The incompetence in the executive branch of the US federal government.

One of the most significant books I have read in the last ten years is The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis. His thesis in this book is that of all the things that could be very disruptive to our society like atomic war, economic collapse, collapse of the electrical grid, climate change, the biggest is governmental incompetence at the federal level. 

This collapse of competence in our Federal government is occurring right now. The services that people have depended on are being significantly disrupted by bad decision making and executive practices. These disruptions due to federal incompetence are occurring in every sector. 

Michael Lewis was very prescient.

One of the things I have observed over the last few months in global trade is that former trading partners with the US are dealing the US bullying and lack of dependability by bypassing the US and forming trading relationships with non US partners.

One way to deal with unreasonable partners is rather than engage - bypass. The US is being left behind as the world moves on not wanting to deal with a country that is unstable, unreliable, and lacks credibility which is the death knell for business planning and other reliable, cooperative, collaborative partnerships.

The lack of integrity, credibility, dependability will have very negative consequences for American society in coming months and years.

Mother Nature and the moral compass

We are but a minuscule part of an interdependent multitude. The web of life is vast. And really, really cool. This innate sensibility tends to get muted as we “mature,” making it all the more important to revisit and rekindle those early sparks. That feeling of awe that rushes through us when we get up close to the natural world is a signal. Like all strong feelings in the heart and gut, it is telling us something about what matters—about where we can find joy and connection, about what is valuable and sacred, about how to orient a moral compass in a decaying world. In other words, it is telling us how to survive. As humans, it is maladaptive to lose touch with these feelings.

Johnson, Ayana Elizabeth. What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures (p. xviii). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

No person is an island. We are part of something much more vast than our individual ego. That “something much more” goes by many names. For this article, I am calling it “Mother Nature.”

In Unitarian Universalism one of its seven principles is to covenant together to affirm and promote the respect for the interdependent web of which we are a part.

Humanity has lost respect for the interdependent web and we have fouled our nest which now puts us in peril for survival and already has killed millions of other species of life forms on this planet.

When people are discouraged they play the game of “Ain’t it awful.” We tsk tsk and blame others or circumstances and then in a depressed state give up and tell apocalyptic stories to entertain and profit as we submit to circling the drain.

Others deny the human impact on Mother Nature and say that the climate changes we are observing are the result of natural processes outside of our control. These climate change deniers usually have a hidden agenda which is to profit from business as usual no matter the longer term destructive consequences which destroy the very businesses they are lying to protect and they don’t care about the death and destruction their products are wreaking on the interdependent web.

The Noble eightfold path in Buddhism teaches that we should strive for wisdom which is right understanding, and right action which is abstaining from harming living beings.

Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson the author of What If We Get It Right? repeatedly reminds us that we, as humans, have choices. We are not doomed. There are things we can do and are doing already to be more respectful of the interdependent web and treat Mother Nature with the worth and dignity she deserves.

What are the most important things we can do to improve our caring for Mother Nature?

1. Inform ourselves to become more self aware.

2. Engage with others to work to create better environments for all things on earth.

3. Implement positive practices to nurture and facilitate healthy nurturing ecologies.

4. Evaluate the outcomes of our practices

5. Go back to step one and repeat the cycle.

If you are reading this post, you are already doing step one. Come along with us on Markhams Slow News as we study further the mitigation of negative human practices on climate change and learn to adapt in the most just  and equitable ways possible to the changes that are already occurring.

Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York will serve Medicaid patients at no cost since Medicaid has been cut

From WXXI news on 09/22/25:

Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York will provide patients using Medicaid with care at no cost, now that the federal government is no longer providing reimbursement for its services.

The Trump administration blocked more than 1.1 million patients from using their Medicaid coverage at these health centers for one year. And recently, a federal appeals court upheld that policy.

More than half of the patients at Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York use Medicaid.

Most of US tax dollars is going to the newly named "Department Of War."

 

What is the message being sent when the Republicans change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War?

What's in a name? What are the connotations and the hidden meanings of words?

Do you think this Republican change in name is a good thing or bad thing for Americans and the World?

The military systems are very expensive in money and life. Does the creation, use, and nurturing of military systems benefit or harm life on planet Earth?

The military budget in the US is the largest line item with over 50% of federal tax dollars going on the military. This portion of the budget is so large it cannot be effectively audited so we don't even know precisely where are tax dollars are going.

Edwin Starr's great song "War, what is it good for?" came out in 1970 during the Vietnam war. Nothing much has changed since then given the US involving itself in all kinds of wars.

Why to you think what you think?

 From After The Algorithm by Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, September 1 & 8, 2025 p.31

A feeling of overstimulation is one consequence of algorithmic life. Another is a certain jumbledness in our ideas. Why do we care about what we care about? Walking into your basement in the dark, you might stumble into a cobweb; one strain of philosophical thought holds that this is how caring works. We become ensnared by the possibilities that happen to present themselves as we live—we get caught in webs of care. You run into your elderly neighbor in the morning and, that night, wonder how he’s doing. Your middle schooler likes Chappell Roan, and soon you do, too. A single encounter with “The Fountainhead” at thirteen might make you a lifelong libertarian. Algorithmic culture taps into the casual randomness with which we apportion our care; it takes advantage of the fact that what we bump into today might obsess us tomorrow. Its webs, meanwhile, are woven by machines that are owned by corporations.

Why do think what you think? How is it that somethings capture your attention and not others? Are you in control of your mind or are external stimuli manipulating it?

Like your intentional diet prescribes what food you put into your mouth, do you take as much care with your intellectual diet?

Do you control the AI or does the AI control you?

As the bumper sticker says, "Be alert. The world needs more lerts."

Do you understand how thought systems work? The first and most important component of thought systems is the capturing of your attention.

Rochester area NPR and PBS dealing with congressional cuts to their budget of $1.9 Million

Congress has eliminated all public media funding — including the $1.9 million that WXXI was scheduled to receive this October.

Incredible community support has gone a long way toward making up that shortfall — but a $700,000 gap remains that must be filled by October 1.

One of the strategies to take over  a society by an autocrat is to control the media and to eliminate the sources of accurate information that undermine the autocrat's lies. We are seeing this happen in the US as the Republican administration attempts to intimidate and eliminate what they consider unfavorable sources of accurate reporting.

Here on MarkhamsSlowNews we have committed ourselves to the Truth pledge which means we fact check and provide only the truth as best we are able.

Here in Rochester, NY area, MarkhamsSlowNews utilized the reporting of NPR and supports there journalism.

Public health prevention vs. biomedical early detection

From The Mail in the Sept. 1&8, 2025 New Yorker Magazine:

Medical Trials

Siddhartha Mukherjee, in his piece on early-stage cancer detection, presents a convincing argument concerning the perils of screening ("Early Warnings," June 23rd). He also suggests that the bio-medical model, which finds disease, is being privileged over the public-health model, which seeks to prevent illness and can do so effectively given enough resources. Clean air and water, quality food, adequate housing, safe workplaces, education, and vaccination contribute far more to the health of a population than catching disease early. But biomedicine is where the money is, and screening brings in a significant share. Mammography alone is an eleven-billion-dollar industry.

Burden Lundgren, M.P.H., Ph.D., R.N.
Norfolk, Va.

It is much cheaper preventing disease than treating it once it starts and is detected. However, prevention, by its very nature, does not lead to the manifestation of a problem, and if there is no problem, why spend resources to prevent it from occurring in the future? "We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it is an easier political sell than spending resources up front to prevent a problem that may not occur.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

A stitch in time saves nine.

"Be prepared!" (Old Boy Scout motto.)

Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance

Red states, Texas, Florida lead financial distress

 

Red states such as Texas and Florida have the highest levels of citizens in financial distress. Why would that be? Could it have anything to do with the Republican policies promulgated in those states?

It is interesting how people don't vote for candidates who would further their financial interests but rather vote for candidates funded by oligarchs who fear monger blaming "the other" for peoples woes rather their own special interest policies.

How bad will it get before voters decide there is a better way?

Republican anti -Canadian rhetoric and policies has big economic impact on Florida

 Social policies have consequences both good and bad. The recent Republican anti-Canadian policies and rhetoric are having a huge impact on border states and snow bird states that historically have had friendly relations with Canadians.

The economic hardships as well as the social ill will can only get worse as the Republicans continue to be in control of social policy in the US. Remember the advocates for these xenophobic policies the next time you vote in any election: local, state, national.

Is cheating now normative behavior in the United States?

When I set out to study cheating, I naturally told everyone I met about my new project and soon found that some people blushed red at the very sound of the word. Then I would blush, it being obvious that the other person had just inadvertently confessed something very intimate.

Fenster, Julie M. . Cheaters Always Win: The Story of America (p. 8). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

To what extent do you cheat and condone cheating in other people’s behavior? Some claim that cheating has gotten worse in the United States and point to the fact that we elected Donald Trump, one of the most notorious cheaters in the world, as our President.

As President, Donald Trump, becomes a role model for people: adults and children,  what are the consequences for our social relationships? When did cheating become normative behavior and not only no longer shocks people, but has come to be expected.

When we find out that successful people cheat, we are no longer surprised but want to know how bad the cheating was and what the damages and repercussions are.

MarkhamsSlowNews reports on social systems so that people can understand their lived experience from a broader perspective. If cheating is a normative behavior in the United States in 2025, what does that mean for the functioning of our society?

This is the first of a series of articles about cheating: its prevalence and consequences for our society.

What are Americans so afraid of?

 

Many Americans don’t feel safe. They are manipulated constantly by politicians who tell them they should be very afraid and that only the politician if elected can safe them.

This is a cruel game used to manipulate voters. Only when we feel safe can we turn our attention from the described threats and work together to create a better world.

People when they are scared are often not accurate in assessing real threats. What we are told to be scared of distracts our attention from what really matters.

This political game of “Be afraid and only I only I can save you” is very effective in manipulating groups of people and “spooking the herd.” This game is played not only by politicians but also constantly by the media.

“They’re eating the dogs! They’re eating the cats!” got Trump and Vance elected. Americans have been played as chumps.

It’s time for Americans to grow up and stop reacting to the imaginary monsters politicians have told them are under their beds. How does the American voter grow up and develop a more adult understanding of the world? It takes two things: correct information and emotional support.

Who can Americans trust? What is accurate and true? Who is honest and competent at threat assessment, and threat management preparedness? Who can you believe?

In future articles, MarkhamsSlowNews is dedicated to sharing the truth and referring the reader to accurate sources of information and ideas about how to obtain emotional support based on equity, justice, and compassion.

Universal Basic Income programs work.

 

The social welfare system in capitalistic countries is designed to provide only the smallest of benefits to force people into a cheap labor pool to benefit the oligarchs.

Universal Basic Income programs work in raising the quality of life for citizens and decreasing the incidence and prevalence of other social problems so in the long run not only provide dignity to people but also save the taxpayers money for having to fund other remedial services for problems fueled by poverty.

Red states have the highest gun mortality rates in the US.

 

This chart based on data from the CDC depicts the gun mortality rates per 100,000. The red states have much higher gun mortality rates than blue states. New York has the 4th lowest gun mortality rate in the nation due to its gun safety laws.

New York state goes distraction free this school year 2025 - 2026

This school year, all K-12 public schools, charter schools, and BOCES across New York State are going distraction-free! That means our kids are going to spend less time scrolling, and more time learning and creating real, in-person connections with their peers.

26 states have laws or policies that either ban or limit the use of cell phones in K-12 classrooms.

The total number of states with some form of statewide policy, including those that require school districts to adopt their own policies, is approximately 34 to 35.

These limits on cell phone use during school time is a good thing for child and adolescent development. There are plenty of studies now that document the barriers and obstacles to learning and social connections and the hampering of cognitive and mental health that the obliquitous presence of cell phones create.

Limiting the use of cell phones in all areas of life would contribute to an enhancement of human well being and functioning. Cell phones have their place and are a useful tool but an over dependence on them and used for the wrong reasons create problems for human functioning. 

The big question is "Are we in control of the technology or is the technology in control of us?"

Restorative Justice: A Better Way

… these injuries exist on several levels and are experienced by victims, communities, and even offenders. The current policies and practice of criminal justice focus almost entirely on the offender as lawbreaker, filtering out virtually all aspects of crime except questions of legal guilt and punishment.

Van Ness, Daniel W.; Heetderks Strong, Karen. Restoring Justice: An Introduction to Restorative Justice (p. 4). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. 

The current criminal justice system has been called “The King’s Justice” because the way it is set up is that the King (the state) makes the laws and the alleged criminal until proven guity has broken them. The State then exacts a punishment from the offender, “do the crime, do the time” mentality eliminates the victim(s) and the community from the system.

Only in recent decades have “victim rights” been recognized, acknowledged, and made a marginal part of the adversarial winner/loser game that unfolds.

Only since the 70s has another model of justice come to the awareness of the public known as Restorative Justice but it is little known and even less put into practice, but when it has there is evidence that it gets much better outcomes.

Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community. It’s a different approach from traditional criminal justice, which primarily focuses on punishing the offender. The core idea is that crime harms individuals and communities, and justice should be about repairing that harm. This process often involves a meeting between the victim, the offender, and community members. The offender takes responsibility for their actions, and together, they decide how to best repair the harm done. The goal is to address the needs of the victim, hold the offender accountable, and reintegrate both parties into the community.

I engaged in a restorative process when a three time drunk driver killed two of my children back in 1994.

This is the first of several articles on Restorative Justice, a better way to repair the harms experienced in our communities, states, nation, and world.