Hypocrisy

   Republicans have criticized Hunter Biden, son of the President, for earning profit by doing business with a "foreign entity."
   They don't identify what kind of "entity" is relevant, or which foreign country. That could range from a bookshop in Montreal to a public relations firm in London, both of which could be promoting a book written by Hunter about his business interests and have nothing to do with his father's activities.
   But as is typical of many political attacks, vague accusations are made with little or no detail, leaving it up to those whose minds are already made up, so there's no way they could be confused with the facts.

Woke Up Call

   Mockery does not change reality.

 

   Not all the time, anyway, but it can reinforce bigotry and bias that's already there.

   That's what is happening as conservatives apply a different, albeit very loose, meaning to the term "woke."

   Linguists say the term originated as the past tense of the verb "wake." By extension, it also refers to people who became aware of a reality. That is, they finally "woke up."

   The current usage of the word began in Harlem in the mid-20th Century, when it came to mean a youth who left his or her neighborhood  to seek a job elsewhere in Manhattan, but in doing so became aware of bias in hiring.

   They woke.

   Currently, the same word is used to mock those who warn of the dangers of such a bias.

   As if no such danger or bias exists.

   But it does, and no amount of denial or mockery can change that. Continued denial, however, only reinforces the bigotry.

  Mockery can help prevent  bigots from gaining political power. When it succeeds, society is the better, as differing groups learn to get along.

   When it fails, however, power hungry bigots inflict their prejudged opinions on those who are not part of their group, and use that mockery to prevent them from pursuing their goals.

   Sometimes they also use more radical means, and this can encourage violence. There have been numerous examples of such violence against minority groups in America recently, resulting in thousands of deaths.

   Some folks compare what is happening here to what has happened in other countries in the past.

   Does the Holocaust come to mind? Adolph Hitler was very adept at arousing his followers as a way to build on his political ambitions.    So also does a current American political figure with ambitions to achieve national power.

   Again. 

   Be careful what you with for. You may get it.

Real Time Lies

   Major TV networks are rethinking the way they present political interviews after the fiasco that saw Donald Trump lie repeatedly despite the CNN moderator's corrections and  attempts to stop him.
   The program ran live before an audience of Trump supporters in New Hampshire. There were no opposing candidates for him to interrupt, but he did interrupt the moderator and ignored her admonition to stop telling lies, especially his claim that he really did win re-election, and that victory was stolen from him.
   Fact check: He lost the popular vote, twice. He took the presidency the first time by manipulating the electoral count, even after losting the popular vote. The second time, he lost both, despite his attempts to manipulate the vote count. These futile efforts -- a dozen of them -- went all the way to the Supreme Court.
  In earlier election appearances featuring Trump and opposing candidates, Trump repeatedly interrupted or upstaged his opponents either by talking over them or by walking behind them to distract viewer attention.
   Example 1: Hillary Clinton, when he interrupted her answers to the moderator's questions or he walked around the stage behind her while she was talking.
   Example 2: An exasperated Joe Biden finally said, "Will you shut up, man?" after repeated interruptions to Biden's comments.
   As a result of Trump's domineering behavior, TV news units are likely to stop carrying his activities live. Instead, they will record his speeches, edit out excess or rambling comments, and add corrections to false or misleading claims.
   That's called Journalism 101: Present both sides of an issue, including corrections to false or misleading allegations.
   While it remains true that members of a live audience will hear only one side of an issue, since TV operations are not carrying his speech live, the wider broadcast audience will hear not only the essence of his claims, but also corrections from independent fact-checkers. In addition, news operations will be able to provide comments from opponents.
   Trump has been able to dominate news outlets because they have not resisted his efforts to control their operations. A free press is not obligated to behave according to a politician's wants, needs or desires.
   As for Trump's claim that as president he can take away licenses ...
   1/ Print media don't have licenses, so there's nothing to take away.
   2/ Local radio and TV stations do have licenses, but broadcast networks and cable television operations do not.
   3/ Either way, the U.S.    Constitution prohibits any attempt control the press.
   As for interrupting the moderator and applying the term "stupid" to her or to her questions, it's time to remember the traditional guideline in the public relations industry:
   Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.
   A journalist's duty is to report accurately what a politician says or does, and not to take offense at any insult.
   But there are ways. One of which is to report accurately, completely and repeatedly any and all insults he hurls at anyone, including the circumstances and the reactions from others who hear them.
   Candidates often say they want journalists to report accurately what they say and do.
   Be careful what you wish for.

Speech Matters

   Proper pronunciation is a social judgment, not linguistic.
   Dictionaries began as a way for people to learn diction, not definitions. The practice began when wealthy Scottish merchants moved to London  and wanted to fit in with members of the less wealthy but more prestigious society groups known as the upper class.
   So books were published listing not only the meanings of words, but the pronunciations favored by the dominant social group.
   That attitude continues today, as a dominant social group maintains that the pronunciation they favor is "better" that any other.
   On an international scale, consider this: Which is better, Spanish as spoken in Madrid or in Barcelona? (That dispute began in the days of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Each spoke a different dialect, but the queen's manner of speaking became standard. An arbitrary judgment.)

  Which is better, the dialect spoken in Mexico or the one most popular in Puerto Rico? Is the Portuguese spoken in Brazil better than the dialect spoken in Portugal?
   Is the dialect of English spoken in London better than that spoken in Chicago or New York? If so, which part of London, or which part of New York? Or Australia, or New Zealand? Or Glasgow or Dublin? By a president or a monarch?
   In short, all dialects are equal. They all enable their speakers to communicate which each other effectively. To say that some dialects are "better" than others is a social judgment, not linguistic.
   Similarly, the term "upper class" is a social judgment, not linguistic. The goal is to be understood, not to prove the speaker is a "better person."

Gun Logic

Premise:  Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
Anti-premise: People use guns to kill people.
Conclusion: Fewer guns means fewer killings.

   Some politicians say, "Our thoughts and prayers are with you."
   Families of victims respond, "Thoughts and prayers are no defense against automatic rifles."

   Other politicians say: "In this time of grieving, now is not the time to talk about gun control."
   Survivors answer: "When will it be time? How many children must die before the laws are changed?"

   In a year when there is a mass shooting with multiple deaths every day -- more than 200 so far this year -- if we must wait until the crisis is over, the time to talk about gun control will never come.
   Advocates of the Second Amendment to the American Constitution ignore the first phrase of that amendment, which cites "A well regulated militia" as being "essential to the security of a free state."
   They also ignore the existence of local police, county sheriffs, state police, National Guard units (read: militia), Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force personnel when they claim the need for a home arsenal of automatic weapons.
   "We need guns to protect against invasion," they insist.
   From where, Canada? Do farmers in Iowa need guns for protection against newcomers seeking jobs because there is no work in their home countries, as well as corrupt governments and constant war with criminal gangs?
   In populated areas, police respond within minutes to warnings of active shooters at schools and shopping centers. But some folks claim that if teachers and store clerks also had weapons, they could protect students and shoppers from invaders.
   But if these so-called invaders did not have an arsenal of numerous weapons -- semi-automatic rifles as well as pistols -- there would be no need for armed security forces to protect teachers and children.
   In short, more guns means more killing. Conversely, fewer guns will mean fewer deaths.
   That is the reality in other nations with a similar English-speaking cultural history -- Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and Ireland. They all have strict gun control laws, and therefore there are fewer mass shootings and killings.
   This is true both numerically and in terms of guns and killings per capita.
   In America, there are more guns than there are people.
   Fewer guns will mean fewer killings.
   This year alone, there have been more than 200 mass shootings in America, and it's only the middle of May. That includes two in Texas in a single week recently. In one incident, five people were slain at a private home, and in another, eight in a shopping mall. By definition, a mass shooting is an incident in which four or more people are killed or wounded.
   There are an estimated 390 million guns in private hands in America. That number is larger than the total population. In other words, there are more guns in America than there are people.
   And people wonder why there are so many gun-related deaths in America.

Rate Hikes

   Good news and bad news.
   News media filled their time slots and print space with negative reports about the dangers and problems of interest rate hikes as the Federal Reserve boosted its target rate for the tenth time in a year.
   So while it's true that spenders using credit cards will pay more, it's also true that savers will earn more. The Fed announced that its target rate for money it lends to major financial institutions will now be 5 percent, that means bank borrowers will now pay more. Already, credit card users pay as much as 20 percent yearly on their unpaid bills.
   A year ago, savings account interest rates were near zero. That meant it was not worthwhile to save money. Better to spend it and enjoy stuff so you would not have to pay double-digit interest rates on your credit card billing.
   Now, however, savings account rates are above 3 percent, and the new change will mean savers will soon see interest rates of 4 percent or more. Compare that to the rate of zero a year or so ago, and it's clear that people will spend less and save more.
   As people spend less, the overall economy will recede. And because it has been so overly active recently, it's time for the economy to take a break.
   Whether that break period will be overly harmful is another issue.
   Every economy moves in cycles. That's a fancy word for ups and down. Moving up too fast can be harmful, as rising prices outpace people's ability to pay them. Fall down too fast is also harmful, because it puts people out of work and they cannot afford to buy food or pay rent.
   Home owners escape some of that, because with a fixed rate mortgage, the monthly payment cannot change. And if the house is fully paid for, a rise in mortgage interest rates is not relevant.
   By the way, the home ownership rate in America is now about 66 percent, and that has not changed substantially in years. The current mortgage rate applies only to new buyers. A bigger concern is the soaring price of buying a home.
   Bottom line for consumers: Interest rates for buyers is rising, and that hurts. But interest rates for savers is also rising, and that helps.

Beltane

Summer is a-comin' in,
Loudly sing cu-cu.

   So sing the birds as warm weather becomes daily, flowers and trees show their signs of rebirth, and people dance around their Maypoles  to celebrate the new season of growth, partnership and fertility.
   Celebration of the new season goes back many centuries, and is  remembered in different ways by many cultures.
   Druids remember this day as Beltane, the festival of spring, one of eight special days of the year, and one of the few that were not adopted and transformed by the spiritual tradition that spread to Europe nearly two thousand years ago. Beltane is still honored, however, only now the celebration is called May Day.
   Labor unions in Europe also observe this day as important to the movement to protect worker rights. This was true in America also, until after the Haymarket Riots in Chicago in 1886. This led the federal government to shift Labor Day to September. However, 66 other countries still celebrate Labor Day on May 1.
   As for using "Mayday" as a call for help, that began in 1923, when an aeronautical expert in London was asked to devise a term that pilots in both England and France could use.
   Engineer Fred Mockford offered the French phrase "M'aidez" (pronounced "Mayday") which means "help me."

   By the way, the verse cited in the opening is from an Old English song, one of the few melodies from those times still known to scholars.

   This is the original: Sumer is icumin in, llude sing cucu.