First Blog

  You should not fall on your sword for an issue you do not completely understand. We truly hope ·         You never heard of someone who died for a page of talking points. ·         You never heard of someone who went to the limit based on what a friend said. ·         You never heard of someone who gave all for a rumor. ·         You never heard of someone seeking the guru on high to ask about how the whales are doing. ·         You never heard of someone donating their fortune for a cause they merely think is good. Socrates* tells us to “Know thy self.” Let’s generalize words from this wisest of men to “Know thy issues, and know them well. Then commit.” *This aphorism is attributed to several ancients. Possibly, it was a common expression, even more ancient than the even the ancients.

Congressional Hearings Have you watched Congressional (or Senate) hearings lately?   I have.   They're not pretty. Unlike only a few decades ago, most Congressional interrogators come armed only with talking points or staff generated questions.   The quality is usually poor; the delivery automatic; the responses are either submissive or arrogant.   Television does not help the quality of the event, diminishing the findings mostly because it gives national exposure. We offer several categories of questioners.   Most are dedicated to various forms of grandstanding, emotional displays, partisan attacks, and irrational utterances. All questioners are given only a few minutes to make points or make questions. They must be quick. Nimble? Forget that. The List. A. Pepper spray – Offering a barrage of questions giving little or no time for answers. B. Passion fruit – I feel so intense about this injustice to the American people and want to make you accountable. You bad person

An interesting point about our military leaders and those of any responsible country is that they are scholars of war, conflict, weapons, strategy and tactics.   They all attend a war college to learn their craft.   Almost all have read extensively on the subject.   Some are historians of their profession. Many are articulate communicators about their operations, needs, equipment, troup strength, training, and promotion practices. They are sincere professionals – whether you agree with them or not. Now contrast this with the typical politician, especially elected officials.   Few have studied politics.   Few understand much more than pre-written talking points on any topic.   Few have any training on compromise and the other crafts of legislation. Most leaders probably rely more on intuition and instinct than any form of analysis. Putting your faith in politicians is therefore a risky belief. Next contrast this with pundits and news commentators.   Now we are dipping down yet

Do we want school choice or choice schools?  The latter we do not have in general; we do have the opposite: too many bad schools.   When the USA, for all its expenditure on education, ranks rather low on international tests, there obtains an indelible indicator.  Hence, we witness the birth of the alternative, charter schools. We’ve always had the private schools as religious-based or expensive prep types.  But they are part of the system, and not what the ed establishment decries.  It is these new charter schools earning the black grades of some officials. Know their talking points*.  The following are typical. 1.      Privatized school choice will inevitably reduce funding for your local neighborhood public schools . 2.      Direct and disguised vouchers to private schools and other public school alternatives start small and then expand, increasing the burden on taxpayers. 3.       Additional administrative costs coupled with a lack of transparency waste taxpayer dollars a

The talking points nation.   We are faced with a huge population whose knowledge base, whose opinions, and whose operational guidelines are contained within a few sheets of talking points . Information is exchanged via talking points, and knowledge is conceived through talking points.   Sure, there is the talking points exchange from time to time, wherein some points are replaced by others, but the total number is conserved.   It is akin to the Malthusian, wherein when the number of talking points exceeds capacity to absorb there results a diminution and constriction of the whole.   Definitely not gestalt.  This may, under the most generous interpretation, be a consequence of modern information overload, dissembled national viewpoints, or highly crafted antipodal positions.   With less generosity it may be more simply disinterest, preoccupation, or depth of understanding, all as promoted by our schools. Political demagoguery is paramount in their creation of talking points