Skip to main content

Blue on Blue

The Republican captured the statehouses in Maryland and Massachusetts last night.  This is good and bad.  It is of course good for the Republicans, for obvious reasons.  It is not good for the Republicans, as well.  Even these, the bluest of the blue states can say enough is enough.  We are being taxed to the max, but things are not getting better.  Time for a switch. 

Okay, the switch is in.  But the problems in these two states are serious and not surmountable in the short four year gubernatorial term.  Repairing the problems could take a generation, not just a term.  So, the Democrats will be undiminished, already fueling their next campaigns with slogans such as "We gave them a chance, and see there is no real change."  Blue states such as these will heed the lesson, and revert to their natural rather blue roots.

The Republicans probably think they can affect the culture of their states with well intended and maybe stringent programs about fiscal responsibility, not realizing the future disaster ahead.  The Democrats will suggest their (Democratic) programs and ideas are the proper course.  They will prevail, as the culture of the traditional mandates.   And so it goes... 

If Republicans can understand all this, as perhaps Scott Walker in Wisconsin does, they will understand the first necessity is to change the culture in advance of a change in programs. Such thinking is really not within their domain, much less strategic thinking.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Behavioral Science and Problem-Solving

I.                                       I.                 Introduction.                Concerning our general behavior, it’s high about time we all had some understanding of how we operate on ourselves, and it is just as important how we are operated on by others. This is the wheelhouse of behavioral sciences. It is a vast subject. It touches our lives constantly. It’s influence is pervasive and can be so subtle we never notice it. Behavioral sciences profoundly affect our ability and success at problem-solving, from the elementary level to highly complex wicked problems. This is discussed in Section IV. We begin with the basics of behavioral sciences, Section II, and then through the lens of multiple categories and examples, Section III. II.     ...

Where is AI (Artificial Intelligence) Going?

  How to view Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Imagine you go to the store to buy a TV, but all they have are 1950s models, black and white, circular screens, picture rolls, and picture imperfect, no remote. You’d say no thanks. Back in the day, they sold wildly. The TV was a must-have for everyone with $250 to spend* (about $3000 today). Compared to where AI is today, this is more or less where TVs were 70 years ago. In only a few decades AI will be advanced beyond comprehension, just like TVs today are from the 50s viewpoint. Just like we could not imagine where the video concept was going back then, we cannot really imagine where AI is going. Buckle up. But it will be spectacular.    *Back then minimum wage was $0.75/hr. Thus, a TV cost more than eight weeks' wages. ------------------------- 

Fake News

If you've been following the news the last couple of days, you will note the flurry of copy devoted to fake news.  Both sides are blaming whatever has befallen them the consequence of fake news.  Let's look at this phenomenon a bit.    When I was a student years ago, a friend climbed some mountain in Peru.   A article was written in the local newspaper about the event.   In only three column inches, the newspaper made about six errors.   An easy article to write you say?   Just interview and reproduce.   Yet so many errors?   The question is this: was this fake news or bad reporting?   The idea here is that fake news comes in various flavors. Bad reporting – errors made by the author or editor Opinion presented as news     Deliberate creation of falsehoods to favor a point of view       The reporting of selected truths to favor a particular point of view Now we have the big social media ...