First Blog

Symbols. A good message for politicians to send to all Americans is that "permanent" employees of the US Government, such as the FBI, should be required to re-take their oath of office periodically, like every two years.   Elected officials must.   So, why don't at least senior employees?   Sure it is symbolic, but are we not a country of symbols?   --------------- In politics, the greatest difference is between those who build their actions on a pole of principles and those who base their actions on polls of the populace. --------------- Violence means more than the mere destruction of property; it is also means the destruction of freedom.

The Socialist view of life . From cradle to cradle to cradle - followed by a quick cremation. All for free. ---------------- The Socialist manifesto : We are smarter than you. We know more than you. We understand more than you.   We know what you need. We insist on helping you. ---------------- The Socialist menu .   Go to any Asian restaurant.   Almost certainly you will see the dish, “Happy Family,” a hodge-podge of various items to delight the customer.   A stir-fry dish with colorful vegetables (broccoli, baby corn, bamboo shoots, mushroom, carrots, etc.), meats (beef, pork and chicken), and seafood (fish, shrimp, and crab), it is cooked in a brown sauce.   As a catch-all, the European Union (EU) plan typifies this dish trying to serve all Europe the Happy Family. All are served the same and all are asked eat the same. But… Many simply want another dish.   Some want fish, some just beef, others only pork or chicken, and so on.   With...

The wise Captain of life always sails with a trusted crew of six, What, Why, When, and How, Where, Who.*    The ship has a sturdy mast constructed of proof, sails of logic, with a rigging woven of axioms, evidence, and findings.    His mates are Skepticus and Optimus to steady the travel, while deep in the hold kept chained are the Negatives, who multiply  prodigiously  especially in darkness. The four-ever cousins are rejected. You know them well: Whatever, Whomever, Wherever, Whenever.  They embody sailing with equivocation and belong in the hold with the Negatives . Credit the idea here to Rudyard Kipling, The Elephant's Child.

Complete self-confidence is not merely a sin; complete self-confidence is a weakness.   ---   G. K. Chesterton, in Orthodoxy , 1908.   Though Orthodoxy was written as a Christian apology, this quote has an especially   definite and profound secular value. Most truly intelligent people I know have incomplet e self-confidence. The self-confidence allows them to approach extremely difficult problems, while the incompleteness delimits first guesses and jumps toward a firmament of knowledge without proof. Complete self-confidence often comes with a built-in orthodoxy allowing easy conclusions based on easy thinking. Complete self-confidence offers self-assurance, thus casting self-doubt, introspection, and rigor aside. Complete self-confidence weakens the   holder’s   grasp on reality in favor of an internal mechanism of an unmerited self-righteousness.   Complete self-confidence weakens the need for rigor in acceptance or belief in almost ...

Life in three’s is a broad scope framework of how we live. Three categories usually work, though sometimes two (e.g. win-lose) suffice. Then again for seasons, spring, summer, fall, and winter seem necessary, though seasons are put upon us, not by choice.   Let's get to living and the divisions by three. We think in three’s, easy, reasonable, difficult. We order in three’s, small medium, large. We travel in three’s, slow, medium, fast. We work in three’s, casual, diligent, intense. We play in three’s, fun, sport, competition. We love in three’s, like, love, obsession. Scoring.  For each category, award one point for the first division, two for the second, and three for the third. Sum them all.  The total should range from 6 to 18. If the total is 10 or less, your life is tepid. A total of 15 or greater tells us you're driving hard.  What's your score?

Theories allow logic to be grafted to nonsense. The teacher who does not listen graduates a class that will ask no questions. Learning is a deliberate Q&A event. You can’t learn without asking questions and then discovering answers. Centuries ago, the people hunted witches. Now the witches hunt people. Both are wrong. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Debt .  The current US national debt is about $21T.  The current total debt of all Americans, including credit cards and mortgages is $13.3T.  The current non-financial corporate business debt securities and liability is about $6.1T.*  Basically, this means total US debt of consumers and corporations is slightly less than the national debt. *https://fred.stlouisfed.org/tags/series?t=corporate%3Bdebt ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

From computer gaming, to video streaming, to safe-spacing, to virtual friending, to at-home working, to neo -spiritual believing, it seems younger Americans are shifting from the old-world of living to a new -world of fantastical being, realizing, understanding . When you believe in the consequences of an unproven theory, you live in faith or fantasy. (Welcome alt-universe believers. Not to mention anti-oxidants-cure-all fans.)    To extend your range of influence beyond your domain of authority is both tactically and strategically risky. (Welcome Pope Francis and Hollywood types.)

On Quotes Making a quote is a combination of the economy of just the right words and subject.   “A stitch in time saves nine,” is a classic for brevity, accuracy, and memorability.   Another is, “You will never win if you don’t begin” by Helen Rowland.   From Confucius we are instructed, “ Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” But is it really?   “To the victor go the spoils,” is so famous with so many variations, its original author has been forgotten*. Often quotes have a vague tone allowing for multiple interpretations, at least one resonating with the reader. Many are optimistic while others are cautionary.   Some of the favorites are “end-of-the-day” types where it seems life is speaking to you from afar. Below are a few variations on the same theme of the sweet life not being what it seemed .   You believe you’ve found the sweet spot of living only to find it candy-coated misery. Just when you’ve found the s...

As with many occupations, many use similar methods though applied to differing venues. For example, teachers of different subjects. Ditto for engineers, psychologists, law enforcers, attorneys, and more. Today, it is the turn for public commentators – all stripes. The gossip columnist needs to be correct only occasionally. In accuracy, most need only to be close -   like in horseshoes, but out of slander’s reach. This makes for a lucrative life whose subjects know what fear and gossip can do.   Such is the brutal world of public individuals whose lives can be wrecked by a single shot.   News pundits , and junior versions, need only be plausible and have a constituency. Each needs only to avoid totally blatant, provable lies, concentrating on rumor and innuendo with a few selected truths mixed in.   Freedom of speech grants this right to everyone.   You or I cannot take advantage except at home, but many make a living on innuendo, in the press, on T...

Maybe a trifle depressing... If our students entered college with anything at all in their heads, that neon sign on their foreheads blinking “Program Me” would be turned off. The essence of tabula rasa . It is one thing to come to college with an open mind, quite another to come with an empty mind. The stupid make the easiest converts. In governmental public education policy, we see only the curriculum, class size, evaluation merry-go-round. From failure to failure and back again. Personal anonymity? You ain’t got it no more.   Everything  known about you floats in a data ocean , accessible to anyone - for a fee. Years from now, this time will be referred to as when the New Stupid triumphed in America.

BAD BOYS What do the following have in common? NOKO’s Kim Jong Un and missiles Communists and Socialists China’s government Iranian Religious Dictators Russia’s Vladimir Putin Answer: All want pure power; all want material benefits; all want unlimited hegemony over their opponents. All are inclined toward violence and murder to get it.   It seems the world’s bad boys all want the same thing. BITCOIN Have you been watching the price fluctuations lately?   The price, currently about $7,000 per coin, has been going up then down, then up, usually in the 5-15% range. It happens almost monthly.   But when you consider so very few investors control so much of the total product, it is impossible to ignore that a few may be controlling the price, buying on the dip, selling on the peak.   And knowing all along when the peak or trough has been reached.   Under these guidelines , I am not ready to invest in this very possibly unfair game. BOLOGNA ...

This may seem a bit cynical.. . Offered to new Congressmen by their party:   Welcome.   Our deal to you is simple. You vote as instructed.   For that we’ll give you bills to sponsor, or even initiate if needed.   You’ll get financial support for your reelection, support and testimonials from loyalists, your exclusivity to run in your district, and all the graft you can bring in. BTW, if you decline our generous offer, expect little support from your party. --------------- Memo to us: Mind those voting more than 90% along party lines.   They may have accepted the deal.