THE STORY SO FAR: PART 337: MONDAY

WHO KNEW SQUIRRELS WERE SUCH NOISY EATERS!

We are having truly marvelous weather at present in Seattle—so my high window, appropriately protected by a mesh screen—is open. The good news is that this cools the room. The bad news is that I can hear rather more stuff than I care to—and noise can be distracting.

Between you and me, I had thought that my hearing had been degraded as a result of spending far too long within yards of M1A1 tanks firing (a story for another day) but now I am not so sure. My hearing can’t be that bad if I can hear every munch my local squirrel is making.

He used to inhabit the dead tree, and I would see him regularly. Since that was cut down—to avoid crashing on a neighbor (anti-social behavior)—I have seen him less often.

This morning, he was crouched on top of a fencepost—perhaps twelve feet away—and I could both see and hear every munch.

I was much cheered.

When I was a child I had Siamese cats as pets and loved them dearly. Later, I seemed to be mainly preoccupied with babies—with the odd cat thrown in because babies like cats and the feeling seems to be mutual.

After that, though I get on fine with cats and dogs and babies, I became attracted by the idea of enjoying a pet while not really owning it. It appears I have a libertarian streak.

My first candidate was a bantam hen, who appeared as if from nowhere, and who liked to strut within my vision—while I was trying to write—until I had acknowledged him. After that, he would do his own thing. That mainly involved pecking for food, strutting, and servicing his harem of bantam hens. I had no idea where they came from from either, but they seemed to appreciate his attention.

I christened him Yul Brynner because few people could strut like Brynner. I bought him and his retinue corn, but otherwise left them to their own devices. They took over my pump house to sleep in.

There is a great deal to be said for having a pet you don’t own.

 

 

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR. PART 335: SATURDAY

SATURDAY IS A GOOD DAY FOR THINKING—BUT SLEEPING COMES FIRST

Actually, I tend to sleep as much as possible on Saturday —the more hours the merrier. Often I get up around six and do a couple of hours of work first, but then to sleep until midday is a wonderful thing.

Sleep—like spinach, blueberries, walking, and intellectual curiosity—is a good thing. Mothers-in-law are normally bad things. Babies are marvelously cuddly things. Life is really quite simple when you get right down to it.

I realize that many people of my age don’t sleep very well—I’ll be 70 next May—but, generally speaking, I sleep marvelously (for which I give daily thanks). In fact, overall I have the suspicion that if we all slept more, this world would be a better place. Just for starters, you make better decisions when well rested. And it is absolutely certain that you write better.

The military seem to think it is a sign of weakness to need sleep, which may explain why so many bad decisions are made in war. Personally, I think all hostilities should cease no later than ten every evening—not to be resumed until after a late breakfast (and not at all if it rains).

I like the idea of thinking great thoughts on Saturday, but more often than not compromise by dozing.

Ah, but I haven’t abandoned my work ethic. My subconscious—where I suspect the real talent lies—works on while I dream.

And we should all dream.

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 333: THURSDAY

SMELL THE GANGRENE!

WHY EXACTLY DO WE LET THE BIG BANKS—AND OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS—GET AWAY WITH IT?

Some poor unfortunate minority gets caught with drugs on him and gets sent away to prison for years.

In horrific contrast, JP Morgan Chase is caught rigging the electricity markets, is fined a token $410 million (token in the context of its financial strength) and no Morgan Chase employee suffers at all. In fact the corporation does not even have to admit to any wrongdoing for stealing from tens of millions of people .

This is injustice on a truly gargantuan scale, and it makes complete nonsense of the much touted concept that the U.S. is a nation of laws. It is a travesty of justice.

If offences like market rigging were rare, it would bad enough; but, in fact, criminal behavior by the banks, and financial institutions in general, on a massive scale, is so routine that scarcely a week goes by without an announcement similar to the JP Morgan Chase affair—and here we are are talking only about those who get caught (and most are not).

To the big banks, penalties are just a cost of doing business. The American people may suffer; but they, the major financial institutions, don’t care—and they are blatant about it. They have a predator culture, and since there is no real penalty for blatantly criminal behavior, they do it because they can, because they are incentivized to do it, and because it pays massively.

As from 2011, JPMorgan has paid nearly $7 billion in penalties for a whole string of offenses, but has made over $50 billion in profit. That scale of egregious behavior projects a picture of an organization that regards itself as above the law because it has the financial muscle to buy whoever and whatever it it needs—and it does just that. Why not indeed! It has assets of well over two trillion dollars. Now that is power. But it is a scale of power that demonstrably  corrupts.

Since the major financial institutions and other corporate interests are Congress’s paymasters, I’m far from sure how we’re going to get out of this mess—or whether we ever will. The U.S., as we have known it, may just be vanishing behind a façade of delusion, distraction, and dissuasion.

Will the American people rise en masse and put a stop to this corruption?

Don’t hold your breath. The system has us within its grasp and it has all the necessary tools to keep us in thrall. 9/11 provided the necessary excuse and it was seize upon with gusto. We are now a surveillance state which it is very hard to oppose—even in an entirely legal, democratic, and righteous  way.

I have long believed that no foreign enemy could ever defeat the U.S., but that we have every reason to fear rotting from within.

That is exactly what is happening.

LET ME END ON A CHEERFUL NOTE: Fan mail has the habit of arriving at just the right time—and cheering me up greatly. Such e-mails are deeply appreciated.

Are you planning any new books. There is a vacuum out there for your type of books. If you do please ensure that it is available in e-reader format as well.
Thanks
Jim Edge

It appears I have my marching orders. The answer to the two points raised in this note is YES! And the books are written with more on the way.