Technocracy: Blog

This is the writer's (Technocracy) nephew.

He is no longer black and blue, but is still messed up. He is a stubborn old guy that has always been physically and emotionally strong. I know that he is improving because he has refused his pain medications, and it makes my aunt crazy that he would rather endure pain than take drugs. He is now not so strong, angry at the world, and intent on making waste on western civilization. But his weird sense of humor remains intact.

My uncle usually has a poor opinion of humanity and seems to like few people, so it has been interesting to see the flow of concerned people that have visited him (he told me to change the gate code, but my aunt said no). I love that he hates the concerns and attentions of each visitor. This makes him more determined to successfully re-hab so that people will not bother him, and it is funny.

One of the more funny incidents was yesterday, when my sister flew back in to visit. She brought a guy with her. To be honest he was boring and not that bright considering he has a MA degree in history. He seems to be a decent guy. My uncle said "teachers like that is why western civilization has no future". My sister was not happy about that comment. She will survive. But more importantly, it gave this guy a good look at what she is made of. She is made of equal parts my parents and my uncle and aunt. My parents were very liberal. My aunt is middle of the road progressive. My uncle is close to libertarian and despises both political parties (for the record, he denies that he is libertarian). He hates physical or mental weakness. He believes that all Americans should suffer through hard times when they are young. He believes that wars should be cruel, inhumane, and short. That the sons and daughters of elected officials should be required to serve in the military. I could go on, but you get the point (and he is making threats if I continue).

The real reason I am writing this is because of the many comments from U.K. people. I have read what has been posted and what is in the rest of the story. He does not have much good to say about the U.K. military. He would be the first to admit that he has a built in mind set about the British because it was the way he was raised. Members of his family in his generation have had some horrible experiences at the hands of British soldiers, so that is part of it. The big thing is that he hates the idea of royalty. He does not like people that accept the idea of a king or queen. Simple as that.

I think that he will be able to return to editing his story by the end of the week.

To my readers that have been asking, "WTF, dude. Where's the story?", continue reading.

Marijuana is harmless?

About two weeks ago, a stoned employee of a client drove a forklift into me. I just got released from the hospital. Two of his fellow employees made statements that indicated he had smoked pot during lunch, about 30 minutes before the incident. The kid's only comment to me was, "Oh, wow. Sorry about that, man."

Drugs are not harmless. Drug users are not committing a 'victimless crime'. I will agree that some drug laws should be changed to de-criminalize substance abuse. I disagree that drug laws should be eliminated. Meth, cocaine, alcohol, pot, opioids, heroin are all profound and complex societal problems. Fentanyl seems to be drug having the largest social and economic impact during recent times.

Drugs and alcohol may get you high or get you going, but they eventually destroy your life and trash your community and give the local and regional governments an excuse to run a Police State.

Back to the idiot kid. He drove through a barrier, through a stack of electronic modules, then smashed into me. The company knew this kid was a habitual pot user and that he operated warehouse equipment while stoned. That has already been stated by the preliminary police report.

And for the kid's piece de resistance. Less than two days after he made bail, the kid drove his truck through his neighbor's front windows. He was high as a kite.

My lawyer, along with a very competent litigator, are gleefully making life miserable for my (former) client. I told these two jurists to proceed in a matter that would enable the local DA to give the kid and employees of the client a felony conviction and time the slammer. I want these people to have a criminal record. This company's management have not just injured myself, by accepting drug use, they are allowing and promulgating damage to our society. Other than my non-covered medical expenses, I do not want money, I want these people to serve time. But its probably not going to happen.

And one more thing. My arms are fucked up, which is gonna delay me releasing this and my next story. You can thank all of those 'harmless' stoners for contributing to the delay.

My nephew will help me post the next chapter or two.

Nephew's Note - My sister and me are enjoying our uncle being an invalid.

The extended 04 July gathering on my property went generally, and atypically, well. The attendees enjoyed each others' company, the never-ending chow and ale were good, and the herd of doggos and kittys tolerated each other.

Past the atrocities of the Southern California airspace and after diverting 40 miles south of the Phoenix Class B gaggle, things got quiet, so the niece and nephew started to babble as I took them back to their current homes. The niece asked if I had noted the 'plague' of cognitive dissonance. I (mistakenly) confessed my ignorance, giving my beloved and favorite school teacher the opening for a lecture. To condense her 45 minute treatise, all of my guests were searching for something better. To wit, is the grass greener on the other side of the fence; and can I get to the other side of the fence?

She was correct. The singular common characteristic for this crowd was that none wanted to talk about their job, but all, except my nephew and niece, desired to converse of another's profession.

The physicists wanted to talk to my niece about teaching in the public school system. My former jarhead friends wanted to talk to the physicists about some of the latest papers and wild-ass theories. The construction worker wanted to talk to my nephew about crunching big numbers and investment algorithms. An accountant wanted to talk to the plumbing contractor about construction projects. The construction contractor wanted to talk to my godson about small-unit tactics and weapons tech. My godson and his main squeeze (also a Marine) wanted to talk about anything other than jarhead-related subjects - mostly sex and beer.

I cooked the morning chow for a week (nobody died), played with the nearest doggy (or my wife), and listened to a good group of Americans. And on the night of 04 July, we watched the fireworks displays from two different cities viewable from the side of the chunk of granite my place sits on.

To be an American means that we can always seek something better; your opportunities may be limited for many reasons, but there is always the American concept that we can find something better. This is a mind-set that I have not seen in the Old Country among my relatives. And I have not found this mind-set to be common among Europeans. I have two guesses. One is that the EU has sufficient safety nets and a 'quality of life' that reduces the drive to find something better. The other reason is that Brussels has intentionally legislated out the ability to radically change your vocational pursuits.

Europeans, for all of their eccentricities (we all know that Americans have a perfectly normal range of behavior), I have found that the 'typical' EU denizen to be well-educated and literate. Whereas many Americans thrive on ignorance, but we are not stupid. Perhaps being smart and comfortable makes you stupid.

This is a holiday weekend for people in the USA. This holiday, ostensibly, formalizes the beginning of American colonials' path to political self-determination. The manner in which we Americans celebrate this 'birth' of a state is both glorious and abhorrent. By design, Fourth of July celebrations, unlike memorial day, are devoid of contemplation; and it is difficult to otherwise be both observant and introspective.

The wife and myself have a Fourth of July policy. Ignore the jingoism. Ignore the platitudes. Avoid the glitter of explosive and deafening displays. Embrace quiet gatherings with your family and close friends. Observe and evaluate your community. Bask in the boundless glory of what we are, and supposedly allowed to do and read. And last, but foremost, love your significant other on the morning of the Fourth like there is no tomorrow.

My tribe would be considered, by non-Americans, unusual, perhaps bizarre. 'Woke' advocates to 'Trumpers', arms collectors to gun-control fanatics, libertarians to socialists, highly decorated career jarheads to passionate anti-war protestors, flaming queer to staunch heterosexual. Christian to Buddhist to Muslim to Atheist. PhD-level scientist, construction, retail, soldier, Marine, rancher, engineer, and retired. Gen Z to boomer. Black, hispanic, muti-racial, caucasian, Asian, and one of unknown origin (he was an abandoned orphan). These people would not co-exist in Europe or Asia; I've spent too much time in Europe and Asia to not see these 'other' peoples for what they are.

As for the 18 (out of 27 invites) members of my tribe, we started gathering on my property Thursday morning. And I am about to leave for the local airstrip to fly out in my trusty little bird and pick up my niece, a teacher of math and music in a public high school. Our gathering will include family members, a godson and his main squeeze and two young people from his unit, dear friends (and their SOs) that I met during a misguided military stint over 45 years ago, and an aged mentor. And, of course, their dogs and cats.

There will be no incendiaries, other than the emotive type of explosions. There will be huge and loud arguments, gross levels of pandering, disgusting and nausea-generating displays of affection, excessive consumption of alcohol, many songs sung off-key and off tempo, total disregard for the King's English, and condemnation and praise of others not within the tribe.

This is America. We are America. Fucking deal with it, because the arrogant and plebeian and condescending mutts of America will be here for the duration.

The most common thread among recent comments has been about the reality of how the American military legal system is being portrayed; that is, some believe it is a bit over the top.

Guilty as charged. By design, much of what I write is hyperbolic. I believe that my portrayal of the way the UCMJ is unequally enforced, and used a blunt tool to beat down dissent and non-conformity, and punish members that have made an officer look stupid, is accurate.

Infractions and crimes are not equally enforced and similar UCMJ violations are punished unequally. An officer, no matter what illegal or unprofessional act was committed, is typically, at worst, told to walk away (recently, due to much criticism, a few officers have been reduced in rank, but were allowed to retire honorably, with a pension). For a similar offense, an enlisted member will more likely be incarcerated and/or kicked out on a less than honorable discharge.

I have personally seen a security violation where, for the exact same instance and action, a blatant consideration was given to the officer, while the enlisted member, who was actually less culpable, was sent to the brig for six months and given an other-than-honorable discharge. The officer was told that he had been a very bad boy and that he should really try to not be a bad boy.

When a typical 21st century junior enlisted soldier or Marine is compared to a company-grade officer, the knowledge/skills/attributes differ only in level of training. From OCS to TBS to IOC, officer training is longer and more complete and more intense when compared to enlisted boot camp and ITB (49 weeks vs 22 weeks). So why are a group of people that are older and better educated and better trained allowed more tolerance for criminal and non-professional behavior?

It is called elitism. And it is the antithesis of the meritocracy that the American military purports itself to be. Yes, again I admit to being hyperbolic, but it is generally true. The UCMJ is a sword of damocles that is held by officers over the heads of enlisted members in lieu of mastering the principles of leadership.