The Need for Politicians to Condemn the Outrageous Behavior of Members of Their Own Party

A small bit of my faith in the American political system would be restored if politicians would step up to condemn the atrocious behavior of members of their own political party. A small bit of my faith in the American media would be restored if party-affiliated news media (which is most of legacy media) would start stepping up to condemn politicians of their favorite political party. Ryan Grimm of The Intercept recently shined a laser beam on the disgusting behavior of the family of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and his family with regard to EpiPen corruption. On Breaking Points, Krystal Ball followed suit.

Meanwhile, Democrats and Democrat-affiliated-news-media are otherwise maintaining radio silence. This is merely a recent example of the kind of thing that infests both parties of our political system. Here is Krystal Ball's summary of the problem:

Under Joe Manchin's daughter [Heather Bresch], [Pharmaceutical company] Mylan jacked up the price [of Epipens], locked in a product monopoly jacked up the price of war, and then work to eliminate single pack sales with zero medical justification, simply so they could double their revenue, all with the explicit understanding that for their customers, their lives depend on the product, so they have no choice but to suck it up and pay whatever Milan decided to charge. There are no words to describe this type of exploitative, morally bankrupt and sociopathic behavior. It fills me with pure disgust that is only amplified by the knowledge that this type of criminality underpins our entire healthcare system: Bought politicians, price fixing, price gouging monopolies, every single person involved on the take with the cost in dollars, sickness and death passed on to the most vulnerable among us. It's disgusting. So next time the media tries to tell you "Joe Manchin opposes the reconciliation package because he's just trying to represent his conservative state," do not fall for their nonsense. His motives are just the same as his daughter's: to protect corporate profits and his own personal interests above everything else. And it's so disgusting here, Sagar, because you see it all. You see the way that the politician gets his daughter the job. You see the way that he uses his position to ignore when they ship jobs overseas. You see that once she's in that place, the way that she just exploits people knowing knowing that they have no other choice and explicitly making sure that these customers have no other product that they go to. It is some of the most despicable behavior that you can imagine.

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Yellowstone Wildlife

Over the past week I had a chance to get away from the Internet and to see some stunning sights.

Animal sightings included being 80 yards from a grizzly bear eating a bison in a river. Lots of bison and elk. We also spotted a fox and a coyote. Perfect weather and lots of hiking in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I only had my little point and shoot camera--no telephoto lens, but as the saying goes, you shoot with the camera you have.

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Mini-Sabbatical

I won't be posting for about a week. I'll be going on a mini-sabbatical, attending to some other things going on in my life. I'm looking forward to getting refocused and re-energized to do a lot more writing when I return.

See you again in about a week!

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Daily Aphorism #7: How Much to Keep and How Much to Give to Charity?

The days keep spinning by too quickly. Or perhaps I'm not spending sufficient time to write "daily" aphorisms! I'll keep them coming, but I'm struggling to find enough time to write these days. I'll keep calling them "daily aphorisms" even though they are not daily and even though some of them are not quite aphorisms.

Here's today's thought. We aren't born with instruction manuals, which makes life quite the adventure in dozens of ways. Here's a recurring question for me: How much of my time/energy/resources do I get to keep for myself and how much am I obliged to give to others as charity?

If we gave away all that we gained by our efforts, that would seem unhealthy. If we refused to help any strangers in need, that too would seem unhealthy. In the case of a person who approaches you on the street, are you obliged to give anything at all. A friend of mine once told me that she carries an apple with her. When approached by a beggar, she hands them an apple. "How tidy!" I thought.

No one I know gives away everything and very few people that I know give away nothing to strangers in need. What's the best way to live in that middle zone? Is there a morality-free oasis, or should we always feel the pressure of helping others? What about the fact that dollars are fungible? Each time we drop $100 on a fancy dinner, we could have substantially helped the lives of desperately poor people by donating that money to a good cause.  Ten children will have starved to death in the minute you will take to read this aphorism.

Again, we aren't born with an instruction manual on this topic. How do each of us guide our actions every day and how should we do that? Do the moral philosophers in moral theory have anything useful in the real world? I think not, and that was also the conclusion of three philosophy professors I've discussed this with over the years, professors who specialize in moral philosophy.

I have no conclusion here. No call to action. No suggestions. How utterly unsatisfying!

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