T. V. & The Society’s Riveting Issues

The Octogenarians

In the last several days,I’ve been watching some interesting stuff on tv.I watched Boro Colorado on Smithsonian and the intricate interrelationships of plants,insects and animals in the amazon and reheard the warnings about our destruction of this gold mine of information and oxygen through deforestation for profit.I watched the Jackie Robinson special created by Ken Burns and heard a familiar voice,that of the remarkable Rachel Robinson.I recall Jackie’s powerful handshake and relentless pursuit of equal access.I also watched the Clarence Thomas confirmation special and its’re-exposure of the race and gender issues that bedevil us.(and the rest of mankind).Most surprising was the revelation of the existence of Samurai warrior women who fought and died in defense of the Shogun in the 1850s confrontation with the rifle and cannon equipped forces of an emperor,who prior to Commodore Perry’s incursive opening of Japan for purposes of a trade agreement favorable to the U.S…

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Trump & Sanders,Threats to Party Integrity ?

The Octogenarians

Donald Trump’s charge toward 1237 committed delegates appears to have been slowed.Some of this, no doubt,redounds to his Barnum and Bailey showmanship with playing to the proximate audience as his metier.This does not work where careful consideration of issues is the trait that voters are seeking.The B&B world becomes “as phony as it can be” and there” just ain’t no believin”.But more ominously there probably exists a master strategy on the part of the republican elite to block his access to the necessary votes.It is as simple as it is unfair…block his access to first vote victory  and then uncommit his delegates.Considering the groups of hooligans that have gathered around him some of us may utter a sigh of relief ,but who is to be the alternative leader?It could be the unliked Cruz; it’s not likely to be the almost vanished Kasich. It’s most likely to be someone who was…

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Panama,Oligarchs,Sympathy & Hope(POSH)

The Octogenarians

The revelations from Panama of the massive efforts on the part of some of the world’s rich and powerful to protect their wealth from taxation as well as the ministorm on Wall St. about the neutering of the Pfizer/Allergan proposed merger for tax amelioration(avoidance) and the new disclosure requirements for those investing older people’s money in annuities and such raise many critical issues.
The implications for disclosure of such information and the interdicting of the tax avoidance ploy are critical issues for Americans. On the one hand the protection of individual’s assets from exploitation by those with specialized knowledge is a no brainer but when that regulatory posture involves the support of a flawed taxation system we are forced to go beyond the obvious.If our government was working properly congress would have been, long ago,,working on tax reform.(as well as immigration reform etc.) Why are brokers prevented from doing their…

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Empathy vs Greed: An Old,Old Story

Yet one more time…

The Octogenarians

Thanks SB for the Ted’s blog reference “6 studies on how money affects the mind”.In this 2013 presentation social psychologist Paul Piff  gives us 6 Findings ,

1 WE RATIONALIZE ADVANTAGE BY CONVINCING OURSELVES WE DESERVE IT.2 PEOPLE WHO MAKE LESS ARE MORE GENEROUS…ON THE SMALL SCALE.3 PEOPLE WHO MAKE LESS ARE MORE GENEROUS …ON THE LARGE SCALE.4.RICH PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO IGNORE PEDESTRIANS. 5 POVERTY IMPEDES COGNITIVE FUNCTION. 6 THOSE WITH LESS ARE BETTER AT READING FACIAL EXPRESSIONS.

The last item is an indicator of emotional intelligence, no doubt linked to survival and having empathic capability as a major component.Number 5 indicates the unequal access playing field that poverty engenders.Dr Piff ends on an  optimistic note indicating that empathic responses can be increased by learning,notably through voluntary exposure to enabling experiences and examples. This leaves us with the problem of what would induce the wealthy to expose themselves…

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