Numerous Narratives 🍁

Atomic essays, mini explorations, and a digital garden of diverse ideas – welcome! This is my space for creative experimentation, a place where fiction and reality collide. You'll find reflections on everything from economics and politics to culture and technology, alongside the development of my novel and nonfiction projects. My tools of choice? Of course ZorinOS Linux, Standard Notes, Manuskript, and the secure writing environment of theQuill.app. The views shared here are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of my employer or any organizations I am affiliated with. My perspectives may evolve over time as I strive to maintain an open mind. This blog offers a snapshot of my thoughts at specific moments, capturing ideas that resonated with me then. Please note that some older posts may no longer align with my current views. - - -

Greatest Fear Of An Autocratic Oligarch Is Dissent

May 15, 2025•368 words

"It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority." ~ Benjamin Franklin "Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth." ~ William Faulkner "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." ~ Howard Zinn "One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. "Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speak...

Living Through the Seizure of Power In the Midst of Dissent

May 14, 2025•370 words

I talked about the consolidation of power in the hands of the corporate bureaucracy, as distinct from the stockholders. To this view, I still strongly adhere. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith "What is true is that the idea of power corrupts. Power corrupts most rapidly those who believe in it, and it is they who will want it most. Obviously, our democratic system tends to give power to those who hunger for it and gives every opportunity to those who don't want power to avoid getting it. Not a very sat...

A MILLENNIAL SAINT The canonization of Carlo Acutis

May 14, 2025•289 words

I came across the article in Harper's magazine about this new canonized Catholic saint. A well-written article, discussing the life of this young devout teenager. His final words to his mother were: Mom, don't be afraid. Since Jesus became a man, death has become the passage towards life, and we don't need to flee it. Let us prepare ourselves to experience something extraordinary in the eternal life. ~ Carlo Acutis So full of faith, and so good to his mother. For a fifteen-year-old boy to d...

Expansion of Trump's Executive Power

May 13, 2025•299 words

"When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner." ~ Baron de Montesquieu "The peculiar danger of executive power is that it executes." ~ Michael Parenti "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, ...

High Tariffs On Products From Asia

May 11, 2025•383 words

It doesn't make any sense to have such high tariffs against Asian countries. You place tariffs on goods coming from Asia, and right away you find prices go up on things that you buy like electronics and clothes. A tariff is a consumer cost which increases inflation which is a higher cost of goods and services without the common person's pay improving or increasing with inflationary costs. To the ordinary consumer in America or Canada, this could mean your weekly shopping food visit will cos...

To My Sons

May 10, 2025•538 words

Every father hopes his children become strong, but to watch you two become the individuals you are, through endless striving and unwavering resolve, has been one of the greatest joys of my life. I trained and coached you boys for 10 years. I witnessed you struggling through pain, self-doubt, and exhaustion, and I witnessed you getting up, time after time. I would dream of such a beautiful life, a life in which my sons would be disciplined in mind, zealous in eyes, and affectionate in relationsh...

Benefits Of Being A Red Shirt

May 9, 2025•114 words

If you're just starting out with your career and desire to have the best time ever, then redshirting could be your worst-kept secret. You have the privilege to rehearse, train, and hone your body, brain, and strategists, minus spending a precious year of eligibility on the shelf. Instead of idle bench sittings and glimpsing mere fleeting actions on game nights, you enjoy a complete season working out in the backburner shadows, twice stronger, faster, and smarter. Yes, being a bench player all...

An American Catholic Pope & Trump

May 8, 2025•427 words

So typical of most American people that have many mix ethnicities, Pope Leo XIV has French, Italian, Spanish, and genealogy of African Creole descent. The chicago-born American is extremely well read, well traveled, and well educated with three University degrees including, a doctorate. To see the least, he's no pushover. You stand at the crossroads of two superpowers, both old in appearance but new in manifestation. To your left is President Trump, the very personification of American politica...

25% - 100% Tariffs On American Software Such As Microsoft or Google or Adobe?

May 7, 2025•623 words

"Free open-source software, by its nature, is unlikely to feature secret back doors that lead directly to Langley, Va." ~ Evgeny Morozov "Open source is a development methodology; free software is a social movement." ~ Richard Stallman "Open source isn't about saving money, it's about doing more stuff, and getting incremental innovation with the finite budget you have." ~ Jim Whitehurst "I think, fundamentally, open source does tend to be more stable software. It's the right way to do things...

Expect Shortages Soon - Cargo Ships Down By 50%

May 6, 2025•456 words

"We've lost an edge that we used to have in scientific innovation applications to goods to be sold. In many ways, that is also changing in the electronic field. Almost all of the materials that we use now are of advanced technology, I have an iPad and also an iPod, both of which are made in China. Although we have designed them here with Apple, for instance, they are manufactured overseas." ~ Jimmy Carter "You know, if you look back in the 1930s, the money went to infrastructure. The bridges, ...

The Trump Administration's Narrative Understood By Hard Working People

May 6, 2025•470 words

Part of the narrative which is sort of supported by the data is that Trump voters are the least educated, and they're voting for Trump out of white solidarity or out of frustration that they're, quote, unquote, "losing their country". And my concern with that is that it sort of reduces the condition of the Trump voter to one of pure ignorance. And I think it's far more complicated. ~ Marc Lamont Hill The weird thing was that I went to Trump rallies thinking I was going to run into militant, ri...

The Shrinking Middle Class And The Expanding Working Poor In America

May 4, 2025•393 words

If you go to working class, and working poor areas of America, the food sources that are relegated to them are generally limited to unhealthy ones. ~ Anthony Bourdain The working poor are the people suffering out subprime mortgages and fatal loans and more and more of our money - you know, capitalism is operated by extracting money, not so much directly being paid. ~ David Graeber The working poor in the South are often blamed for their reliance on "traditional" Southern food, while in realit...

Initiative Isn’t Given—It’s Taken: How to Own Your Path

May 4, 2025•311 words

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." ~ Earl Nightingale "Sometimes life hits you like a brick in the face. Don't give up." ~ Steve Jobs "If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it." ~ Michael Jordan "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." ~ Francis of Assisi "It's hard to beat somebody when they don't give up." ~ Babe ...

American Politicians Dislike Teachers Unions—Associations... because they Do Not Value Teachers

May 2, 2025•466 words

"So long as public schools are treated as places that exist to provide guaranteed jobs to members of the teachers' unions, do not be surprised to see American students continuing to score lower on international tests than students in countries that spend a lot less per pupil than we do." ~ Thomas Sowell "Just as members of American teachers unions often send their own children to private schools, so unionized workers at government-run hospitals in Britain have insurance that allows them to go ...

Weaponization Of Propaganda In The Context Of Incompetent Leadership

May 1, 2025•346 words

I never use the concept, multipolar. I use multilateral. Because we have only one global power: whether you like it or not, this is the United States. ~ Joschka Fischer In a multipolar world, there must be more powers capable of taking responsibility, the US and Europe must be able to unite to achieve peace in the Middle East. ~ Dominique de Villepin A unipolar world - one with only one power - makes sure that this space almost disappears. In a multipolar world this space multiplies. Therefor...

The Current Secretary Of Defense Maybe Incompetent?

April 30, 2025•352 words

"I don't know what I'm doing, but my incompetence has never stopped my enthusiasm." ~ Woody Allen "Incompetence is a double-edged banana." ~ John Perry Barlow "We used to have a War Office, but now we have a Ministry of Defence, nuclear bombs are now described as deterrents, innocent civilians killed in war are now described as collateral damage and military incompetence leading to US bombers killing British soldiers is cosily described as friendly fire. Those who are in favour of peace are d...

Incompetence & Mediocrity In Politics & CEOs

April 29, 2025•293 words

"There are few things more dangerous than a mixture of power, arrogance and incompetence." ~ Bob Herbert "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte "Always assume incompetence before looking for conspiracy." ~ Niccolo Machiavelli "Incompetence is certainty in the absence of expertise. Overconfidence is certainty in the presence of expertise." ~ Malcolm Gladwell If a politician is rated as incompetent or below par, the term can have vari...

Preemptive Strikes and the Distraction of War: Why Declining Powers Hide Their Collapse

April 28, 2025•508 words

There are few things more bizarre than watching people advocate that another country be bombed even while acknowledging that it will achieve no good outcomes other than safeguarding the 'credibility' of those doing the bombing. Relatedly, it's hard to imagine a more potent sign of a weak, declining empire than having one's national 'credibility' depend upon periodically bombing other countries. ~ Glenn Greenwald The proliferation of bureaucrats and its invariable accompaniment, much heavier ...

Tariffs = No Income Tax For Americans?

April 28, 2025•582 words

"Tell the truth or trump-but get the trick." ~ Mark Twain "When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear." ~ Thomas Sowell "Dishonesty increases disorder exponentially. It's hard enough to communicate when you're telling the truth." ~ Karen Marie Moning When you start up Truth Social, Trump's own internal propaganda machinery disguised as a social media Twitter copy platform, you are offered one of Trump's most...

Trumpism Deportation Program Leads The World In Deportation Of Nationals

April 27, 2025•649 words

"Our view of the law is that it - if somebody is here without sufficient documentation, that is not reason for deportation." ~ Nancy Pelosi "Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don't have a country." ~ Donald Trump "The destination of the deportation is annihilation." ~ Talaat Pasha "As long as being a stranger and surrounded by strangers was seen as a temporary irritant, a smalle...

One Of A Kind - Well Knowledgeable. Well Read, Lived Experiences

April 26, 2025•289 words

"My eclectic taste allows me to do something unique and not box myself in." ~ Hoodie Allen "My reading is extremely eclectic. Lately I've been teaching myself computer graphics, so I'm reading a lot about that. I read books of trivia, of facts." ~ Jack Prelutsky "It's great that there are so many different kinds of books for kids and adults to choose from. I think an eclectic reader is the best kind of reader to be, which would be why I was always so satisfied to hear that kids read the Baby-...

Housing Crisis In Canada Should Take A Public Government Role

April 25, 2025•453 words

"In fact, Donald [Trump] was one of the people who rooted for the housing crisis." ~ Hillary Clinton "To create a housing shortage in a huge country, heavily wooded, with a small population -- ah, that's proof of pure political genius." ~ Richard J. Needham "Study after study, not only here but in other countries, show that the most affordable housing is where there has been the least government interference with the market - contrary to rhetoric." ~ Thomas Sowell "After political crusades f...

I Was Asked Over The Years, "Why Is Indigenous Studies Difficult To Learn?"

April 24, 2025•417 words

"Indigenous people believe that Man belongs to the World; civilized people believe that the World belongs to Man." ~ Daniel Quinn "Indigenous people made huge contributions to this country. The biggest is in sharing the land and resources. People need to see that, understand that. Indigenous people should be viewed as the founding peoples of this land." ~ Perry Bellegarde "We are not myths of the past, ruins in the jungle, or zoos. We are people and we want to be respected, not to be victims ...

America Gearing Up Their Nuclear Armed Submarine Forces Off The Coast Of China

April 23, 2025•305 words

"Our nuclear weapons are meant purely as a deterrent against nuclear adventure by an adversary." ~ Atal Bihari Vajpayee "We have got thousands of nuclear weapons in order to achieve deterrence." ~ John Spratt "That's a point that Dan Ellsberg has made for years. He said it's kind of like if you and I go into a grocery store to rob it, and I have a gun. The guy may give you the money in the cash register. I'm using the gun even if I don't shoot. Well that's nuclear weapons - essential to post-...

90 Days Of Uncertainty

April 22, 2025•331 words

Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces the area over which political power is exercised. ~Milton Friedman "Coercion cannot but result in chaos in the end." ~ Mahatma Gandhi "I support free trade. Donald Trump supports free trade.Trade means jobs. Jobs in the United States, jobs in my home state of Indiana are supported by international exports." ~ Mike Pence When Tru...

Trump's Gamifying Tariffs To Make A Deal

April 21, 2025•668 words

"Never in human history has a whimsical decision by a single person destroyed so much wealth." ~Arindrajit Dube "I keep asking myself, 'What is this [Trump] Administration trying to do? Was the objective to re-industrialize the United States, or to raise revenue to help pay for tax cuts to the rich, or to change the global flow of funds? My answer consistently is, they want to remake America, but you can't remake America unless you remake the world at the same time. So it's a revolutionary mov...

Political "Yes Men" Surround The Ruler

April 19, 2025•794 words

A few yes men may be born, but mostly they are made. Fear is a great breeder of them. ~William Wrigley, Jr. I only have 'yes' men around me. Who needs 'no' men? ~Mae West Be aware of "yes" men. Generally, they are losers. Surround yourself with winners. Never forget - people win. ~Bear Bryant I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their job. ~Samuel Goldwyn I didn't feel the need to have a lot of yes-men standing around me. As Mit...

Authoritarian, Narcissistic, & Demagogic Leaders

April 18, 2025•579 words

"The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots." ~ H. L. Mencken "Reason and truth have rarely prevailed against demagoguery when the audience is too ignorant to tell the difference." ~ Charley Reese "Exploiting people's emotions of fear, envy and anxiety is not hope, it's not change, it's partisanship. We don't need partisanship. We don't need demagoguery, we need solutions." ~ Paul Ryan "American fascism will not be really dangerous until th...

Loss Of Status & Cult Of Personality

April 17, 2025•314 words

"It's not a matter of maintaining the status quo. We have to create a dynamic state, oriented towards expansion." ~ David Ben-Gurion "Stalinism is linked with a cult of personality and massive violations of the law, with repression and camps. There is nothing like that in Russia and, I hope, will never again be..." ~ Vladimir Putin "Within a capitalist consumer society, the cult of personality has the power to subsume ideas, to make the person, the personality into the product and not the wor...

Social Anxiety & Economic Existential Threats

April 16, 2025•246 words

"It's not all bad. Heightened self-consciousness, apartness, an inability to join in, physical shame and self-loathing—they are not all bad. Those devils have been my angels. Without them I would never have disappeared into language, literature, the mind, laughter and all the mad intensities that made and unmade me." ~ Stephen Fry "You have social media and the Internet and immigration and so, suddenly, cultures are clashing and people feel as if they're less familiar with the people around th...