One version (much longer than this brief explanation) of the origin of this Greek myth explains Pandora, which means “all-giving,” was the first woman on earth. There was a lengthy argument among the Gods when humans were being created and Prometheus stole fire from Zeus to complete man. Zeus was angry and requested the creation of the first woman named Pandora and intended for her to be a punishment. Pandora was given a jar (which evolved into a box) that contained numerous gifts such as beauty, charm, and music. The jar also contained many illnesses and other dreadful things. Zeus knew Pandora’s curiosity would lead her to opening the jar despite his warnings and that opening it would result in releasing ills and evils on mankind. We often hear of an apparently innocent action described as “opening Pandora’s box,” which leads to many dire and unintended consequences.
President Obama’s Use of ISIL Instead of ISIS
I’ve been baffled since the early days of the Obama administration’s about the focus semantics rather than policy. I think the first time I noticed was when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano began using the term “man-caused disaster” instead of “terrorist attack.” That was just the start. “War on Terror” became a forbidden phrase and was replaced by “Overseas Contingency,” which I still don’t understand. “Jihad” became a forbidden word and “violent extremism” replaced either “Islamists or Islamic terrorists.” I have come to believe that the original confusion about the attack on Benghazi was caused by Obama administration officials being convinced they weren’t allowed to use the term “terrorist attack.” Perhaps even they thought it would be silly to call it a “man-caused disaster” and instead referred to it as a “demonstration.”
The latest in the quest to use semantics is the conscious shift of the administration from the term ISIS (Islamic State in Syria) to ISIL (Islamic State In the Levant) to describe the terrorist organization creating carnage in Iraq. I had to look up “Levant” and learned it consists of the Eastern Mediterranean. Wiki describes that the Levant today “…consists of the island of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria Palestine, and part of southern Turkey.” I was even more confused, because I hadn’t heard of any of the ISIS or ISIL attacks being in any of those countries other than Syria. I thought most of the attacks that had made the news occurred in Iraq, which isn’t mentioned. Continue reading
A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles
I was loaned Thomas Sowell’s book by a friend who warned me that it is brilliant but very complex. Many books are “page turners.” This book was also a page turner, but I was turning back to the previous page in an attempt to reconnect and comprehend. I would recommend anyone interested in what drives social and economic policies based on divergent political philosophies should read this book regardless of “political leaning.” I’ve found I can review a complicated book by giving a brief overview of the my impressions followed by some snippets I found interesting, and that’s the formula I’ll use for this book.
My interpretation is that the “Constrained Vision” is constrained by practical reality, and is driven by the policies found in property rights, free enterprise, and strict adherence to the Constitution. The “Unconstrained Vision” is that “Social Justice” can be achieved based on what is “fair, right, and good,” and urges activism by judges and “social responsibility” by businessmen. The constrained vision is that judges should never create the confusion that results when the rules are changed and that the moral duty of the businessman is to the stockholders who have invested their savings in his business. Adam Smith, the patron saint of laissez-faire capitalism (people should not be directed how to invest their capital), believed that moral and socially beneficial behavior can only be achieved by incentives that promote self interest. William Godwin, advocating for the unconstrained vision, believed that the willingness to selflessly create social benefit for others is the essence of virtue. Continue reading
Indian Giver
This “playground insult” was used by the wife of a former co-worker to describe the recent move by the government to reduce health care benefits for the people who had retired from the Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado and had believed they had a promise of lifetime benefits. The expression is used to describe a person who gives or promises a gift and then takes it back. I guessed it was a description of the practice of the American government signing treaties with the Native Americans and then ignoring what they had promised, but I was completely wrong. It seems the insult originated with Lewis and Clark’s distrust of natives during their expedition. They rejected an offer of a present consisting of roots believing they would be expected to reciprocate with a gift that was “…three or four times their real worth.” Lewis and Clark recorded in their journals that their hosts, who they had insulted, were “forward and impertinent, and thievish.”
Author David Wilton explains that “Indian gift” “…arose when white settlers misinterpreted the Native American concept of bartering…Europeans misunderstood it, considered it uncouth and impolite.”
Efforts to Protect Rocky Flats Retiree Benefits
[Note: My first newsletter, which was recently sent to Rocky Flats retirees, dealt with upcoming changes to Rocky Flats retiree benefits and contained some of the content of the following posting.]
Signup for Newsletter
Firstly, I want to mention that readers can signup to have future RockyFlatsFacts.com (RFF.com) newsletters on RF benefits and other issues sent directly to your email by typing your email address into the box in the upper right sidebar of this website’s landing page (just below, “Get RFF.com Newsletter”), and clicking the “Subscribe” button. You will receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription – which you need to reply to – in order to complete the signup process. (Of course, I won’t spam you or give your email address to others, and you can unsubscribe at any time, no hard feelings.)
I’m unsure at this point how many future RFF.com newsletters might be forthcoming since it will depend both on the availability of new information and the level of reader interest. There’s only about a month remaining until RF retirees should receive details of the new 2015 RF benefit plans by mail and that announcement will be followed by about six weeks until (Nov. 30, 2014) retirees are required to sign up…or lose health insurance coverage.
I mentioned in a recent commentary on this website that I was alerted to some efforts to reverse the recent move by the Department of Energy (DOE) to reduce medical insurance benefits for Rocky Flats retirees and/or their spouses who are 65 and older. I have received messages about efforts to forestall these retiree benefits changes. One message contained a link to a letter to Congress asking for exemption from the new changes for people who retired from Rocky Flats prior to 1995.
However, I have since received a personal email message that “…our letter seems to be falling on deaf ears. Politicians don’t seem to have much interest in an election year…We have also contacted an attorney and discussed legal action but don’t feel there are sufficient grounds to do so.” Don’t lose your health insurance waiting for someone to stop this! Perhaps something can still be done, and I’m certain many people are thinking of what that might be. Be prepared for the likely outcome that such efforts will fail and make certain you complete the sign up requirements ahead of the deadline.
I’m well aware that some retirees won’t be helped by a decision to defer or eliminate the benefits changes for pre-1995 retirees: I happen to be in that group. I had the “pre-1995” benefits until I returned to work at Rocky Flats as a “second-tier contractor.” I was required to forego my no-cost medical insurance benefits to be able to return to work at Rocky Flats. I still remember how upset I was. I expect many pre-1995 RF retirees may feel that same anxiety being forced to cope with this current benefits change.
I will once again recommend that affected Rocky Flats retirees review the new health insurance options carefully and be prepared to sign up for a “less generous” (i.e., higher upfront cost) medical insurance coverage. The no-action alternative is to lose all Rocky Flats benefits if retirees don’t sign up before the November 30, 2014 deadline. The letter in the above link does a fine job of expressing the feelings of many pre-1995 retirees.
On a contrary note, I have also received email comments to this weblog from pre-1995 Rocky Flats retirees who believe that the retirees should not be “complaining.” Their opinion, in brief, is that pre-1995 RF retirees have enjoyed many, many years of benefits far more generous than those of most retirees in the “private sector.” I mention this in the interest of fairness and diversity of opinion. Remember that I have no official capacity on this subject and am only attempting to be a conduit for information and community feedback on this challenging issue.
Important endnote: Please be aware that I’m not providing any legal, financial, or retirement planning advice nor do I profess any special expertise and am not acting in any official capacity to disseminate Rocky Flats retiree benefits information. Please conduct your own due diligence in this matter and consult your attorney or financial planning professional, as needed, before making important benefits decisions.
Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department
This autobiography by Dean Acheson, who was President Harry S. Truman’s trusted Secretary of State, is filled with information that would be interesting to anyone wanting to know more about the people and policies of the Truman administration. It is a very long book (over 700 pages excluding notes, references, and the index), and it is in small font. The title is derived from a quote from King of Spain Alphonso X, the Learned, 1252-1284, “Had I been present at the creation I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe.” I certainly had the impression that Mr. Acheson had no lack of confidence in his ability to make wise decisions about solutions to problems or making accurate judgments about people. There were a few cases where he writes that decisions proved to be a mistake, but those were the exception. He either writes with admiration and often affection for people or with open contempt. I don’t recall anyone being described other than in the two extremes. I also don’t recall a single circumstance where he describes Harry S. Truman with anything other than admiration. I have read in other sources that the respect was mutual; Harry considered Acheson his “second in command.” The office of the Vice President was vacant until Truman and his running mate, Alben Barkley took office in 1949 after winning the election in 1948. I don’t recall Barkley being prominently mentioned.
The book follows Acheson’s State Department career chronologically from being an Assistant Secretary of State 1941-1945, Under Secretary of State 1945-1947, to his tumultuous years of Secretary of State 1947-1953. My primary interest in reading the book was the decisions of the Truman administration in containment of the Soviet Union during the Cold War and whether Acheson and others in the State Department were, as described by critics, “in the pocket of the Soviets.” To the contrary, Acheson describes relations with the Soviets in a non-flattering manner beginning early in the book. He says the Soviet diplomats “…cultivated boorishness as a method of showing their contempt for the capitalist world, with which they wanted minimum contact…” He mentions one Soviet diplomat named Oumansky who was killed in “…a plane crash of suspicious cause…” and that “…we felt no sense of loss.” Acheson would eventually come under constant attack and suspicion during the “red scare era,” but I never found an instance in the book where he displayed anything but distrust of Stalin and the Soviets. Continue reading