Hughesair (Inflection Point)

Retired physician and air taxi operator, science writer and part time assistant professor, these editorials cover a wide range of topics. Mostly non political, mostly true, I write more from a lifetime of experience and from research, more science than convention. Subjects cover medicine, Alaska aviation, economics, technology and an occasional book review. Globalization or Democracy documents the historical roots of Oligarchy, the road to colonialism and tyranny

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Location: Homer, Alaska, United States

Alaska Floatplane: AVAILABLE ON KINDLE

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Egalite


"Relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities," it does not mean equity. It means freedom to prosper based on individual attributes and freedoms. 

Our Constitution, our culture and English common law give equal rights under the law, freedom of speech and freedom of action within the cooperative structure and ethical bounds of Western Culture.

Egalite, fa French word rom the French Revolution, of necessity requires fraternity (cooperation), and Liberte (freedom) and became the basis for our motto of: Life, Liberty and Happiness.

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Zbigniew Brzezinski


 In 1969, Zbigniew Brzeziński wrote, “The nation state as a fundamental unit of man’s organized life has ceased to be the principal creative force. International banks and multinational corporations are acting and planning in terms that are far in advance of the political concepts of the nation state.”

Our freedom and our Republic dies the death of a thousand cuts. This pronouncement by Brzezinski for-shadows the deepest cut of all. This authoritarian view repeats throughout history. The Royalists, during the American Revolution, held that only the absolute authority of King George and British rule could protect the colonies and their way of life. Subsequent to 1783, England continued her attempt to subvert our new nation. 

Democracies failed throughout history. Western nations succeeded to a degree with democratic institutions and freedom, but International Communism subverted or invaded country after country with totalitarian takeover. Back in the early times of Nazi Germany, US industrialists, Jo Kennedy, Charles Lindbergh and others believed that Germany’s organized emphasis on industrialization and production was superior to the chaos of America’s representative government and labor problems. Plato believed that Democracies ultimately evolved into Oligarchy. That sounds much-like, what Brzezinski proposed. 

Zbigniew Brzeziński, born in ;28, grew up in Berlin, '31-35 and Moscow, '36-38. the son of Tadeusz Brzeziński, a Polish diplomat posted to Germany, Russia and later Canada. When his father moved to Canada, 1938, Brzezinski earned his BS, 1949 from Loyola and Masters, 1950, from McGill in Montreal. His later PhD from Harvard, '53 and colligual relation with Kissinger set the stage for an academic career at Harvard, later Columbia, '53-'72. He served as council to LBJ, 1966-'68 and Jimmy Carter, '77-81. He organized the Trilateral Commission, '73, with Carter and Rockefeller. The creation of this unelected international banking and political entity created the very driving force for the resurgence of totalitarianism that Brzezinski spent a lifetime fighting against.


Thursday, March 02, 2023

PCE

Personal Consumer ExpenditurePCE, should be somewhat reciprocal to CPI. The FED doesn't get it. Its not liquidity its velocity of liquidity that counts for the energy one feels on the street, the optimum felt at home and the per capita GDP.

With fewer customers, a restaurant owner has no choice but to raise prices. With supply chain problems the grocery store raises prices as well.

V x M1 = GDP. Velocity is rarely mentioned, much less understood. The only chart I've seen was from the St Louis Fed. Furthermore, a very small increase in velocity results in a great increase in personal GDP. Look at the numbers.

Choking the PCE to check inflation, is like training a donkey with a 2 by 4. The donkey will only become compliant when spread eagle, unconscious on the ground.

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Burden of Major Disease Fatalities


TB, 1.6 million with 10.6 million active cases

Malaria, 619,000 with 241 million cases

HIV, 650,000 with 38.4 million cases

COVID, 3.3 million with 225 million cases

Syphilis, 300,000 neonatal and infant deaths

Monday, February 20, 2023

Eric Holder’s Book

Eric Holder served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015 under President Barack Obama. 

A review of his book at the book store reviled and championed the Liberal view of Democracy as a vote of the nation wide majority in contrast to our Constitution wherein Democracy happens within individual states and the states then cast the votes. 

Our founders argued at length to create a constitution that brought the states together in the union of United States. Some states being more populated, the Constitution protected the smaller states from the tyranny of the majority in larger cities with interests often contrary to many states. Eric’s book reflects the liberal disregard for the Constitution in favor of a national vote that places big city interests ahead of the States. 

The book defines the polarity between political interests most clearly.


Our Unfinished March: The Violent Past and Imperiled Future of the Vote-A History, a Crisis, a Plan, by Eric Holder, and Sam Koppelman 

Sunday, February 19, 2023

Francois Rabelais

 Yes, you are correct. Francois Rabelais was not only a writer and a humanist, but he was also a trained physician, and he was known for using humor as a tool to treat his patients. He believed that laughter and humor were essential for maintaining good health and that they could be used to alleviate physical and mental ailments.

In his medical writings, Rabelais often used bawdy and irreverent humor to convey his medical advice and observations, and he also incorporated his knowledge of classical literature and philosophy into his medical teachings. Rabelais believed in the importance of the study of the human body and its functions, and he made significant contributions to the field of medicine through his writing and practice.

Rabelais' approach to medicine was unique for his time, and he was considered one of the greatest physicians in history for his innovative and humanistic approach to treating illness.

From ChatGPT. Writes with good style


Monday, February 13, 2023

Sydenham and the Gout

 Thomas Sydenham (16241689). One of England’s most highly regarded physician, Sydenham believed in direct observation and the power of reason. Like Hippocrates, he charted the course of disease. He believed in credible signs and symptoms and differential diagnosis. Sydenham also suffered from gout and so felt a deep compassion for others. He proclaimed that gout attacked the rich more often than the poor, and that it rarely attacked fools.  He has been quoted as saying that “those who may choose may except the present writer,” and “If you drink wine, you have the gout, if you do not drink wine, the gout has you.” Too bad Sydenham was unaware of the autumn crocus/colchicine.

“Gout attacks such old men as, after passing the best part of their lives in ease and comfort, indulging freely in high living, wine, and other generous drinks, at length, from inactivity, the usual attendment of advanced life, have left off altogether the bodily exercises of their youth. Such men have generally large heads, are of a full, humid, and lax habit, and process a luxurious and vigorous constitution, with excellent vital stamina” 

When you explore the molecular biology of gout, you will see a high level of coffee like stimulant in continuous circulation due to an inborn error of metabolism.  Many kings, generals, professors, many of these famous doctors and possibly a recent US president share Sydenham’s hyperuricemia.

Sydenham was first a cavalryman/officer on the side of parliament in the Protestant Civil War (164251) His works include The Method of Curing Fevers (1666–68), Observations of Medicine (1676), Letters and Replies (1680), Dissertation on Smallpox and Hysteria (1682), Symptoms of the Newly Arrived Fever (1686), and The Process of Healing (1692), his textbook of medicine most widely read and republished.

Sydenham made efficacious use of laudanum and Peruvian bark (quinine) and diagnosed erysipelas and “Sydenham’s” chorea (St. Vitus dance). 

A strong proponent of the Hippocratic method, advocating primum non nocere (first, do no harm), irascible and controversial, Sydenham earned his reputation as a great physician and internist after his death.


Sunday, February 12, 2023

Capital Divergence

 Economists call the extreme liquidity flow and concentration of wealth in the hands of a relative small elitists group, Capital Divergence. The elite may be fascist, socialist, multinational, technocrat, banker or oligarch. Their sequestered capital, whether earned or ill-gotten, no longer changes hands within thé resulting stagnated economy.

A Sectoral Balances equation by Godley and Cripps, a formula taught in probability second-year economics where: S = domestic savings; m = imports; x = exports; I = investments; g = government spending and t = treasury revenue.

           S + (m-x) = I + (g-t)   

Middle class Savings + trade deficits = foreign Investment + government spending, a stagnant economy and inflation. Ross Perot called it a giant sucking sound.

The formula shows a balanced accounting, but when you look close, shows the massive liquidity flows resulting from foreign trade imbalances.

Liquidity flow from trade deficits come from consumer-savings and, the money no longer exchanging hands within the consumer market. Wealth from the middle class migrates to investment banking, multinationals and foreign enterprise as Investments in the equation. With reduced economic velocity, stagnation, and fear within the the consumer and small business economy, less revenue goes to the Treasury, t in the equation. Thus, the government prints more money, g within the equation, resulting in Inflation.

All the while, a small internationalist plutocracy and foreign interests grow rich off the back of the waning American economy.

We can make the argument that Capital Divergence lead to the slow cycle of depression, wars, revolution, poverty, pestilence, mass migrations and the fall of civilizations. The historian might see such a scenario in the end of the bronze age, 1177 BC, and others, once you look.


Energy Equivalence

33.7 KW hour of electricity = one gallon of gas

@ .03 $ per KW hour, electricity would cost $10.11 = one gallon. Electric motors are more efficient than gasoline, however.

Electric motor > 85%

ICE <40%

§ >45%

$10.11 -45% = $5.90 

However, in most areas, electricity costs are mich lower than in California or Alaska, say $0.15 per KW hour. ($2.95)

Electricity costs an average of $0.16 per KW hour in Denver

Wednesday, February 08, 2023

Poverty

 Capital divergence, lack of health care, drugs and lack of education lead to poverty. Widespread poverty risks depression, revolution, war and a crumbling civilization. Poverty inevitably leads to government spending, control and inflation.

Tuesday, February 07, 2023

Cheap Chinese Goods, the Fallacy

 Intuitively we think that cheaper imports from China benefits the American people. In reality, the purchase of imported goods, removes the production, the employment and the economic velocity from our economy with far more negative consequences. 

Follow the money. A macroeconomic equation by Godley and Cripps best shows the liquidity flow, not so obvious on the surface.

S + (m-x) = I + (g-t)

S = middle class savings, m= imports, x= exports, I= investments, g= government spending and t= treasury revenue. Investments may be in China, in multinationals or international banking. Some of it amounts to retirement funds underwriting the Chinese companies and military.

As you can see, a trade deficit (m-x) must result in some combination of: decreased savings, increased investments, decreased treasury revenue or increased government spending, all of which comes out of the private sector of productivity market turnover (velocity) middle class wealth and consumer spending.

If you ask why? —- GDP = velocity x money supply, where in money turns over some times between 1 and 15 (velocity) while money supply amounts to trillions  only a small decrease in velocity reduces the GDP by a large percentage. Furthermore, that effect falls on the consumer far more than on the wealthy.

One can further see from that liquidity flow, a greater and greater concentration of wealth in the hands, the banks and the investments of the wealthy, a phenomena economists call capital divergence.  

Capital divergence correlates with: the long term cycle of depression, with war, famine and the collapse of civilizations.

So, cheap Chinese goods may not be so cheap after all  


Sexual Dysphoria

 In a small Alaska fishing village, a group of parents petitioned the library to remove 5 books from the children’s section. The books reportedly contained LBGTQ and trans surgery details that parents did not want their young children exposed to. The librarian listened to the argument, and made the decision to continue the 5 books in the children’s section. A day or two later 6 prominent local citizens, one of whom has a law degree, celebrated the library’s decision to override the objection and continue the books in the children’s section as if an act of freedom.

While book burning has no place in a free society, books that would be appropriate even desirable in an adult library may be something else in a children’s liberty.

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