I share the feelings of Hal Crowther [“A Very American Tragedy” 2/15/23 TPP] when he writes that cryptocurrency is “an area where my lack of insight is exceeded only by my lack of interest.”
And if Paul Krugman says there are no “uses for cryptocurrency other than money-laundering,” then I’ll take his word for it.
It should be outlawed, plain and simple. Anti-government wackos maybe think it’s the answer to their prayers. But currency, as a medium of exchange, mustn’t be something people can gamble on, but rather something people can rely on. An issuer of currency needs the permanence of a nation-state, instead of fly-by-night non-state actors.
Sam Bankman-Fried should have stuck to physics; maybe he would be on his way to a Nobel Prize by now, instead of a Federal prison. What a waste.
The reason his fortune came and went so quickly was because it was all based on speculation, not real work or tangible assets. It’s unfortunately a sign of the times and a symptom of late-stage capitalism that “innovation” is simply a euphemism for separating people from their money.
What good was his generosity when his wealth was founded on a great big nothing? “Effective altruism” turns out to be trickle-down economics with a dollop of noblesse oblige on the side. Sorry, not good enough.
JEFFREY HOBBS, Springfield, Ill.
Re: “Guns, Hate & Roses” [by Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, 3/1/23 TPP]: We all know, of course, that our Constitution guarantees to all Americans their right to the pursuit of happiness, and also to bear arms for self- protection and to defend their nation.
However, it’s glaringly obvious that, to some gun owners, killing people en masse could very well be a diabolical pursuit of their own happiness.
How perverse, therefore, that a madman’s pursuit of happiness to kill people is above that of his victims’ pursuit of happiness — which they no longer can pursue because the madman had a constitutional right to carry the arms with which to kill them.
Nevertheless, I never imagined, even in my most somber thoughts, that the victim of a massacre would be someone I knew.
His name is Valentino Alvero. (I use the present tense because he lives among all of us whom he captivated with his charm.) Since I, too, enjoy ballroom dancing, I saw him often at our local Elks Lodge where he was admired by all its members for his ability on the dance floor.
Farewell, Valentino – and Godspeed. I’ll honor your memory, as well as that of all the other dancers who died with you, by living my life with a deeper awareness of its impermanence — and treating with more tenderness all those whom I love.
DAVID QUINTERO, Monrovia, Calif.“The Economy is Doing Great.” Robert Kuttner is right in asking [in the 3/1/23 TPP] “Will the Fed please stop trying to crush it?” I feel that the model of the economy has an error in it and I may have an inkling of what it is. Low interest rates have driven out the small investor, those who don’t trust the market or don’t want to take the risk of investing in the market. “Slow and steady wins the race” (at least some times) as the turtle demonstrated.
But the more conservative investors have faith in the banks, credit unions and savings & loans. A nice steady return that will be better than inflation, but not have the risk or the upward possibility of the market. Ben Franklin said “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Now that the interest rate on CDs is back almost to 5%, I’m thinking of investing in them again. At much less than that, the inflation eats up the increase, so I am better off to simply save for a rainy day. How ODD am I? That’s a rhetorical question!!
BARRIE EICHHORN, West Chester, Pa.
Your reader Grace Gambino is right to laud the vital contributions of columnist Thom Hartmann [Letters, 3/1/23 TPP]. His recent warning to the Democratic Party whose dunderheaded leaders have for over 40 years allowed their filthy-rich enemies to capture most elecronic media outlets may unfortunately go unheeded, ensuring the installation all too soon of some even more sordid slab of spiritual sludge than Herr Drumpf in the White House. Then where in hell, pray, can we hope to migrate? (Witness Russian serfs’ present capitalist “success story.”)
VIRGE MACLEOD, Bonners Ferry, Idaho
You know, after Joe Biden defended corporate America regarding paid sick leave for railroad workers, it’s interesting that corporate American railroads, with their latest derailment, have caused sickness and harm to many American families that they’re going to have to pay for, big time. But their loyal workers were never in the equation for paid sick leave because of the railroads’ policy of “precision-scheduled railroading.” How ironic! Perhaps it’s time for some precision-scheduled corporate accountability!
Think about it and also think about who actually runs this country.
MIKE EKLUND, Mercer, Wis.
Life begins at the point of conception. No one can deny that after a human being is conceived it will develop into the very same being as those debating this issue. What astounds me is that those who favor abortion went through an identical development stage as the being they are condemning to death. Would these very same people agree that a similar choice should have been made about their own existence? How many human lives have been lost that could have added to our society in so many ways?
Abortion today is used primarily as a birth control of convenience because people are too self-centered to take precautions. They prefer their own pleasurable self-indulgence over the care and sanctity of the life they created. What ever happened to taking responsibility for one’s actions in this country? Is it too much to ask a woman who has conceived to place the child into adoption? Nine months of discomfort is nothing compared to life in prison for voluntary manslaughter! And what about consenting to sex with a male; is that part of the equation too? Or has abortion just become another extension of the women’s liberation movement started in the late ’60s which coincidently boosted membership on or about the same date as Roe v. Wade?
Does the father of the child have a say in this? And what about the constitution of the United States? Are not all people conceived in this country deserving of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? I believe abortion is a crime against humanity and should be outlawed. We need to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision and get back to cherishing life in this country. For a country that murders it’s children cannot be far from self-destruction.
Back in 1973 a Supreme Court decision (Roe v. Wade) legalized abortion by a 7-2 vote. Five of the seven justices in the majority were Republican appointees. One Democrat appointee, Byron White, voted against Roe v. Wade. Back then the Republican motto was government is best that governs least. Hence the Republicans giveth and the Republicans taketh away.
Today’s Republicans {by the way} couldn’t care less about abortion. They just want to undermine all the other freedoms Americans were granted by the Constitution especially economic rights.
In the final analysis it is the woman who decides to spread her legs or not whether it be out of respect for nature or a lifestyle shopping opportunity. Women now can no longer hold the man hostage and get rid of the human they created just in case the “relationship” doesn’t work out. Should the male force the spreading of the female legs, those are the actions of a rapist.
JOE BIALEK, Cleveland, Ohio
Editor Notes: Unfortunately, the issues in pregnancies are often not so clear-cut. In many states, doctors face criminal and civil penalties for treating women whose pregnancies threaten their lives, even if the fetus is non-viable. And rapists can claim custody.
They used to call it “melancholy.” Now it’s depressive neurosis, or just depression for short. Quite a nuisance and hard to explain amidst our lavish affluence — the numerous playthings we take for granted — the numerous mundane amusements.
There are plenty of legal drugs available, known as medications, and ample beer and whiskey to smooth the ruffled feathers of every gander and goose. Commercialized erotica and portrayals of violence and carnage pass for entertainment.
Maybe Victor Hugo was on to something when he wryly twisted the subject, saying melancholy was merely the pleasure of being said. Nothing like an overabundance of mindless pleasure to instill a welcome psychological relief. Lassitude and listlessness can be unhealthy.
WILLIAM DAUENHAUER, Willowick, Ohio
To the best of my recollection, as I approach that nonagenarian status in life, I recall one of my earlier teachers citing the fact that “the age of reasoning” takes place about the age of around five years old in all human beings let me appraise Mr. Pence as to what he and his “societal stupidifier” D.J. Trump of what “reason” depicts in Webster’s dictionary to activate his memory:
“Reason — well thought out, lucid, logic, analysis, rationalization, rational, thought process; just to mention a few, for which Mr. Pence’s self-interest excuse is not only deplorable, but extremely “stupid” in trying to minimize Jan. 6, 2021, and the threat to civilization itself.
Former philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) said it best when referring to societal hypocrites like former VP Pence in citing the fact that “males/men never do evil so cheerfully and completely as they do so from religious convictions.” So here we are today with more lying, cheating Republican governors chiding “other” human beings with their own heinous religious hypocrisies.
FRANK C. ROHRIG, Milford, Conn.
Kari “I’m the Guv!” Lake is now strutting toward a run for the US Senate in Arizona. After losing to Ruben Gallego in that race, she’ll go back to being a majorette for S.L.O.P., Sore Losers On Parade.
CARL HANSON, Albuquerque, N.M.
From The Progressive Populist, April 1, 2023
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