Today I watched Elizabeth Warren's Democratic response to the Republican Tax Bill put forth by the House of Representatives. She convinced me that once again, the Republicans do not have the best interest of the country at heart. They will try to tell you the new tax bill is designed to bring jobs back home to America. How? By lessening taxes earned overseas. This is BS. Read on.
Somebody ought to explain to our Congressmen how taxation works! If you don't want something, you should tax it. For example, if you want to discourage and decrease smoking, you increase taxes on cigarettes. The reverse is true also. You can encourage behavior by decreasing taxes on it. So, by decreasing the taxes paid by international companies on overseas workers, it will only serve to increase the number of jobs overseas!!! (And in all probability it will decrease jobs here at home.)
The Tax Bill still has a way to go and it will be negotiated with members of the Senate. But if left largely in its current form, it will be a giveaway to Corporate America and the super rich will get richer. What's worse is we can ill afford it. In case you haven't noticed, we are running a National Debt of 20 Trillion Dollars and we haven't had a balanced Federal Budget since the Clinton administration!
Elizabeth Warren is one smart lady and an advocate of the middle class. She was a major contributor of the Dodd-Frank Bill following the 2008 financial disaster and is something of a financial wizard. I hope the American people will listen to her and defeat the current Republican Tax Bill. And I hope they will elect Elizabeth as President in the 2020.
After getting Trumped in 2016, we should now have clear 2020 vision and elect E. Warren in 2020!!!
I would vote for her in a heartbeat!
Here is a link to Elizabeth's Biography:
https://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-warren-20670753
R. Allan Worrell
Author: Father John's Gift
e-mail: alw3141@gmail.com
Thursday, November 2, 2017
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" (A 1951 Science Fiction Black and White Movie.)
If you have never seen the movie,"The Day the Earth Stood Still", I highly recommend you take the time to watch it. It is classic science fiction in every sense of the word.
Yes, it was made in 1951 and it is a black and white film. Believe it or not, that is part of the appeal. There are so many great aspects to this movie I hardly know where to begin.
First, let me say most of the acting is superb. Oh, there are a few minor shots done by "fill-in" actors that look and feel like they are made of cardboard. (And I can even smile or laugh at how corny they are.) But the star performers, Patricia Neal, Michael Rennie and Sam Jafee are nothing short of fantastic.
Secondly, one must consider the time period in which the film was made. The special effects are good for the period, but are nothing like the computer generated art we take for granted in today's science fiction thrillers. But the effects are good enough to pull off the story, and they are good enough to scare young children with vivid imaginations. (My next door neighbor told me he was scared by the movie as a kid.)
But most importantly, the story works. It makes sense on many levels, and it gives you a plausible concept to show our place in the universe. The mere fact that a flying saucer shows up and parks itself in Washington DC speaks volumes, all by itself. It screams the idea that we are NOT alone. We share this galaxy with other intelligent, perhaps some of which may be technically superior to us. Is that a scary idea? Yes, because it represents a big unknown.
What would happen if uninvited creatures from outer-space would suddenly come for a visit? No one can know what they will do. I leave that idea to your imagination. We can only hope that if they are superior to us that they will either be friendly, smile at how cute we are and share their technology with us, or go away and leave us alone.
Let's just hope we don't have something they want. Now there's a scary thought!
R. Allan Worrell
Author: Father John's Gift
e-mail: alw3141@gmail.com
Yes, it was made in 1951 and it is a black and white film. Believe it or not, that is part of the appeal. There are so many great aspects to this movie I hardly know where to begin.
First, let me say most of the acting is superb. Oh, there are a few minor shots done by "fill-in" actors that look and feel like they are made of cardboard. (And I can even smile or laugh at how corny they are.) But the star performers, Patricia Neal, Michael Rennie and Sam Jafee are nothing short of fantastic.
Secondly, one must consider the time period in which the film was made. The special effects are good for the period, but are nothing like the computer generated art we take for granted in today's science fiction thrillers. But the effects are good enough to pull off the story, and they are good enough to scare young children with vivid imaginations. (My next door neighbor told me he was scared by the movie as a kid.)
But most importantly, the story works. It makes sense on many levels, and it gives you a plausible concept to show our place in the universe. The mere fact that a flying saucer shows up and parks itself in Washington DC speaks volumes, all by itself. It screams the idea that we are NOT alone. We share this galaxy with other intelligent, perhaps some of which may be technically superior to us. Is that a scary idea? Yes, because it represents a big unknown.
What would happen if uninvited creatures from outer-space would suddenly come for a visit? No one can know what they will do. I leave that idea to your imagination. We can only hope that if they are superior to us that they will either be friendly, smile at how cute we are and share their technology with us, or go away and leave us alone.
Let's just hope we don't have something they want. Now there's a scary thought!
R. Allan Worrell
Author: Father John's Gift
e-mail: alw3141@gmail.com
The World is Complex!!! There are No Simple Solutions!
I saw David Brooks' New York Times article, "When Politics Becomes Your Idol" which showed a picture of a woman with a sign which read, "Donald Trump is our Savior!"
You can see the picture and read his article here:
When Politics Becomes Your Idol
Seeing Trump as "Our Savior" reminds me of people who look for one drug to cure them aging, or cancer, or .....whatever disease currently ails them.
We
all wish there was a simple single solution to all of our problems.
Unfortunately, the world doesn't work like that. It is incredibly more
complex and messy. Solving big problems (world peace, nuclear fusion,
interplanetary space travel) takes complex solutions which are not
solved in a day, or a year, or a lifetime.
The problems of the world are complex, and we will need smart people who can understand and embrace complex ideas to solve them. (Express my sorrow to the lady with the sign, Donald Trump is not one of those guys. He doesn't seem to "Get It.")
Thoughts to ponder.
What do YOU Think? Leave me a post!
R. Allan Worrell
Author: Father John's Gift
e-mail: alw3141@gmail.com
You can see the picture and read his article here:
When Politics Becomes Your Idol
But
look at the progress we have made in the last 100 years! Yes, we have
created some new problems by solving older ones, but that is the nature
of scientific progress. You always have to weigh the benefits against the
side effects. If you can't life with the side effects, then you look
for some other solution to your problem.
For
Example: Burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil to generate
electricity was once a very good idea. We needed it and we did it for a long time.
But now we are smarter and we know we can't continue to pollute our air with heavy metals
and warm the planet with CO2, a green house gas. So we look for clean energy
technology elsewhere. Wind, solar, electric vehicles and energy conservation
(Negawatts) are coming to the rescue. In the future, we will learn how
to be more efficient and do more with less.
Thoughts to ponder.
What do YOU Think? Leave me a post!
R. Allan Worrell
Author: Father John's Gift
e-mail: alw3141@gmail.com
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