If Jesus had had the news media we have today, all the talking heads, and Golden Corral delivered, the last supper would have overwhelmed any final lessons he might have wanted to pass on. So much news that covers topics in a shallow fashion, too little underneath that we talk about… hence the need to look at more than just the overwhelming smorgasbord.
             

Beyond the Noise

Colleges

 It’s worse now, but I understand the loan burdens of today’s college students. The whole “you can pay off the interest if you don’t have a full time job when you graduate” scam they sell you on. Back when I did it in any single month you’d pay more than if you just paid one monthly installment. Check that out: otherwise it will cost you more both in the short run and the long run.
 The wider question: why would how much money someone has access to have anything to do with being college worthy?
 The even wider question: haven’t you known plenty of college grads who had superior scores who were educated idiots: no common sense? Unable to think for themselves, but brilliant at regurgitating. That’s why the average student may be as good or better than those who know how to play the education game.
 Ivy league, state schools: both have great educators. Ivy schools tend to have even more geniuses teaching, therefore more who don’t know how to teach. Ivy grads are viewed as significantly better: whether they are or not. Yes, good grades may assure entrance, so may alumni parents, relatives who gave money.
 Shouldn’t school be about educating us all to the best of our ability regardless of all that? Certainly not to accommodate the most open wallets.
             

Corporate Vultures

 
 Since I turned 65, almost 66 now, I have had a flood of corporate vultures trying to attach themselves to my Medicare/SS etc benefits. Neveryoumind I worked for myself for thirty years at minimum profit so there’s very little for greedy corporate hands to grab. They must have it all. They are so desperate for me to sign onto Medicare Part Engorging Tick. They offer all kinds of promises that I already know they will do their corporate damnedest not to live up to.
 I guess the only answers are…
A. Electing more pols interested in keeping corporations away from sucking at some governmental teat. Electing more public servants who will keep away from our money that we have prepaid into the system. That’s called “theft.”
B. Don’t get older.
 Too late for me! I choose option A.
             

Walletlock

 A number of years ago Metro Davidson County gave all residents Lifelock for a year because ‘someone’ stole a lot of Metro laptops that had resident’s personal info on them.
 You may ask, “Did they catch the perp?”
 Answer: ARE YOU KIDDING???
 The year passed and because Lifelock made accessing our accounts a pain in the garbanzos we dropped it. Immediately our credit union had us change all our accounts because, from their experience, there was a high incidence of accounts being broken into after clients dropped Lifelock.
  Say what?
  Lifelock must be a successful business model: fear and paranoia can be. So can having people who are ‘creative’ about creating business be a successful model.
 Now there’s Titlelock too.
 As far as I know not one of those accounts on those laptops were ever broken into, but the tactic sure brought about a flood of customers. The ‘creative’ side to the ‘lock’ business apparently works well. Seems larceny-based to me sometimes? If so, how could they get away with that? Then my mind goes to. “t does make me wonder, “Do they donate to political campaigns? Do they have a side business called ‘Politicianlock?'”
             

Framing

 Why should I care what Donald Trump thinks of Joe Biden, or Bernie thinks of Donald, or…?
 When some talk show host says, “What the Liberals/Conservatives/Democrats/Republicans REALLY want/should do,” I tend to reach for the radio or TV control and go elsewhere. Really, why would any sane person trust partisans to give advice or an honest assessment of those they disagree with? Chickens might as well get advice from the fox?.
 Framing is WWE-style politics. Only WWE is more real.
             

And Here We Go AGAIN!

 Why do we let leaders and pundits get away with claiming some violent action will stop war from happening, or end all evil? The idea that taking out one person or invading a country is some simple solution to anything in nonsense. It’s not unlike in Nam where the number of enemy killed, hills taken, supposedly assured victory. War, conflicts and terrorism will never be stopped by taking out one person, no more than one more hill, X number of the enemy. They get replaced.
 Maybe if we could have taken out Hitler the war would have ended, but war really isn’t fought on that model anymore. Taking out Osama hasn’t ended the always morphing scourge called radical Islam. Timothy McVeigh’s execution didn’t end more American-based terrorist-like actions.
 Of all the big lies this kind may be one of the nastier traps we perpetually fall into. Cause counter actions, make war might be more likely. Even if (BIG “if.”) necessary, countering evil with necessary evil will never eliminate evil.
  Such promises, such assumptions, such propaganda, have all the actual gravitas of the traveling medicine man who sells poison as a cure all; yet given gravitas anyway by politicians willing to trade ethics for cash.

                                             -30-
 Inspection is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 40 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks, and into the unseen cracks and crevasses, that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
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Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions
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