Rights Misunderstood

Many Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants I patronize in Northern California post a notice saying, “We reserve the right to refuse service to any person”. What is the intent of such a notice? Do they know what kind of right they say they “reserve”? This is an example of a gross misunderstanding of the meaning of rights. 

The American society is blessed with many human rights written into federal and state laws. Common sense will tell you that these rights do NOT include the right to discriminate based on race, religion, sex or belief. 

This notice posted at many Asian restaurants tends to remind me of the “White Only” sign when blacks were refused service sanctioned by the Southern State laws in a bygone era. We should seriously question the real intent of this notice. The restaurant owners are ignorant of their rights. Their business license only grants them the right to open a restaurant, but they must abide by all the existing laws that include equal treatment for all customers.

The notice posted literally means they can refuse service to any person they dislike by ignorantly invoking the word “right”. In this way, they are flouting with the discrimination laws of the land. When operating a restaurant, they only have the right to refuse service to a person who cannot pay, dressed improperly, or disturbing the enjoyment of their customers. They must serve any person who comes in to buy a meal. This is the rule of living in a capitalist society that values fair exchange — you pay and you get served. A good business owner understands that the customer is king and won’t fuss about his own rights, which is no more special than any other customer.  

The right to refuse service needs not be explicitly written down but implicitly understood with common sense. If the restaurant owners think they have the right to refuse service to any person they dislike, they are flouting with the law. The wording of the notice shows their intention to discriminate. The notice does not protect their business as they think. On the contrary, it brings them potential trouble with the law. Already, it has alienated some customers, myself included, thereby hurting their own business. 

The Poor Pay More For Less

The American society we live in is unfair to the poor in many ways. You may think that paying less for lower quality of goods and services sounds fair. On the contrary, the poor wind up paying more for less because of many subtle differences. Let me illustrate with some examples. 

I like to save money by eating at McDonalds occasionally. I also want to move up a little sometimes by eating at Denny’s or IHOP where a regular meal costs about twice as much. The type of food is different but the quality does not seem twice better. 

One day, a rich friend invited me to an expensive steakhouse where a regular steak cost $80, not including drinks and desserts. You can imagine the high quality of service and atmosphere in such kind of restaurant. To me, the total material satisfaction of the dinner is more than 20 times that at McDonalds. Moreover, I feel I belong to the big league in a state of intoxication especially with the fine wine. I asked my friend if he had eaten at McDonalds recently. He replied “Yuck!” I think he knows the poor pay more than what they bargain for. 

Despite their big numbers, the poor (and the middle class too) don’t have much bargaining power. The big chain restaurants like McDonalds and Denny’s like to boast their low profit margins (in percentages) as a good way to serve the public. On a higher level, when you add up their big volumes of business catering to the masses worldwide, these companies rank high in the amounts of profit they generate. 

If you compare the conditions of a rich neighborhood with those of a poor one, it is easy to understand the big differences. Even the police likes to patrol a rich neighborhood more than a poor one because of the hassles and dangers they can avoid. In addition, a poor neighborhood is not a good environment for the kids to grow up due to bad sanitation, bad schools, drugs and violence in the streets. A vicious circle exists where the kids tend to grow up poor as they inherit the poor conditions from their parents. On the contrary, a virtuous circle exists in a rich neighborhood. 

It sounds depressing indeed. Nevertheless, we see many successful people who manage to break the vicious circle by working hard and developing their talents in various industries such as sports, entertainment, small business, academics and politics. On the other hand, we also see many people breaking the virtuous circle and sinking to the bottom by letting the good material conditions corrupt their lives. 

Given the unfairness of society toward the poor and the middle class, progress can be made by promoting more opportunities in jobs and education. Despite all their disadvantages, the poor and the middle class have something to look forward to, which is the real hope of breaking the vicious circle they are in.  

The Day the Music Died

I am a fan of Western popular music since my preteen years in the mid 1950’s. Sadly, I felt the music died sometime during the mid 1980’s. I don’t know why it happened. The music just didn’t click anymore. Since then, my habit is to turn off the modern pop because it sounds like something coming from outer space. I never regret it for I have a treasure of 40 years of wonderful older pop to keep me happy. 

Coincidentally, the same thing happened to Cantonese popular music because the so-called Cantopop originated in Hong Kong was heavily influenced by pop music from America and England. 

Does this look like a generation gap? My kids say I don’t know how to appreciate the music of the new age. In order to find out, I went with them to a concert north of San Francisco where 3 female Cantonese pop singers from Hong Kong came to perform. It was a full house attended mostly by young people. The following are what I observed:

* The music did not resonate with the audience. I did not hear them echoing the singers. They only echoed a couple of old songs that were sung to bring back memories. Why did the old songs resonate with the audience while the new ones did not?

* The lyrics printed on two big screens were so wordy that I did not even bother to follow what they were singing. Should a popular song be made so hard to follow? Where are the catch-phrases that capture the audience’s attention?

* Nobody felt excited enough to move to the music or jump up and dance. Why? Are the new generation more tame than the old? 

* At the urge of the singers, the audience clapped, and waved their hands or lighted cell phones in unison. It looked like a herd behavior was being orchestrated, not a natural response to the musical rhythm.  

None of the above happened at the dozens of concerts I went to when I was young. During those concerts, the audience were so thrilled that many girls screamed. Some got up and danced in the aisles. Many echoed the singers. They need not wave their lighted cell phones in unison since they had none. All the live concerts were noisy but really fun. They managed to bring the audience to a high level of excitement with their music.  

In conclusion, a generation gap obviously exists. I think it exists in the quality of the music, not the reaction of the audience, who can always be thrilled by good music, regardless young or old. I have seen a peak and a valley of pop music since the mid 1950’s. I am lucky to have lived through a renaissance of pop music lasting from the early 1960’s to the early 1980’s. If the young generation does not agree, I am sad how much good music they have missed. 

Popular music is meant for regular people from all walks of life. It must be simple, pleasing to the ear, easy to sink in with some attractive catch-phrases or notes, and able to make you sing in the shower. The modern pop lacks all of these. I want to challenge the singers and composers to make a difference. Innovate like they did in the early 1960’s. Give the audience a better choice they deserve. Don’t follow commercial gimmicks which will only make you race to the bottom. We are thirsty for a pop music revival because we have been in a valley for too long.   

Plants Can Sense

In everyday life, it’s obvious that plants grow in the direction of sunlight simply because they need sunlight to make their own food in order to survive. Does that mean plants have eyes? No. Then how can plants see with no eyes? 

Do plants have ears? No! What kind of stupid question is this? However, experiments have shown that plants respond to sounds. According to a report by the Economist (9/9/23 issue), a Chinese research team discovers that an Asian shrub known as the telegraph plant produces much larger leaves when exposed to Buddhist chants, but not to silence or Western pop music. Another research finds that marigolds and sage plants being exposed to traffic noise suffer from stunted growth, and produce a range of stress compounds as well.

Besides responding to light and sound, some plant species also emit sounds beyond the frequency range of the human ear when being subject to different environmental stresses.

Since plants require water besides sunlight to make food, it is easy to see that their roots and shapes respond to the degree of moisture in the environment. In other words, they can find water through their sense of touch and feel.

Thus we see that plants have developed a unique capability of sensing the environment for the purpose of survival. This subtle capability is diffused throughout the plant structure. It is by no means limited to the specific sense organs of eyes, ears, nose and tongue as seen in animals. 

It is not difficult to understand that plants need care to grow and thrive. I am never good at that as shown by the withering of many plants both in and outside my home. On the contrary, some of my neighbors have grown beautiful plants. They have also harvested plenty of fruits because of their care. 

The Independent Fed

The Federal Reserve System, simply known as the Fed, was created by an Act of the US Congress in 1913 as the central bank of the United States. Its main function is to supervise and regulate commercial banks and other financial institutions to ensure economic stability and full employment.

Despite the power vested in the Fed for maintaining economic stability, it failed to prevent the Great Recession of 2008-9 caused by the big banks which ran crazy with the fantasy scheme of subprime mortgage. The Fed also failed to prevent the high inflation caused by another OPEC price hike that resulted in the US interest rate reaching an all time high of 20% in March 1980. Discounting these two major economic shocks just mentioned, the US economy has been relatively stable among all industrialized countries during the last half century.

In the modern economy increasingly based on borrowed money for investment and consumer spending, the interest rate has become the single most important lever to control the economy. The Fed is given the powerful task of setting the prime rate based on which all other interest rates vary. A rate hike will increase the cost of borrowed money that has the effects of lowering investment and consumer spending, which will lead to higher unemployment and possibly a recession. On the other hand, a rate cut will promote investment and consumer spending, resulting in better employment and economic growth. However, too aggressive a rate cut may cause the economy to overheat and bring about high inflation that will ruin the growing economy. The Fed is walking a tight rope in balancing the economy. An aggressive move in either direction can ruin the economy.

The Fed must be independent due to the broad and sensitive effects of setting the prime rate as an economic lever. All important Fed decisions are made by the 12 members of the Federal Open Market Committee. They are independent from interference by the rest of the US government. This frees them from any political and economic influence from interest groups. The Fed is created by law to make the most critical decisions solely based on the overall economic interests of the country and its people. 

The Wonders of Wondering

Legend has it that the famous scientist, Isaac Newton, discovered gravity after watching an apple fall from a tree. He wondered why the apple fell straight down instead of sideways or even upwards. He later formulated an important equation that shows the gravity force depends on the masses and the distance between two objects under investigation. Thus a big discovery results from a single person who wonders about a natural phenomenon that looks so simple and so routine for the rest of us. 

In fact, every discovery, big or small, originates from a single person who first wonders why and how something happens the way it does. This includes everything about nature, our way of life, and about human and animal behaviors. At the heart of this wondering lies the trait of curiosity. Without curiosity, there will be no human progress, because nobody will bother to pay attention, not to mention questioning why and how. We just take everything for granted happily. In addition to progress, curiosity also enables survival of the species. Imagine if the two opposite sexes are not curious about each other, how can they come together in the first place?

Curiosity is inborn that cannot be taught in a class. It’s part of personal experience. Nevertheless, curiosity can be encouraged, promoted, or even suppressed, especially during life’s early years. How to improve curiosity in a child? Well, give the child more exposure to people and things while watching out for his physical safety and the chances of being misled. In later years, encourage the child to question why and how, and make a reasonable effort to find out the answers. When the child reaches adulthood, the discoveries he has experienced, big or small, will serve to provide the necessary positive or negative urges for him to move on. 

Have you noticed that societies that are bound by outdated rules are less progressive? The reason is that the rules suppress curiosity. They encourage obedience and observance without questioning why and how. As a result, they cut down on an important element that fuels human progress.  

Chinese Vs. US Defense

The US spending on national defense amounts to $1.89 trillion (about 7% of GDP). By comparison, the Chinese defense spending is $0.23 trillion (or 1.7% of GDP). How can China threaten the world as perceived by the US government and its allies?

The reality is seen in the US governing system where major defense contractors routinely donate money to the election campaigns of important members of Congress for the purpose of boosting defense spending. In war times, there is an obvious enemy. In peace times, you need to invent an enemy and imagine a reason for that. 

Russia (or the Soviet Union before its breakup in 1989) used to be the enemy because it is a communist country. However, Russia appears more and more like a paper tiger. Its population is aging and shrinking. Its economy is never robust due to rigid state control. Its botched invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 exposes the weaknesses of the Russian army. The only threat remaining is its arsenal of 6000 nuclear warheads (US has 5400). Although this big number can destroy the entire US and its allies, serious doubts exist about the accuracy of its missile delivery system.  

The Chinese nuclear arsenal is meager in comparison with only 350 nuclear warheads (not much more than France’s 300). Its missile delivery system is still in its infancy. It has a small navy with only 2 aircraft carriers (US has 11). The Chinese military is only capable of defense rather than threatening world peace. Then why does the US government treat it as a threat? Well, if you need to invent an enemy during peace time, China stands out as the best candidate because it is big and is governed by a communist party. 

I think jealousy also plays a part. Although officially a communist country, China has struck out a distinct path since 1980 by opening its economy to private enterprise and international trade. Its GDP has grown from $0.2 trillion in 1980 to $19.4 trillion in 2022, making it the second largest in the world behind the US GDP of $25.5 trillion. Today’s China looks like a capitalist country with a robust economy dominated by private enterprises, big and small, with a shrinking old-fashioned state sector. More importantly, a huge middle class estimated at 500 million has emerged out of poverty since 1980. Unlike Russia, China is an economic giant. In fact, communism in China has a short history. It only began in 1949 after the communist revolution that drove the Nationalist government to the island of Taiwan. At present, with the preponderance of the thriving capitalist economy, the Chinese communist party looks like an anachronism trying to hang on to power. While the Chinese dictatorial regime irritates the US, its economic achievements make the US envy. 

Inventing an enemy in China is not a wise US foreign policy. First, it drives China closer to Russia despite the two communist giants have been at odds since the Sino-Soviet split that occurred around 1960. Second, It works better for world development and international trade by cultivating better economic ties with China rather than imposing sanctions that are rarely effective. In fact, the US rapprochement with China initiated by President Nixon in 1972 has helped many US companies such as Boeing, Intel, Apple, Tesla, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s in penetrating the huge Chinese market. Third, making China an enemy cannot thwart its economic growth, which depends solely on the Chinese people and their enterprising commercial culture. They will find growth in their vibrant domestic markets and in the rest of the world. They will find friends elsewhere if the US refuses to be one. Worse, they may retaliate by punishing US companies currently doing big business in China. Fourth, making friends always brings benefits than making enemies as all of us have experienced. 

US Election 2024

The coming US election in 2024 will present very little choice for American voters. Barring extraordinary happenings, it seems like a rematch between two old men, making it a dull political fight. President Biden will seek reelection for a second term. Donald Trump will likely win the Republican nomination due to his current lead in the polls over his closest challenger by more than 20 percentage points. Trump has nicknamed Biden “sleepy Joe”, not realizing that his old age would also turn him into sleepy Don. Americans used to like young age and new things. I wonder why this is happening. 

The end result will be easy to predict: Trump will lose to Biden. Trump’s supporters are loud and indulging in non-reality such as believing the 2020 election was stolen from them without any solid evidence. What if they had won? They would call it a landslide, not a steal for sure. They did not realize that they are in the minority despite being vocal and violent. Trump fails to appeal to the sensible “middle” voters who are in the majority and may vote for either the Republican or Democratic candidate, hence tipping the balance to the winner. Trump is a loser as demonstrated in 2020 where Biden won by a decisive margin in electoral votes (306 vs. 232) and in popular votes (81.3 Mn vs. 74.2 Mn). That is, he has even lost to sleepy Joe. 

Trump’s recent legal troubles with the law have made him more popular in the news, which may secure him the Republican nomination. This will add more headaches to the Republican party in the later general election. Why? Trump’s troubles are serious negative things such as campaign finance violations, inciting the January 6 insurrection, and shadowy business dealings. They burden a presidential candidate rather than helping him win. But the party has no better choice than nominating a loser because of the lack of a viable challenger. Trump, as expected, calls his indictment a political plot by the Democratic party. 

In 2016, Trump won the presidency mainly due to luck because Hilary Clinton was not a good candidate. People tend to say Hilary has a lot of baggage but fail to specify what. Simply put, Hilary appears aloof on TV. She just cannot connect well with the regular people. Besides, she was so confident of winning that she neglected the three swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that enabled Trump to pick up the winning margin. The Democratic choice of Hilary as a candidate was President Obama’s fault who threw his support for Hilary before the nomination process. As result, Vice-President Biden stayed in the background without inheriting the torch from Obama as a candidate-in-waiting. 

What about Vice-President Kamala Harris? I have a feeling that she cannot connect well with the regular people, too. This has been demonstrated by her early failure in the 2020 presidential campaign, and the recent poll (41% favorable vs. 53% unfavorable). Therefore, Biden must seek reelection in order to avoid a defeat. He cannot retire early because, like Obama, he has made a bad choice in picking Harris for Vice-President. Like Hilary, Harris would lose to Trump.

In this connection, people may ask, Are Americans ready for a female President? My answer is a definite yes, because Americans want new things. The only reason is that a good female candidate has not been found yet. 

Similarities: USA & China

Many people can see the differences between the American and Chinese cultures. Let me point out their big similarities as follows:

The obvious ones lie in economics. Both countries have a vibrant commercial culture, and a strong spirit of private enterprise.

Which are the top 7 largest stock markets in the world? They are: New York, Nasdaq, Shanghai, Euronext, Tokyo, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. The US has 2 and China has 3.

Look at the big global companies listed in Fortune 500 (2020): China has 124, US 121, Japan 53, and France 31.

Look at the volumes of foreign trade (2020): China registers $2.6 Tn, US $1.4 Tn, Germany $1.4 Tn, Japan $1.3 Tn. 

With regard to the less obvious similarities, both Americans and Chinese love money, and they are aggressive in pursuing it. When you talk to a Chinese or American about how to make money, their eyes shine and the conversation becomes more engaging. The interesting thing is that both Chinese and Americans are not ready to admit their love for money, although in their societies they are constantly being bombarded with media commercials, junk mails, and money scams.

In addition, both peoples have big egos. Of course they are also not ready to admit it. The Chinese always trumpet their ancient cultures. The Americans trumpet exceptionalism and consider it their monopoly.

Now we come to the least obvious similarities. The Chinese like American pop culture such as movies, pop music, fast food and junk food, as demonstrated by the success of those American companies selling to the Chinese markets. The strange thing is that the Chinese have their own versions of movies, pop music, fast food and junk food, but they still like those made in America.

In Southern China especially in the big vibrant city of Guangzhou (formerly Canton), you hear Cantonese pop music everywhere. It is a special kind of modern pop music known as Cantopop. Do you know that Cantopop is inspired by American Rock’n Roll? For an early-day version, listen to the following link on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb_kHsvl5Fs. The modern-day version presents both original melody and lyrics, but the music style and instruments used are western, as shown by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grXrRmOicik.

                                       

A Tale of Two Presidents

     The history books will document two presidents in modern times who differ widely in character and job performance. 

      Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine since 2019, was a former comedian and actor. He made himself a hero of his people by leading the resistance against the Russian invasion beginning in February 2022. Judging from the size and military strength between the two countries, this is a typical case of the strong bullying the weak. It does not support Putin’s false claim that Ukraine poses a security threat. What does Ukraine threaten Russia with? 

      Russia’s military adventure is a real threat to neighboring countries in Eastern Europe which are members of the US-led NATO alliance, especially Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Apart from economic sanctions, the NATO response consists of large amounts of military hardware to help Ukraine’s defense. In addition, the Russian invasion has pressed Sweden and Finland, two traditionally neutral countries, to formally seek NATO membership in May. 

      Almost a year has passed, not only has Russia made no progress in the war, but also lost part of the territories they have occupied in southeastern Ukraine. This testifies to the impotence of the Russian army and its leadership. On the other side, it demonstrates the strength of the Ukrainian resistance fighting from a position of weakness and facing daily missile strikes against its cities. 

      Wearing a T-shirt indoors and a bullet-proof vest outdoors, Zelensky impresses the world as an icon of bravery and perseverance. He refuses to seek refuge away from the capital city of Kyiv which the Russian army wanted to occupy first to claim a quick victory. Now he is seen everywhere in the country, leading and encouraging the resistance and even mounting counter-offensives. Under his leadership, the Ukrainian army has made good use of the military hardware and training provided by NATO countries. 

      It looks like this war of attrition will drag on for a long time. NATO should continue to keep the military hardware flowing. Ukraine needs NATO to survive. Their people won’t surrender. On the other hand, the Russian army may cut and run someday after being frustrated for too long. The aggressor always lacks a moral purpose to sustain.

      Halfway around the globe, Donald Trump in America is the exact opposite of Zelensky. The typical Trump style is inflating himself with untruths, misleading his supporters, and blaming his opponents for the mistakes he’s made. These represent the characters of a coward and loser who covers the truth with lies. 

      Trump is one of the few US presidents who failed to get re-elected to a second term in 2020, being defeated by an aging Joe Biden whom he nicknamed Sleepy Joe. No surprise to the world, he declared a landslide victory on election night even before the votes had been fully counted. The lawsuits he filed had all been rejected by the independent federal courts due to lack of evidence. Desperate to win the state of Georgia, he pressured its Secretary of State to overturn the election results as shown by the infamous quote, “I just want to find 11,780 votes”, which was more than the 11,779 vote margin of his defeat.

In a more desperate move, on 6 January 2021, he urged his supporters to mount an insurrection at the US Capitol to overturn the national election result to be pronounced by Mike Pence, his Vice-President. But he was nowhere to be seen even though he had promised to march with them to the Capitol. Pence had already told Trump earlier that he was bound by the US Constitution to proclaim Biden as the true winner. The insurrection failed on that day. His supporters angrily chanted “Hang Mike Pence” as if they were living in a lawless country. They wanted to turn America into an imperial state. For those politicians who want to support Trump, they should think about what will happen to themselves if they fail to do what he wants. 

      Although having announced he would run again in 2024, Trump will fail to get enough votes unless the opposition produces a very weak candidate. He will be 78 years old, risking to be nicknamed Sleepy Don. Trump has proven he has lost to Sleepy Joe, not a strong candidate by any means who has in fact lost 2 previous presidential bids. Trump’s fervent supporters do not make a sufficient number to win an election. That is why he has to pander to extremist groups to gain more votes, and to try to overturn the 2020 election. He beat Hilary in 2016 because she was not a strong candidate who neglected the important states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin which caused her to lose the national election. 

     If you have watched Trump’s announcement for the 2024 presidential bid, you should ask the following questions: Where were his sons, daughter, and son-in-law? Did that say anything about his election campaign? If the Republican party nominates a proven loser again in 2024, what will that say about the party?