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Post by jdredd on Jan 9, 2013 2:38:54 GMT -5
As I get older, I run into the problem of feeling more and more things are "not my problem." For instance, I have a feeling that elephants wii probably go extinct in the wild in the next 25 years. I might have been upset at one time as I would have liked to see them in the wild, but I don't believe I will get to Africa ever.
The question is, should I care that future generations will not have the privilege to see elephants in the wild either once they are gone? I'm not sure. Frankly, most of the young people I meet seem like they couldn't care less about nature, they are too busy texting or slaughtering zombies in video games. If they don't care, why should I? Of course, I am supposed to care that my generation is putting them into debt with our entitlements (I won't bother arguing about the alleged merits of the trillions we spend on defense). Well, guess what? Not my problem. And frankly, I don't think it will be nearly THEIR worst problem, compared to say, global climate change or the depletion of he world's natural resources. Alas, the world's young people seem almost exclusively concerned with getting their hands on clothes, cars, big houses, and stupid electronic devices. Their funeral. NMP.
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Post by jdredd on Jan 17, 2013 17:22:38 GMT -5
On the other hand, there are things that are not my problem which I am still interested in for one reason or another. One is Unions. I don't belong to one and they aren't helping me get work, but I still follow their struggles against those I consider the bad guys. Another is marijuana. I don't smoke it nor would I if it was legal, but I think the Marijuana Prohibition is pointless, especially when it is enforced by booze-guzzling hypocrites. Besides, the war on drugs is an expensive squandering of tax dollars and could instead be a source of tax revenue.
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Post by jdredd on Jan 17, 2013 17:32:30 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I also am following the Dreamliner fiasco, but just because Boeing is on my sh@t list.
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Post by jdredd on Jan 17, 2013 18:06:50 GMT -5
Gun violence IS my problem, since there is a chance I could be in the line of fire someday. Unfortunately, I don't know the solution. I am reluctant to encourage a War on Guns, since we can all see how the War on Drugs went off the rails. Believe it or not, I agree with the NRA on the hypocrisy of Hollywood on the subject. In fact, since I'm not sure new gun laws will do any good, I think Hollywood should do everything it can to make guns UNCOOL, instead of making them cool. Fat chance of that happening.
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Post by Turk on Jan 17, 2013 19:59:59 GMT -5
Gun violence IS my problem, since there is a chance I could be in the line of fire someday. Unfortunately, I don't know the solution. I am reluctant to encourage a War on Guns, since we can all see how the War on Drugs went off the rails. Believe it or not, I agree with the NRA on the hypocrisy of Hollywood on the subject. In fact, since I'm not sure new gun laws will do any good, I think Hollywood should do everything it can to make guns UNCOOL, instead of making them cool. Fat chance of that happening. Violence is violence no matter what the motive is or the weapon. If knives were against the law Nicole might be alive, if fertilizer were banned Oklahoma City might have never happened. What bothers me is the liberal stupidity, sorry it’s beyond stupidity and hypocrisy, they are blatant dumb-ass fools. 99.9% of liberals don’t even know the term “assault weapon” is nothing more than a semi-automatic rifle made to look bad-ass. You can buy an AK-47 or an AR-15 today but they are nothing more than a semi-automatic, automatics have been illegal for years. And the magazine argument is just as dumb but it comes from our dumb-ass president. Practice for 10 minutes then the average person can discharge a clip and insert a new one in just under a second, if you are CIA cut the time by 90%. Well, Hollywood is run by the liberal elites, guess they want their guns. Hey, here’s a great idea, let’s ban Hollywood, bet the murder rate (other than gun-controlled Chicago) would plummet.
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Post by Turk on Jan 17, 2013 20:02:48 GMT -5
On the other hand, there are things that are not my problem which I am still interested in for one reason or another. One is Unions. I don't belong to one and they aren't helping me get work, but I still follow their struggles against those I consider the bad guys. Another is marijuana. I don't smoke it nor would I if it was legal, but I think the Marijuana Prohibition is pointless, especially when it is enforced by booze-guzzling hypocrites. Besides, the war on drugs is an expensive squandering of tax dollars and could instead be a source of tax revenue. I smoke it, far less frequently than I once did, maybe once or twice a month now. I have one strain called “Sweet Dreams,” two hits and I’m sleeping uninterrupted for 6+ hours. It works wonders on those high stress days and my aching shoulder but I do have a Medical ID card and I’m licensed to grow 99 plants, which I don’t do. I was first introduced to pot circa 1960, those that espouse all of its evils are just plain ignorant in my opinion. Technically it is not my problem what happens, if the laws reflect common sense or not, I’ve found it easily obtainable now for nearly 50 years. What has improved is the quality, no longer are people inhaling smoke that has been sprayed with harmful if not deadly chemicals. The domestic stuff today is for medicinal purposes; the imported stuff from Mexico is pure crap and can hurt you, if not kill you.
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Post by jdredd on Dec 5, 2014 14:41:36 GMT -5
I am still subject to ever-increasing Not My Problemism. On one hand, that is great for me if I can blow off the problems of the world, it certainly decreases my stress level not to pay attention to current events. On the other hand, how good can it be if millions of Americans my age have a comfortable lifestyle with a roof over our heads and food on the table and are able to ignore the problems of the world as a whole? I don't have an answer but it seems it might be a problem in itself.
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Post by jdredd on Dec 15, 2014 21:52:43 GMT -5
www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/14/sage-grouse-protection-block-gives-western-develop/?page=2Richardson - The Washington Times - Sunday, December 14, 2014 "DENVER — A successful Republican move to stop in its tracks the Obama administration’s bid to list the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act may be a sign of things to come in the long-running battle between environmentalists and economic developers across the West. A GOP policy “rider” tucked into the massive $1.1 trillion spending bill debated by Congress last week cuts off any money for the administration to move on the grouse issue, and with Republicans set to take full control of the House and the Senate next month, that’s unlikely to be the last such move." “This legislation is a death warrant for these iconic birds of the West,” said Randi Spivak with the Center for Biological Diversity in a statement. “This is a blatant giveaway to the oil and gas industry and other profiteers that are perfectly content to see endangered species vanish from the Earth as long as they get to wring a few more dollars out of our public lands. It’s a destructive and cynical piece of legislation.” Once again, it makes no difference to me in my last years of life how they are trashing the Midwest. I would be upset if I had to spend any of my remaining time there.
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Post by jdredd on Dec 18, 2014 0:08:36 GMT -5
Hmmmm...reaction seems surprisingly muted to the slaughter of schoolchildren by the Taliban in Pakistan. Perhaps Americans are starting to think it's Not Our Problem. Or maybe it's outrage overload.
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Post by jdredd on Jun 5, 2015 22:57:33 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2015/06/05/us/politics/unions-subdued-scott-walker-turns-to-tenure-at-wisconsin-colleges.html?action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&module=MostEmailed&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article"CHICAGO — Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who began building a national profile four years ago by sharply cutting collective bargaining rights for most government workers, has turned his sights to a different element of the public sector: state universities. As Mr. Walker takes steps toward announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, he and leaders in Wisconsin’s Republican-held Legislature have called for changes that would give a board largely picked by the governor far more control over tenure and curriculum in the University of Wisconsin System. Critics said the proposal, which is championed by Republicans in the Legislature, would burnish Mr. Walker’s conservative credentials as he is scrutinized by likely primary voters." Oh boy. Attacking tenure is a righty wet dream. But sadly (or happily), as time goes on so much more of the crap that is happening in the world is simply not my problem. And the Millennials? They seem to be going on their oblivious way, so why should I care?
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Post by jdredd on Jan 18, 2016 1:50:52 GMT -5
I need to revive this thread because frankly, so much going on is Not My Problem. The war on ISIS? Not my problem. The chances of a terror attack affecting me is nil. And, I don't care how much borrowed money they spend fighting Jihadism, I'm not going to have to pay it back. Sorry, Millennials (Suckers!). Alleged Global Climate Change, obsession of the Davos crowd? Who cares about sea levels in 2050? Not me. What other BS is supposed to be my problem? Immigration? Don't give a damn. They can have this place, now that we've trashed it. Have I covered all the so-called major problems?
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Post by jdredd on Feb 18, 2016 17:07:34 GMT -5
On the other hand, I think I've made my point that most of what's going on is "not my problem" because I'm an old geezer, so I think I'll give it a rest before I bore both me and you to death.
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Post by jdredd on Mar 4, 2016 0:42:17 GMT -5
My three remaining brain cells forgot that the point of this thread was not to find reasons to not give a crap, because there are an endless number of those, but to find reasons to give a crap, which are a lot harder to find.
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Post by jdredd on Jan 11, 2017 17:17:03 GMT -5
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Post by jdredd on Jan 13, 2017 17:58:31 GMT -5
Getting back to this, what is interesting to me is how in many ways, although Britain did not have the divisive Vietnam war, American and UK politics have paralleled each other. In the 80's we had Reagan and Thatcher in office (the right's golden years). In the 90's, we had New Labour and New Democrats, with centrists Clinton and Blair in office. Now, both the Democrats and Labour have fallen into hard times. Labour has hard leftie Corbyn in charge, while the centrist Democrat candidate Clinton II got her ass kicked by Trump. The only Dem to come out looking good was Bernie, our version of Corbyn. Will the UK get a Trump? Don't know. Will both Labour and Democrats start pandering to the anti-immigrant Deplorables in their country? Possibly. Doesn't matter to me, I will stay hard left to the end, which is why I put this in this thread.
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