Successful Politics Includes Compromise

I am a solid progressive on the political scale but I realize that politics is not a game of pure ideology. Any political party that nominates someone from the far ends of the political spectrum is doomed to fail. Also, politics is not a "hard" science and there are things to learn from both sides of the political spectrum.  This article should be a fair warning to the Democrats presently.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/latest-news/article210279914.html#emlnl=Afternoon_Newsletter

The Problem Goes Deep From US History

"But Starbucks isn’t the point.

"To pretend it is is a comforting fiction. It allows the company to apologize, vow to do better and move on. It allows protesters to feel righteous at having proven they will not tolerate intolerance.

"Meantime, we know as a statistical matter of fact that somewhere, a little boy was just suspended from school for a minor infraction because he is black.

"A desperately ill woman was just denied sufficient medication to ease her pain because she is black.

"A highly qualified applicant was just passed over for the job of her dreams because she is black.

"And sometime soon, another unarmed man will be shot by police because he is black"

Starbucks isn’t the problem, America is

(LabourMan Consultants)

Dear Liberals: Being Critical Of Islam Is Not Racism

On my Facebook page today I had to deal with one of these types of Liberals.  He's gone, and you will also be gone if you can't accept the reality of Islam and the nuances of politics and the social sciences.  Someone analyzing scientific research on ANY topic, and coming to conclusions and policy opinions with which you or I would argue, but that person is still supporting human rights for all IS NOT A RACIST. I hope that reasonable people will realize that "racism" is being used against anyone who disagrees with this Illiberal left.

It is time that the left remember its principles, and stop castrating debate and free discourse.

(Getty Images)

Affordable Housing CAN Be A Reality

Every city in the USA struggles with producing affordable housing.  After total failure in the past, this article presents some realistic steps that Charlotte can take in the future.

The Cancer I Call "The Other"

“Segregation is a cancer in the body politic, which must be removed before our democratic health can be realized.”  NO community is immune to this ancient disease that is at the base of all of society's problems.

Charlotte suffers from a disease we refuse to treat

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article208132019.html#storylink=cpy

Two Solvable Problems

If all politicians were science-based thinkers, many problems in society would be solved.  Following are two examples of societal dysfunction and realistic solutions.

1) The Homeless

This article presents another viable "band-aid" for the problem. However, to solve the problem, affordable housing is a solution, along with adequate social services.

2) Ex-Convict Unemployment

This article and this article present ways to help former criminals return to gainful employment.  However, to solve the problem, improving economic mobility is a solution, along with economic equality of opportunity.

 

Abortion From A Legal And Moral Perspective

"Good people disagree about the morality of abortion because we disagree about what defines human nature. First trimester abortions may have absolutely no moral implications whatsoever -- perhaps a first-trimester embryo is no more conscious than a kidney or spleen. Or they may have more serious moral implications. Our culture hasn't come to a consensus on that yet.

"But we know a little bit about murder and the differences between murder and other forms of killing."

Why Abortion Is Different 

THE Challenge For Atheism

Religion has been a part of the great majority of humanity throughout its history.  Yes, us science-based thinkers know that the claims of all religions have been falsified by science.  However, essentially, the beat goes on.  Why? In my opinion, it is the social support it fosters.  THE challenge for us atheists is to provide a valid replacement for such.  Yes, there are many atheist and humanistic groups organizing and also doing some great social work.  However, frankly, I see THAT needle barely moving in the society at large. 

Understand, I have no answers other than what I have already said on this blog: those with more influence and money than me * MUST step up or we are whistling in the dark.

* How about an anti-Rupert Murdock/Roger Ailes to found an anti-Fox News? Or an anti-Pat Robertson to found an anti-700 Club?

A Google Search for "Religion's Value is the Social Interaction"

Another Example Of How The Brain Can Fool Us

"For 99 percent of hominid history, social communication consisted of face-to-face interactions with someone you’ve hunted and foraged with most of your life. But then the recognition and familiarity components got pried apart by modern technology. By “modern technology,” I mean a newfangled invention that came along a few millennia ago—you could communicate with someone by putting scratches of ink on a piece of paper, and then sending that paper a great distance where they’d decode it. Wait, you know someone by their microexpressions, their pheromones, their totality—not by implicitly assessing word frequency in their letter or the scrawl of their signature. This was a first technological blow to the usual primate sense of familiarity. And the challenges have accelerated exponentially from there."

A long article, but very interesting if you are into brain science.

To Understand Facebook, Study Capgras Syndrome

The History of Conservatism And Liberalism In the USA

As we close out one of the most divisive and negative elections in the history of the USA, I think it is important to take a deep breath and reflect on how the politics of the conservative and liberal forces have historically flip-floped within the two major parties.  For example, in the early 1850's, the Democrats were the conservatives and the new, upstart Republicans were the liberals.  From there, there has been a frequent and significant changing of ideology within both of these parties.  Enjoy the education within the three links below:

Conservatism

Liberalism

John Batchelor - To Make Men Free: The History of the Republican Party (search for the podcast on the link)

My humble opinion is that neither ideology or party has all the answers.  In fact, the extremes of both are very harmful, thus, I remain, as I have for several decades, a militant Independent.  Think about it.

Politics As Usual Regarding Affordable Housing In Charlotte

"The Charlotte City Council has said building affordable housing is one of its highest priorities, especially in the wake of the civil unrest after the Keith Lamont Scott shooting.

"But a proposed taxpayer-supported development near uptown raises questions about the council’s commitment to low-income housing, and whether the city will come close to its goal of building 5,000 subsidized units in three years.

"Developer Peter Pappas is planning a $200 million mixed-use project near Pearl Street Park, just outside of Interstate 277. The project would include a 170-room hotel, retail, office and 250 apartments.
No affordable units are planned.

"And the city and county haven’t made it a requirement – despite a tentative agreement that calls for taxpayers to give the developer roughly $4.4 million in tax rebates."

Affordable housing is a city priority. Developer may get millions without including it.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article110445082.html#storylink=cpy

Culture And Poor Choices

"Both tobacco use and obesity are caused, in part, by our choices. And our choices are influenced, in part, by our culture. An unhealthy lifestyle can be deeply ingrained in a culture. It's certainly much easier to smoke or make poor dietary choices when a substantial number of your friends and family are doing it."

Here are some other points to ponder.  Consider the states where tobacco use and obesity are the highest.  These same states correlate with poverty, lower education and voting for Republicans.

Regional Patterns of Tobacco Use and Obesity Correlate in the U.S.

The Older Generations Have Always Criticized The Younger Generations

"Frankly, denigrating the young is simply what older generations do. While Boomers lambaste Millennials for cavorting on Facebook, chilling with Netflix, and texting away the day, the elder generation of a century past was scolding the young as well, albeit with a bit more eloquence."

Study: Millennials Are Not Lazier Than Boomers

Watch For Unscientific Methods In Polling

"One of the keys to successful social science is to ask unbiased survey questions*. The lack of a control group is just sloppiness. Gallup should know better."

Gallup Poll: Great Example of How to Bias a Social Science Study

Cultural Anthropologists Can Be As Dogmatic As Religious Apologists

"As a biologist, I’ve learned that there are two related issues that are taboo for academics to discuss openly. The first is the issue of “races”—of genetic differences between human populations. Cultural anthropologists tell us that races are “social constructs.” Well, there’s a bit of truth in that, insofar as there is no finite number of races that can be unambiguously demarcated from each other. But there are genetic differences between groups, and clustering algorithms can divide populations into five or six fairly distinguishable groups corresponding to their geographic localities. Those genetic differences in marker genes undoubtedly evolved via either genetic drift or natural selection in early human populations that were geographically isolated."

The sociological religion of no biological differences between the sexes

A Good Example Of How To Act During Heated Disagreement

"I can tell you that Smith didn’t pitch this story to me. He worried it might get in the way of the dialogue he wanted to start.

"But no matter what you think, you should also see this: That moment you most want to retreat to safety might be the moment you most need to reach out.

"Because without that, no one will reach back.

"That’s what’s happened to Kenny Smith this week. He’s heard from five people he handed his card to in Monday’s crowd. He’s set up lunch so far with one of them, Adrian Millner, who told me Thursday that he watched Smith 'take a beating' Monday night. Millner, who works in accounting in Charlotte, liked the councilman’s response.

"There’s no set agenda for their lunch. Police shootings will surely come up, and probably more. Maybe those talks lead to more talks. Maybe they get someplace concrete.

"But that’s not why Millner called."

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article105048521.html#storylink=cpy

A white councilman, black protesters, and a moment that Charlotte needed

An Issue Rarely Talked About In The Police Shootings of Blacks

"Charlotte has erupted in anger over another black man being killed by police. But what the media, protesters and community members aren’t discussing is that Keith Lamont Scott is yet another disabled man killed by police and that the intersection of his disability and race likely played a part in his death.

"Over the past few years, Black Lives Matter formed in solidarity against the killing of unarmed black men by police. This organization and many protests fail to recognize that 50 percent of police killings are of people with disabilities, typically those with mental illness or intellectual disabilities, according to the Ruderman Family Foundation. This often happens because people with these types of disabilities lack executive function, meaning they struggle to follow a detailed list of instructions."

Keith Lamont Scott’s disability may have played a role

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article104985181.html#storylink=cpy

Humans, And Other Primates, Have Always Been Aggressive Towards Each Other

"The propensity for humans to kill one another may be hot-wired into our DNA but culture also has the power to change our behaviour, a new study has found.

"The research, led by José María Gómez at the Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas in Spain and published in the journal Nature, explored the human tendency to act violently towards members of our own species" 

Our Prehistoric Ancestors As Violent As Us 

Memo To Religions: They Are Not Coming Back

"If religions are still asking what they can do to bring the religiously unaffiliated back, the better question might be this: what can religion do without them? Because all evidence points to this conclusion: they are not coming back, and given what they’re being presented, why should they?"

They’re Not Coming Back: The Religiously Unaffiliated and the Post-Religious Era

Scientists Aren't Immune From Societal Pressures

"Scientists incentivised to publish surprising results frequently in major journals, despite risk that such findings are likely to be wrong, suggests research."

Cut-throat academia leads to 'natural selection of bad science', claims study