3 Persimmons, 2 Seeds!

 Collected this afternoon from the parking lot. Two seeds that will be a challenge to open. Although persimmons aren't supposed to be ripe until after the first frost, the mere thread of juice I can detect no astringent bitterness. Pictures soon!

Persimmons Fall 2026

 This afternoon, 31Aug2026, I noticed the first tiny persimmons on the full growth persimmon tree at a local business. I'll have to collect, split the seeds, and figure out the winter. My thought: how do persimmon predictions correspond to the Old Farmer's Almanac predictions? 

Socialism

 When this nation was founded in 1776, the words "communism, socialism, marxist" did not exist. Samuel Johnson's 18th Century English Dictionary is one of the first in the English language. The term "socialism" is not in there. Thanks to the tech bros, the dictionary is available on line. 

"marxist" didn't exist. Karl Marx wasn't born until 1818. 

"Communism" didn't exist. The dates of the communist revolution: 1917-Russia, 1921-China, best information I can find online.  

One of the first Republiclowns to use the word "socialism" in connection with Medicare was Ronnie Raygun, with Alzheimer's disease, making ads. 

Ken Burns in his documentaries Thomas Jefferson and American Revolution made good use of the last sentence in the Declaration of Independence: "And to support this Declaration, and with reliance on protection from Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor. 

When the Declaration was written, the regimes at the time were all monarchies: Catherine the Great was on the Russian throne until 1792: socialism, marxism, and communism did not exist. Given the term "socialism" did not exist when this nation was founded, calculate how many benefits the US middle and lower classes have been denied. What is the dollar amount? 

America 250: Short Update on North Carolina Colonials Expected to Pay Taxes in Gold and Silver

 Maybe I'll shorten the title <g>. In Spring 2026, I enrolled in a fantastic online course on sustainability. A recent publication I bought clarified in the run-up to the American Revolution, the British Parliament imposed a Stamp Tax. The tax had to be paid in gold and silver coin only, when the colonists tended to use paper currency or barter. 

As I alluded to in my course assignments, paying taxes in coin posed a hardship on North Carolinian colonials: they had to leave their farms for Wilmington or other towns to sell their crops to obtain silver or gold, a risky business and burden. What source could gold or silver coin come from? sailors, captains of vessels and sailing ships, book-keepers, banks? It's an interesting topic I plan to pursue. 

Wendell Berry: Chapter on Sexuality and Fertility

 Early thoughts: Berry avoids using the word "abstinence" in this essay. He includes another country's practice where after having a baby, the woman sleeps in a separate bed until the baby is weaned. What Berry does not say is what birth control or abstinence mean for people in second or third marriages who do not want to have children. Sleep in a separate bed is not viable. 

Reading Wendell Berry "The Art of the Commonplace"

 In this collection of essays, Berry has an essay on using his wife to type his manuscripts coupled with he refusal to buy a computer. Granted, his essay is his view and highly personal. Interesting to me he says nothing about people who write dissertations, and how having a computer screen that's easily revised eliminates the need to retype pages and pages of a dissertation to get the alignment right, to add references, text, and footnotes at the bottom of the page

I've set a reading goal to include more Wendell Berry, who, like Edgar Cayce, is from Kentucky. 

America 250 Continuing Thoughts

 For the 250th birthday of America, let's reflect on a great point from Ken Burns American Revolution, 5 minutes before the end of Episode 2. Burns quotes the last sentence of the Declaration of Independence:

"And to support this Declaration, with reliance on Protection from Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor."

I'll wager not too many Americans have read that last sentence and asked the question: where is the money supposed to stay? Right here, in this nation, for the benefit of everyone. A second point: why do Pennsylvania and Virginia, two of the colonies, and Kentucky, the 15th state, have the term "Commonwealth" in their titles? Again, the money, the wealth, should stay right here in this country for the benefit of everyone. 

Think about why we have fast food restaurants and coffee chains traded on Wall Street. It's like picking out one shanty and installing a gold domed roof on it. Why make US salary structure top heavy with CEOs, executive boards, stock prices, and offshore tax havens? 

I can see delisting from Wall Street fast food restaurant chains and coffee chains. What is the least academic degree it takes to one them? Limit them to state level only, because there is no STEM involved in running them. A spreadsheet and a 12 item supply chain should suffice. Pay the workers. 

When Raygun came up with the notion of "Trickle Down" economics, Wall Street was definitely part of the United States. While Republicans are busy "owning the libs," the libs should know that Wall Street should NOT be exempt from trickle down economics. The Wall Street gains should trickle down to the states, on a rotating basis, instead of going to offshore tax havens, stock buybacks, CEO salaries. Common sense to a Democrat, because when it comes to "trickle down," New York City is part of the United States. 

Same for Members of Congress: the lobbyists monies should not stay in their pockets. The monies should trickle down to the states: to heads of households to lift them above the poverty level. To augment $7 minimum wage. To augment SNAP benefits. To augment Walmart workers where Walmart is the largest employer in the state. Trickle down for everyone. I disagree with Mike Johnson that Members of Congress should be allowed insider trading in the stock market because $174K salary is a tough go for paying for living in Washington, DC. Let the Members of Congress live on $174K and otherwise: leave, go home to their districts, server their constituents: schools, unemployment lines, staff bus driving, help with academic advising and subject mastery in schools. 

"And to support this Declaration, with reliance on Protection from Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor."