Dr. John Persico Jr.

How to Lose Weight Without Even Trying!

04 Jan 2023 4 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: beauty, diet, exercise, fat, fitness, handsome, health, healthy, lifestyle, looks, nutrition, obesity, physical fitness, slim, sports, weight loss

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I wrote this blog five years ago. It seems a good one to help you start the New Year off right. I know lots of us will want to shed those pounds that we put on during the holiday season. This NEED and DESIRE makes us easy pickings for all of the “diet programs” that promise us how little effort it will be too lose weight if we only buy their book and follow their rules. I start off this blog with two rules of my own. I have updated most of the health data in this blog for 2023 but I have no doubt that the data would be the same or even more depressing if you looked it up today and compared it to ten years ago. So lets get to it so you can find out how to “How to Lose Weight Without Even Trying!”

There are two rules of wisdom that I think most of us believe in. They are:

If it is too good to be true, it probably isn’t
There are no free lunches

I have found the above precepts to be good guideposts for my life. They are so often noted that we begin to take them for granted. It could be argued that perhaps they are not true in every situation, but I believe that they are more often true than not true. This brings us to the issue of diet programs. Consider the following statistics:

An estimated 45 million Americans go on a diet each year. (BMC)
Americans spend $33 billion each year on weight-loss products. (BMC)
A higher percentage of women (56.4%) than men (41.7%) have tried to lose weight. (CDC, 2018)
Nearly half of adults (49.1%) attempted to lose weight within the last year. (CDC, 2018)
Obesity is more common among lower-income individuals, those with less education, and some ethnic/racial minorities. (Wiley, 2009)
82% of respondents considered that weight loss was completely their own responsibility, while only 5% did not agree. (Wiley, 2017( Fitness for Weight Loss)

(Statistics are from Weight Loss Statistics and Health Benefits for 2023)

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If I go to Amazon.com and type in “diet books”, I find that there are 184,291 books available to sell me on a strategy for losing weight. There were 424 “Diet Best Sellers” in 2016 and 209 “Best Sellers” published already in 2017. These are only the “Best Sellers.” There were a total of 39,673 diet books listed as published in 2016. Many if not most diet books do not make the “Best Seller” lists. In terms of magazines dealing with diets and weight loss, there are over a dozen magazines that you can buy each week at your local grocery store (that you will find stocked right next to the chocolates) that will tell you how to lose weight “without even trying.”

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However, the above statistics are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. If I go to Google and type in the words “diet strategies”, I find that there are over 75,000 listings concerning various diets, stratagems, plans, tips, secrets, etc., that will show you how to lose weight “without even trying.”

Here are some typical headlines that you will find as you peruse any of the above information that is offered for those of us that need to lose weight “without even trying”:

The Harcombe Diet 3-Step Plan: Lose 7 lbs. in 5 days and end food cravings forever
1200 Calorie Diet Menu – 7 Day Lose 20 Pounds Weight Loss Meal Plan
Win at Slim: New Secrets to Lasting Weight Loss
Outsmart Your Cravings: Sweet, Salty, Crunchy
How I Lost 42 lbs.
Eat, Drink, Shrink: No Diet Ways to Fight Holiday Gain
No More Guilt: Stop Dwelling, Start Enjoying

no exercise or dieting

The beauty of all these weight loss schemes is that you can lose weight “without (you guessed it) even trying.” Any half-way intelligent person would regard these titles and by applying either of the two rules noted earlier decide that they were pure bunko. Lose weight without trying! End food cravings forever! Lose 7 lbs. in 5 days! No sane person would believe any of this BS. Nevertheless, the diet magazines, diet plans and diet books sell like crazy. Every year a plethora of new diet strategies replace last year’s models. Why do people continue taking the bait when they know that it is a sucker’s game? The simple answer is that when it comes to looking like Margot Robbie, Jessica Alba, Dwayne Johnson or any of the Kardashians, all brain power and rational thinking goes down the drains. Everyone in America wants to be thin and beautiful or have six pack abs “without even trying.”

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Every new diet strategy renews hope for the downtrodden and overweight oppressed masses. Every new diet plan offers the possibility that beauty and slimness might be had before Christmas or at least before our next birthday. Every new weight loss scheme provides the potential to become the person that we dream of being. Hope springs not just eternal in the human breast, but perpetually, irrationally and beyond all measures of logic or intellect: To hell with “no free lunches!” To hell with “it probably is not true!”

If even the remotest opportunity exists that I can lose weight “without even trying”, I will take the bait like a mouse eats peanut butter or a cat eats catnip or a bear eats donuts. “Dam the torpedoes, full speed ahead.” Who cares about logic? Who cares that no evidence exists to back many of these claims up?

before and after male So now we come to the real issue. You wanted to know if there actually might be a method for losing weight “without even trying.” My answer is YES! But there is even better news. I will send you the secret strategy for my quick weight loss “Without Even Trying” plan that I have developed for only $9.95 plus postage and handling. I will give you a money back guarantee that in six weeks or less, you will lose twenty pounds “without even trying” or I will send you a full refund. This offer is good for only thirty days after you read this blog and it will then expire. The following stipulations also apply:

You must reside on a lake
You must be over 99 years of age
You must have been born in Last Chance, New Mexico
You must be at least 100 lbs. overweight at the start of this offer
You must believe everything you read or hear

Time for Questions:

Do you need to lose weight? Have you been trying to lose weight? How successful have your efforts been? What has worked for you? What did not work for you? What would you like to change in your diet?

Life is just beginning.

“I believe that parents need to make nutrition education a priority in their home environment. It’s crucial for good health and longevity to instill in your children sound eating habits from an early age.” — Cat Cora

Can a Lying Elected Politician Keep Their $174,000 dollars a Year Job?

28 Dec 2022 26 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: Gabbard, lying, Santos, truth

‘Twas several nights after Christmas and a few nights before the New Year of 2023 when I first heard the news about George Santos. A recently elected Representative from NY to a very narrow Republican Majority in the US House of Representatives. Santos has been caught in a series of lies regarding his background and credentials. Tulsi Gabbard conducted an interview with him on the Tucker Carlson show this past Tuesday night (12-27-22). The transcript of this interview was published in “The Hill” by Emily Brooks on 12-27-2022. I would like to add my commentary to the views that were published regarding this interview. First, I must give my congratulations to Ms. Gabbard for her interview. She asked some hard questions and literally kept the lying Santo’s feet to the fire.

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My prologue to this interview is simply this. Lying starting with Trump has become endemic in the Republican Party. They seem to have no qualms or shame when it comes to telling lies. They will do little or nothing to sanction Santos for two reasons. First, because lying is the norm for Republicans today, and it is not illegal. Second, because they do not want to risk losing Santo’s seat in the house. With this preliminary insight out of the way, I want to add my comments to the following transcript. I shall try to make my comments obvious by bolding my opinions and viewpoints.

I have one caveat to make before I start. I am not kicking a sleeping dog. This dog refuses to stop biting. He is not giving up his seat and he refuses to accept any responsibility for his lies. Instead, he says he is ready to serve his constituents and wants the world to just forget his transgressions.

Tulsi Gabbard tears into George Santos during Fox interview: ‘Do you have no shame?’ — BY EMILY BROOKS – 12/27/22 9:38 PM ET

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) ripped into Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) over his embellishments and fabrications about his background, asking him point-blank, “Do you have no shame?”

“If I were one of those in New York’s 3rd District right now, now that the election is over, and I’m finding out all of these lies that you’ve told, not just one little lie or one little embellishment — these are blatant lies — my question is, do you have no shame?” Gabbard asked while filling in for Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview with Santos on Tuesday evening. “Do you have no shame? And the people who are now, you’re asking to trust you to go and be their voice for them, their families and their kids in Washington?”

“Tulsi, I can say the same thing about the Democrats,” Santos responded. “Look at Joe Biden. Joe Biden has been lying to the American people for 40 years. He’s the president of the United States. Democrats resoundingly support him. Do they have no shame?”

Here we have the time-honored way of deflecting the blame by attacking someone else. It is a version of the philosophical “Ad Hominem” fallacy, where you attack another person to avoid taking any responsibility for your own problems. Santos attacks Biden and avoids answering the question regarding his lack thereof of any shame. If he was going to mention a President who lied, he should have mentioned Trump who undoubtedly broke all records for lying to the American people.

Gabbard interjected, saying that her question was not about the Democrats.

Three cheers for Gabbard who stepped on his strategy.

Santos has emerged from days of silence following reports from The New York Times and other outlets this month that revealed misrepresentations, fabrications and lies about his personal background.

In various interviews with the New York Post and elsewhere this week, Santos has admitted to “embellishing” his resume, including saying that he did not graduate from college and that he did not work directly for financial giants Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

I love this. He did not graduate from college. He did not work for one of the major financial giants. But he just calls adding these lies to his resume an “embellishment”. I wonder if you went in for a job interview with lies like this on your resume whether the interviewer would see it as a simple embellishment? If they found out after you were hired, do you think they would keep you on the job? Where else in the world can you lie repeatedly and keep your job except for the US House of Representative and US Senate. The present salary for a US Representative is $174,000 a year.

Santos says a poor choice of words led to confusion about his work history, insisting that he did business with both companies and helped make “capital introductions” through “limited partnerships.” He relayed some of that explanation in the interview with Gabbard.

I did not lie says Santos, I merely chose my words poorly. Like me saying that Santos is a lying sack of putrid excrement instead of a lying sack of shit. Sorry, I just chose my worlds poorly. I hope I did not offend anyone. I promise I will choose my words more carefully in the future.

He has also come under fire for representing himself as an “American Jew” and saying that his maternal grandparents fled Europe during World War II, even though reports have emerged that those grandparents were born in Brazil before the war.

This is truly unbelievable. He is on record and on video as lying to a Jewish assembly about his religion and heritage. He claims he is culturally Jewish but was raised as a Catholic. I was raised as a Catholic but was culturally Italian since my father was Italian. I cannot see how any Catholic could be culturally Jewish. As many Jewish people will tell you, for many years, Catholicism treated Jews as “Those killers of Christ.” I remember being told that it was a mortal sin to step into a synagogue. I am sure my Catholic priest would have had a heart attack if he found out that I attended a “Seder” or Passover rite with some Jewish friends.

Gabbard pressed Santos on those points.

“My heritage is Jewish. I’ve always identified as Jewish. I was raised as a practicing Catholic,” Santos said. “Not being raised a practicing Jew, I’ve always joked with friends and circles, even within the campaign, I’d say, guys, I’m ‘Jew-ish.’ Remember, I was raised Catholic.”

This sounds like some sort of Orwellian Double Speak. “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.” — George Orwell. 1984. Part 1, Chapter 5.

Santos uses some convoluted thought to try to convince us that deep down he is Jewish. I suppose if he were running in Alabama, he would be a Baptist and in Utah, he would be a Mormon.

“So, look, I understand everybody wants to nitpick at me. I’m gonna reassure this once and for all. I’m not a facade. I’m not a persona. I have an extensive career that I worked really hard to achieve. And I’m going to deliver from my experience because I remain committed in delivering results for the American people,” Santos said.

Boohoo. Please feel sorry for me. Santos must have picked this shtick up from Nixon. He needs a small dog in his lap while giving us this speech before I can feel sorry for him. Yes, I know he has a mother who loves him.

“Congressman-elect Santos, we’ve given you a lot of time. I think the time that is owed is to the people of New York’s 3rd. It’s hard to imagine how they could possibly trust your explanations when you’re not really even willing to admit the depth of your deception to them,” Gabbard said.

This coming from a Tucker Carlson show host really surprised me. Gabbard skewered him mercilessly. She must have forgotten that she switched parties and was now a Republican. I would not be surprised to see a rebuttal from the Republican party concerning her remarks.

Gabbard is the second former Democratic member of Congress to interview Santos this week. He also spoke with former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who resigned in 2011 after the revelation of sexually explicit messages he sent to a minor, on WABC radio this week.

My guess is that Weiner and Santos have a lot in common and it is not their Jewishness. You might remember Weiner as the man who sent a picture of his penis through a text to one of his girl friends while he was married. Birds of a feather flock together.

I have nothing more to add folks. As they say, actions speak louder than words. When are we going to demand some level of truthfulness in our politicians and trouble them for their lying ads and words? Even now, I hear people saying “Well, he did not do anything illegal.” Whatever happened to unethical and immoral? Are we willing to tolerate deceit and falsehoods regardless of the circumstances because they are not illegal.

There is a difference between justice and the law. Justice demands that people we elect are honest and ethical and moral. Any less should disqualify a person from holding a public office.

The Persico Annual Holiday Letter for 2022

15 Dec 2022 11 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: Christmas, Happy Holiday, Holiday Letter, persico

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Dear Friends and Relatives,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

John: This year if you are reading our annual Holiday Letter, please be advised that you will be billed $6.00 for an Opportunity Charge. If you are a frequent reader of my blog at agingcapriciously.com, I am also billing six dollars to read each weekly blog. I have decided that if Elon Musk can charge six dollars for Tweeting on Twitter, I should be able to follow his lead. For this small charge, I promise to provide the same fine insights into the world, great ideas on improving your life, and musings on happenings in the political sphere that you have come to expect. (I stole this last line from NPR.) With the financial bit out of the way, I will now turn to the good news from the Persicos.

Best of all, we are still alive, quite healthy and manage to get out of bed most days. At our annual medical visit, our doctor was quite complimentary. After taking our blood pressure and vitals, he said that neither Karen nor I looked a day over 80. When we informed him that Karen was 78 and I was 76, he apologized and said that he must have picked up some old persons’ charts.

Message_1665866332006 Moving on from the medical stuff, we sold our Wisconsin house. We are now year-round residents in the state where my brother-in-law said, “People go to die.” Can you guess where this is? Hint, it is not Florida, although it would be a close second. Karen and I were not offended by his claim since we have known many people who seemed to die around here. Last year, we started a Holiday Tradition of remembering departed friends and relatives on New Year’s Eve while singing “Old Auld Lang Syne” and talking about what we missed or did not miss about each of them. We hope they were listening to the good points that Karen mentioned and not their weak points that I am more prone to point out.

Now for the bad news. We know that you will be disappointed, but I have decided to skip all the shots, boosters, more boosters, aches, and pains that we had this year as it would take up too much of this letter. Sadly, another year passed, and we still have not been invited to any State dinners or High Society affairs. We are hoping that in two years when Biden kicks Trumps butt again, we will get invited to his Inaugural Ball. That is assuming Biden and Trump do not become part of our New Year’s Holiday Tradition. Well, that’s all the bad news for now. If you want more, turn on the daily news or pick up your local newspaper. Time to go back to my Tequila and let Karen finish this letter. She likes to provide the family updates. She posed with Santa earlier this year at a Home Depot Store.

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Karen: I am thankful for many things this year. We remain healthy (and vaccinated and boosted) and still able to do our exercise regimes. John runs trails in the Casa Grande mountains and I get to the Casa Grande Community Center 4 times a week for Senior Fit and Zumba. It was a relief to have the home in Frederic sold. Maintaining two homes cost too much money and too much work. It was fun when we were younger and had more income.

We could not leave Frederic entirely as we have made many friends there over the years. We will go back to Frederic for the summer (for fewer months than before). We already have an RV site reserved in Clam Falls. We have been busy updating this house, getting our stuff from Frederic integrated, getting a new AC unit and new flooring. So far, we have found room for the things we brought here. Unfortunately, there are still a bunch of boxes in WI in a storage unit, so more will need to come back next year. My weeks are full of uke group, Tucson Dulcimer Ensemble, church choir and starting my first quilt. I am using a pattern with John’s old ties which he cheerfully donated to me.

Megan (Youngest Daughter) caravanned back to MN this year with us, and is settled in a lovely apartment one half mile from the White Bear house she grew up in. Her little min-pin, Bambi, is quite confused about this white stuff outside, but Megan is very happy to be back in MN and connecting with her siblings and cousins while working remotely as a real estate software trainer. Kevin (Son) moved to his WI vacation home during COVID and is still there, working remotely with LinkedIn and remodeling his home. Susan (Second Oldest Daughter) works remotely with Premier, a large medical purchasing organization. Her boys are no longer home, and her rescue dog, Bart, keeps her company. She and her youngest, Sam, just returned from a trip to Korea to visit her birth mom and family. Juli (Oldest Child) has weathered a second brain surgery for tumors resulting from her childhood leukemia treatment. Rob (Juli Spouse) manages all her follow up appointments along with continuing to teach in Prescott. Juli has been able to resume some of her sewing projects despite failing vision in her left eye. Our grandchildren (Six in total) are all in their 20s and one turned 30 this year. Where did the time go? No great grandchildren yet, which is OK as our young folks take their time to find themselves in this challenging world.

Wishing you all peace, health, and happiness in the upcoming year.

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Karen and John karen.persico@gmail.com 612-384-6120 persico.john@gmail.com 612-310-3803

How Do You Know if You Know Anything?

11 Dec 2022 27 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: deming, disinformation, facts, Godel, knowledge, lies, misinformation, reality, statistics, truth, uncertainty

How do you know if you know anything? You have two paths to answer this question. The first path involves your belief that you do know something. You can choose this path if you are fairly certain that you know something. It may surprise you, but this is not a path of science. This is a Faith-Based path. No matter what anyone tells you, science relies on faith almost as much as religion relies on faith.

Consider the Heisenberg Principle of Uncertainty and Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems. Both theories show that ultimately, we can never be certain of anything, and that the fundamental bedrock of even science must then be a degree of faith. Formulated by Werner Heisenberg, Nobel Prize winning physicist in 1927, the Uncertainty Principle states that we cannot know both the position and speed of a particle, such as a photon or electron, with perfect accuracy; the more we nail down the particle’s position, the less we know about its speed and vice versa.

Godel’s first incompleteness theorem states that “No consistent system of axioms whose theorems can be listed by an effective procedure (i.e., an algorithm) is capable of proving all truths about the arithmetic of natural numbers. For any such consistent formal system, there will always be statements about natural numbers that are true, but that are unprovable within the system. The second incompleteness theorem, an extension of the first, shows that the system cannot demonstrate its own consistency.” — Wikipedia

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Let me provide a simple example of what these theories tell us. For instance, you may say, “I know the earth is round.” I challenge you to prove this. The only way that you can prove it is by relying or trusting on the wisdom of experts who say that the earth is round. Even if you have a picture of the round earth, how do you know that it is real? In essence, you are relying on faith. It is your faith in someone you trust whom you believe has more knowledge than you do. You cannot prove the earth is round so your belief is based on faith. This explains why climate change deniers are so difficult to argue with. They refuse to accept any evidence from experts on climate whom they disagree with. Instead, they find the inevitable expert who disagrees with many other scientists. Most of us have faith in the majority. But history has countless examples of where the majority were wrong.

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The second path you can take is what I call the Path of the Atheist. In this path, you accept what Socrates did that you know nothing. Socrates was called the wisest man in the world because he believed that “I know that I know nothing.” The atheist does not believe anything unless it can be proved to them personally. Since it is impossible that anyone can ever prove anything to you beyond a shadow of a doubt, you must conclude that knowledge (like God) is impossible to know or prove. The atheist concludes that all possibility of ever conclusively proving anything is impossible. Thus no one can really know anything.

The Path of the Atheist diverges from the Faith Based path since with faith we believe things. We believe that there are facts and there is an ultimate truth. Even if we cannot find them ourselves. The scientist’s belief is tempered by realistic probabilities based on experiments and history. The Path of the Atheist does not believe that there is any ultimate truth. Truth is only a process that gets us closer to some approximation that we are finally willing to settle for. The Atheist says, “Show me an ultimate truth that is unvarying and that you can prove will be forever true.” You might argue that the sun will come up tomorrow, but you only have history to rely on for this. The dinosaurs might have believed that they would live forever but all it took was one large asteroid to wipe out millions of years of evolution.

As we go through life, we sometimes choose one path and sometimes the other. Given whatever circumstances we are confronted with, we select the path that provides the most comfort and certainty for us. Even the Path of the Atheist is comforting since the atheist does not expect any irrefutable truth. This gives the atheist the ability to ignore whatever fads and foibles society is following in search of a truth that does not exist, or at least for the atheist does not exist.

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What is the meaning of all this? Are we arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of the pin? Are we engaging in the same logic that Bishop Berkeley did. A man who denied that there is a reality of matter apart from what the mind perceived. Some philosophers have argued that we cannot prove or ever know if we are living or dreaming. I would guess that most of you reading this blog persist in the idea that you are truly alive and not dreaming now.

What then is the value of discussing truth? In this age of misinformation, disinformation, false facts, and fake news, it is a matter that we all need to take more seriously. For generations and centuries, humans have searched for the truth. We are told that the “Truth will set us free” and that truth is a value even more important than honesty. But as Sara Gran said ““Most people wouldn’t know the truth if it bit them in the ass and paid for the privilege.” Could it be that to paraphrase Colonel Nathan R. Jessup in a “Few Good Men”, “You don’t want the truth because you can’t handle the truth.”

truth will set you free

Truth is a great deal more complicated than we realize. It is one of those “holy grails” which if we find may give us eternal life. Problem is that no one has found either the Holy Grail or the Truth. It is said that you have your truth and I have my truth. Dr. Deming, an expert on quality insisted that nothing could be accomplished without an operational definition of any concept that was going to be studied. He said “An operational definition is a procedure agreed upon for translation of a concept into measurement of some kind.” The science of an operational definition lay in the measurement of the concept but the starting point for measurement lay in the agreement between two “reasonable” people as to what measurement procedure would be used. Without an agreement there was no starting or ending point.

We may meet someone on the street or at a party or it may be a friend or relative and they advance some theory or ideas which contradicts the facts as we know them. A popular controversy these days among some is whether Trump really won the election and if it was not stolen from him. If you believe it was stolen, you will have a set of ideas about what constitutes a “fair” election.

trump The Faith Based Path could lead one to accept that hundreds of systems across America could not all have been wrong and that the tallies were accurate because someone you trust told you they were. If you do not trust the poll counters, you will reject the decisions made by election boards and cling to the idea that Trump was cheated by liars and scoundrels. Either way it is a matter of faith.

If you follow the Path of the Atheist, you may reject the vote tallies because you do not believe any voting procedure could be foolproof. You accept that there is error in any system and the deciding factor for you lies in the degree of error that you are willing to accept. Given your proclivity to accept a certain amount of error, you will either accept of reject any election results based on the voting tallies.

I chose the Faith Based path and accepted that fifty state election boards cannot all be wrong. On the other hand, I followed the Path of the Atheist since I know that error exists in any procedure, and I do not trust that any election process can rule out all the errors in the system. I accept the errors in life just as I accept the risk of dying on the road tomorrow when I drive someplace. It is not a matter of faith; it is a matter of statistical probability. Tallies like life will never be perfect.

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What do we do? First stop looking for an ultimate truth. Truth is like beauty and is in the eye of the beholder. Second, ask others what they base their truth on. See if you can come up with an operational definition for establishing truth that you are both willing to accept. Third, agree on a way to measure the outcome of whatever you are measuring or looking at. Accept that error will always exist and that predictability for any ultimate truth is near zero.

The best we can achieve in life is a “useful” truth that we may find to make life easier and happier for all of us.

Fear in America: An Epidemic or Endemic?

03 Dec 2022 16 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: crime, fear, freedom, gated communities, media, security

When does sanity replace fear? Ever since 911, fear has continued to creep into the pores of American life. Day after day brings more horror stories to our TV’s and newspapers. Each of these stories of mayhem and cruelty drives a spike into our souls. Our compassion for others is slowly but irrevocably replaced by the thought that “maybe I will be next.” Let a helicopter fly overhead or a police siren go off, and we double check our door locks and log into our neighborhood chat line to see what is going on. More Americans have moved into gated communities with a hope that a large wall will provide security and safety. Those that have not moved into gated communities have stockpiled guns that the manufacturer assures them will thwart any unwanted visitors.

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I recently caught the following dialogue on Nextdoor, a social media platform organized by zip codes. If you need a plumber or carpenter or fresh eggs or just want to catch up on local gossip, you can log on to Nextdoor and get the latest scoop. This morning there was a thread that went like this: (Names changed)

Angela: Newman Ranch

Helicopter over back gate at Newman Ranch and police car just sped down the road. Anyone know what is happening?

Mary and Andrew: Newman Ranch

A friend who joined us for thanksgiving dinner told us that his friend who lives nearby had a dead body in his yard this past summer. He said the police warned him that the Mexican Cartels had a route that passed nearby.

Pete: Newman Ranch

Although we are a gated community, it’s a good idea to be sure to lock your doors and be aware of your surroundings even while in town shopping.

Paul: Newman Ranch

Anyone that thinks Newman is a gated community is wrong. Ken, our security head informed me that we are NOT a gated community.

Mary: Newman Ranch

Does Ken read our Newman Ranch website. It says, “As soon as you drive past the gated entry at Newman Ranch, you will appreciate the tranquility of quiet surroundings and the comfort of a roving patrol.”

Harvey:

I’ve lived in several gated communities and none of them are secure. If someone wants to get in, they will get in. Gates are a slight deterrent.

Melanie:

Anymore updates on this. I heard it was illegals on the run. But I would like to have facts. It is scary as most of us likely keep our back doors open during the day.

__________________________

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As you may easily surmise from reading the above, even those with the money to live in a “gated” community are not free from the fear that pervades America today. Whether it is “illegals”, juggers, car jackers, home invaders or serial killers, we have a wide assortment of people who we can fear. If these are not enough, we have road rage maniacs, gun toting nut cases, disgruntled employees, stalkers, and teenagers looking for five minutes of fame. It seems like we are not safe even putting one foot out the door these days.

iStock-1257965641 Many of you reading this may remember the time when kids went to school by themselves. Saturday was a day for playing outside with your friends and your parents seldom carried a concealed weapon unless it was a paddle to spank your butt. Today, kids spend most days with helicopter parents, sanctioned after school sports leagues or at home playing video games. The sports field in our town of Frederic has a baseball field, volleyball court and four basketball courts. After twelve years of living in Frederic, I can only remember seeing a few volleyball games and baseball games played each summer. Most days, even when school was out, the baseball field and the volleyball field were deserted. The adjunct basketball courts were idle year-round. I do not ever remember seeing any kids playing a game on the basketball courts.

“Sad” you may say, “but times change. That’s life.” But is it? Do you really like it this way? President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” We know that fear is inevitable. It is part of the human condition. Fear has its positive side in that it provides a warning sign in respect to things we need to be cautious of or perhaps more considerate of. You start to take a short cut down a dark alley and your nerves begin to tingle. You are getting a warning that it might not be such a good idea. You are riding your crotch rocket at a high speed, and you become aware of fear as the utility poles start looking like a picket fence. If you are intelligent, you slow your bike to a more reasonable speed. Those that know no fear will probably live an exciting but short life.

“What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti

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But fear of life itself is another thing entirely. When we fear life itself, we are trapped. We begin to fashion a coffin for ourselves even before we die. Each passing year sees us living more and more in our coffin. We do not want to travel because it is too dangerous. We do not want to meet new people, because we might not be able to trust them. We don’t try new things or do new things because we might not like them. A new food might upset our stomach. We might get lost in a new place. We might fall on a bicycle or roller skates. Our coffin becomes our permanent home even before we are dead.

rsz_fear_8896 I do not blame the victim for this “paranoia” for fear. We have a fear-based society where a paranoia for fear is hammered into us every day. Each day the radio, internet, TV, newspapers, and social media outlets blasts us with mind numbing stories that would scare Superwoman or Batman. It is no wonder that we have a fear-based society. We have a society that is not addicted to fear as much as it is fed fear. We eat a daily toxic brew of fear. A fear stew that is comprised of stories that seem horrible beyond comprehension. I could list a dozen from the past week, but what would be the point. You know them as well as I do. Whether they happened in Bangladesh, Spain, Mexico, or the USA, you will find out all about them in your local newspaper or evening cable news.

I would almost agree with a friend that it is impossible to escape fear in America. Fear is now endemic. It is a disease more widespread than cancer or Covid. It is humanities original sin. We are less than we should be because of fear. We can never attain the greatness promised by our Founding Fathers because of fear. The early slave owners lived in constant fear of an uprising by their slaves. Many people who were brainwashed by pictures of happy dancing “darkies” down on the old plantation are not aware that there were over 300 slave revolts in the USA between 1521 and 1865. (Did African-American Slaves Rebel?)

How do we free ourselves from fear? Is it possible? The experts tell us to overcome our fears. We are told to “face” our fears. To stand up to fear. To never back down. All good advice that is easier said than done. What do we say to those who heard the helicopter overhead and the police sirens screaming by early this morning? “Go back to bed and don’t worry< Be Happy!”

If Patrick Henry were alive today, I can imagine him saying, “What is it that gentlepeople wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Give me freedom from fear or give me death.”

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We purchase a false peace, an ephemeral security, and freedom from fear at the cost of our liberty. A liberty to go out at night. To leave our doors unlocked. To break down our walls. To embrace those who are different or who want shelter in our country. To overcome our differences with people of other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Freedom is never free. Freedom from fear comes with a cost. Are you willing to pay it or do you prefer to live in fear?

I Am Going So Fast and Getting Nowhere Faster

28 Nov 2022 14 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: fun, journeys, pilgrims, success, time, tourists, travel, trips, vacations

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How often have you heard the aphorism that “The journey is more important than the destination?” A related wisdom was one that we used in my consulting firm when I was working for Process Management International. I believe we stole it from some of Dr. W. E. Deming’s writings. It was that “The process was more important than the outcome or results.”

Throughout my life I have tried to live by each of these. It is not always easy to follow something that you know is true and that will make your life better and happier. As the saying goes “There is many a slip between the cup and the lip.” Knowing is not necessarily doing. So, let’s look at how we can make our vacations and trips more fun and more meaningful.

“The journey is more important than the destination.” As simple as this sounds, do you know what it means? If we really knew the meaning not just in our heads but in our hearts, it would be difficult to ignore. However, that is what most of us start off doing. We plan a vacation or trip, and we talk more about where we are going than how we are getting there. My father used to measure the success of a vacation by how quickly he could get to our endpoint. He had no time to stop and see any attractions along the way. He tried to avoid even stopping at a motel. Most of the time, he would drive all night and let us sleep in the car along the way. He would brag about how fast he could get someplace. I hated trips with my father. They lacked any semblance of fun.

When I started canoeing, I was obsessed with paddling as fast and as far as I could on each of my trips. A good canoe mentor named Joe Conrad cautioned me that I should stop and smell the roses more often. Once I heeded his advice, my canoeing became more fun. Even along a lazy winding rural river, there are so many sights to see along the way.

I am sure that you have often heard that “I need a vacation from my vacation.” Whenever, I hear this, I think of my first trip to Europe. We rented a car and tried to see every European country (Almost) in a week. A friend of mine warned be about this “American” tendency but I did not heed his advice. It was not until Karen and I returned, burnt out, unhappy, and unsmiling, that the wisdom of his words hit home. I resolved to spend more time in only one country and never try to do the “grand tour” of the world again. Since then, my vacations have been fun and each one of our trips has only gotten better.

huangshan-sunrise-1140-2 Somedays when we are on vacation, we do not go anywhere. We stay in a small apartment in some recently found village or town and cook meals, talk, and take walks around the area. No great jaunts to see any “Seven Wonders of the World.” Most of our trips are not cruises so we have few schedules. We get up when we want to. We go out when we want to. We see what we want to, and we come back when we want to. Often the sights that we see along the way are unscheduled and not in any travel guides. We became friends with a Swiss couple at a soccer match we happened to stop and watch one night. We traveled in China to a mountain where we spent the day climbing with a couple whom we met in China. The next morning all of us watched the sun rise over the mountain tops.

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In a little taverna in Naxos, we would sit every evening on the beach and eat fried squid, drink a local liquor, and watch the sunset. We did this every evening for two weeks and never got bored. Our one side trip to Santorini was a waste of a day. We followed the advice that “EVERYONE” gave us when they said, “You must see Santorini!’ We spent two hours in a smelly boat getting there and it was one big tourist trap. As for the beauty of the bay, it was undeniable, but we had the same and many more beautiful sights on our little island.

What are the obstacles to “smelling the roses?” I would list the three major obstacles as follows:

Missing events in favor of things
Bragging rights
Time traps

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Missing events:

There are always many sights to see on any trip. Many of these sights are famous and well worth seeing. Many of them can also be very touristy. However, you would not want to go to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower or Louvre. But there are also many events that are always happening in small and large towns. Unfortunately, you cannot find most of these events on tourist guides because they are usually local events that may happen yearly or only occasionally. I am thinking of the flea market at Portobello Road where Karen and I spend a day just wondering around looking at the things for sale. I am also thinking of the Tokyo Fish Market when I got up at 5:30 AM to go see the hundreds of fish vendors and how they sell the widest assortment of fresh seafood that I have ever seen in my life. I might forget the Louvre, but I will never forget the Tokyo Fish Market.

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Rule 1: Take time to seek out events on a trip.

Bragging rights:

So, who doesn’t want some bragging rights. Yes, I saw the Tower of London and the crown jewels. Yes, I saw the Sistine Chapel. Yes, I saw the Acropolis. But you know what, none of my friends or relatives cared. There are things you are told that you must see. Ask yourself why? Then make a list of the things that YOU really want to see. I went to a Baptist Revival Meeting once when I was in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a three-hour old-fashioned tent revival meeting complete with an altar call. Being a devout Atheist, I thought I would be lynched when the service was over. Instead, many people came up to Karen and I and after some brief chit chat invited us to a large pot-luck dinner. We declined but were touched at the hospitality and friendliness of the church goers. I wondered if I was Black would I have received the same invitation?

Rule 2: Do not let ego overrule your own idea of what would be fun and interesting.

Time traps:

I would love to join you, but I must be at such and such a place!
Sounds like fun, but I really do not have the time!

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I have heard so many excuses from retired people in respect to not having the time to do things that it simply boggles my mind. People dream to be retired so that they can have the time to do what they would like to do but instead weigh themselves down with to-do lists and schedules that would cross a rabbi’s eyes. Some people like Tevye thought it was a matter of having enough money.

“If I were rich, I’d have the time that I lack to sit in the synagogue and pray

And maybe have a seat by the Eastern wall

And I’d discuss the holy books with the learned men, several hours every day

And that would be the sweetest thing of all.” — Fiddler on the Roof

In truth friends, it is neither time nor money which we lack, it is usually the will. If you are retired or on vacation or have a day off, you probably have a choice over what you must do. However, if you are governed by a should list or a must list, you will be a slave to time and money. We can only free ourselves from these constraints by a power of the will. Making a choice in our lives over what is important.

I am not saying that we don’t have schedules and that time and money are not important. But we all know people that seem to accomplish so much more than we do. We scratch our heads at the abilities of these people. But do we ever stop to think that they have no more time and often no more money than we do?

When I say that it is a matter of will, I am talking about thinking about our real priorities and acting on them for the long term. That good friend that invited you over for dinner might not be around next year. That invitation to go on a trip might not be possible in the future. Karen and I once went on a fantastic seven-day cruise on a 182-foot-tall ship named the Sir Francis Drake. Thirty crew and eighteen passengers with a draft that allowed us to sail in the shallowest bays all added up to a trip that we will never forget. We put off many times going on another trip with this vessel. Then one day we read that the Sir Francis Drake was moored in a Honduran harbor when a hurricane hit. The next morning the ship was gone. It had washed out to sea and sank. The old saying “never put off till tomorrow what you can do today” instantly came to my mind.”

Rule 3: Get your priorities straight. Life is short

As always, I welcome your comments and would love to hear your trip or vacation advice. What are your favorites trips? What made them fun? What would you do different?

Do We Live in Evil Times?

17 Nov 2022 7 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: ambition, Evil, greed, passion, Politics, principles

A few years ago, I started writing and talking about evil and sin. Some of my friends questioned my use of these typically religious terms. They wondered whether the secular complaints against modern society that I was making were amenable to such terms as sin and evil. I would have agreed with them many years ago but more recently I began to think somewhat differently. No, I did not get “born again” or discover Christ or God. I have never found either of them and I stopped looking many years ago. What I did discover is that there is something sublime about the concepts of sin and evil that can be very useful in discussing modern problems in the world. Today, I would like to focus on evil and how it relates to the problems facing us today.

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What is Evil?

Evil is taking advantage of other people when the outcome will be win-lose. Meaning that you win, and they lose. Evil is disregarding the needs of other people and putting your needs first. Evil is deliberately hurting other people either physically, mentally, emotionally, or socially. Evil is killing your children to get even with your ex-wife or spouse. Evil is harassing or sexually intimidating women and gays. Evil is putting people of other ethnic backgrounds or color down and abusing their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Evil is a willful and volitional violation of the rights of any other group, religion, or country for the pursuit of your own well-being.

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.” — ― Mahatma Gandhi

The Four Types of Evil:

I have thought about the differences we see in the world in terms of evil. Primarily with a leaning towards understanding the causes of evil. I suspect that evil might exist apart from causes, but I have not found any examples yet. Evil is either caused by passion or intellect. Smart people and stupid people can be equally evil. A college degree, a Ph.D. or a Nobel Prize does not suffice to distinguish who might be evil and who might not be evil. The four types of evil that I have found are as follows:

Principled Evil
Passionate Evil
Greedy Evil
Ambitious Evil

“Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

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Principled Evil:

Principled evil stems from taking your own beliefs and ideology and expecting the world to be molded to them. It sounds good to be a person of principle but as Aristotle noted evil can come from extremes. When I believe my principles are so righteous and significant that they should replace your principles I am headed to a stairway of evil. Evil starts at the first step and may be barely noticeable but as it progresses it becomes more and more tyrannical and vicious.

The Nazis were a prime example of a philosophy or ideology that started with some semblance of rationality. However, it gradually devolved into a belief that relegated any non-Nazis to a state of inferiority. Under their belief system, the Nazis came to accept that anyone who did not subscribe to their principles could be murdered and eliminated from the face of the earth. Their adherence to a set of rigid principles allowed the Nazis to take over the government of a country which had sympathy for their beliefs. The result of their principled beliefs was one of the greatest evils that the world had ever seen.

Today, we still have many groups in America who think the Nazis had the right idea. Their belief in principles of blood, soil and country lead them to tyrannize those who do not look like them or think like them. We call these groups by various names: Neo-Nazis, Alt-Right, White Supremacists and simply racists. In recent times, we have seen a resurgence in terms of an acceptance of the principles that these groups stand for. Many people believe that this resurgence is because the White Majority in America is threatened by an increased influx of minorities. Regardless of the reason for their popularity, these groups are a danger to democracy and any rule of reason and justice.

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Passionate Evil:

Sean Jean marketed his products with the byline that “Life without Passion is Unforgiveable.” I have a bottle of his perfume which was of course called “Unforgiveable.” A great marketing idea and a rather catchy phrase which I still think has merit. We all want and need passion in our lives. Passion adds color to our days and nights. It makes us excited about life and steers us to spend time with those things that we value. Passion is one of life’s beautiful things. Unfortunately, passion can be dangerous.

The South was passionate about their way of life and a system of economics which depended on slave labor. They were so passionate that they were willing to die for their ideology. The war for a lifestyle which the Civil War embodied never really ended. Over a hundred and fifty years later and the beliefs that underlie the civil war seem to be almost as strong as they were back then. The racism that many in the South held onto after the war was more based on passion than logic. The KKK was a prime example of this passion. A group of white people driven by passionate adherence to protect an idealized lifestyle and their right to dominance. Blacks, Jews, and Northerners were considered inferior or to lack the sophistication that the Plantation Mentality bestowed on the South. Any time one group for whatever reason thinks they are superior, it is a formula for terrorism and violence. The passion of the South has played out over the years in a plethora of laws, court cases and behaviors that have had the effect of murdering and tyrannizing primarily Black people in America.

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Greedy Evil:

Whenever I think of greed, I think of the story about Silas Marner by George Eliot. Silas sat at his table each evening counting his gold pieces. He was lonely and he had no life except for his gold coins. Then there is the story of King Midas whose greed for gold turned everything he loved into solid unfeeling gold. I think the greatest sickness in America today is loneliness. Loneliness drives much of the unhappiness and anger that is so evident in American politics. The rise of “Identity” politics is based on a desire to belong. The way to belong is to acquire things, stuff, money, positions. The concept that “he who has the most toys wins” is proof of the belief that the way to win and to be accepted is to have more money or things than anyone else.

“Where do the evils like corruption arise from? It comes from the never-ending greed. The fight for corruption-free ethical society will have to be fought against this greed and replace it with ‘what can I give’ spirit.” — A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

I often wonder if we now live in the greediest period of history. Driven by an incessant stream of advertising that we need more and more and more; we seem less and less happy. Commercials 24/7 exhort us to buy, buy, buy. To spend, spend, spend. We can only be happy if we have more than our neighbors. Our kids need more. We need more.

Of course, greed has always been with us. Greed is mentioned over twenty-four times in the Bible.

Book of Job (600-400 BCE) — 20:15 “He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.”

In Buddhism, the 3 poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion are thought to be the root cause of all unnecessary human suffering.

In the Quran it says: [9:34] “O you who believe, many religious leaders and preachers take the people’s money illicitly and repel from the path of God. Those who hoard the gold and silver, and do not spend them in the cause of God, promise them a painful retribution.”

In Hindu theology, the six enemies of the mind are: desire, anger, greed, arrogance, delusion, and jealousy.

I talked about greed quite a bit in my previous two blogs on morality. I suggested I would propose an answer to the prevailing winds of greed that blow us from one purchase to another. I think we need leadership to do this. However, our present leaders lack the desire and skills to take us out of this wilderness of greed that we are in. Some people may find their way out, but I fear that these individuals are a minority.

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Ambitious Evil:

Ambition is another one of those ideas which we are taught when we are young is a positive attribute. We are told that to be ambitious is desirable. Who would admire someone who lacked all ambition? Nevertheless, ambition can be dangerous.

Marc Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar delivers a eulogy for Caesar and says:

“So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, and grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.”

Ambition has been the ruin of many a man, Shakespeare’s MacBeth was another man undone by ambition. The men who ruled Enron destroyed a company because of ambition. There is a fine line between greed and ambition, and it might seem as though they could not be separated. I see greed as more a penchant for money and things and ambition more a penchant for status and power. You can have a great deal of money and still lack status. Perhaps that is behind the term nouveau rich as contrasted with established wealth. The Bush family was established wealth. Elon Musk is nouveau riche.

“Nouveau riche is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance.” — Wiki

One hears the term “unbridled” ambition to refer to extremes of ambition. These extremes are usually dangerous not only to the ambitious but also to those who depend on the ambitious. American politicians who continue to pursue election after election may not suffer from an abundance of greed, but they are certainly rife with ambition. I continually hear calls for term limits today along with age limits. The average age in the US Senate is 64.3 years. Twenty-six senators are over the age of 70. — “How Old is the 117th Congress?”

I think it is safe to say that many if not most of the older US Senators are out of touch with the US Population. If their wealth was not enough to make this statement true, I think the age and lack of interface with the daily life that most people face would cement my assertion as a fact.

I will make the following statement: “We will not be able to save American democracy with the people and demographics that we now have in Congress.”

Unless we make some major changes in institutions that have existed nearly two hundred years without change, we are going to see the decline of the American dream. The dream will have succumbed to ambition and greed if not passions and principles.

What Has Happened to Morality in the USA?

08 Nov 2022 7 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: advertising, economics, greed, madison avenue, morality, morals, Politics, religion, sins

Years ago, religions enforced what I would call a pseudo moral code through the power of the state to enact laws desired by the most powerful religions. This of course reflected the power that religions had in society back when you could go to hell for missing mass on Sunday. Gambling was verboten. There was legalized horse race betting in only a few states, and a few states had some other sports such as greyhound racing or Jai Alai which you could bet on. Legally, you could only place bets at the venue. Of course, organized crime found it very lucrative to offer “off track” betting. Every street corner where I grew up had a bookie some place or other. And of course, the numbers game was a very popular way for fools to lose their money. Sports betting was done privately, and casino gambling did not start in Las Vegas until 1931. It had been legal earlier but was outlawed in 1910 and not legalized until 1931. The only lottery I ever heard of when I was growing up had to do with the Irish Sweepstakes. There must have been some way to buy these tickets, but I never investigated it.

Today, you can buy pull tabs and lottery tickets in almost every gas station. Casinos are just around the corner in twenty states and sports betting became legal on April 15, 2021, in the USA. Organized religion believed that gambling would be addictive, and husband and wives would neglect their parental responsibilities as they gambled away their hard-earned wages. People who regularly buy lottery tickets are the norm today even though economists refer to the lottery as a tax on the poor and the stupid.

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Marijuana was once considered a drug from Satan and every state in the Union banned its sale. The movie “Reefer Madness” came out in 1936 and portrayed wild eyed youth going crazy after smoking a joint. Smoking weed was a sure path to hell and damnation. As of May 27, 2022, 19 states, two territories and the District of Columbia have now enacted measures to regulate cannabis for adult non-medical use with several other states limiting its use to medical purposes. You can now smoke that joint where it once would have put you in jail.

drink-whiskey-hail-satan-satanic-baphomet-gift-manuel-pichler Whiskey can now be purchased almost 24/7 in many states. You can buy it in grocery stores, gas stations, bars, and convenience stores. Perhaps no substance has been more abhorred by religions than whiskey. Benjamin Franklin said that “Beer is proof that God loved man and wanted him to be happy.” However, this was not the attitude of most religious organizations. Temperance movements motivated by so called moral considerations did their best to ban alcohol in the US. It is illegal in thirteen countries in the world. Several of the world’s major religions ban the use of alcohol. There are seventy-five scripture (Bible) warnings against the drinking of alcohol. Is it any wonder that so many religions have prohibited the drinking of alcohol.

Hosea 4:11 – Intoxicating wine takes away intelligence.
Micah 2:11 – Israelites are eager to follow false teachers who prophesy plenty of intoxicating drinks.
Habakkuk 2:16 – Drinking leads to shame.

I have been trying to show some of the influences that religion and state have had in terms of legislating and enforcing moral codes and policy. I could say more about prostitution and pornography but the nuances I hold regarding these subjects would entail a blog of their own. Suffice it to say that restrictions in these areas have declined considerably in the last fifty years.

The_Fire__Brimstone_Preaching Now there may be some of you reading my blog and expecting a fire and brimstone sermon regarding the sins of humanity and the temptations of the devil. Nothing could be further from my mind. I am not advocating going back to the religious sanctions or beliefs that fueled so much of our political system. In the first place, they were misguided and in the second place they penalized those who could practice moral virtues along with those most reluctant. I could never understand why I could not buy liquor on Sunday or after 10 PM on weekdays or in a grocery store. I have never received a DUI or even a warning for driving drunk.

The biggest problem with efforts to legislate morality is that they assume that the legal sanctions will result in a more moral society. The evidence of racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia in America should put a stake through the heart of that false belief. The government has never been a vendor of morality. People confuse legality with morality.

1787-Money-Mania-full The government has always been in the marketing business. They would market “SIN” if they could find a way to sell it or allow it to be sold. In some respects, they are already doing that with the legalization of gambling and their promotion of bigger and bigger lotteries. The poor buy more and more tickets when the odds go ever higher against anyone winning. Powerball’s odds are 1 in 292 million, and the combined populations in the states where tickets are sold equal nearly 320 million. What would anyone do with 2 billion dollars? (As I write this, the lottery of 2.0 billion has been won by a single person in California)

This is the stuff of more is better which I talked about in my last blog. How large of a jackpot would be enough to support you for the rest of your life? Assuming the average age of a lottery ticket holder, it would take nearly $5 million, according to Robert Pagliarini, president of Pacifica Wealth Advisors. With a net take home of 1 billion dollars, one billion dollars could easily support 200 people for the rest of their lives.

There is nothing moral about ever bigger lottery purses. Not to mention the fact that the odds are better that the lottery winner will go bankrupt rather than that they will see a happy old age with lots of money. “Life after winning the lottery may not stay glamorous forever. Whether they win $500 million or $1 million, about 70 percent of lotto winners lose or spend all that money in five years or less.” — Easy Come, Easy Go.

What does this have to do with morality?

First, we must define morality. It is not about making money, winning the lottery, drinking booze, smoking weed or visiting a casino. The Prosperity Gospel is a distortion of the idea of moral behavior. Morality is the process of asking yourself what impact an action, a course of action, a decision, a purchase, or a behavior will have on other people. It does not mean that you cannot drink and gamble. It does not mean that you cannot have wild sex at a swinger’s party. It does mean that you need to be able to ask yourself if your gambling and drinking is having a negative impact on others. It does mean that you need to ask yourself if your sexual habits are having a negative impact on other people. By others. I mean more than your family, more than your friends, more than your neighbors. I mean other states. I mean other countries. I mean the entire world. This does not mean that you have no rights. You have the right to swing your arm but your right proverbially stops at the nose of another person.

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As I said in my last blog, we must look outside of ourselves to find morality. This is not easy to do. Some of us, (fewer every year) go to a church on Sunday where we may get a sermon that asks us to look at our behaviors and what we can do for other people. (“According to a 2021 survey, 31 percent of Americans never attend church or synagogue, compared to 22 percent of Americans who attend every week.”— Church Attendance of Americans) Those of us who attend church hear maybe a twenty or thirty minute sermon each week on morality.

Compared to this 30-minute sermon once per week for maybe fifty percent of Americans:

“The average American watches four hours of TV each day (that’s down from about six hours in the 1960s through 1990s by the way). There are about twenty minutes of “non-program material” per hour, which includes ads, promos, news updates, etc. For our purposes, let’s consider all of this commercial matter. So in four hours, we see eighty minutes of commercials.” — Fred Pagano, Radio, television and Internet advertising producer and director.

This means that the average American hears about 560 minutes of paid advertisements each week or the equivalent of 19 sermons. These ads exhort you to think of yourself. You are special but you need more to be more special. If you don’t buy more, you neighbors will look down on you. Your friends will surpass you in status. Your family will stop loving you. You can be a better smarter person, but you must buy the new Persico Bacon Maker. You need a new car or maybe even a bigger house. You should go out to eat more or get a new insurance policy.

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Advertisements are NEVER what you can do for other people or society. They are ALWAYS inherently selfish. Is it any wonder that Americans shop till they drop or keep on buying more stuff that is bigger and bigger than they will ever need? Americans have been and are continually bombarded by Madison Avenue messages that are a form of de facto brainwashing. Too many Americans today are selfish, self-centered, narcissistic, and exhibit an entitlement mentality. Economic policy extols benefits that will accrue to society with more buying and more spending. It is somewhat ironic that the rampant inflation today and the wild economic swings have not been helped one iota by a greedy narcissistic economic policy that ignores any effort to provide a balance Moral Policy. In addition, Americans are no happier today than they were seventy years ago.

“The vast majority of Americans report being “very” (42%) or “fairly happy” (44%), but the combined 86% is down from 91% the last time Gallup asked about this, in December 2008. It is also the lowest overall percentage happy Gallup has recorded in periodic readings over 71 years and is only the fifth time happiness has dipped below the 90% mark in 23 readings since 1948.” — Happiness Not Quite as Widespread as Usual in the U.S

How do we get a balance between Moral Policy and Economic Policy?

My apologies. This blog was longer than I thought it would be. I will address the above question in my next blog. In the meantime, I would love to hear any comments, questions or ideas that you might have concerning the issues I have raised in this and my previous blog.

Moral Policy versus Economic Policy: Its Role in the Decline of America

03 Nov 2022 8 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: american dream, eight beatitudes, greed, Jesus, morality, morals, policies, Politics

Something is seriously wrong in the United States today. Why is the first question that comes to mind, and it has received many answers. Some experts will tell us that it is because Americans are angry. Some will say it is because of income inequality. Other reasons have been given as: persistent racism, policy divides between urban and rural areas, massive immigration, too many guns, climate change, a move towards authoritarianism, continuous military misadventures, narcissism, and of course greed.

None of these would be wrong, but none of them are really the underlying cause which some see as the decline of the American dream. The end of the idea of America as the shining city on the hill or the last great hope of the world. The light of America today is blinking on and off. Fewer people see hope in America. More people see the USA as a scourge on the world. A country only interested in pushing its agenda on other countries whether through economic war or military war.

The decline of America lies in a very simple problem. A failure to balance Moral Policy with Economic Policy. A problem that may be simple to describe but extremely difficult to solve. This failure began as soon as this country had its first pilgrims. America was born out of a dream of prosperity and equality. The equality did not have its roots in DNA but in the idea that all people (white and male at the time) through hard work and education could become prosperous and equal. Equality would not depend on being lords, or barons or some other type of royalty as had been the norm in Europe. This prosperity is still enthralled in some religions where it is promoted as “The Prosperity Gospel.” An idiotic idea that the more you are favored by God, the more he/she will bless you with wealth and success.

Unfortunately, there is one rule in the Universe which cannot be undone or avoided. It is the rule of balance. What goes up must come down. For every pushing force there is a pulling force. Antagonist muscles must be developed equally with protagonist muscles. The Chinese might call what I am describing here as the principle of Yin and Yang. The Greeks called it the Golden Mean.

“The golden mean or golden middle way is the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency. It appeared in Greek thought at least as early as the Delphic maxim “nothing in excess”, was discussed in Plato’s Philebus.” — Wikipedia

Since the beginning of America, we have ignored this rule of balance. It is the main reason that we are in a crisis today. Ironically, it is the separation of Church and State, perhaps the greatest innovation in America which has led to its decline. Let me explain further by starting with an analogy. We will say that there is a continuum in terms of policy needed for an efficient and effective country. An efficient country is one where most citizens are well fed, well clothed and well housed. An ongoing effort is made to insure that more and more citizens meet these criteria. An effective country is one where most citizens are safe, happy and content with there lives. Effort is also made to see that more and more people meet these criteria.

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Economic Policy drives efficiency. It is the main determinant of how wealthy and prosperous a nation is. Economic policy puts the food on the table, pays for the overhead and allows people to buy things. Americans today buy and buy and buy. They shop till they drop. On weekends they stage flea markets, garage sales, and church sales to try to get rid of the STUFF that they have accumulated. Economic Policy gone unabated by Moral Policy has stuffed people until they are fat and bloated with too much stuff. More is the anthem in America. “He who has the most toys wins.”

Our politicians are troubadours for the American dream of “More.” There is no secret to their being elected. It is a very simple formula. 1. Promise voters more stuff by way of the trickle-down theory. 2. Promise to lower taxes to give people more money to buy more stuff. 3. Raise more money than your competitor so that you can sell your promises to more potential voters. 4. Find a way to scare voters into thinking that your competitor will not be able to deliver on the same promises.

Economic Policy in America has become a Frankenstein. Without a balance of Moral policy, it is a monster which is destroying this country. It has been destroying this country for many years now. However, people are so blinded by the promises for greater prosperity that they have ignored the essential balance provided by Moral Policy.

Moral Policy looks outward. While Economic Policy looks inward and asks what can my country do for me, Moral Policy asks what can I do for my country. Moral Policy asks what can I do for other people. I noted above that a great inspiration for our founders was to separate church and state. While this was a truly great political idea, morally it was a disaster.

Prior to the emergence of America, most people received a balance between Economic Policy and Moral Policy through a balance between their obligations to their state or nation and their obligations to their church or religion. They would go to jail if they ignored their state obligations and go to hell if they ignored their religious obligations. Their church laid out its obligations in its Moral Policy. For some, this was thought of as religious doctrine. Perhaps the best example of a Moral Policy is the Eight Beatitudes described in Christianity and formulated by Jesus of Nazareth.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. —- Matthew 5:3–12

There is no question, that Jesus was describing a moral responsibility to others. Jesus talked about greed often and the “cure” to greed lay in giving as much as taking. Jesus constantly talked about taking care of others who were less fortunate.

174018-domoralsmatter Thus, the uncoupling of Church and State in the constitution of the United States set the stage for a catastrophic imbalance between Moral Policy and Economic Policy. Over the years, the lack of influence in organized religions at the political level was abetted by the horrendous influence and power of Economic Policy. If Moral Policy was once the heart of a religion, it was supplanted by an Economic Policy which has become the main religion in America. This policy states that more is better and that you can never be too rich or have too much stuff.

Ultimately as with all imbalances, they eventually lead to a disaster. America has gone over the tipping point. The decline of the American Dream, the schism between conservatives and liberals, the rural versus urban divides, the dissatisfaction with the current political system and the rise of fascism in the USA are all symptoms of this imbalance.

51junioCbqL._AC_SY780_ What we once believed was a great political innovation to separate Church and State has led to this imbalance. There was no place in the state for religion and no place in religion for politics. America’s dominant dream for peace, justice and equality was replaced with a dream for more money, more power and more fame. The push by the State for this dream dwarfed any efforts by religion to provide a moral balance and the State had no legitimacy for morality. People are cast adrift amidst a chaotic and vicious ocean of competition for more and more stuff. No moral anchors exist that are powerful enough to counterbalance the tide of greed that this has brought to our shores. Guns have replaced morality as citizens arm themselves to prevent imagined attacks at taking away their STUFF.

Is there an answer to the problems facing America? I will discuss this question in my next blog.

The Hell with the Pigs

10 Oct 2022 20 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: cafos, externalities, lawsuits, pigs, prop 12, supreme court

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“Give me my eggs over easy with a slice of bacon on the side.” “I don’t give a damn how the pigs are raised as long as the bacon is well done.”

A recent lawsuit by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation seeks to overturn a lower court ruling that specifies more humane conditions for the cages in which pigs are kept. “If you’re looking for an example of an unconstitutional law, this is it,” said Michael Formica, chief legal strategist for the pork producers.

Michael-Formica

I scratch my head in disbelief at Formica’s statement, not to mention his callous opportunistic disregard for how these poor animals destined to be slaughtered for his slice of bacon are kept. Just another fat white middle-aged lawyer ready to take up his legal cudgel to defend our right to bacon, sausage, and pork chops. But more importantly to defend the rights of industry to make profits regardless of who or what is hurt in the effort.

Formica claims that the US Constitution defends this right. Another legal escapism from what I am sure the founders of this country had no intention to protect. Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, and Franklin would have been appalled at the notion of CAFOS (Concentrated Animal Feed Operations). Industry designed operations built for the sole purpose of keeping prices low and making huge profits.

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In Polk County Wisconsin, we have been waging a four-year battle to try to regulate these CAFOS and keep them from destroying the environment. It has been an uphill battle as the never-ending lawsuits from pork producers are like unlimited cannon balls coming at well intentioned but unprotected and outgunned citizen groups. The law that Formica wants to challenge was passed in California on a 2018 ballot initiative written by voters to bar sales in California of pork, veal, and eggs from animals whose confinement failed to meet minimum space requirements.

If you are a vegan or vegetarian, which I am not, you are no doubt more concerned about the welfare of these poor caged animals then you are about the price of bacon or even the environmental impacts of these animal concentration camps.

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I asked Porky the Pig what he thought of these operations. Porky is representing the Voters of California against Formica’s and the Pig Industries challenge to the California Law which (Also unbelievably) has worked its way up to the US Supreme Court. “Pork industry takes fight over California law to U.S. Supreme Court” – By Leah Douglas, October 10,2022

The Supreme Court stands ever ready to defend big business against even the most bizarre and frivolous lawsuits ever conceived. An institution that was once a bulwark against infringements to civil liberties has become a pimp for any business with enough money to hire a scumbag lawyer. A legal whiz who with no humanity or morality will develop esoteric arguments to protect his/her clients rights to make a profit regardless of what economists call “externalities.” The definition of an externality is “A side effect or consequence of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved.” Global Warming and Climate Change are an egregious example of externalities that are now costing the world billions of lives and dollars. An externality to pigs and cows is simply abuse and murder.

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Porky the Pig told me that he has lost many family members, friends, and other relatives to these CAFO operations. The basis for his defense against Formica’s lawsuit rests not on econometric issues such as supply and demand but on the sheer inhumanity of the way pigs are kept prior to being slaughtered. Porky was somewhat indifferent to the eventual slaughter of pigs for food. “John,” he said to me, “We all have to go sometime. However, like humans it is not when we go but how that really bothers us. To spend our entire life in a cage that is so confining, we cannot even turn around, that is no way to live. Your famous Patrick Henry echoed a sentiment that is our rallying cry. ‘Give us liberty or give us death.’”

I left Porky feeling very guilty. I don’t know if I want to give up bacon and eggs. I do know that I would be willing to pay more for my bacon and sausage to know that Porky and his family had been treated humanly before being slaughtered. Once upon a time, we knew that a nation could not have both guns and butter. You had to make a choice. Like not being able to have your cake and eat it. We seem to have forgotten that lesson. Or we are unwilling to make a choice? We want cheap food, but we also want to spend trillions of dollars on our defense industry. We want low priced bacon and eggs but high-priced missiles and bombs. When will the people in this country wake up? As Patrick Henry also said,

“What is it that you wish? What would you have? Is bacon so dear, or sausage so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of brutality and cruelty? Forbid it, Almighty God!

PS:

Received the following message from a friend of mine in Wisconsin on November 4, 2022. It concerns a new development in the ongoing war against a CAFO in Northwestern Wisconsin. She has been very active in the effort to block allowing CAFO’S without more government regulation. This letter illustrates the ongoing battles I referred to in my blog with big business allied against us average folks.

Dear John,

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) served the Town of Laketown with a lawsuit this week. Their billionaire members want the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) Ordinance several local towns have passed, rescinded.

WMC’s complaint mirrors their April 19, 2022 Notice of Claim. However, they ditched the nudist colony as a proxy plaintiff. They are still using the Byl and Spoestra farms as proxies. The lead plaintiff is Mike Byl, convicted for illegal dumping in 2018. WMC argues that local governments may only use Wisconsin Statute 93.90, the ridiculously weak law they wrote, to regulate giant livestock factories.

For more information, please see the attached documents:

1. Case Summary – 10.12.22

2. Summons and Complaint – 10.12.22

3. Notice of Claim – 4.19.22

4. Mike Byl Conviction – 7.23.18

The law firms of Bassford Remele and Fredrikson Byron, are representing Laketown.

A copy of the ordinance is available on Laketown’s website: Town of Laketown | Polk County, WI

Of course, this is just the latest of many attacks that the WMC is making around the state to intimidate local officials. In Kewaunee County, WMC helped fuel a decade of litigation for the giant Kinnard 8,000-cow dairy. In that case, these behemoths say they don’t need to do any well monitoring even though they are spreading raw feces and urine over 16,000 acres. That is 25 sections of land or almost 3/4 of a township!

Wisconsin’s Big Ag is now using a convicted polluter from Laketown to argue that local governments can’t protect their citizens’ health or property values. We are proud that Laketown’s leaders and citizens are willing and able to derail them.

Sincerely –

Aging Capriciously

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The Hell with the Pigs

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