[marc / berkeley]

Hello Everyone!

The reason I am here is that I realize how much I have missed the boards, but I couldn’t believe the things that were coming out and another site that I have frequented for years!

I know that the political dynamics of the country have changed all too recently, but I was floored by some of the garbage that was coming from people over there.  I guess I’ve grown used to living in a blue state, where no one really cares about the color of one’s skin, but people are treasured for who they are.  On an electronic media, skin color should matter even less. After all, as I keep writing, it would be a boring world if everyone was the same. 

It’s the sharing that makes the world an interesting place.  I am Native American, and I have loved this country of my birth.

I am watching the country tho, as other Native Americans and enlightened others are fighting to prevent the Missouri river region from becoming uninhabitable, wondering how the local standing rock tribe was never consulted and how the standing rock people and other peaceful protesters are being treated like terrorists for the want of clean water for themselves and their children.  How even the government sides on the side of industry.  What kind of world are we living in these days?  What happened to the public paticipation process and proper envronmental review?

As a law abiding, college educated professional, I was astounded watching the country turn red.  The last time the US had a GOP supermajority, they pilfered the treasury and created the biggest debt in the history of the country!  The dollar was almost destabilized, world markets nearly collapsed and we came within a hair of a full blown worldwide depression.  It’s ironic that, that a person who was part black and part white (in a melting pot country, college educated, he represented the future), actually saved the world after 12 years of GOP control.  The economy suffered, it was rough worldwide, but the world was stable, the US economy was ready to move forward.

So why give control back to the same party that created the catastrophe in the first place?

There’s a gorilla in the room that both parties have been quiet about, it’s the deficit.  Before Bush exited, the IMF came in to do an audit because it was just about ready to call the dollar insolvent.  They promised to not reveal the information to the US citizens, but they need to know if the dollar was no longer a viable currency on the world stage.  Then the reins went to Obama.  During the rough times after, to keep the economy from collapsing, there were things like stimulus packages and construction projects to keep the economy moving. True, the deficit was added to, but it saved things in the US.  
The dollar emerged as the most stable currency in the world, and many international people placed their trust in it, further strengthening it to the point that wit caught up to the Euro.  The Euro has had some problems, and a few countries with marginal economies teetering on the edge could further affect it in the near future, which prompted Britain to exit recently. 

Getting back to the US, like all bills, the US has to make good on their debt.  Payments are due, and that means the budget needs to be squeezed to stave off dollar insolvency. So the people who don’t pay taxes who are now in power are going to be putting the squeeze on the people who do pay taxes, while reducing their share of having to pay taxes on their fabulous future incomes.  Then there are the poor and elderly people on government programs who will also be forced into doing their fair share, so they will also need to cut programs or levels of care or monetary amounts.  Of course this has the trickle up effect of tightening the economy for everyone at all levels. To put a spin on Paul Revere: Recession is coming, recession is coming.

All of the other stuff follows, environment falls, and a bunch of stuff that I don’t want to go into, happens. Some stuff happens sooner depending on the decisions of the new administration this time.  Maybe they’re more enlightened, maybe not.  The future has a lot of potential, both good and bad.

I am thankful that there are a lot of good people out there, where something like skin color is an issue of the past, and women and minorities are not targets, but considered equals in society.  This was never an issue for me in the past, but watching people with extremist views actively target innocents based on how they look is troubling to me.  I have a very simple definition of an evil person.  An evil person intentionally harms another person. The old forum rubbed this in my face, even though it was not directed at me, it was enough for me to reconsider continuing as a participant.

So I try to understand.  Like if both Blue and Red are bought and paid for by the corporations, why didn’t people choose the green party or another party not conceived in fascism to make their point?  Or why did people avoid voting at all, because then you will never have change and things could become more dire, as they may have done so recently. Always vote. Be heard.  Because bad things can and do happen.

I realized that I would rather stick to things science for now.

So that’s why I am here.  I hope that this place becomes more popular and friends who want to have fun discussing earth science and other fields will come out and participate!

I’m hopeful.  I shouldn't be like Groucho Marx, who never wanted to be a part of any club who would have him as a member.  
(that never seems to work when it pertains to countries tho...)

SO this is my entry post into this forum!  I hope that we can get others who love science to get back into the discussion!


--Marc