First Blog

  Problem-Solving - Fear 1. Introduction . Fear is one of our most powerful emotions, sometimes reducing one person to ignominy, sometimes elevating another to unexpected heights. Nations can perish out of fear. Companies may fail because of fear. Normally, the outcome depends essentially on the ability to or fear to solve problems. Fear can play a significant role in problem-solving, influencing both the process and the outcome. Many, many books and films have essentially addressed fear, with some fear being the dominant focus. It is a complex emotion that can manifest in various ways, potentially either hindering or enhancing an individual's ability to solve problems effectively. 2. Hindrance and Avoidance. Fear can lead to overthinking and excessive analysis, which may result in "paralysis by analysis." When someone is afraid of making the wrong decision, they may hesitate to take any action at all, leading to stagnation and inaction. Fear can cause people to avo

  Two great actor appeared on stage to discuss politics. Remarkably, both were brief. Actor A. People should not fear their government. The government should fear the people. Actor B. People should trust their government and government should trust the people. Fear vs Trust, the conflict of our day and of most days, with interludes fondly remembered in brief chapters on human progress.

  The nature of trends often causes us to take calls from the twins, TINA and FOMO, better known as “There Is No Alternative,” and the “Fear Of Missing Out."

The stock market is going up and up both in the USA and the world, despite impeachment, Iran, climate, swine flu, nuclear bomb production, taxes, and everything else you might think should mitigate the market.   With so much negativity you must have thoughts of impending doom. I do. Yet economic data are encouraging. People are spending money like crazy. Housing starts are up 16%.   The 10-year rate is strong. Unemployment is down. The new NAFTA and China deals are set. So, what do we fear besides fear itself? (Homage to FDR.)   Maybe Dengue fever?   Well, scientists have genetically modified mosquitos to fix that.   Is all this fear washed away?   Not quite.   The national barometer of fiscal confidence is the NYSE, the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s the latest assessment from that group of money grubbers The greatest fear on the floor of the stock market exchange is the fear of no bad news. This is singularly remarkable, that of discussing the fear of fear. So, what fear d

In a recent interview with billionaire Mark Cuban, worth $4.1B, and self-made, “When I started in business, fear motivated me." In fact, all of us who have strived for something beyond experience this same fear.   We enter a world of uncertainty, which means we have made a bet on ourselves with little expectation but a lot of hope for a great outcome. We live in this fear, but we have a plan.    Not all survive. Some survive within measures in the interval.   Indicated (not said) by Cuban, “Fear is a tool if you can endure it. Difficult for many.”   To put fear in your service takes courage.   We have lots of expressions for such drives.   “Shooting the moon,” is one of them.   But this is a quality of our humanity.   Not just war, food, love, reproduction, money, and all, the big one is the quest . Are you   up to the challenge?   Maybe you want to be; maybe you’re afraid. Many try. Many succeed. Many fail.   P.S. Did you know he owns $1.0B in Amazon stock

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 TV, in books, in blogs, a

Politics in Washington is a combination of many factors.  Some of these are contrapuntal, with strong sounds of dissonance. Fear, obedience, strategy, tactics, principles, consensus, leadership, and survival are among the many diverse, contradictory, but sometimes sonorous overtones.  The music is certainly played in a minor key, with multiple tonalities. All these are motives as well as operations, all portions of this strange symphonic band. Perhaps this has always been; the best leaders had a sense on how to arrange this strange concoction into a harmonious symphony of achievement.  This was in the past when politicians could be maneuvered into their place in the orchestra of legislation.  Perhaps the current leaders simply don’t understand the fundamentals of political music.  Perhaps the current politicians are so tone-deaf there is little understanding of how this music is made, much less played.  We also have especially too many minor players wanting to be soloists

This is a conspiracy theory about large-scale terrorist attacks.  Beware of such theories as they are mostly plausibility arguments gleaned from a sequence of events.  So, be suspicious and critical.  We do our theory by the numbers. 1.  First of all, it seems the big terrorist organizations such as ISIS can strike at will really wherever and whenever they so choose.  They have “soldiers” willing to give their lives in the cause of terror.  These are not occasional, random attacks, but well planned logistically and technically.  They could strike somewhere in the world frequently, perhaps even weekly, but do not.  Why? 2. These organizations also have a strong survival instinct.  They know that weekly attacks will result in the overwhelming response even from the most globalist of countries to strike back, annihilating their bases, their funding, and their very organizations.    3. So, they face an optimization problem, which is to survive while creating a recurrent sense

On Trump:   Two sides seem to dominate what we read.   The Trumpophobiacs who fear his presidency and wish to defeat it before it hardly begins.   The Trumpomanics who believe he will finally fix things and restore America upon its traditional course.   These have the tones of a classical Zoroastrian religious conflict: the arrival of a devil to be defeated vs. the new coming for redemption of all.    Please note he is merely a man trying to follow some internal compass to do what is right – just as Obama did.   But is it right?   Time will tell.   Adoration or condemnation is not the way to resolve your problem. If you believe one or the other, you surely will be disappointed.

A.     Fraud :   Beware, my friend, of anyone or any party that proposes to pay for any government program by eliminating fraud.   The fundamental problem with this claim is simply that the amount of fraud, how it is done, and to what fiscal extent are largely unknown – admittedly so by the feds.   Only special cases are understood.   Specifically, all flavors of federal medical care should be singled out.   Some estimate it amounts to $60,000,000,000/year.   Fraud is amazingly difficult uncover, to prosecute, and then to prove.   Even organized crime has recognized it as an income source far less dangerous or risky than traditional venues. Miami, for example, is considered the Medicare fraud center of America, with New York a close second. Fraud in the defense industry, largely through cost overruns, has been rampant for decades, but what has been done?   Give just one example? B.     Sickness to continue: ·        Democrats: Repealing Obamacare will "make America sick