GIOVANNIANDFRANCO.COM

Our greatness is not in our superiority, but in our ability to hope for a better tomorrow.

 
One of the characteristics of the European personality is they have accepted the fact they are flawed and less than perfect.  I offer this as praise not criticism.  The beauty of accepting your imperfections is that it allows you to accept your sins more graciously – maybe even allowing you to enjoy them a bit. 

To the puritan this will seem sacrilege, but the simple truth is when you accept your sins you are in better position to do something about them. This is the process of maturity at work. We Americans unfortunately have yet to come to that level of maturity.  We still bask in the folklore of being a superior people chosen by God to seek a better world. 

This myth seems to persist no matter how badly we muck up the world by our arrogance, or how much it costs us in treasure and lost lives.

  Part of our need to feel superior comes from our youth. We are at best an adolescent in comparison to the centuries of tradition that make up the enduring civilizations of our planet. We need to get over it and concentrate on our strengths as a nation and as a people. If we don’t, we will soon lose the energy that fueled the engine of our creation. 

Our greatness is not in our superiority, but in our ability to hope for a better tomorrow. We are an imperfect people of hope who are in the process of “creating a more perfect union.” That promise is our life’s blood and inspires us and others throughout the world. 

If we could accept this we might become a better partner in the world community. Then our power and optimism could be used to inspire the world again.

 

Brother Giovanni, Pizzaonian News Service

Signs of the end of the world --- Jon Stewart addressing the President of the United States as “dude.”

 
It is hard to imagine John Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt or George Bush senior showing up on the Jon Stewart show.  But that is exactly what President Barrack Obama did. 

I cringed when Mr. Stewart called the President “dude.”  I am sure this was funny to many in the context of today’s election practices.  But it only emphasized how pitiful our election process has become.  The President showed up because he thought it would win over reluctant voters to his cause – why else would he lower himself and the office. 

Whenever a sitting President shows up on a comedy show, or any of the late night talk and entertainment shows, he gives the show credibility while demeaning himself and the office. 

We don’t need a President telling us there are hard times ahead and it’s going to be a long time to get things right.  We need the optimism of a can do President who believes in his ability and destiny to get the job done and steer us through the hard times ahead - and is willing to bet his legacy on doing just that.  

And above all, we don’t need a President appearing on comedy shows attempting to explain himself to the American people. If you have any doubt about this ask Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln how they feel about it. 

I still believe the President is a true visionary and a very intelligent man, but he desperately needs to get his political act together and fast -- for all of our sakes. 

Brother Giovanni

 
Photo by Pat Miller

http://giovanniandfranco.typepad.com/giovanniandfrancocom/2010/07/letter-to-president-obama-from-former-supreme-pizzaonian.html

The American political dilemma – the great divide.

 

The great divide in American politics is the dilemma between the new world we are moving to and the old world most Americans still live in today.  The old world is dying and the great divide to the new world of promise and stability is a mighty river that is impossible to cross without the construction of a viable bridge that allows safe passage.

And this is the problem that our political leadership from either major party is not willing to confront.  Instead we have deadlock while both sides vie for political power.  Our President laments the problems he inherited while promising to build the new industries of tomorrow.  He warns us that we have a long way to go.  This is hardly a clarion call to optimism.

Our loyal opposition promises to stop the President’s programs.  Somehow we are to believe this is going to solve the issue of the great divide.  Obstruction is not a viable program for the future.  So where does that leave us?  I believe in serious trouble unless we find the political will to resolve the current paralysis of our political debate.  

 
The political will to do so is going to have to come from the people.  The initiative must come from the people since our leadership provides us with no alternative.  Do we have the stomach for it?  Do we have the courage to say enough of “attack politics” and demand a return to a reasonable debate of the issues – or are we as stupid as the politicians seem to think we are? 

The problem is further exasperated since a significant number of people are already on the other side of the river, leaving most of the middle and working class behind.  They did not need a bridge since they were on the other side from the beginning. This worked as long as the dying side of the river provided the means for survival for those still there – the gap between the two sides, while uncomfortable, was manageable.   

The financial and tech worlds always start from the good side of the river - the financial world because they control the resources and the tech side because they are the future.  The folks on the other side depend on the status quo to survive – and the status quo is dying rapidly.

 
The tragedy of our political debate is both sides are partially right, but because of the caustic rhetoric and desire for power, neither side is willing to frame the political debate in a clear and persuasive manner.

We need the President’s programs and that should be obvious to all.  The economy was stabilized and the foundation for the future was built.  Then the emphasis shifted to the needs for the future and where we need to go, all admirable and necessary.  However, what was left out was the present and that is what the bridge is all about. 

The loyal opposition is also right.  We need frugality and we need efficiency from our government.  Our future desperately needs well-managed government.  But they overstate their case for political reasons and obstruct any attempt to build a meaningful bridge to the future. 

 
We need the future, we need financial stability, and we need well managed government, and while preparing for the future is critical, you cannot sacrifice the present, especially when the sacrifice is not equally shared. 

Simply said the viable bridge for the middle class is more than a metaphor.  It is rebuilding our infrastructure and the jobs that will create. We cannot ignore the present and expect to have a future.  We still need to move to the future but we need to travel the road together.  What is missing is the political will and courage from our political establishment to frame the debate honestly.  Our infrastructure is falling apart and because the political debate has made this “old school” thinking this alarming fact no longer seems relevant to the argument. 

 
All of this takes place while other emerging and established economies around the world are making massive investments in their present and future infrastructures. We might not have a future if we do not save the present. When the American people sense an honest debate, the people will respond.  But even better, we, the people should demand an honest debate on the issues now, or we can expect more of the same – and that can only mean a weaker America.  We deserve better than this.

Brother Giovanni

The biggest circus of the them all – the World Series!

 
If one thing jumps out at you today it is the desperate need we have for community.  By community I mean the need to belong, the need to be part of something bigger than you. Nothing brings this to light faster than living in an area where one of your major sports teams competes for the brass ring. 

Suddenly people are vying for the honor of being the most loyal fan.  It reaches comical proportions when you hear stories from so-called fans who braved storms and near death experiences to prove their superior loyalty to the “team.” 

Not lost in all of this are those whose business it is to capitalize on this phenomenon and cash in big time while the big time is in their tent. So they throw gasoline on the roaring, marketing flames creating even more of frenzy than already exists naturally. 

Alienation has been part of our culture since the industrial revolution.  Our new virtual world created by our digital technology has made the gap even wider. Sure we have lots of interaction with our social media web sites, but we have very little of the raw emotion that real community creates when everyone emotionally experiences they belong to one large family.  This is the good and bad of major league sports. 

The good is the community it seems to create.  We all know it is not real community because most of the people will fade back into the reality of their regular lives soon enough – but for a short while they will belong, and they will rejoice and suffer together as a family in what they perceive as a significant event. 

The bad is the exploitation that it creates.  People who struggle economically will ante up big bucks to be part of the parade.  They will for a short while hobnob with those who can afford to be there and they will share the short-lived, magical moment.  But it is short-lived and reality in today’s world will make itself felt. 

There was a time when a team belonged to its fans. It was a simpler world we cannot return to, but for now let’s enjoy the spectacle for what it is and not make it into the second coming.  By doing so we will all be better off when it’s over.

 Brother Giovanni

Bits and pieces --- quotes to reflect on and maybe more

 

“A modest man is usually admired – if people ever hear of him.” Edgar Watson Howe

 

 “By reducing education to a training ground for mere jobs (not work), we have lost our energy for it.”  Matthew Fox  

 

Signs of the end of the world:  Larry King interviewing Jon Stewart on the “The Rally to restore Sanity.”

 

Ideas for today’s politicians:  “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please." Mark Twain

 

Liberals want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover there are other views. William F. Buckley, Jr.

 

I would like to take you seriously, but to do so would affront your intelligence.
William F. Buckley, Jr.

 

“We all sit in the circle and suppose, while the secret sits in the center and knows.”  Robert Frost

 

All human emotions are dualistic by their very nature.  Emotionally, understanding that joy and grief, happiness and sadness always coexist is the same space is the key to understanding human emotion.

 

“I can say, if the worst comes to the worst, still realize that God may have created a world in which there are no natural laws.  In short, a chaos.  But that there should be statistical laws with definitive solutions, i.e., laws which compel God to throw the dice in each individual case, I find highly disagreeable.”  Albert Einstein

 

“The best creative work is never done when one is unhappy.” Albert Einstein 

 

Today I met a woman named Cecilia.  Cecilia is a worker at Safeway in the Deli department.  Watching her infectious charm combined with her innate desire to serve each customer convinced me that customer service is not learned.  Simply, you either have it or you don’t.  If you have it you are worth your weight in gold.   Pizzaonian spelunker

 

“…faith is the contradiction between the infinite passion of a person’s inwardness and objective uncertainty.”  Kierkegaard

 

Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood. H. L. Mencken

 

“The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness.”  William Saroyan

 

 

Thoughts on customer service and unrelated reflections by Einstein

 

"Today I met a woman named Cecilia.  Cecilia is a worker at Safeway in the Deli department.  Watching her infectious charm combined with her innate desire to serve each customer convinced me that customer service is not learned.  Simply, you either have it or you don’t.  If you have it you are worth your weight in gold."  Pizzaonian spelunker

..................

“I can say, if the worst comes to the worst, still realize that God may have created a world in which there are no natural laws.  In short, a chaos.  But that there should be statistical laws with definitive solutions, i.e., laws which compel God to throw the dice in each individual case, I find highly disagreeable.”  Albert Einstein 

............................

“The best creative work is never done when one is unhappy.” Albert Einstein

Posted by Brother Giovanni, PNS Bureau Chief

 

 

When voters confront their ballots they will face their discontent and act accordingly.

 

When you read articles that attempt to explain the discontent the voters have toward this administration you come away with the feeling the authors all have full stomachs. 

They talk of landmark legislation and historic events that helped the President and Congress to be very productive.  What they don’t talk about are jobs, or the lack of jobs. This election is now and always was about jobs and nothing else. 

Add to this a President, no matter how intelligent or visionary he may be, cannot articulate his ideas and programs to the American people, or for that matter give them much hope for the future.

This adds up to a resounding defeat for the Democrats.  However, it may just come to pass the Republicans will be the ones to rescue them from their plight. 

When voters confront their ballots they will face their discontent and act accordingly.  The choice will be between some vague hope in generalities currently being offered or the naysayers who object to everything and have little else to offer. 

What a hell of choice for the supposed greatest democracy in the world.

 

Brother Giovanni, Pizzaonian News Service

I don’t know if there is a good war but this war is a bad war.

http://giovanniandfranco.typepad.com/musings/2009/10/on-our-present-wars.html

PNS REPORTS: PIZZAONIAN CONGRESS TO SPEND SIXTY DAYS UNDERGROUND

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FROM:  PIZZAONIAN NEWS SERVICE (PNS)

Contact:  Publicio Relationio at the PNS office of Public Relations at   PIZZAONIAN@YAHOO.COM 

 

SUBJECT:  PIZZAONIAN CONGRESS TO SPEND SIXTY DAYS UNDERGROUND

 

In a surprising election, Pizzaonians voted unanimously to have all members of their Congress spend sixty days underground in a confined space. 

Elected officials will have no contact with the outside world for the first 30 days and will have limited communication access for the remaining time. 

Supplies will consist of 40 cases of tuna fish and 100 gallons of water.  Nothing else will be provided.  Pizzaonians agree the experience will be enlightening as an experiment in good government. 

How members of Congress will fare underground is not an issue.  They have been working in the dark their entire careers and should have no problem adjusting. 

The experiment is to begin immediately and we will report updates as they become available. 

As always PNS is your first choice for news you will hear no where else.

 

EXCLUSIVE FROM PNS - People to be declared obsolete

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FROM:  PIZZAONIAN NEWS SERVICE (PNS)

Contact:  Publicio Relationio at the PNS office of Public Relations at   PIZZAONIAN@YAHOO.COM 

SUBJECT:  People to be declared obsolete 

Pizzaonian News Service obtained a secret memo from the government office of artificial intelligence stating sometime next week people will be declared obsolete and will no longer be necessary for day to day activities. 

With  “fly by wire” and artificial intelligence now able to perform all human activates more efficiently than humans there is no longer any reason to believe people are needed.  This stunning development comes much sooner than expected.  We knew that “fly by wire” technology was making huge advances, but it was believed to be years before it would be capable of replacing people completely. 

Gino Technoratie, spokesperson for the “fly by wire” developers said “this was coming sooner or later.”  “The only reason we are holding back is that business still needs customers and we still haven’t figured out how we can survive without them.  I am sure this is only a matter of time.” 

More later as this story develops …….