President Carter's greatest contribution ignored.

 Dear Editor, (Submitted 2-27-28.  Below is their edited version printed the next day).

Tom Basile’s praise in “Jimmy Carter’s lessons for leaders” (WTimes 2-27-23) missed one profoundly important focus of his Administration.  His commitment to humanity.  President Reagan removed the solar panels Carter installed on the White House.  And then most elected officials since then have ignored the clear warnings detailed in Carter’s 1980 bipartisan “Presidential Commission on World Hunger.”  Hunger is mentioned more times in the bible than any other earthly issue.

The commission concluded “The most potentially explosive force in the world today is the frustrated desire of poor people to attain a decent standard of living. The anger, despair, and often hatred that result represent real and persistent threats to international order… Neither the cost to national security of allowing malnutrition to spread nor the gain to be derived by a genuine effort to resolve the problem can be predicted or measured in any precise, mathematical way. Nor can monetary value be placed on avoiding the chaos that will ensue unless the United States and the rest of the world begin to develop a common institutional framework for meeting such other critical global threats [but] this combination of problems now threatens the national security of all countries just as surely as advancing armies or nuclear arsenals.”

Commissioners also agreed “that promoting economic development in general, and overcoming hunger in particular, are tasks far more critical to the U.S. national security than most policymakers acknowledge or even believe. Since the advent of nuclear weapons, most Americans have been conditioned to equate national security with the strength of strategic military forces. The Commission considers this prevailing belief to be a simplistic illusion... Military force is ultimately useless in the absence of the global security that only coordinated international progress toward social justice can bring.”

Since 1980 US policymakers have ignored this wisdom. And today we are experiencing the consequences of increases in “diseases”, “international terrorism”, “war”, “environmental problems” and “other human rights problems” (refugees, genocide, human trafficking…). These global pressures now fuel anti-democratic populist movements everywhere.  

Other prestigious reports have since 1980 offered similar warnings.  The failure of my baby boomer generation in creating sufficient political will is primarily to blame.  The highest priority of today’s generation should be urgently prioritizing the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).   The evolution of pathogens, weapons, war, corruption, environmental distresses, misinformation, failing democracies, growing economic disparities, and debt burden are outpacing our political will to change. This is literally and globally unsustainable. 

 ************************

Below is the Washington Times letter they actually printed...edited down. 

Printed in today’s Washington Times (2-28-23): 

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/feb/27/letter-editor-hunger-poverty-heart-problems/

Hunger, poverty at heart of our problems

Tom Basile’s praise for the 39th U.S. president in “Jimmy Carter’s lessons for leaders” (Web, Feb. 24) misses one profoundly important focus of the Carter administration: Mr. Carter’s commitment to our future.

Most elected officials since have ignored the clear warnings detailed in Mr. Carter’s 1980 bipartisan Presidential Commission on World Hunger, which concluded that the “most potentially explosive force in the world today is the frustrated desire of poor people to attain a decent standard of living.” Commissioners agreed that “promoting economic development in general, and overcoming hunger in particular, are tasks far more critical to the U.S. national security than most policymakers acknowledge or even believe.”

Since 1980, U.S. policymakers have ignored this wisdom. And today, we are experiencing the consequences of increases in disease, international terrorism, war, environmental problems and other human rights problems (refugees, genocide, human trafficking). These global pressures now fuel anti-democratic populist movements everywhere.  

The failure of my baby boomer generation in creating sufficient political will is primarily to blame. The highest priority of today’s generation should be the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. The evolution of pathogens, weapons, war, corruption, environmental distresses, misinformation, failing democracies, growing economic disparities and debt burden are outpacing our political will to change. This is literally and globally unsustainable. 

 

CHUCK WOOLERY

Rockville MD

 

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
-- George Santayana  [Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás] (1863-1952) Spanish-born philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist   Source: "Reason from Common Sense", 1905

 

Turkeys (not including elected officials) in Maryland and US politics.

I’ve lived in MD for over 30 years and spent countless hours in its parks and nature preserves over the past 11 years as a MoCo Certified Weed Warrior.  Having worked in dozens of Montgomery county’s 400-plus parks and another dozen of Rockville City’s 64 parks and preserves, I’ve only once seen a live wild turkey.   It was last year just before thanksgiving when I was standing in a backyard in Rockville.  The turkey was less than 10 yards across from the city border strutting around in Montgomery County’s Rock Creek Park SVU7 (Stream Valley Unit 7).

Having hunted ducks, geese, pheasants, and quail as a young boy growing up in Washington State my first instinct was to get a cheap Thanksgiving dinner.  But it was the awe-inspiring feeling of seeing that wild turkey so close that quickly washed out that idea.

How I wish my children could have seen such a bird in their early years biking on our local trails.  Two day’s before the end of National Invasives Species Awareness Week I had the opportunity of leading a crew of 12 volunteers who are also committed to removing non-native invasive plant species from our local parks.  The goal is to protect Maryland’s remaining native wildlife (plants, animals, and mushrooms) while also protecting the integrity of the remaining sustainability of all species (including our own on this continent or any other).   

The Wild Turkey is the largest native bird in the US.  It evolved in North America about 20 million years ago.  Humans domesticated some about 2000 years ago.  In what is now the United States, there were an estimated 10 million turkeys in the 17th century. By the 1930s, only 30,000 remained.  Once abundant in Maryland, human activity diminished its population (and many other species) via deforestation (logging and farming) and unregulated hunting.  In the 1960s and ‘70s Maryland joined in a national effort to restore Turkey populations.  Experts estimate that Maryland now has about 40,000.  But that number is again in decline.  One major factor is the loss of its natural breeding habitat (trees and brush) for nesting.   But there’s also a noted decline in hatchlings surviving to maturity (normally 3 to 4 young, now two or fewer).  That is insufficient to replace those that die each year.  

This January Maryland state launched a study in conjunction with other surrounding states, to find out the specifics of why the turkey population is declining.  I’m hopeful this study will investigate how the loss of native plant species contributes to the bird’s decline.  And more specifically how many non-native invasive (NNI) plant species are part of this.  Given that NNI vines are the second largest cause of tree loss in Maryland I’m confident it will be significant.  Hopefully, the new study won’t miss the vital importance of how the natural variety of other native wildlife species contribute to the health/integrity of the Turkey’s immune system and its egg formation physiology. 

An expert in this field is Doug Tallamy who has studied dozens of native birds and their essential need for abundant and accessible native plants in order to maintain their breeding populations. 

And all of these nature connections must be considered to achieve national and state goals of preserving 30 percent of our remaining natural areas and restoring another 30 percent of the natural areas now endangered.  Preservation and restoration of this fundamental infrastructure has been largely ignored since the beginning of our official nation’s founding.  In spite of our nation’s principled founding document (the Declaration of Independence) stating in its first paragraph the underpinning of “the Powers of the Earth” and “the Opinions of Mankind” offered two sets of laws to sustain human freedom and security.  Why have those in wealthy and power ignored these overarching laws “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God”?  Why is it so hard to grasp the fundamental principles of adequate and responsible stewardship of God’s creation - while protecting all others as we protect ourselves?

Turkeys can be aggressive toward humans and pets because they have a social structure pecking order and often react to humans and animals as they do other turkeys in an attempt to dominate what they view as subordinates.  Perhaps we are.   In 2017, a town in Massachusetts recommended a controversial approach when confronted with such Turkey aggression (defense of their freedom and security?).   City officials suggested stepping forward to intimidate the bird while "making noise” or threatening them.  This advice was quickly rescinded with a caution that "being aggressive toward wild turkeys is not recommended....” I consider that rare wisdom coming from a human bureaucracy.

Shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the Continental Congress gave Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams the job of designing an official seal for the new nation.  They failed, as well as two later committees, to come up with a design Congress approved of.  But eventually, the bald eagle became our national symbol. In ancient times it was considered a sign of strength and Roman legions used it as theirs. Contrary to folklore there’s no evidence that Ben Franklin protested the bald eagle and lobbied for the turkey.  But in a 1784 letter to his daughter, he did label the bald eagle “a bird of bad moral character.”

Observing the character of US policymakers today and their inability to achieve the seven intentions stated in the preamble to our Constitution, perhaps it's time to revisit the wisdom within the Declaration of Independence.  There’s no doubt that Abraham Lincoln hunted and ate wild turkeys.  But few patriots know that he saw our nation’s “Declaration of Independence is our Apple of Gold” and our Constitution as “its Frame of Silver.”

If we in our Republic intend to avoid the same fate as Rome perhaps it's time true patriots embody our natural instincts to ensure ‘liberty and justice for all” which we have all pledged before our flag.  And instead of believing we are independent of the natural world that sustains us, embrace our species' interconnectedness and interdependence.

And do some deep thinking about this recent quote by Jen Easterly, the Director of CISA (Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency) in her speech on Oct. 29, 2021. [CISA is our nation’s newest federal agency established by the Trump Administration in 2018].   

“Everything is connected, everything is interdependent, so everything is vulnerable.... And that’s why this has to be a more than whole of government, a more than whole of nation [effort]. It really has to be a global effort....”  Hopefully, Ms. Easterly understands that our environment is our most vital infrastructure that ensures our energy and food supply, normal weather conditions, and superpowers our economy.  And that human freedom and security everywhere is inherently and irreversibly connected to a sustainable environment.  

We humans need to remember that nature is always the last to bat.  Our grandchildren may never see wild turkeys in nature.  But nature always has a batting average of 100%.  And it's our species' turn to bat.

 (“Neyhom” is the replacement word suggested, which is how Wampanoag peoples of Massachusetts called the native American bird.)

 

Crypto currency privacy is threat to national security...and American economic privacy.

Dear Editor,

David McIntosh’s belief that we should “let individuals, not government, decide on how and when to invest” (Chinese Communist Crypto policy in America,  Feb 15, 2023) missed the fundamental global reality/truth that individuals also have the choice of ‘where to invest, and how much to invest, and what to invest in’. 

Given the irreversible interconnectedness of the global economy and the capacity to weaponize everything, including words (see Social Media and Chat GBT Feb 13^th headline) our God-given right of freedom also allows us to do as we, please.  But that will never achieve what our government and our Constitution’s preamble intends  -  to keep us citizens free and secure – and thus leave of free of these undesirable unintended consequences of ignoring fundamental truths.

The privacy of Cryptocurrency enables anyone to avoid the scrutiny of US government intelligence agencies in their search for ‘where’ those financial resources are spent, ‘how much’, and ‘what’ it is invested in.   Thus, our government can never ensure both our individual freedoms or our security without violating everyone’s economic privacy.  

And again, the prophetic words of Jen Easterly, the director of CISA, the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (our nation’s newest federal agency established by the Trump Administration in 2018), “Everything is connected, everything is interdependent, so everything is vulnerable.... And that’s why this has to be a more than whole of government, a more than whole of nation [effort]. It really has to be a global effort....” should be self-evident to all.

Her quote should become the Washington Times equivalent of the Washington Post’s discrete daily headliner “Democracy Dies in the Darkness”.  Her words enlighten us all that ‘everything’ means everything.  And the fundamentals of sustaining our freedoms and our security require our acceptance of this great truth -- that ‘independence’, the current foundation of our federal republic, is an illusion.

Chuck Woolery   chuck@igc.org   240-997-2209

315 Dean Dr., Rockville, MD 20851   

Doomsday Clock on Biosecurity

Below is an article written by some of the smartest minds in the Bulletin of the Atomic Science's Science and Security Board.   But intelligence rarely reflects wisdom.   And the best physics does not always reflect the fundamental principles of living and evolving things.

Biosecurity has certainly risen as a threat.  But pathogens have always been humanity's greatest killer and persistent threat.  Our advances in biotechnology have only accelerated the threat given our species' lack of attention to "the Laws of Nature and Nature's God".   

Pathogen evolution has only accelerated due to human laws violating both of these.

Immune systems have evolved to counter pathogens for well over 2 billion years of environmental change.  Human activities like pollution have introduced mutagenic chemicals and climate-changing pollutants that accelerate pathogen change and spread.  Our incursion into untouched environments exposes us to more our immune systems have never encountered.  

But it is our cognitive systems that now pose our greatest threat in following human alternative principles...like "peace through strength" instead of implementing the wisdom of 'global liberty and justice for all' that exacerbates every aspect of human security threats.  But particularly biosecurity. 

Given our accelerating human capacity to weaponize every technology (even social media platforms) that the threat of biosecurity is now (or should be) paramount in our minds with changing laws, governance systems, and focused financing.  

After reading their introduction here is what they recommended.  

"Every country must:

• ·      Make greater investments in public health; 
• ·      Develop, test, and optimize oversight regimes for risky research; 
• ·      Eliminate biological agents intended as weapons and dismantle programs producing them; 
• ·      Identify outbreaks before they become epidemics and pandemics; 
• ·      Share data, analytics, and intelligence on biological events; and 
•         Identify and attribute biological events quickly. 

These are great...except for "Eliminate biological agents intended as weapons and dismantle programs producing them;"

Knowing there are nations or groups already developing new bioweapons for tactical offense or even genocidal intention it's imperative that 'the good guys' develop every imaginable bioweapon first...so that extremely effective countermeasures can be produced prior to 'the bad guys' using what they will certainly develop.   This "gain of function' research is urgently needed given the current level of extremist views in nationalism, religion, environmentalism, racism, and anti-semitism.  

Prohibiting the weaponization of anything is a lost cause.  We can only prevent the human desire to use technology in horrific ways -- by winning the hearts and minds of those now driven to mass murder as a solution.   It's either the global 'rule of law' (laws democratically made and enforced, applied equally to all people, in the protection of their fundamental inalienable rights) or the law of force (anything goes!).   And time is running out.  
Investing in achieving the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals is our best bet at his time. 

*****************************************************************************

Doomsday Clock is Ticking on Biosecurity

Countries around the world must cooperate and deepen their investments in global health and biosecurity strategies.   By SUZET MCKINNEY, ASHA M. GEORGE and DAVID RELMAN   JANUARY 31, 2023 01:17 PM ET

Last Tuesday, we and the other members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board moved the iconic Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been. We moved it largely (though not exclusively) because of the mounting dangers, both direct and indirect, of the war in Ukraine. (See the accompanying statement we published alongside the time change.) 

The impact of this war on the global order has implications far beyond the nuclear realm and the battlefield more generally. The war thwarts international cooperation exactly when we need cooperation most—to address pressing 21st-century threats such as climate change, mis- and disinformation, and a problem we and others know quite well: the proliferation of biological threats.  

Devastating events like the COVID-19 pandemic can no longer be considered rare, once-a-century occurrences. The number and diversity of infectious disease outbreaks has risen since 1980, with more than half caused by zoonotic diseases (that is, disease originating in animals and transmitted to humans). Zoonoses put the human population in danger of pandemics, a danger we should expect to increase as a changing climate alters animal migrations and behaviors and humans continue to push their built environment into more remote spaces. There is immense, uncharacterized diversity within the 26 virus families and the many phyla of bacteria and other microbes known to infect humans. The world’s ability to predict which of these viruses and microbes are most likely to cause human disease is woefully inadequate.

In response to these growing biological concerns, we have seen many welcome advances in research. We live in a time of revolutionary advances in the life sciences and associated technologies. No doubt some of these could lead to better health outcomes for all. Researchers can engineer living things to acquire new traits with increasing ease and reliability, especially viruses that can be synthesized de novo in the laboratory. Such capabilities inevitably lead to dual-use concerns. But as life sciences and associated technologies advance faster and faster, they outrace oversight regimes, strategies for risk assessment and risk mitigation, and the establishment of norms for scientific pursuit. 

These are not idle concerns. Laboratory accidents occur frequently. Laboratory biosafety and biosecurity programs are challenged by human error, confusion about lab safety requirements, limited understanding of novel disease characteristics, poor appreciation for the risks associated with some research, and lack of local government knowledge about the types of research occurring in labs in their jurisdictions.

Leaders around the world must confront the possibility of global catastrophic biological risks. Sudden, extraordinary, widespread disasters may test or exceed the collective capability of national and international governments and the private sector to control. Cooperation in biosecurity is necessary now more than ever.

There are several important efforts to advance global regulation and cooperation in life sciences research. In September, the World Health Organization released a “Global guidance framework for the responsible use of the life sciences: mitigating biorisks and governing dual-use research.” Similarly, in October, the White House released an updated “National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan,” which takes an all-of-government approach that could serve as a model for others. Both are worthy efforts.

However, much more is required. If we are to reduce these risks, all nations and national governments must make biosecurity a top priority. Every country must:

·      Make greater investments in public health; 

·      Develop, test, and optimize oversight regimes for risky research; 

·      Eliminate biological agents intended as weapons and dismantle programs producing them; 

·      Identify outbreaks before they become epidemics and pandemics; 

·      Share data, analytics, and intelligence on biological events; and 

·      Identify and attribute biological events quickly. 

If countries around the world cooperate on global health and biosecurity strategies and make investments in science, technology, research, and development in the biosecurity sector, we can minimize debilitating illness, widespread death, and disease-induced disasters.