Since I’ve given up trying to attract more followers and am writing mainly for me, I may be posting info that’s passe to you, but that I enjoy.  As for followers, some of the problem is being ignorant of  what works technically  and  how, as well as being a shy introverted survivor. (There! Did any of my pity party work?)  Anyone who has ever stopped by, thanks.

Some conservative commentators in the West argue that “political correctness” and multiculturalism are part of a conspiracy with the ultimate goal of undermining Judeo-Christian values. This theory, which holds that political correctness originates from the critical theory of the Frankfurt School as part of a conspiracy that its proponents call “Cultural Marxism”.^[75][76] The theory originated with Michael Minnicino’s 1992 essay “New Dark Age: Frankfurt School and ‘Political Correctness'”, published in a Lyndon LaRouche movement journal.^[77] In 2001, conservative commentator Patrick Buchanan wrote in The Death of the West that “political correctness is cultural Marxism”, and that “its trademark is intolerance”.^[78  

WHAT?!

I took it at face value and if anything, thought it was a way kind people preferred to use so as not to offend disabled people, for instance.  When I read a list of 100 PC terms on Google I noticed some of them were funny  [“dead–Terminally unavailable”;  bald–follically challenged;  homeless–residentially flexible;  clumsy–uniquely coordinated;  boring–differently interesting;  short–vertically challenged;  prison cell–custody suite),  but but some of them were okay, and that I would never use any of most.  Have I been had?  Is that whole list a joke?

So I returned to Google and  found an apparently real definition: Politically correct language (known as PC language) consists of polite words and phrases that are used to replace potentially derogatory or insulting language, so that we can talk about something negative or controversial without causing offence.  Aug 1, 2020.  That’s probably enough for now.  Seems like maybe the conservatives started it, then the liberals took it as a good idea.  Now, as seen in the 100 list on Google, they may be all mixed up.  I certainly intend to say “deforestation” rather than “forest management!”  and  “to lie” rather than “to misspeak” or  “be economical with the truth.”!

If we back up a little to see the big picture:  has the “right” usurpred PC and exaggerated it now, claiming not to want to make children depressed by exposing them to the “Truth?”  And Ohio threatening to cut off funds to any of its sites of higher learning if they tolerate protests or exclusive (as in trans) support groups?  I’m at a point of being willing to hurt folks’ feelings in search of a better tomorrow.  Running from reality makes us crazy and dupes.

A HEALTHY, PEACEFUL WORLD….I tend to run into an imaginary scenario that seems so real it raises goosebumps:

Everyone has disposed of their nuclear arms and has arrived at a peaceful live-and-let-live leaderless world until one pops up with glee and announces he is the winner, leader-tyrant  of Earth….

I was reminded of this fantasy which I had already scrubbed clean when I came across “Xivilisation,”  an article in the April 29th 2023 issue of the Economist:

China’s leader, Mr. Xi Jinpin,  recently proposed that “civilizations can live in harmony.”    In other words, the Economist observes,  “the West should learn to live with Chinese communism.  It may be based on Marxism, a Western theory, but it is also the fruit of China’s ancient culture.”  Under the Global Development Initiative (GDI)  in 2021 Mr. Xi pledged at least $4bn towards helping poorer countries with everything from public health to cutting  carbon emissions.  Sounds pretty good?  Then in  2022 he proposed the  Global Security Initiative (GSI), calling for  a “common, comprehensive. co-operative and sustainable  approach to building international security.”

Mr. Xi suggested the latter two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  As the Economist reported, “the GSI was announced at a virtual dialogue, organized by China’s communist party, of leaders of about 500 political organizations from more than 150 countries.  Upon President Biden’s co-hosted second Summit for Democracy days later, China was not invited.  Xi was quoted as saying “The practice of stoking division and confrontation in the name of democracy  is in itself a violation of the spirit of democracy.” (He’s got us there.)

“Countries need to keep an open mind in appreciating the perceptions of values by different civilizations,” he said,  “and refrain from imposing their own values by different civilizations and refrain from imposing their own values or models on others and from stoking ideological confrontation.”

In 2022 a think-tank in Sweden reported that the share of the world’s population living in autocracies has risen from 45%  in 2012 to 72% last year.  But wait…

I remember something about Tianenmen Square!     Considered a watershed event, reaction to the protests set limits on political expression in China that have lasted up to the present day.^[28] The events remain one of the most sensitive and most widely censored topics in China.  According to Wikipedia,  censorship in the People’s Republic of China is mandated by its ruling party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is one of the strictest censorship regimes in the world.^[1] The government censors content for mainly political reasons, such as curtailing political opposition, and censoring events unfavorable to the CCP, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, pro-democracy movements in China, the Uyghur genocide, human rights in Tibet, Falun Gong, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Xi Jinping became the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (de facto paramount leader) in 2012, censorship has been “significantly stepped up”.^[2]

The government has censorship over all media capable of reaching a wide audience. This includes television, print media, radio, film, theater, text messaging, instant messaging, video games, literature, and the internet. The Chinese government asserts that it has the legal right to control the Internet’s content within their territory and that their censorship rules do not infringe on their citizens’ right to free speech.^[3]

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TODAY’S ELDERS

I was surprised to read today, in the same issue of the Nation, that some folks over fifty have been connecting on the internet just like some of us did in the past, when younger. One difference however, is that when there is a connection, at least one of them pays money. Didn’t that use to be the job of a Madam?

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better…    Sydney J. Harris    https://calendar.com/blog/

WHY NOT?

We’re all part of the Tree of Life, and share the same world: Earth.  And all  are headed toward 2050, whatever that will bring. Isn’t the world big enough for everyone to have their own space, especially with population numbers shrinking everywhere?  More than thirty-five years yet to share on our dying green planet?  Would that we can finally  live without competition.

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As Death Toll in Gaza Surpasses 10,000, the House Censures Rashida Tlaib.

“Why do the cries of Palestinian children sound differently to you?”  by Inae OH <https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/11/rashida-tlaib-censure/>

(Did they censure free speech on the House Floor?)_

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WTF!

It’s no secret that fossil fuels are still going strong, but a new United Nations-backed report paints an alarming picture of how dramatically coal, oil and gas production is expected to grow in the coming years.

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WHAT IS ZIONISM? — Education for Myself

 The first Zionist congress was organized. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a large number of Jews immigrated to first Ottoman and later Mandatory Palestine, and at the same time, diplomatic attempts were made to gain worldwide recognition and support. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Zionism has continued primarily to advocate on behalf of Israel and to address threats to its continued existence and security.

Zionism has never been a uniform movement. Its leaders, parties, and ideologies frequently diverged from one another. Compromises and concessions were made in order to achieve a shared cultural and political objective as a result of the growing antisemitism and yearning to return to the “ancestral” country. A variety of types of Zionism have emerged, including political Zionism, liberal Zionism, labor Zionism, revisionist Zionism, cultural Zionism, and religious Zionism. Advocates of Zionism view it as a national liberation movement for the repatriation of an indigenous people (which were subject to persecution and share a national identity through national consciousness), to the homeland of their ancestors as noted in ancient history.[20][21][22] Critics of Zionism view it as a colonialist,[23] racist,[24] or exceptionalist ideology or movement.   From <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism&gt;

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A Cautionary Thought

 A person who is trying to eat money is always hungry. <https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1501668.Alan_W_Watts?page=6>

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