Future Shock is More than a Book Title

Disruptive technology is a tiresome cliche, as every Twitter/ AirBnB/ Uber/ Skype/etc. wannabe start-up declares itself disruptive. That the vast majority of self-congratulatory start-ups are over-hyped and derivative should not distract us from the larger reality that some technologies do in fact disrupt how things are done.

Fossil-fueled mechanization, for example, turned an overwhelmingly rural farming society into a highly urbanized services-dominated economy.

In the more recent past, CraigsList single-handedly turned the newspaper industry from an immensely profitable license to print money (via costly classified ads) to a struggling sector with an unclear future.

Digital file-sharing turned the $14 billion music industry into a $7 billion industry.

And now driverless vehicles are poised to disrupt the taxi and trucking sectors in ways few predicted.

The core idea of Disrupt or be Disrupted is that every sector and industry that avoids being disrupted just becomes a fatter target for disruption.  Higher education is a prime example. The industry has successfully staved off disruption by maintaining a lock on credentialing/accreditation–the famous signaling value of a college diploma, which verifies nothing about what the student learned or knows. Now that student loan debt is $1.3 trillion and the administrative bloat of higher education can no longer be obscured, the industry is becoming a fatter, juicier target for massive technological disruption by the day.

Healthcare is another sector with bloated costs and protected fiefdoms that is ripe for fundamental disruption. Reductions of 50% or more that lead to better overall health do not require whizbang science fiction advances; simply eliminating the paperwork and cartels and making patients responsible for their care and the costs of their treatments would be enough to unleash a disruptive revolution. What few in these protected industries dare admit is the state/cartel cost structures are now so burdensome, the nation can no longer afford these services. Healthcare has risen from 5% of GDP to 19%. The more burdensome and intractable the systemic costs, the greater the gains to be reaped from disrupting the status quo.

The Military-Industrial/National Defense Complex is another sector ripe for massive disruption and reduction of costs. Compare the troubled $1 trillion F-35 aircraft program (which is increasingly looking like the most expensive weapons system failure in human history) with increasingly effective and cheaper drones: A Drone Has Never Linked Up With a Refueling Tanker Until Now. In other words, protecting unaffordable, ineffective fiefdoms and cartels will be a losing strategy in the next 20 years. These costs will come down, one way or another, either by the erosion and collapse of the funding sources or by tech-enabled socio-economic disruptions.

They were just saying that "We could well have a World War I scenario with a major world war between the two blocs of super powers that are now alligning themselves.  We are sending naval vessels to supply the Saudis and / or to intercept Iran's supply of the Yemeni rebels.  This situation could lead to war "just like that".  Strangely it was over a year ago that someone on line predicted "we could well start the next War by staging some incident in the Pursian Gulf.  Someone pointed out that the Lucitania, which was hit by a German sub and kicked off World War I - - the Lucitania was carrying explosives, which no doubt contributed to the severity of the damage to the vessel.  In other words it would appear that such an attack was not entirely unexpected.  Shawn Hannity claims to have sources deep within the Hillary Clinton campaign, just as Rush Limbaugh in 1993 had sources in the Clinton team back then.  Right now Shawn Hannity is re-enumerating the same list of "particulars" he's listed so many times before. I suggest that since the right wing fights in this manner- - that maybe "Be Prepared" might not be such a bad watchword for the left.

The defense of “entrapment” is all but dead in this country.  First the Courts carved out an “exception” for people with a history of committing the same crime.  In this case they were already half way to guilty anyhow in invocation of the John Kovelt doctrine.  But then, seeing how not enough people were being nabbed, the Courts expanded this to “Well if they go along with the crime at all this shows an “eagerness of response” and the only way they can have any defense now is if they forcefully try to extricate themselves from the conspiracy.  If you’ve seen “Burn Notice” you know that “trying to pull out of an agreement’ can be tricky business.  People may be trapped into having agreed to something- - on pain of death or maybe worse.  I'm wondering how long it is before they have the "thought police" going after "thought crimes".  I guess if Scientologists ran the world we might have to worry about that.

April 20^th is officially “Smoke marijuana day” Thom Hartman reminds us.  Of course TH says the number of incarcerations since the days of Reagan and ‘Just Say No’ have skyrocketed.  This reminds me of that guest Wally George used to have as a regular on his show.  His real name is Norm Le Boe, but he changed his name to Bud Green.  I thought if calling myself “Bud Green” as a blogger, but out of deference to Norm I didn’t want to treat on his territory.   Thom Hartman says we should have stayed hunter gatherers.  The story about Cain and Abel is that- - Abel was a herder, a natural occupation, but Cain was a farmer.  And Hartman points out how in northern latitudes that Kings and Earls and such discovered a way to "lock up the food supply" during the cold months when you couldn't grow food, that is not so apparent in the lower latitudes where food grows more all year around.  Hartman says that as a society we are re-segregating but on a (slightly more) volentary basis. Three quarters of the White cops- - do not live in the towns they police, Thom Hartman points out.  It would not be out of place to put in a rule they HAVE to live in the towns they police.  During the entire first hour of his show today, Hartman talked about the endemic racism of today's society particularly in law enforcement.  For instance in one town if a Black police chief gets elected, then most of the police department resigns in protest.  There are endemic racial slurs used on cop radio chatter like the "gorillas in the mist" remark connected with Rodney King.  If it's a white mental patient who wants to "commit suicide by cop" the police will go to elaborate lengths to avoid shooting him, but if it's a Black person his life is worth much less.  Whites are concerned about Israel, but abuses in Nigeria or the Congo or Sudan- -evoke little response by Whites, because it'a happening to Blacks.

TRAIL MIX (rel. April 20, 2015)

Shining Star (Earth Wind and Fire)

Going Out to the Country (Canned Heat) **

Rain Clouds Hide the Sun (Paul Mc Cartney)

I Live For You (George Harrison ATMP bonus track)

Attica State (John Lennon)

Valentine’s Day (Paul Mc Cartney)

Tribute to Elmore (History of Eric Claptin)

Victoria (The Kinks)

Postcards From Paradise (Ringo Starr)

Out In The Country (Three Dog Night)

One of Nature’s Children (John Lennon)

If Not For You (Bob Dylan with George Harrison) *

Tell The Truth – Slow Jam (History of Eric Claptin)

Somebody Get Me Out of Here (Paul Mc Cartney)

Little Queenie  (Rolling Stones LIVE)
What's Going On?  (Marvyn Gaye)
The Tortoise and the Hare  (Moody Blues)

The title letters are made up (shots of) granola mix.  The front photo is just your standard photo of the earth - - to commemorate Earth Day.  There is a definite accent to songs popular in 1970 that may not have made any of our compilations.  The other 3 Dog Night track from this album is on “Missing Links” and your favorite Neil Young song is on “Don’t Take Me Alive” if you’re curious.  “Nature’s Children” got passed over when we were doing Beatle stuff in early 2014.  “Shining Star” was on one of our “Six Packs” and we thought it deserved a more prominent airing.  Actually there was recorded a comedic track - - of – Stu Sutcliffe and that unidentified associate of his - - and Mal Evans and Neil Asphanol - - and a John Mc Laughlin sound alike doing a mock Mc Laughlin group thing debating how Jeff Lynne is a cosmic jinx and is responsible for the deaths of Roy Orbeson and George Harrison.  But the new Federation management disallowed that track.  Jeff gets his Hollywood Star on April the 23^rd.  The last two tracks are late additions at straight up twelve noon, or three PM official Sirius A time.  We had the option of making this a Sirius A only CD but "wanted to make nice with the new Federation management".

*  This track is on “Bootleg” by Bob Dylan which is a slower version of this track with GH on guitar.   It is notable that “Tell the Truth – Slow Jam” is NOT on “Crossroads” ; I think it should have been.

**  Late song substitute because the previous occupant of this track can be found on "Fundamentals of Rock" Vol 1.  Highly recommended.

In Shawn's new math - - the bracket his "hired help" is in - - is a minority of wealthy people that pay 98% of all Federal Income taxes according to him, and apparently spend sixty percent of their income in Federal, state, and local taxes.  I think there is a parable that goes "I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet".   As near as I can figure it, Shawn and his hired staff resent the fact that they're blessed with above average incomes.  What do you suppose Jesus would do with someone like that in one of his parables?

Last night I was out a lot but watched “America’s Funniest Home Videos” followed by “Once Upon a Time” and again they are over-playing the theme of evil women.  Phyllis Green was bad mouthing all things Disney last night.  I was in agreement with just about every topic that Phyllis was ranting about last night, but basically I kept silent and let her run with the ball. The whole evil and pettiness thing is really run into the ground on that show.  All I can say is that someone (Disney?) has major “mother issues”.  “AD” is a program that is highly revealing in its own way.  They’re turning Christianity into one of these suspense movies.  They killed all of the guards that witnessed the earthquake and the stone rolling away.  Apparently the disciples did NOT see Jesus- - unless it was in a scene I didn’t catch.  And last night I only watched the thing for two commercial segments and retired about twenty after nine.  I did not attempt to get coffee from Glen, and should have watched the entire thing anyhow- - it was an absurd “oversight” on my part.  But it would seem that if they are talking about priests being murdered does that explain why Joseph of Arithmethia - - was not an early new testament apostle?   Normally they do “quatranes” of guards.  If Jesus had been a living prisoner subject to impending death, then Roman Law would dictate that you DID put all four guards to death.  But since the prisoner was already dead, that wouldn’t apply.  Pilate turns into a real hard-ass and locks down the city of Jerusalem with double the Roman contingent, and the governor himself is going to attend Pentacost festivities though it is “a severe breech of protocol”.