Why Brexit Is based on Ignorance

Why Brexit Is based on Ignorance

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OPINION:

Let me outline why Brexit is based on ignorance. The list I provide is not in any order of importance:

British self importance, born out of their past feats of empire and now that empire diminished, has led to a nation feeling less being a sole powerful nation. Britain was once the whole puzzle while now it is just a piece of the puzzle. Britain was once in control of everything Britain and controlled a very large empire. Now, as part of the EU, it has been forced to minimized their national ego by being just a part of a larger organization. For some, leaving the EU places the destiny of England back into the hands of the people and that is the attraction for some voters. Problem with this thinking is that the world has changed and people need to shift with it. Alliances thwart war. Alliances increase commerce and thus national economic growth and help individual prosperity. No borders should be the new norm between nations. This is the reason why young people have an advantage of not being stuck with what may have been correct in the past for England. The younger voter rejected Brexit as has been measured in studies.

Immigration “problem” is seen as being out of Britain’s control when the EU demands open borders. The EU nations share open inter-state borders as part of the Schengen Agreement, allowing free flow of people between nations

The major influx has come from non Christian nations of Africa and parts of the Arab world. Open borders threaten the religious purity because those coming from Africa and the middle east typically embrace Islam, not Christianity. Then there is the white supremacist population that looks down upon anyone not of the same culture.

The Brexit vote reveals a very common pattern throughout the world where rural voters are less sophisticated, even less intelligent, not from IQ but from lack of education and way less interaction with other cultures as is the case in cities. This “problem” has been in place in Turkey, United States, Philippines and other nations.

The rural less intelligent vote is partly responsible for the rise of right wing movements toward totalitarianism. The “ME” feelings gives the citizen a stronger sense of self and results in the feeling of us being protected against them. This plays into the hands of the right wing politicians of any country as this base of me first supporters can be very resolute and a core adherent for a politician.  Donald Trump and the US Republican Party is a very good example of a politician and party gaining resolute adherence from the white supremacist element.

Rural voters may be more prejudice than city dwellers because rural folk have way less contact with different background people. This has possibly led some voters to think in terms of raising borders again:

Once again, the feelings of ME against the OTHERS is attractive to some voters.

Young voters are more sophisticated than their parents for a number of reasons. The young have left colleges and universities with fresh knowledge and in some cases better facts and fresher outlooks. The young have less ties with the past mainly because they just landed here and have newer views of their environment. The young have accepted more the new forms of social media, which alone is a significant force upon the citizens.

“The broad consensus among economists is that Brexit will likely reduce the UK’s real per capita income in the medium term and long term, and that the Brexit referendum itself had damaged the economy.” (Wikipedia)

Summary: The British were sold the Brexit idea from the old guard, individuals that apparently may have self serving and flawed, skewed views of their country’s destiny. This rather ignorant idea started from politicians who have ideological beliefs rather than humanistic goals. Then, it got traction with the general public due to societal flaws, outlined above, deficiencies that are shared with many other nations such as rural ignorance, me vs we politics, national pride, etc.

 

Sources:

 

Posted April 12, 2019
Updated: April 13, 2019
The Department of Injustice – Opinion

The Department of Injustice – Opinion

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Opinion

A number of recent Department of Justice incidents seems to paint this government agency as having a pro Republican bias and out of this propensity may lead the United States into being a dictatorship.

The first incident was when FBI Director Comey decided to make a late-October, 2016, announcement that the Clinton email probe had been reopened. The FBI is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice.

The second incident was when the Department of Justice McCabe decided to publicly confirm the existence of the Clinton Foundation probe.

“In each case, FBI officials violated Justice Department policy against disclosing sensitive information about investigations close to an election, and in each case they did so to the disadvantage of the Democratic candidate” Hillary Clinton and to the advantage of the Republican candidate, Donald Trump.

The third incident is when William Barr, the US Department of Justice Attorney General, failed to release the full Mueller Report to congress and the American public allowing Donald Trump to promote his version that he was innocent.

It appears to some that the Department of Justice could be now called the Department of UnJustice for ignoring the norm to not promote one political party over another.

This is a problem for a number of reasons. First, is the expectation that any national government agency should act without bias and adhere to norms and policy. Second is the apparent Department of UnJustice allegedly throwing flower petals on the path for the Republican Party that seems to be on a trajectory to diminishing the United States from being a Democracy as outlined in the book How Democracies Die.

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Posted: April 8, 2019
Revised title:  April 13, 2019
Toyota Auto Service Problem

Toyota Auto Service Problem

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After buying a Toyota RAV4 we needed to take that car in for service when needed.  After calling the dealership prior to each visit I soon discovered that when I call the dealership, I am actually talking to someone in a Texas call center.  This posses a problem for me because after making an appointment and arriving at the dealership, the person who greets me at the dealership has utterly no idea that I have an appointment.  So what is the purpose of the call center?  When you drive into the dealership, there are two dedicated traffic lanes.  One if for no appointment and the other is for appointments.  I always pick the appointment lane.   But, I figure there is utterly no difference in both lanes.

The last week in March, 2019, I tried to call my local dealership at about 10:15 am to see if they could do the service in time for my daughter to get the car at 5 pm. She had work at 6 and I needed the car ahead to make sure she would not get fired from her job.  Problem for me is I could not talk to anyone at the dealership service, only the call center.  The call center would not have the answer to my question.  I requested that someone call me from the dealership so I could ask how long the work would take.  The call center lady took my call back number and told me someone would get in touch with me.  I have yet to get that call!

So, why does Toyota have a call center in Texas which, from my experience, has no communication with the local dealership?  Why not allow the customer call the dealership service department?

Posted March 2019
Muller Report Is Complete – No New Indictments – Why? – Opinion

Muller Report Is Complete – No New Indictments – Why? – Opinion

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With all the individuals around President Trump have faced criminal charges being convicted, pleaded guilty, charged/indicted, totals to 34 individuals including foreign nationals.  With this presidency being considered the most corrupt.  How is it that Muller fails to bring indictments against the president and his children?  One possibility is that Muller did find significant damning facts.   It would be rather difficult if not inappropriate for Muller to indict the president and individuals close to him.  Would it not be way more prudent for the Justice Department, to hand over the facts to congress and let that body take appropriate action?

 

 

Posted March 23, 2019
The World Happiness Report shows the US is dropping more every year.

The World Happiness Report shows the US is dropping more every year.

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The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. This year’s World Happiness Report focuses on happiness and the community: how happiness has evolved over the past dozen years, with a focus on the technologies, social norms, conflicts and government policies that have driven those changes.

This year’s happiness report focuses on happiness and the community: how happiness has evolved over the past dozen years, with a focus on the technologies, social norms, conflicts and government policies that have driven those changes. Special chapters focus on generosity and prosocial behaviour, the effects of happiness on voting behavior, big data, and the happiness effects of internet use and addictions.

In 2017 the US was ranked 14th.  In 2018 the US was ranked 18th.  The United States is now ranked 19th in 2019.    The report even devotes a special chapter 5 to  The Sad State of Happiness in the United States …” (see below).

One reported factor, in this decline for the USA, is  “Overall, activities related to smartphones and digital media are linked to less happiness, and those not involving technology are linked to more happiness.”

 

Posted March 21, 2019
Impressions of the Cohen Testimony of February 27, 2019

Impressions of the Cohen Testimony of February 27, 2019

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Opinion

Following are impressions of the Cohen hearing, listed not in order of importance:

Impression 1: My overall impression was why were the February Tuesday and Thursday hearings secret? What does congress want to hide from the people?

Impression 2: With some minor exceptions, I felt that Cohen was sincerely telling the truth.

Impression 3: The 5 minute rule for the interrogators was way too short. It seemed that the Q and A seemed to improve toward the end of the 5 minutes and were rushed and cut short resulting in incomplete answers. It seemed that an unrealistic inquiry approach was more important than grilling for the truth which further painted the hearings as a show piece to pacify the public.

Impression 4: The Republican hearing members attacked Cohen and utterly failed to defend Trump which came across as the most pathetic effort to support the Republican Party. The Republican hearing members came across way less capable to work toward serving and saving our Democracy. All the Republican hearing members appeared to be political party boot licking; party first, not the people.

Impression 5: Some Republican Party members in the hearing room and out seem to sincerely support President Trump which puts into question their education, reasoning ability, and intelligence level.

Impression 6: I found the next day newspaper reports shockingly deficient in their analysis. No paper that I examined, on line, raised the Cohen hearing story as being highly important. The Washington Post even took the approach to list all of Cohen’s ambiguities and sounding like they were taking the Republican view of attacking Cohen. It seemed that every paper, that I viewed, utterly failed to see and report the impression that I came away with. You would think that the long building list of negative factors being revealed about Trump, that our county is being led by an alleged self serving crime boss, might be a bit more important than Trump’s unsuccessful meeting with the North Korea leader. The newspaper reporting, today February 28, is not fake news but a bit incompetent.

 

Posted February 28, 2019