"It's About Coalitions, Not Purity" Part Forty-Three

George W. Bush and Social Security

Upon entering his second term, George W. Bush chose to pursue changes to Social Security, an idea he had mentioned early in his first term. The Social Security issue was and is complex and this won't be a recounting of the whole system and the proposals for change. If you are interested in this subject, please check your local library for more detail.

There were various proposals made about Social Security, but essentially Bush proposed allowing individuals to invest a small percentage of their Social Security contributions in private investments of some type (generally stocks and/or bonds). The idea was that each American would then have a private account with their own retirement funds.* There were two major problems with this: one, the money used for these investments would be diverted from the existing Social Security system, thus depriving the system of that income. Two, stocks and bonds fluctuate in value, and this fluctuation, as well as the knowledge needed "to try to make" wise investments, added a definite risk to each person's account. If you were "lucky," and your investments turned out well, you would have more money than someone whose investments were less profitable, and likely far more than someone whose investments went "sour." ** With less money going into Social Security, how much damage would that mean to the system? If Social Security payment amounts to individuals were reduced and your "investments" had gone "sour," what kind of "security" did this provide for you at the most vulnerable part of your life, old age? Social Security isn't perfect, but it invests in special government (and very, very low risk) bonds, which earns the fund interest.

In 1935, the Social Security law was passed by large majorities in both houses of Congress, with a large percentage of Republicans voting "yes," and it was then signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt. As the years passed, more and more conservative opposition to Social Security mounted until, in the 1964 election, conservative Republican Barry Goldwater,*** the GOP presidential candidate, espoused making Social Security voluntary. Because Democrats and FDR had led the campaign to get Social Security enacted, the American public tended to give Democrats the credit for the law, something which continues pretty much to this day, although conservative opposition to the law has helped the public decide which side is in their favor.

While Bush's proposal would have had individuals investing in stocks and bonds, Wall Street investment banks and stockbrokers nationwide would have seen new streams of money from these investments.**** The public heard Bush's proposal and it essentially fell like a dud, and the President eventually gave up on actively promoting the plan. This Social Security non-starter, as well as the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, mounting oil and gasoline prices, and the loss of jobs to technology and to low wage countries, all tugged mightily to drag down George W. Bush.  

* Many Americans "may" believe they have a bank account type Social Security account in Washington D.C., complete with funds being held in that account. This is not true. Social Security is a "pay as you go" system, with relatively recent revenue (how recent has varied over the years) being paid out to current recipients.

** This is simply how private investment goes, and to be honest, some people study all sorts of information about investing, hoping to do well, but they get "burned," because there is risk, even considerable risk, in any such investments. "Knowing how to invest" is not an exact science, and there are no guarantees, although it can be helpful, in my opinion. On the other hand, someone little versed in investments may score big, purely by luck, and luck is certainly a factor in investments. Roulette anyone? Having done a bit of betting on horse and dog racing earlier in my life, I can tell you how some people had all kinds of formulas and used all sorts of info to figure out how to make a bundle with their "educated bets." The thing was, not a one of these people ever made enough to vacation on the Riviera, or to even travel much more than about fifty miles away. I actually ended up ahead of the game over those years, but not all that significantly, although I once picked the winner in five straight races, and I didn't have a formula.

*** I say, "conservative Republican," because in those days, the two political parties were mixtures of progressives, moderates and conservatives.

**** I've noted here in some articles over the years, how my father, who was a staunch Republican, supported Republican ideas about voluntary Social Security and private investment of funds (Bush's plan was not really all that new). My dad supported these ideas, that is, until he retired, at which time he saw how necessary Social Security was to so many people, including to himself and to my mother, who had worked for a good part of her life, thus earning her a separate Social Security check. When the Republicans took over Congress in the 1994 election (taking office in early 1995), they began to press for changes to Social Security, which brought a scathing comment from my father that the Republicans and big business couldn't wait to get their hands on that Social Security money. My father was very good with numbers, as he had been both an auditor for an auto parts company and then the head of the credit union for his Steelworker local. It took his own retirement to see what his previous support for the Republican ideas had really meant.

WORD HISTORY:
Hearth-This word goes back to Indo European "ker," which meant "fire, heat." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "herthaz," which meant "fireplace, the ground used for fire." This gave Old English "heorth," meaning "fireplace, fire," and even, "home," apparently from the usage of the word for "indoor place for fire;" thus making it a symbol for one's home (this extended meaning was also in German). Later "heorth" became "herth," before the modern version. The other Germanic languages have: German "Herd," which means 'hearth," but also transferred to the modern cooking device; thus "stove, range;" Low German "Heerd," also meaning "hearth/stove;" Dutch "haard," meaning "fireplace;" Swedish "härd," borrowed from Low German and meaning "hearth." I could not find a form in modern Frisian, but Frisian once had "herth," meaning "hearth, fireplace." Apparently forms of the word died out in the northern branch of Germanic, but Old Norse had "hyrr," meaning "fire," and as noted, Swedish borrowed the word from Low German, "perhaps" because Sweden was a military power in the 1600s and 1700s, and the Swedes occupied sections of northern Germany, which was Low German speaking, although trade between northern Germany and Sweden is also certainly a possibility.

Chipping Away At My Past, James Garner Dies

If we're lucky, we have long lives with at least relatively good health. Our personal history, also known as our past, accumulates many memories stored in the files of our minds. An event takes place or a name is mentioned, and you recall things or people from your past, often, but not always, faster than your computer browser can recount all of the websites you've visited in your last session, but without any disclaimer that they're not spying on you, and that they only want you to "have a good browsing experience, with things tailored to your likes," which seems to include all sorts of ads (I'm sort of paraphrasing here). No ads are posted in our minds, and there is certainly no spying, just the memories. We have now learned that actor James Garner has passed away at the age of 86.

James Garner acted in many television and movie roles during his career, but when I saw the headline about his death, "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files" immediately were hauled out of my mind's database. As a child in the 1950s, I watched the original episodes of "Maverick," an ABC television Western with many a lighthearted moment, all in black and white back then, where Garner played gambler Bret Maverick. After he left the show he remained in public view in other performances, including television commercials. In the 1970s he reentered the television big time, playing private detective Jim Rockford in a hit series which also had many a lighthearted moment. Coming almost fifteen years after he left "Maverick," this popular NBC series made Garner a star to those of a new generation, while retaining those fans from his earlier days, a trend which continued in the 1980s and 1990s, as he played other roles, including reprising Bret Maverick in a television movie and a television series.

So another part of my childhood and later life has passed from the scene, chipping away at those still living from my past, but James Garner remains a great memory in my mind.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-light/210409111/

Photo by Alan Light of James Garner in 1987 (The Rockford Files ended in 1980)

WORD HISTORY:

Maverick-The use of "maverick" is from the name of an American cattle owner, Samuel Maverick, in the 1800s, who would not brand his cattle; thus the meaning, "a person who goes against convention." The name's origin is sketchy, but it is "perhaps" from Celtic.  

A Tasty Baked Bean Recipe

This is my adaptation of a recipe I cut from some (unknown) magazine in about 1994. This isn't "low fat," but I've sort of trimmed around the edges to adjust things a bit.

2 pounds of Great Northern beans- I often use the already softened beans from a jar (drained and well rinsed), but you could most certainly use dried beans, with the soaking and then the cooking process needed to soften them
3/4 stick of butter, with two tablespoons of olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped or minced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes/with juice
1 cup thick ketchup
2/3 to 3/4 cup of dark brown sugar (depending upon the tartness of the tomatoes and desired sweetness)
two tablespoons of unsulphured molasses (I use black strap)
1 tablespoon of seasoned salt
bacon strips
a little water (or tomato juice), if beans begin to get too dry

Melt the butter with the oil in a pan large enough to hold the chopped onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is softened. In a casserole or oven safe pan, mix the beans and all other ingredients together, except the bacon. Smooth the mixture over and place as many bacon strips as you want across the top. If you want to cut down on the fat, you can partially cook the bacon separately and then drain off the rendered fat, or you can cook up some bacon until desired crispness, drain the fat, and add it to the already cooked bean dish.
Bake the beans at 325 (F) degrees for about an hour and a half, longer if they are still too moist. On the other hand, if the beans get too dry while baking, add a little water along the sides, if you are baking the bacon on top. If you are not using the bacon, you can add a little water and even stir it in if you'd like. The finished beans should be bathed in a nice thick sauce, and it's best to let them cool a bit to thicken more.

In this photo, I served the baked beans over mashed potatoes made from small red and white potatoes, along with a salad of fresh curly kale and fresh lacinato kale, sometimes called "black kale," which is really dark green (w/French dressing).

WORD HISTORY:
Bean-The ultimate origin of this word is uncertain, but it goes back to Old Germanic "bauno," which meant "bean." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "bean" (but likely then pronounced like "be-an," in two distinct syllables). This then became "bene" (likely pronounced "be-nah" or "be-neh"), before the modern version, which dropped pronunciation of the ending "e." Its many relatives in the other Germanic languages are: German "Bohne," ^ Low German Saxon "Bohn," West Frisian "bean," Dutch "boon," Icelandic "baun," Danish and Norwegian "bønne," ^^ Swedish "böna," and Norwegian "baune."

^ Note the pronunciation in standard German is like "bone-ah/bone-eh," where the final "e" is still pronounced like its English cousin of a few hundred years ago.

^^ The modern Norwegian form seems to be a borrowing from Danish, but "baune" is present in Norwegian dialect and seems to be the surviving form of the actual Norwegian word.

"Lessons Of The Greatest Generation, Now Forgotten By Too Many" Part Three

First published in July 2014


Americans had fought, and contributed greatly to, the winning of World War Two, but upon their return from distant battlefields, where they had fought the hatred and the desire to return to some glorified past of reactionary fascism, they re-entered a nation still fraught with injustices. The major issue was about race, more especially about the treatment of Black Americans, a part of the population over whose enslavement a civil war had been fought, but also a part of society kept segregated from others, with the accompanying discrimination, mistreatment and hatred. Unfortunately, some who had fought fascist hatred in World War Two, returned to America only to support hatred against other Americans, a nasty failing quickly exploited by those seeking to gain or to retain power; our very own reactionary fascists.

The greediest of the greedy and the most reactionary elements of the country gradually chipped away at protections for Americans put in place during the Great Depression, or added later as the legacy of the reforms of the Great Depression. To roll back advances and attempts to right wrongs to American society, reactionaries often used the states to whittle down federal power. This approach, by its very nature, divides the nation, as in the Civil War era, and gradually an anti-Uncle Sam campaign was mounted and financed by those seeking something of which there is obviously not a sufficient supply on this planet for them, MONEY, and the POWER that money can bring. Eventually the banking laws of the Great Depression were repealed. Why? Fewer and fewer people of "the greatest generation" survived to remember those times, by then long past. Further, "some," certainly not all, of their children and grandchildren, many of whom had taken up gallant causes to make the U.S. a better place by fighting racism, bigotry, pollution, militarism, and monopolistic business interests, among other things, during the 1960s and 1970s, decided that making money and accumulating more and more wealth was more important than promoting a fairer country.* The marked decline of activism and the forgotten lessons of the past most certainly contributed to the rise of those who had been waiting for just such an opportunity, and they gained power, along with their philosophy of self interest and greed.

So as, what has been called, "conservatism" became the prevailing philosophy from the 1980s forward, more and more state and local power was pushed, as well as the power of money and the power of those who have money ... lots and lots of money. This corrupting notion has permeated everything from business, to government, to the court system, ever since. Money, or wealth in some form, has always been around, and likely always will be, but when it is unleashed with few restraints, the egomaniacs driving its engine are bound to try to soothe their egos on the backs of others. Can catastrophe be far behind? In recent years, after an economic meltdown that almost brought about a collapse of the world economy, the Great Recession, the perpetrators of the collapse: businesses that moved plants and other facilities overseas, oil speculators, bankers and others with ties to the financial system, generally escaped unscathed from their manipulations and outright deceit. Millions of others lost their jobs, but wealthy bankers and Wall Street brokers whined when they were asked to take smaller bonuses, or when the prospect of slightly higher taxes for them were proposed. Lack of perspective here folks, so "sacrifice" became a word for poor and middle class Americans, not for the super rich. In the world of such egomaniacs, Robin Hood was no hero, but a villain. So instead of shared sacrifice we've seen the wealthiest Americans reap virtually all of the benefits of a gradually recovering economy. The "too big to fail" banks of the initial crisis** are now larger than EVER. This is all pretty much the OPPOSITE of how "the greatest generation" dealt with the economic catastrophe of the 1930s. Instead of pulling together and finding common ground when the crisis developed, the likes of Rush Limbaugh and others chose to try to keep Americans divided, a tactic that has worked, at least to some degree, and government action has been somewhat paralyzed to the delight of the reactionaries, who now await their return to power over the entire system. When a BP oil spill sent a huge spewing of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, one Republican congressman publicly announced that "we" should apologize to BP for the treatment they were receiving from angry Americans wanting the mess cleaned up and the Gulf's wildlife and ecosystem protected.

* The 1960s saw a major increase in activism, often led by younger people, but having lived through that era, the idea that younger people were very liberal, is not truly accurate, in my opinion. To this day, people's political views, including those of young people, are "often" influenced by the area of the country where they live and by the views of their elders. Let's be honest, people of any age vote for or against certain candidates or issues for a wide variety of reasons, some of which don't always make sense, but that's part of being able to vote the way you choose. Just try not to be misguided or to hold onto nasty views out of the false pride that changing your views shows weakness. That philosophy equals, "I'd rather be wrong, than to change," or "2 + 2=5, and I'm sticking with it, no matter what the rest of the world says."  

WORD HISTORY:
Burst (Bust)-Before I go into the history, "bust" is simply the same word as "burst," when the "r" sound died out in some dialects in America during the mid 1700s (see the entry for Low German, below). In this case, this is NOT the same word as "bust," meaning, "the chest of a woman," or, "a sculpture of the upper body of a person." "Burst" goes back to Indo European "bhrest," which had the notion "to split, to break apart." This then gave its Old Germanic offspring "brestanan," which had the same general meaning. As the West Germanic offshoot developed from Old Germanic, the vowel and "r" sounds changed places (called "metathesis''). This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "berstan," meaning "to break apart suddenly," and this then became "bersten," before the modern version. The noun form was derived from the verb and also meant "damage, injury." The other Germanic languages have (verb forms): German "bersten," Low German "barsten" and "bassen" (the "r" sound has died out), Dutch "barsten," West Frisian "barste," Norwegian and Danish "briste," Swedish "brista." In Icelandic I found the noun "brestur," meaning "a crack, a break, a fracture."

"Lessons Of The Greatest Generation, Now Forgotten By Too Many" Part Two

This was first published in July 2014


As the grip of the Great Depression eased somewhat, fascist dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini became allies, later adding a number of other countries to their fold, including growing Asian power, Japan. Events in Europe and Asia gradually overtook American reluctance to become involved in another military conflict far from home, but December 7, 1941 dramatically changed all of that. On that day, Japanese aircraft attacked the American fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (then an American territory, not a state). President Franklin Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war, which it did. A few days later both Hitler and Mussolini declared war on the United States and Americans turned their attention away from the era of the Great Depression and toward the era of defeating reactionary fascism. Millions of Americans entered the armed forces and the nation's industrial production rose to new heights, as the United States produced weapons of war to supply not only its own forces, but to "help supply" the forces of its allies. Americans bought war bonds to help finance the war, women went to work in factories to replace men gone off to the military, and the country cared for its wounded, but barely had time to mourn its dead, as the main focus remained in defeating fascism, which was accomplished during 1945.

The end of the war brought new confrontation, however, as the United States, elevated to the status of world power by the just ended war, faced off against communist dominated countries, especially in eastern Europe, led by the Soviet Union, and in Asia led by China, known then to most Americans as "Red China." Large American forces remained in Europe and parts of the Pacific, but then even more troops were called upon to serve in Korea, then even later, in Southeast Asia, in Vietnam. These areas of war did not completely unite Americans, and little by little the unity of the clear cut cause of World War Two was forgotten, as not all Americans saw the need for the United States to be so militarily involved in many parts of the world, especially in Southeast Asia, a notion which only increased among Americans, as U.S. casualties mounted there.

Economically business people will always try to get the best possible deal for themselves, and just as World War Two unity drifted from memory, so did the focus to combat greed for the benefit of the few. The Great Depression saw Americans pull together to help one another, and in 1932, the worst year of the economic scourge, giving to charities actually INCREASED.* Changes came as the national government passed laws separating investment banking (also known disparagingly as, "casino banking," and not without reason) from commercial banking, like what most think of as their bank down the street, with checking and savings accounts, and various loans, like for homes and vehicles. Deposit insurance was implemented to protect Americans from the loss of their money, which often was their life savings. Change was implemented for the buying of stocks on credit, as the previous low down payment had "helped" bring about the catastrophic plunge to Wall Street in the fall of 1929. Instead, in order to buy stocks on credit (called "margin") under the new regulation, you needed to put up 90% of the purchase amount. New public works projects were implemented to fix, or to build anew, roads, bridges, dams and schools. Other such public projects cleaned up waterways, river banks and forest lands, with reforestation part of the project. Workers were given protections like minimum wage, regulated work hours, overtime pay, easier union organizing, and better Federal unemployment insurance. Minimum wage was an attempt to provide workers with at least enough income to buy the basics of life. As time passed, Americans, still connected to the activism of the Great Depression and World War Two eras, saw the need to try to clean up massively polluted rivers, creeks and streams, and to deal with choking air pollution engulfing many an urban community in the U.S. Both Pittsburgh and Los Angeles became targets of jokes and derision for their air pollution, but there were far more than those two communities. Here in Cleveland in 1969, industrial pollution in the Cuyahoga River actually caught fire, bringing derision, but also a wake up call for change, before the nation itself burst into flames or choked to death in its own air pollution. Laws aren't often perfect, maybe they never are, but at least Americans saw problems and chose to confront them. Do we really want to go back to the times prior to these laws? If you say, "Hell yes, I don't live near any of those areas, let 'em pollute and give people jobs," or, "get rid of the minimum wage and let businesses work people to near death, or the whole way, for a pittance, and do away with food stamps and other public welfare services so that these 'moochers' won't just resort to getting help to pay for their lives of working for low wages," you are part of the problem, and you seriously need to look into the mirror and do some self evaluation. If articles like this make you a bit uncomfortable, and I hope they do, you still have time to recapture a bit of your younger days, and you are NOT a lost cause reactionary, as long as you haven't descended into denial or fear of hearing ideas that may challenge ideas you are afraid to have challenged. You can start by listening to the counter views to some of the right wing nonsense espoused by the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, and often by Fox News, a television station founded with the express purpose of promoting a political philosophy. Changing your reactionary views is not weakness, it is strength! Don't be afraid to change!

"More in Part Three ..."

* For a good history of the era, see "The Great Depression, America, 1929-1941," by Robert S. McElvaine, first published in 1984 and republished in 1993.

WORD HISTORY:
Token-This word, related to both "teach" and "toe," among several others, goes back to Indo European "deik," which meant "to show, to show how to do, to point to." This gave its Old Germanic offspring the noun "taiknam," which meant "sign, symbol." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "tacen," with the same meaning, but also "evidence/proof;" that is, "something that shows or points to truth, a sign/symbol of truth." This then became "taken" (not the same as the word from "take"), before the modern version. "Token" also later came to be applied to "a metal or wooden disc used to symbolize coins." Common in the other Germanic languages, all with the same general meaning as their English cousin: German "Zeichen" (German "z" is pronounced like English "ts," as in the end of "hits"), Low German Saxon, Dutch and West Frisian "teken," Danish and Norwegian "tegn," Swedish "tecken," Icelandic "tákn.

Lessons Of The Greatest Generation, Now Forgotten By Too Many (Part One)

 First published July 2014


 "The Greatest Generation" is the title of a book by NBC's Tom Brokaw from the late 1990s. For many, that title has come to be the perfect description for the generation which lived through two major events, the Great Depression and then World War Two. The Great Depression was such a devastating economic time, many Americans, and people elsewhere, were so traumatized, its effects on their psyche remained long after the economy had recovered; although most didn't have time to wallow in self pity, as there was a war to be fought and won against reactionary fascism. To combat both economic depression and reactionary fascism, Americans pulled together, except for our own reactionary fascists, a group which has remained with us and grown in number to this day (part of the "forgotten lessons"). I'd argue that not only did the Great Depression spawn an outburst of reactionary fascism, but in more modern times, the effects of an American middle class under pressure, and the loss of decent paying jobs, due both to technological changes and jobs sent overseas, which were sent there by choice by those suffering from a sickness I call "egotistical greed;" that is, "I can't get enough money, no matter how much I have, and don't tax me, regulate me, or expect me to give a shit about anyone else, or about those whom my actions have hurt, because I'm for me, and anything less means we don't have a free country, a free country where I can make workers grovel for wages and benefits."

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was not perfect, but he became a beloved figure in the United States, because he tried to help people who were in desperate need and often shorn of dignity. Roosevelt didn't hate the overall American system, but he saw how its flaws could inflict pain and keep wealth (he was wealthy himself) from being more "fairly distributed." * These views brought some to call him "a traitor to his class," a term meant by some to be derogatory, but which he turned to his advantage, as many poor, middle class, and wealthy progressive Americans saw him as "betraying his class" for the good of the country. In a campaign speech at Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 31, 1936, Roosevelt laid out how reactionaries wanted a return to the past. This speech could be given in today's America, a sad commentary on how we've forgotten the lessons of the Great Depression era:

"For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent... We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering... They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob... Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred." **

More in "Part Two"

* I've put "fairly distributed" in quotation marks, because I haven't defined it and it's a term where beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One far side of the spectrum might argue that "fair" means everyone makes exactly the same, while the other far side of the spectrum might say that it's perfectly fair for a few people to control virtually everything. The fact of the matter for me personally is, I don't honestly know what the ideal proportions should be, only that things have gotten way out of hand in concentration of wealth in the hands of a small percentage in the last three and a half decades.

** These excerpts taken from the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. 

WORD HISTORY:
Wold (Weald)-These now generally obsolete words, related to "wild," ^ have remained as part of place names in England. They "seem" to go back to a possible Indo European root like "wealt/welt," which would have had the notion, "grown over area, area covered in growth," which then produced offshoots that diverged into somewhat more specific meanings. If correct, this would also make it related to "wool" ("hair of certain animals"), as such a root seems to have provided the basis for words in other Indo European languages for the meaning "hair," and in others for "meadow" (a grass covered area), although for the latter see more below. Whatever the case, Old Germanic had "walthuz," which meant "forest" ("a tree covered area"). This then gave Old English "wald" and "weald," depending upon dialect, and both meaning "forest," with "wald" then becoming "wold," and "weald" remaining, although use of both words dwindled by the 1600s, but certain place names retained the usage. The meaning of "wold" changed from "forested area," to "meadow/grassland, deforested area/moor," "perhaps" due to the original area using "wold" in its name, but when it was later deforested, the "wold' name still stuck and the meaning then changed. "Weald" retained the "forest" meaning, but with the additional "open land" meaning, likely due to the same reason. The other Germanic languages have: German "Wald" (forest), Low German Saxon "Woold" (forest), West Frisian "wâld" (forest), Dutch "woud" (forest, and notice the lost "L"), Norwegian "voll" (field, meadow), Swedish "vall" (pasture land), Icelandic "völlur" (field).

^ Wild in the sense "out in the wild."