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Shrinkflation

(Back in 2019, in JESS & IMA TALK -in the segment called ‘the Phool’s viewpoint on Inflation”…this subject was posted; here they are again!)

IMA: Jess, I just heard a media report where the word “Shrinkflation” was used to describe what we talked about in 2019 on our blog (see note above). I laughed out loud and said, “Well, they finally caught up with us, and are using a name I’d never heard of.“

JESS: Did they sound excited, like they’d just discovered something?

IMA: Yep, so I looked up the word and found out that an American economist, named Pippa Malgrem, had coined that word in 2009. Imagine that!

JESS: We’d been talking about the definition of inflation way before we decided to even create a blog, because we kept hearing the media talking heads telling everyone, there was no such thing as “inflation”.

IMA: It’s good to know that we weren’t out of our heads when we became so aware that amounts were shrinking while prices either stayed the same or increased.

JESS: Yep, manufacturers played it slick, by making the packaging look the same, while decreasing the amount of the content; even changed the shapes of bottles so it looked like the volumes were the same even though the sides had been flattened, to “make the bottles easier to hold”.

IMA: Well, a whole lots of folks we know weren’t fooled, even those who are not named “Phool”!

CANCEL CULTURE – 2021

There’s lots of talk these days about Cancel Culture. Not sure exactly what that means when spoken by folks who are railing about “true history cancelling their culture”. But when I put my mind to it I can interpret it this way:

Some “official” bodies, (read: government), long time ago (3 or 4 hundred years ago or more?), who wanted to secure land for themselves and their kind, went about “cancelling the culture” of the peoples who occupied the lands they wanted…of course they said “nothing was there”…it was “discovered”…so there was no problem with “cancelling” anyone’s culture, huh? And in fact not only did they cancel the culture, but in so many instances, they cancelled the people themselves, by force, war and disease. And then, later, when some of ‘those’ people (yep, same ones) got in the way of some of the “official” folks obtaining more land for ‘their’ folks, these same “official” people started rounding up ‘those’ people’s children and shipping them off to their “official” schools, to force the ‘wildness’ out of them and make them more like the “official folks”; thus, once more, again, ‘cancelling their culture’ … (in the long run, it didn’t work, but it wasn’t because they didn’t try).

In the meantime, some of these “official” folks, those who owned plantations and needed ‘free’ labor to work the plantations, got involved in the business of importing some free, black labor from across the world; once they got here, in the US that is, these “free-laborers, who hadn’t been freed”, were separated from their countrymen, their wives, their siblings, their children, their relatives and their culture and sold on the auction block to the highest bidder, (you know, those who had the money to afford that)..and once again, somebody else’s “culture was cancelled” ; and would you believe it, some of these “official” folks (or their descendants) once again tried to take some of these black and brown children and send them to special schools, so they could learn the “official” culture…Oops, was that cancelling their culture, also?

(To be fair, I have to point out that some of the people whose cultures were cancelled, actually wanted some of their children to attend these schools, so their children could learn the “majority” ways, in order to function in this “official” culture.)

And, guess what? Check out your history and you’ll find that “cancelling cultures” was nothing new. Among others, even Christians had/have been “cancelling cultures” for a long time, in order to convert everyone to Christianity; for example during the Crusades against the “others”, and during the “Doctrine of Discovery” against the indigenous peoples wherever Spain and Portugal found them. In fact, just name a place where “official” US has been and see if there wasn’t also some “culture cancelling” going on there as well.

I’ve heard rumors, well actually not “rumors”, but “real” folks explaining their “real” ideas about what they think should exist in this country from now on…a country of ONE religion…a ONE RELIGION COUNTRY! That’s what I heard on November 13, 2021, said by Michael Flynn: “If we are to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion under God. One nation under God and one religion under God.” …. So … would … anybody … call this “Cancel Culture” … or not?

And would one think that by burning books that deal with subjects that the proponents of “book burning” don’t agree with, might be classified as cancelling someone’s culture?

Now that I think about it, what was this “Melting Pot” idea all about, except the blending of all the population into a homogenous mixture by “cancelling the cultures” of the diverse beings who were already here?

Can you who are reading this acknowledge that while you may not have been one who was involved in this “cancelling-of- cultures-process”, that some of your predecessors may have been? After all, most of those people whose cultures have been cancelled were never in charge of setting policy or precedent in this country. Wouldn’t want you to feel guilty about any of this; only want to share the truth and ask you to get to know the truth, by reading what the “official folks” wrote in their records, as they set about creating or trying to create a country that they wanted to look and think like them. If folks now are digging out these truths, from the textbooks, history books, historical documents (that were knowingly hidden from public view or just ignored), don’t call them trying to “cancel somebody’s culture”…they just want to tell it like it REALLY was…and IS.

Ima Phool: Just expressing my point of view!

ENERGY TO TRASH

Jess and Ima recently watched a documentary about bundles of donated clothing, etc. from America, Australia, and other countries that were, and still are being shipped to Ghana; the story tells of how the bales of clothing are bought and sold — and disposed of when sales are unfulfilled. It got them thinking about the whole process and resulted in the following conversation:

JESS: Ima, are you watching this program and seeing what I’m seeing? All these bales, bundles of materials arriving by the shipload to Ghana are bought by Entrepreneurs, sight unseen; the bundles after purchase are examined, discarding what they deem “unsalable” and the remains are sold to local “merchants”; these local merchants take them into the streets and try to sell them to the people who live in their communities and much of the ones they can’t sell end up in the landfills.

IMA: Yeah, Jess, I’m watching, especially since I recently donated some of our old clothes, but never even thought about where they might end up. I remember being told, a long time ago, about the fact that those things that couldn’t be used here were shipped off somewhere, but I never thought about where they went or what happened to them.

JESS: You know we are always talking about how much of everything that is produced here in the US (and abroad) is still hanging around in one place or another. We keep wondering what happens to all the food, clothes, cars, electronic equipment, etc. when no one buys it. And then when it breaks down and we buy a replacement, what happens to the old stuff?

IMA: Jess, you know that there are many businesses that are started using the unsold, unused, old, out-of-date products and materials that are produced, before they get dumped overseas somewhere. Thrift stores, Second-Hand Stores, Re-Purposed Stores and the like are found in many areas of our city alone, and many of them are filled with merchandise that they can’t get rid of either. But the manufacturers are pumping out new stuff in record amounts. Just imagine that cycle being reproduced all over this country, and all over the rest of the world.

JESS: What gets me is how this cycle gets going and keeps going. Just look at all the energy that goes into producing what ends up in landfills. Countries go to war to get access to other countries’ natural resources; people are dying trying to get them and others are dying to protect them, not to mention the folks who also die, trying to manufacture many of them. The wars themselves use up tons of energy making all the materials used in these wars; entities that are part of the “Military-Industrial-Complex” that Eisenhower warned about, thrive on this cycle to increase profits for investors.

IMA: The other side of this energy grab, however, is the jobs that many folks have to have in order to survive, but also to be able to pay for all this stuff we’ve been told we need. I found the name of the young lady, Annie Leonard, who did an excellent documentary on stuff several years ago, called The Story of Stuff. It is still available and she did a wonderful job of telling that story. Unfortunately I think things have gotten worse since then, in spite of all the efforts to reduce our waste.

JESS: Lots of journalists these days are showing us what’s happening around the world … landfills filled beyond capacity, trash overwhelming the world, trash in the oceans, micro-plastic in our food, fish, water and in our bloodstreams. Many landfills are taking up more and more space in neighborhoods and will eventually take up space that will prevent human life to exist.

IMA: Individuals help a bit by trying to Recycle and Reuse, but unless manufacturers stop making disposables, it seems to be a losing battle. I have no idea how this can be dealt with. And maybe it can’t! Unless what we use can be biodegradable, this trash may eventually wipe out humanity. The planet will take care of itself, but we humans may be incapable of saving ourselves.

JESS: Well, both that documentary about used clothing, especially, and the documentary about “The Story of Stuff” really need to serve as “wake up calls” like they were supposed to a few decades ago; unless there’s a change in the “mind set” so that our brains can be rewired from “mindless consumer” to “conscious conservator” humanity is in for a rude awakening. The fossil fuels are being depleted, the renewable energies are slow to replace, the livelihoods people have attached themselves to in order to “survive’ need to be redirected toward sustainable employments; greed needs to begin to take a back seat; individuals need to reconsider their selfish practices and start to again think about community.

IMA: I sure hope we wake up and do a complete reversal in our thinking; but what do I know…Ima Phool and so are you, Jess.

THE AFTER CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS TREE

All the stockings are empty; all the batteries dead; the candy canes eaten; all hungry mouths fed...
It's the morning after Christmas at Number Fifty-Eight!
We'd finished with Christmas before it was eight,
but I said to Jess, "Hon' is it too late
     to put up our Christmas tree?"

"What?" exclaimed Jess.  As he walked out the door
(to go bowling with buddies), he queried "What for?"
"It was a gift", said I, "and we can't just ignore...
     so let's put up our Christmas tree!"

There are beautiful ornaments up in the attic,
not dragging them out, not being dramatic,
It's not worth the effort, just being pragmatic
     About doing a Christmas tree!

'No tree, and no in-attic crawling;
no up and down stairs with bags a-hauling;
no more pine needles falling.
     Nope, no Christmas tree!

This year we'd decided, "NO TREE"!
'cause our space was so crowded we just couldn't see
where a Christmas tree could reasonable be,
     but family, NO, Son, said "They need a tree."

So when space was cleared after doing the cards,
I said to Jess, "It won't be too hard
to set up the tree; it's been dragged from the yard
     to the house." "Yeah, we'll see," said he!"

"You find me the stand and while you go bowling
I'll set up the tree and start the ball rolling.
I'll muster up spirit, put my heart and my soul in
     to 'doing' the Christmas tree".

"Why are we doing this after the fact?
Christmas was yesterday, did you forget that?"
"Well the kids will be over and I don't want to act
     like we just 'dissed' the gift Christmas tree."

Jess left to have fun, left me to have mine
I cleared out some space, arranged for some time
to figure out starting the assembly line
     to put up the Christmas tree.

I dragged the tree up four steps from "THE ROOM"
grabbed the doorknob behind me and pulled it to,
but the latch didn't catch and the next thing I knew
     I was heels over head in Christmas tree!

Thank goodness it was a net-covered tree;
I wasn't hurt, so I sprang to my knees;
In a second attempt I found I could see
     my way to the living room with the tree.

Stuffed it into the stand, screwed in the holding screw
but when I'd let go it would suddenly spew
like a drunken sailor and that's when I knew
     that one too many branches were on the tree.

So I pulled out my saw and started to whack
first one, then another, until looking back
I could see most of the branches had now been hacked
     off our day-after Christmas tree.

What to do now, with this pile of green?
Biggest mess I'd ever seen!
I created a beautiful wreath of green
     boughs from the Christmas tree.

I then took the broom, cleaned up the mess;
When Jess came home I was relieving my stress
with a glass of NOG and preparing to confess
     to what had happened to the Christmas tree.

I don't remember what the kids said
when they came over and found the tree dead;
I do recall rationalizing, in my head
     "Christmas was over, no need for a tree".

We cleared a table and drew chairs up,
poured some eggnog in everyone's cup.
We sipped and laughed and agreed that, "Yup...
     we'd begin now to think about next year's tree!"

JESS AND IMA ON HONESTY

JESS: Hey, Ima, I’ve been noticing that the word “honesty” isn’t being spoken of much lately.

IMA: No? I hadn’t paid much attention.

JESS: Well, in our run up to the last election, and ever since then, I haven’t heard the candidates speak about honesty or integrity in themselves, or their opponents. And since the last election no one seems to be using that term, not even the ‘TV talkers’. I wonder why?

IMA: Do you think that honesty is less important these days than it used to be? I remember, as a child, being told that I should be honest and truthful; that “honesty was the best policy”; of course that was before there was such a thing as “alternative truths”.

JESS: Yep, honesty was so important a long time ago that the country even lied about how important it was.

IMA: What are you talking about, Jess?

JESS: Don’t you remember the lies told about Abraham Lincoln and the penny, and George Washington and the cherry tree? They were part of our history lessons…only to learn later in life that because somebody thought that honesty was such a great character asset it was necessary to lie about how “honest” those two presidents were.

IMA: Oh, yes, I remember when the true stories were reported. And I remember, too, that honesty had lost some respect when Jimmy Carter was vilified for admitting “honestly” about ‘lusting in his heart’.

JESS: Yeah! Well, even though today “honesty” may have lost its place in terms of positive character traits, maybe one day it will be important enough again so that our current politicos and ‘importants’ will have lies told about them too.

The COLOR of LAW

A FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF HOW OUR GOVERNMENT SEGREGATED AMERICA

RICHARD ROTHSTEIN

…..

“Rothstein has presented what I consider to be the most forceful argument ever published on how federal, state, and local governments gave rise to and reinforced neighborhood segregation.”–WILLIAM JULIUS WILSON

…..

In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation –that is, through, individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, The Color of Law incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation– the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments– that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.

Through extraordinary revelations and extensive research that Ta-Nehisi Coates has lauded as “brilliant” (The Atlantic). Rothstein comes to chronicle nothing less than an untold story that begins in the 1920s, showing how this process of de jure segregation began with explicit racial zoning , as millions of African Americans moved in a great migration from the South to the North.

As Jane Jacobs established in her classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities, it was the deeply flawed urban planning of the 1950s that created many of the impoverished neighborhoods we know now. Rothstein expands our understanding of this history, showing how government policies led to the creation of officially segregated pubic housing and the demolition of previously integrated neighborhoods. While urban areas rapidly deteriorated , the great American suburbanization of the post-World War ll years was spurred on by federal subsidies for builders on the condition that no homes be sold to African Americans. Finally, Rothstein shows how police and prosecutors brutally upheld these standards by supporting violet resistance to black families in white neighborhoods.

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibited discrimination but did nothing to reverse residential patterns that had become deeply embedded . Yet recent outbursts of violence in cities like Baltimore, Ferguson, and Milwaukee show us precisely how the legacy of these earlier eras contributes to persistent racial unrest.

“The American landscape will never look the same to readers of this book.” comments Sherrilyn A. Ifill. Indeed. Rothstein’s invaluable examination demonstrates that only by relearning American urban history can we finally pave the way for the nation to remedy its unconstitutional past.

. . . . .

Praise for

THE COLOR OF LAW

“Original and insightful …. The central premise of [Rothstein’s] argument…is that the Supreme Court has failed for decades to understand the extent to which residential racial segregation in our nation is not the result of private decisions by private individuals, but is the direct product of unconstitutional government action. The implications of his analysis are revolutionary.“

—GEOFFREY R. STONE, author of SEX AND THE CONSTITUTION

. . . . .

“Through meticulous research and powerful human stories. Rothstein reveals a history of racism hiding in plain sight and compels us to confront the consequences of the intentional, decades-long governmental policies that created a segregated America.”

—SHERRILYN A. IFILL, President of the NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND

. . . . .

“Masterful…Rothstein documents the deep historical roots and the continuing practices in law and social custom that maintain a profoundly un-American system holding down the nation’s most disadvantaged citizens.”

—THOMAS B. EDSALL, author of THE AGE OF AUSTERITY

. . . . .

“This wonderful, important book could not be more timely …With its clarity and breadth, the book is literally a page-turner.”

–FLORENCE ROISMAN, WILLIAM F. HAREY PROFESSOR OF LAW, INDIANA UNIVERSITY

. . . . .

“One of those rare books that will be discussed and debated for many decades.”

—WILLIAM JULIUS WILSON, Author of THE TRULY DISADVANTAGED

. . . . .

“At once analytical and passionate. The Color of Law discloses why segregation has persisted, even deepened, in the post-civil rights era, and thoughtfully proposes how remedies might be pursued. A must-read.”

—IRA KATZNELSON. Author of the BANCROFT PRIZE-WINNING FEAR ITSELF

. . . . .

from the cover

.

BEGIN AGAIN

JAMES BALDWIN’S AMERICA AND IT’S URGENT LESSONS FOR OUR OWN

EDDIE S. GLAUDE JR.

James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and author of Democracy in Black

…….

“Not everything is lost. Responsibility cannot be lost, it can only be abdicated. If one refuses abdication, one begins again.” JAMES BALDWIN

…….

We live, according to Eddie S. Glaude Jr., in the after times, when the promise of Black Lives Matter and the attempt to achieve a new America have been challenged by the election of Donald Trump, a racist president whose victory represents yet another failure of America to face the lies it tells itself about race.

We have been here before: For James Baldwin, the after times came in the wake of the civil rights movement, when a similar attempt to compel a national confrontation with the truth was answered with the murders of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. In these years, spanning from the publication of The Fire Next Time in 1963 to that of No Name In The Street in 1972, Baldwin transformed into a more overtly political writer, a change that came at great professional and personal cost. But from that journey, Baldwin emerged with a sense of renewed purpose about the necessity of pushing forward in the face of disillusionment and despair.

In the story of Baldwin’s crucible, Glaude suggests, we can find hope and guidance through our own after times, this Trumpian era of shattered promises and white retrenchment. Mixing biography–drawn partially from newly uncovered interviews–with history, memoir, and trenchant analysis of our current moment, Begin Again is Glaude’s endeavor, following Baldwin, to bear witness to the difficult truth of race in America today. It is at once a searing exploration that lays bear the tangled web of race, trauma and memory, and a powerful interrogation of what we all must ask of ourselves in order to call forth a new America.

. . . . .

“An unparalleled masterpiece of social criticism … Glaude’s stunningly crafted prose–incisive, vulnerable, and beautiful–is as breathtaking as his brilliance. This book is precisely the witness we need for our treacherous times.”

—IMANI PERRY, author of Breathe

. . . . .

“This book is, undoubtedly, the best treatment we have of Baldwin’s genius and relevance.” —CORNEL WEST, author of Democracy Matters

. . . . .

“Searing, provocative, and ultimately hopeful … One need not agree with everything in these pages to learn much from them. Begin Again challenges, illuminates, and points us toward if not a more perfect union then at least a more just one.”

—JON MEACHAM, author of The Soul of America

. . . . .

“Eddie Glaude is such a terrific writer. [His] work is urgent, pained, and strangely hopeful. He is issuing a call to reckoning.”—REBECCA TRAISTER, author of Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger

. . . . .

“Filled with passion, lyricism, and fire … a timeless and spellbinding conversation between two brilliant writers, thinkers, and active witnesses.”

—EDWIDGE DANTICAT, author of Brother, I’m Dying

. . . . .

“The magic of Begin Again is that it allows us to ponder Baldwin both in his perilous era and in our own … Remarkable, and remarkably relevant.”

—TRACY K. SMITH, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Life on Mars

. . . . .

“Powerful and elegant, Begin Again is at times both loving and angry, challenging and uplifting, and always beautiful. Both Baldwin and this book speak directly to today.”

—WALTER ISAACSON, author of Steve Jobs

. . . . .

“A rugged literary miracle.” —KIESE LAYMON, author of Heavy

From the cover

THE POLITICS INDUSTRY

How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy

KATHERINE M. GEHL AND MICHAEL E. PORTER

OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM IN AMERICA IS BROKEN, RIGHT? WRONG!

The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn’t designed or optimized today to work for us — for ordinary citizens.

Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly — the Democrats and the Republicans — and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America’s key economic and social challenges. In fact, there’s virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected.

In The Politics Industry, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis — and Porter’s distinctive Five Forces framework — to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today.

Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change — a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation.

The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all.

. . . . .

Foreword by

US Congressman MIKE GALLAGHER (R-Wisconsin) and

US Congresswoman CHRISSY HOULAHAN (D-Pennsylvania)

. . . . .

“A noted business leader joins America’s preeminent business strategist to diagnose what ails our political system and prescribe a cure. Timely indeed.”

–US Senator MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah)

. . . . .

“Gehl and Porter’s book is a deep and persuasive analysis of our current political dysfunction and practical steps for change. Let us hope the public and our leaders take heed.”

–Former US Senator EVAN BAYH (D-Indiana)

. . . . .

“Gehl and Porter are true experts. They provide not just analysis or endless commentary but a plan for real change — all for the better. This is a fresh look at American politics.”

–BUD SELIG, Commissioner Emeritus, Major League Baseball

. . . . .

from the jacket

FORGIVENESS 101

As more and more knowledge is being revealed and accepted as true concerning the brutality and inhumane conditions meted out during America’s Peculiar Institution Of Chattel Slavery, there seems to be a growing expressed desire for FORGIVENESS.

It is understandable that people of conscience would desire to atone for their country’s actions but, FORGIVENESS is not where the process begins. FORGIVENESS begins with honest and truthful CONFESSION…followed by the acceptance of the confession by the victim. Then, and only then, is FORGIVENESS manifest and RECONCILIATION possible.

CONFESSION BEGINS THE PROCESS AND FORGIVENESS IS NEAR THE END!

HOPEFULLY FOLLOWED BY PEACE

COMPROMISE vs ACCOUNTABILITY

I sense the foul whiff of compromise in the air and it alarms me. Compromise has never worked out well for me. The Compromise of 1790 robbed me of two/fifths of my humanity and perpetuated my enslavement.

By 1850, with America on the verge of collapse, Congress reached what it hoped was a solution….the notorious Compromise of 1850, which required that fugitive slaves be returned to their masters. Like so many political Compromises before and since, it was a deal by which white Americans tried to advance their interests at the expense of black Americans. Yet the Fugitive Slave Act, intended to preserve the Union, in fact set the country on the path to civil war.

The compromise of 1865 resulted in a reign of terror and lynching and 100 years of Jim Crow, discrimination and segregation.

We need the fumigating properties of ACCOUNTABILITY to dispel this loathsome whiff of political COMPROMISE.

I am concerned that failure to demand ACCOUNTABILITY…. given the rhetoric and actions that are being so easily expressed today…could result in the resurrection of ovens and gas-emitting showerheads, reminiscent of the not-too-distant past.