarchs winter, the change in weather patterns
which we have been experiencing and finally, the use of herbicides throughout
the country, particularly in Midwestern agriculture, which, along with other
undesirable plants, eliminates milkweed from fields and roadsides. Without milkweed, Monarchs will not breed.
I
had stripped down most of my butterfly plants due to our Florida community’s
recent house painting project. I did
leave a few milkweeds which had grown from seeds naturally dropped to the earth
from earlier years’ plants. Afterwards,
I planted about four new milkweed plants.
(Although new milkweed plants will provide leaves as nourishment for
Monarch caterpillars and regrow leaves when a plant’s leaves are is devoured,
the plant will not produce and drop its own seeds for reproduction until it is
about three years old.)
Over
the past few weeks, there have been occasional Monarch caterpillars lunching on
my milkweed plants. Earlier this week there were at least four. I have even spotted a couple of green
chrysalises (cocoons) which these caterpillars turn into, and which give birth
to the actual butterflies, but my sightings of Monarch butterflies have been
few and far between. I think there is
more to their disappearance than the three reasons mentioned above. Could it be the Chinese or the Russians?
Meanwhile,
growth on my passion flower vines is progressing. They have already produced a few
blossoms. I anticipate seeing some Gulf
Fritillary butterflies, which they attract, in a few months. I continue to see Broadwing Zebras, but I
really cannot identify where they are breeding.
They are very secretive. My
dutchman’s pipevine is now fully re-grown and I have seen one or two Goldrimmed
Swallowtails, which breed on that plant.
Finally, my Wild Lime tree has managed to breed a few magnificent Giant
Swallowtails, which I hope will continue.
Although
butterflies do not lay eggs on them, I have a profusion of blue blossomed
porterweed around the house. These
attract bees, moths and butterflies, all of which stop by to taste the nectar
of the flowers. Once there, I hope the
butterflies choose to lay their eggs on their appropriate host plants, which I
hope I have provided for them nearby.
Three
years ago, after being provided with a listing of the plants in my butterfly
garden, and the butterflies I had spotted there, the Florida Federation of
Garden Clubs provided me with a Official Florida Butterfly Sanctuary
certificate for my garden. (It is
displayed on my patio.) I would hope
that within a year or so, my plantings will enable it to once again function on
that level.
JL
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