Social Identity Theory

In Social Identity Theory there are a couple of phenomena known as BIRG - Basking In Reflected Glory, and CORF - Cutting Off Reflected Failure. 

BIRGing and CORFing represent two strategies individuals employ to enhance or protect their self esteem. An easy-to-understand example is the manifestation of this in sports fandom.

BIRGing, refers to the inclination of an individual to associate themselves with the successful and the celebrated. Researchers have provided evidence that following a winning football game fans were more likely to wear clothing that endorsed the football team. They were also more likely to use the pronoun 'we' to describe the events of the game as compared to fans after a losing football game. 

In the case of a loss fans frequently distanced themselves from the football team - cutting off reflected failure – or CORFing. These fans were less likely to wear clothing endorsing the team. Unremarkably, when asked to describe the events of the game they were more likely to use the pronoun 'they' in their descriptions. 

There are political ramifications as well – often reflected in how long people choose to keep their lawn signs out, their bumper stickers on a vehicle and their social media activity. 

I’m sure that your eyes are glazing-over at the musings of an old man so I will close this post with another pertinent phenomenon.

The capital markets really, really like divided government. Wall Street abhors uncertainty – feigned drama in particular.  

So, if you are retired and living on your investments or are saving money in a 401k, taking calculated risks in building a stock portfolio and keeping a long term view and faith in the American Experiment you have very good reason to remain righteous and hopeful.  

Psychobabble about fragile self esteem is thin currency which won't even buy you a beer.  

Move along now.  

There’s nothing further to see.

The Violence Must Stop

In as few as five years the number of threat investigations launched by the US Capitol Police has grown from 3,939 in 2017 to 9,625 in 2021.  An increase of almost 150 percent.  For 2022 Capitol Police reported 1,820 cases by the end of March setting the pace for more than 8000 incidents this year.  That's lower than 2020 and 2021 but current and final numbers have yet to be reported.

The recent attack-upon Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, punctuated the danger our elected officials face amid a rise in violent political speech.  There are people out there that on their best day struggle with sketchy mental health.  And they are dangerous.

In August a Pennsylvania man plead guilty to threatening to shoot and kill an unnamed member of Congress.

In July a man climbed a stage and tried to stab Representative Lee Zeldin.  Zeldin was unharmed and the attacker arrested.

The FBI arrested a man who has been charged with attempting to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

In January 2021 hundreds of rioters stormed the US Capitol forcing lawmakers to flee.  More than 100 Capitol Police officers were injured, one died the next day, four others committed suicide and four rioters died the day of the attack.  No elected officials were harmed. 

The same month Senator Mitch McConnell's home was vandalized and spray-painted with threatening graffiti.  The Pelosi home received similar graffiti treatment and the severed head of a pig was left behind.

Representatives Steve Scalise and Gabby Giffords were shot.

Anthrax-laced letters were sent to Senators Patrick Leahy and Tom Daschle.

The list of dangerous incidences in Washington DC alone continues to grow.

I have previously blogged about this yet at a recent Idaho rally a young man stepped up to a microphone to ask when he could start killing political opponents.  When do we get to use the guns?  How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?

Political violence has been part of our American story since the time of our Founding Fathers.  Brawling, duels, name-calling from all sides can be found throughout history.  But this is absolute nonsense.

And social media amplifies this by order of magnitude.

I have friends who ordinarily wear their Christian beliefs on their sleeves who have recently taken to their Face Book pages to gleefully gloat about and parody the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi.

Does the imaginary shield of a handheld device disguise?

It is perfectly acceptable to have a difference in political beliefs and to respectfully disagree.  However, when you dehumanize your political opponents, or anybody for that matter, it becomes easier to commit violence against them.

This is wrong.

This has to stop.

We are capable of better.

Tsunami

In 2006 George W. Bush characterized the Democratic takeover of Congress in the midterm election a thumping.

In 2010 Barack Obama observed the GOP takeover of Congress and characterized it a shellacking.

In 2018 (not surprisingly) Donald Trump blamed his loss of the Congress on his own party for failing to demonstrate sufficient loyalty to him.

In 2022 I predict a Red Tsunami.

How will Joe Biden characterize it?

November Night Sky

This month’s full Moon, also called the Beaver Moon, includes a total lunar eclipse.

BONUS!

NASA Image

Starting at about 3 AM on the east coast the Earth’s shadow will begin to slowly creep across the Moon’s surface, reaching peak eclipse around 5 AM here in Wisconsin.  At this point, the Moon will take on an eerie reddish color, with 100% of its surface fully eclipsed by Earth’s shadow.

During a lunar eclipse the moon can take on a a red hue that is a consequence of the light from the sun hitting its disk after being bent around the earth by our planet's atmosphere which filters out blue light from the color spectrum.

This is the second and final lunar eclipse of 2022 with the previous eclipse occurring on May 16.  The next lunar eclipse, and the first of 2023, will occur on May 6.  This only a partial eclipse which will make it easier to miss.

Full moons often take their names from the traditions of native Americans and European
settlers.  November is the time of year that beavers retire to their lodges for the duration of
winter.  As a consequence of their pelts being prime this was also the time of year that fur
traders trapped beavers.

The Lakota people recognized this as the Deer Rutting Moon, Cree and Assiniboine called this the Frost Moon and with the spawning of this fish species in November the Algonquin called this the Whitefish Moon.

Fingers-crossed for cold, clear skies.

 

Canis Latrans

 

Near the dawn of time, the story goes; Coyote saved the creatures of Earth. According to the mythology of Idaho's Nez Perce people, the monster Kamiah had stalked into the region and was gobbling up the animals one by one. The crafty Coyote evaded Kamiah but didn't want to lose his friends, so he let himself be swallowed. From inside the beast, Coyote severed Kamiah's heart and freed his fellow animals. Then he chopped up Kamiah and threw the pieces to the winds, where they gave birth to the peoples of the planet. 

– Nature

Yote - short for coyote, Wile E. Coyote, Canis latrans.   If you were to inquire of a wildlife biologist they would tell you that there are nineteen subspecies of coyote that are exceedingly well-adapted to living in urban, rural and wild America.   

Male coyotes top out at about 44 pounds while females weigh-in slightly less.  For scale When we had hunting dogs our Labs are bulkier than the average coyote.  Coyotes are known for how well they adapt to different habitats.  They are found living in and around large cities, the central plains, farmland, and northern forest, in the desert scrub of the Sonoran Desert, foothills and mountains as well as in populated ring suburbs.  

Coyotes dine on large prey and also eat snakes, insects, rodents, fruit and other mast.  As an opportunistic hunter coyotes have been known to prey-upon small pets and livestock.  In an urban setting they will eat garbage and pet food left on a deck or patio.  The coyote is a gregarious animal - socially-inclined - like the wolf.  This is likely a consequence of the need for a family unit or pack of animals combining to bring down large game. 

Recent genetic studies suggest that coyotes are not native to the eastern United States - having largely evolved on the Great Plains.  As the eastern old growth forests were cleared for settlement and agriculture coyotes adapted to the new environs.   It is thought that coyotes dispersed to our neck of the woods early in the twentieth century.  These canids are presumed to have come from the northern Great Plains and are unique in their genetic origins.  Additional coyotes dispersed from here to New England via the northern Great Lakes region and southern Canada meeting in the 1940s in New York and Pennsylvania. These coyotes have inter-bred  with gray wolf and Eastern wolf populations adding to their own unique genetic diversity and further contributing to their hybrid vigor and ability to adapt to an ever changing environment.  Coyotes here are known as the Northeastern coyote. 

More frequently Jill and I hear coyote vocalizations than we see them live and in person.  In rural America coyotes share the same natural aversion to people that other wildlife do.  They are scared-to-death of people.  However, from time to time I do capture a handful of digital photos on a trail camera. 

 

The Madness of Resetting Clocks

Yup - it’s that time of year when we make the switch between Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time. 

The jury is still out as to whether or not this is an antiquated and grand inconvenience or sensible change of the clocks.  What we know for sure is that beginning tomorrow the return of Standard Time means an extra hour of sleep.  The sun will rise earlier - which is great if you rise early.  However, if you’re like this retired guy I’d prefer to see the sun a bit longer at the end of the day.  

So the operative questions are:

1.  Do we permanently switch to Daylight Saving Time?

2.  Switch to Standard Time altogether?

3.  Or continue with the madness of resetting clocks twice a year?

Steve Calandrillo, University of Washington professor of law, has studied this subject at length.  He has concluded that among other things, we need to abandon the concept of Standard Time inasmuch as early evening darkness is associated with more crime and automobile accidents when contrasted with early morning darkness.

Corporate America concurs.  With more daylight at the end of the day consumers stay out longer spending their money.  And if you like to squeeze-in a late season round of golf you understand the logic.

There is also the mental health angle as well.  Research has suggested that the switch to Standard Time is correlated with depression - a change not associated with the Spring Forward switch.  

Sure, Standard Time is old school and likely more in-sync with our prehistoric hunter-gatherer circadian rhythms - all hard-wired into our DNA for millennia and long before we had time-keeping devices and a Chamber of Commerce.

Nevertheless, this retired guy prefers to sleep-in a bit and would enjoy more sunlight during his active time of day.  Opinions are a dime a dozen.

No matter how you slice it the sunshine pie in a given day is always finite.  It's all about being a slave to clocks.  

Before we had time-keeping devices none of this was a problem.

It's madness.....

Friday Music

This tune has frequently been associated with resistance against military actions as well as generalized grievance over elitism and class in our own society.

How politicians exploit grievance over class is in vogue in a capitalist economy is a puzzlement to me.  But I digress.  

Released in 1969 at the peak of the Vietnam War John Fogerty explained that this song did not specifically single-out the war for criticism, instead, it speaks more to the unfairness of class than war itself.  It's the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them.

Conspicuously, or curiously, it has been featured at Trump rallies.  John Fogerty sought and received a cease and desist order factually noting that Donald Trump had received multiple draft deferments.

This live video is from the Ed Sullivan show of November 19, 1969.  Considering live television technology back in the day the videography is awesome. 

Crank-up the volume for Fortunate Son......