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What happens when the children of our country cannot feel like they can trust our government?

Respectfully, Senator Feinstein, I think you made a mistake in dismissing the concerns of these children you spoke to. Meeting with them isn’t simply a political and media stunt.

Now, I do understand your concern about the costs of the New Green Deal. I’m concerned about the costs of the New Green Deal - among other things. However, I think instead of discouraging the children and implying “Your wrong because you are children, and I’m right because I’m Senator Feinstein and I just got elected.”, you should have welcomed their debate and concerns, taking them seriously.

Those children are our future, and you simply dismissed them. Lest I have to remind you that those children do have parents who are registered voters. Do you want the Democratic Party losing to the Conservative majority in Congress again?

Do you want Trump to declare himself king?

I think that’s it’s safe to say that there needs to be a retirement of the seniority in the Senate.

Artificial intelligence has been quite the fascination for me over the years. I grew up watching Rosie of The Jetsons take care George Jetson and his family as an aging Cuban mother would with her grown son and grandchildren - before turning on the rest of the equipment and verbally sparring with it. I think that President Trump remembers this as well, and wants to replicate the advantages of Artificial Intelligence - saucy latin Rosies aside - faster than its productivity is already successfully being used.

However, President Trump might be too late with his new executive order. If the United States government had wanted to harness the technology of artificial inntelligence into the private economy, then it should have occurred immediately after the USSR dissolved and the Cold War ended in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

It’s the irony today when we live with Siri, Alexa, and Corona - from Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft respectively. Sure, Siri, Alexa, and Corona are helpful - when they aren’t being annoying. We can order food, check the weather, get tickets for a film, book flights, buy cars…The list of what these programs let us do goes on and on - all from the minds of private enterprises. 

Even the elderly in Japan are being cared for by personal attending robotics while their health professionals and family members monitor their vital signs from elsewhere. 

Yet we miss out on human connection and touch constantly.

Besides, what happens to that advanced artificial intelligence when the electricity goes out? 

I realize the logic of my own error in this stark observation while typing this piece out on an internet blog instead of the local paper. After all, not only did I love watching The Jetsons, but I’m a bonafide Star Trek fan as well. (The Next Generation, anyone? Picard could beat out Kirk any day of the week, in my humble opinion.).  Mr. Spock meet Lt. Data, etc.

However, shouldn’t we also take Issac Asimov fictitious warnings of the Three Laws of Robotics to heart if we are to wholeheartedly embrace artificial intelligence into our lives in the near future? 

1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2) A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

What if the same needed to be said about artificial intelligence as if is above about robots? Regardless of the lack of hardware, artificial intelligence can produce a lot of good - or a lot of bad - in the world, depending on who has their hands on it.

Think of the animated characters Baymax from Big Hero Six or Chappie from Chappie. Their robotic characters were written as an exploration of what could happen if artificial intelligence suddenly became very human. As expected in those types of films, the kind and innocent robots temporarily turn bad after their creation for various reasons (usually those of their creators) and private individuals grew fearful of what was new and unfamiliar. 

But what happens after that? Will AI replace humans completely? Why would we want to replace our spieces with them in the first place? Does President Trump want to replace the American human workforce - which is already being driven out of the workforce in droves due to robotics, particularly in vehicle manufacturing. 

A few days ago, I did a post about the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) conducting an anti-abortion demonstration on the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) main campus. I stand by the statement that all of the graphic photographs shown were of fetuses that would not be viable, even with intense medical intervention. I believe women should be loved and supported in whatever decision they choose for their bodies - and in turn - their families and loved ones, including themselves.

Once again, the women who get abortions should not be shamed or guilted by individuals who don’t understand their circumstances - especially those of religious organizations. Those organizations should take a step back and take another look at their scriptures. Like how Jesus interacted with Mary Magdalene - the prostitute who washed his feet with her hair that had been dipped in perfume - “Let those who are without sin throw the first stone.” (John 8:7).

The sudden rise in anti-abortion law in various states - such as Louisiana, Texas, and Florida - is concerning. No physicians can realistically get approval for hospital admissions in under forty-five days, as what was required by Louisiana’s Unsafe Abortion Protection Act (La HB 388) that was passed in 2014. Thankfully, the United States Supreme Court’s decision on Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt in 2016 made sure that legal shenanigans like Louisiana’s HB 388 were pulled to a stop.

However, when a highly respected politician - such as current President Trump - begins to confuse a Caesarean section - a life saving medical procedure - with an abortion, he’s got a lot of catching up to do with his own personal physician.

Personally, I love the hutzpah of Ms. AOC’s plan of House Resolution 109 . Her ambition knows no bounds. The Green New Deal is brilliant - on paper. Whether it can be put into fruition is the really big question.

Additionally, I have been reading and listening to a lot of commentary on the issue - and I have a few major questions myself for Ms. AOC. That is, if Speaker Palosi doesn’t toss the legislation out on it’s ass or let it die in a subcommittee first.

My initial questions are:

1) How is the government going to make Americans give up their vehicles? 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the American public lease and/or own their own vehicle. They need them to get to work, medical appointments, and/or school. They are not going to give them up without a big fight. It’s a big symbol of independence. 

2) How are people in rural areas going to get to their regional train station without the use of a vehicle that runs either on gas or ethanol and still make the train on time? 

3) Where are people going to live and work while their original homes, offices, and grocery stores are being refurbished to meet the energy efficient demands of House Resolution 109?

4) How are people going to keep warm or cook during the winter - or any season for that matter - without any natural gas available for heating?

5) How do you expect people to keep sanitary without any electricity to run the water pumps and/or water heaters? People can get very sick very quickly if sanitation becomes subpar.  Hospitals can become deadly if they don’t meet sanitation standards.

6)  What about international flights? Are those going to be banned from United States soil as well? Because with all air-traffic grounded, the economy comes to a screeching halt - as was almost seen during the recent 2018 - 2019 government shutdown.

7) How are you going to build a high speed rail when the state of California has decided to slow the scope and/or stop building theirs (CHSR) from Los Angeles to San Francisco due to cost and timing, according to Governor Gavin Newsom?

8) How are all of these brilliant resolutions going to be funded?