America is a very rich country.
In the past most of our representatives, from both parties, accepted that gives us a responsibility to help areas ravaged by war or natural disasters. We also provide foreign aid to undeveloped countries to help them improve their condition.
Now that have been many motivations for this sort of aid including preventing the spread of communism but most Americans and their representatives understood we had something of an obligation to share with those less fortunate.
There are some legitimate concerns about whether this is actually a function of Government but nevertheless it has been generally supported on a bipartisan level.
Recently, for political reasons, some people are trying to get us to deny aid to people clearly in need of it. Among other things they argue we can't afford it or we should help our own people instead.
Now, without going into the detail of what we do for our veterans, homeless and disaster victims, the help we provide to the world really doesn't impact it.
There has always been a vein of selfishness in the country, but it seems to be rising to the surface. The amount of money involve in these type of efforts is not enough to make much difference in taxes or the national debt.
It is in fact a bit shameful and sad that this desperate people are being used for political purposes.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Debate Issues
There are things that can be criticized about Hillary Clinton, as there most likely are about anyone. However, blaming her for Benghazi when she was Secretary of State is only valid if you blame the Secretary of Defense for the death of every soldier. Its a really ludicrous thing.
Similarly, the use of a private server caused no real issues to anyone. Had she used two blackberries, we would have had no access to any of those 30,000 private e-mails anyways. Its all smoke and mirrors because there are no real issues to bring up. Even if you believe she potentially jeopardized security, there's no evidence that the risk materialized.
Now the rest of the allegations are generally ludicrous and not worth even discussing.
Now we live in an age where baseless rumors can be spread by certain networks and social media. The ease of spreading false stories creates a certain sense among many people that if there'es so much smoke there must be some fire.
Its also clear that this puts a heavier responsibility on the average voter to seek out the truth.
Now in the recent debate a lot of Trump supporters thought he should have pressed the two issues above. Maybe he was reticent but maybe he was actually smart enough to know they get more traction in forums where they can't be easily rebutted.
Were he to press them he would have had to explain what Hillary did wrong, which is not a good position for him. Simply saying at rallies that she should go to jail for it is more his style than having to defend a position.
Now, the trouble is he has supporters who actually think there is meat on those bones. Well there isn't and he knows it, and he doesn't want them to find out.
Similarly, the use of a private server caused no real issues to anyone. Had she used two blackberries, we would have had no access to any of those 30,000 private e-mails anyways. Its all smoke and mirrors because there are no real issues to bring up. Even if you believe she potentially jeopardized security, there's no evidence that the risk materialized.
Now the rest of the allegations are generally ludicrous and not worth even discussing.
Now we live in an age where baseless rumors can be spread by certain networks and social media. The ease of spreading false stories creates a certain sense among many people that if there'es so much smoke there must be some fire.
Its also clear that this puts a heavier responsibility on the average voter to seek out the truth.
Now in the recent debate a lot of Trump supporters thought he should have pressed the two issues above. Maybe he was reticent but maybe he was actually smart enough to know they get more traction in forums where they can't be easily rebutted.
Were he to press them he would have had to explain what Hillary did wrong, which is not a good position for him. Simply saying at rallies that she should go to jail for it is more his style than having to defend a position.
Now, the trouble is he has supporters who actually think there is meat on those bones. Well there isn't and he knows it, and he doesn't want them to find out.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Where's the coordination
Another unarmed black man got shot yesterday by police who said he assumed a "shooting stance".
Now in this case his sister called the police to get her maentally disturbed brother some help. Not sure how you define help, but her call was unsuccessful in my opinion.
Now, a lot of details still need to come out, but they responded, approached the disturbed individual at which point he took something (not a gun) from his pocket and pointed it. Now this could be perceived as a threat and one cop fired a taser while another one fired five bullets.
The effectiveness of the taser can't be determined but the bullets did work.
Now, at the moment of confrontation, split second reactions are hard to control, especially if the very sight of a young black man is terrifying to you.
However, and maybe I'm spoiled by television, where was the plan and coordination?
You respond to a call about a mentally challenged individual acting erratically and decide to provoke a confrontation?
Where is the negotiator or the person with the bullhorn trying to talk him down?
Yes guess it would take some time and cost some money, but isn't a persons life worth something?
I'm waiting for the justified shooting report.
Now in this case his sister called the police to get her maentally disturbed brother some help. Not sure how you define help, but her call was unsuccessful in my opinion.
Now, a lot of details still need to come out, but they responded, approached the disturbed individual at which point he took something (not a gun) from his pocket and pointed it. Now this could be perceived as a threat and one cop fired a taser while another one fired five bullets.
The effectiveness of the taser can't be determined but the bullets did work.
Now, at the moment of confrontation, split second reactions are hard to control, especially if the very sight of a young black man is terrifying to you.
However, and maybe I'm spoiled by television, where was the plan and coordination?
You respond to a call about a mentally challenged individual acting erratically and decide to provoke a confrontation?
Where is the negotiator or the person with the bullhorn trying to talk him down?
Yes guess it would take some time and cost some money, but isn't a persons life worth something?
I'm waiting for the justified shooting report.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Debate thoughts
When one of the big arguments by Trump supporters on social media concerns Hillary's looks, they should read up on misogyny. BTW the good she has done in this world makes her trully a beautiful person.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mysteries-love/201502/12-ways-spot-misogynist
Wonder how the NRA feels about Trump considering gun control for people on watch lists?
Stop and frisk is racial profiling the way it is done. In addition it is unreasonable search and seizure. Stopping people and demanding their papers was fairly effective in Nazi Germany but we aren't in favor of it.
Creating jobs in America has a chance at success. Bringing back jobs is highly unlikely. NAFTA doesn't explain all the jobs that went to Asia. It's economics.
Practicing discrimatory housing in the 70s because others were doing it, doesn't seem like a grreat excuse.
Think Donald regrets trying to be presidential, next time we will see the real bigot.
Wonder what kind of rare disease was causing those sniffles?
Hillery Clinton has been proposing solutions to issues her entire adult life. Donald has been cheating investors, vendore and consumers.
Trump pushes a bobble head doll of Hillery in prison gear but her ads are unfair to him because they cite his actual positions?
When you appeal to the lowest type of emotions, you need to stay in groups of like minded people, or the rot starts to show.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mysteries-love/201502/12-ways-spot-misogynist
Wonder how the NRA feels about Trump considering gun control for people on watch lists?
Stop and frisk is racial profiling the way it is done. In addition it is unreasonable search and seizure. Stopping people and demanding their papers was fairly effective in Nazi Germany but we aren't in favor of it.
Creating jobs in America has a chance at success. Bringing back jobs is highly unlikely. NAFTA doesn't explain all the jobs that went to Asia. It's economics.
Practicing discrimatory housing in the 70s because others were doing it, doesn't seem like a grreat excuse.
Think Donald regrets trying to be presidential, next time we will see the real bigot.
Wonder what kind of rare disease was causing those sniffles?
Hillery Clinton has been proposing solutions to issues her entire adult life. Donald has been cheating investors, vendore and consumers.
Trump pushes a bobble head doll of Hillery in prison gear but her ads are unfair to him because they cite his actual positions?
When you appeal to the lowest type of emotions, you need to stay in groups of like minded people, or the rot starts to show.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Immigrants
There is a theme about how immigrants come to this country to lie around and collect benefits. This is something that has been pushed by certain media outlets who have specific agendas
Now, first, most countries where immigrants come from have better social programs than the United States does, health care, pensions, etc. Many Americans live in some delusional state concerning that until the have a serious medical condition and face the bills and deductibles of the American health system. BTW, this isn't because of the Affordable Care Act, it predates it and was incorporated into it to promote private health care.
In addition pension benefits, child care, unemployment, educaton, around the world are often as good or better than what we offer here.
I'll provide some links about this, but information is widely available on the web from reputable sources.
Now the one thing America is is a place where business is able to make huge profits.
Many businesses complain about regulations and taxes but the environment in this country has always been among the friendliest.
So why do immigrants come here?
For the same reason they always have, to make money or escape opprssion.
This goes back to our earliest settlers.
The idea that some have that an immigrant who makes it to this country is treated royally is simply delusional.
Yes, as in every group, some figure out how to play the system, or engage in criminal activity, so do our native born people.
But most work hard, try to improve themselves and raise a family.
Illegals have the constant fear of being found out and deported.
They come to pursue the American dream where they can work hard in relative safety, practice their religion freely and improve their economic status for themselves and more importantly to most for their children.
Same as alway.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/03/which-best-countries-grow-old-in-pensions-benefits-happiness
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=858
Now, first, most countries where immigrants come from have better social programs than the United States does, health care, pensions, etc. Many Americans live in some delusional state concerning that until the have a serious medical condition and face the bills and deductibles of the American health system. BTW, this isn't because of the Affordable Care Act, it predates it and was incorporated into it to promote private health care.
In addition pension benefits, child care, unemployment, educaton, around the world are often as good or better than what we offer here.
I'll provide some links about this, but information is widely available on the web from reputable sources.
Now the one thing America is is a place where business is able to make huge profits.
Many businesses complain about regulations and taxes but the environment in this country has always been among the friendliest.
So why do immigrants come here?
For the same reason they always have, to make money or escape opprssion.
This goes back to our earliest settlers.
The idea that some have that an immigrant who makes it to this country is treated royally is simply delusional.
Yes, as in every group, some figure out how to play the system, or engage in criminal activity, so do our native born people.
But most work hard, try to improve themselves and raise a family.
Illegals have the constant fear of being found out and deported.
They come to pursue the American dream where they can work hard in relative safety, practice their religion freely and improve their economic status for themselves and more importantly to most for their children.
Same as alway.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/03/which-best-countries-grow-old-in-pensions-benefits-happiness
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=858
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Football's a Game, Politics is Real
Most Americans like football and the fall and football go together. Its a bit of a dangerous game with the health consequences becoming more known, but it still provides a game with strategy, raw strength but also plays that require split second timing and tremendous talent to execute.
If you ever played the game on any level on a crisp autumn afternoon, the lessons it teaches include a lot of things we use, from wearing down your opponent to tricking them.
It contrasts with baseball in that it rewards size and strength and direct confrontations in a way that baseball doesn't. Baseball has more of an intellectual aspect to it while football is controlled by the people in the trenches. While these positions have a lot of skill involve and techniques, they look pretty much like big guys trying to knock each other down. They enable the skill players to excel or fail by how well they do their job.
At the end of a football game, both sides can shake hands and go about their business preparing for the next opponent. The crowd has victory or defeat to discuss and goes home generally unscathed.
Politics on the other hand is serious business.
The result can have a profound impact on peoples lives.
When the Nazis won in 1933 Germany, not many would have predicted the consequences.
That is a bit of an extreme example, but each election impacts us, and in our case the world we live in.
Presidents and congress send young men off to fight, they determine how to spend our tax money, they have a profound influence on the stock market.
Unfortunately, we live in an age where I see many people treating politics as a game, thinking nothing is going to change anyway so I'll vote for this outrageous candidate because I can.
Well things do change.
Wars happen.
Young men die.
Economies collapse.
You may not think your vote matters, but it does and you should really make sure you use it wisely.
It is the greatest benefit of being part of a free society we have.
Use it wisely, it will impact your future.
If you ever played the game on any level on a crisp autumn afternoon, the lessons it teaches include a lot of things we use, from wearing down your opponent to tricking them.
It contrasts with baseball in that it rewards size and strength and direct confrontations in a way that baseball doesn't. Baseball has more of an intellectual aspect to it while football is controlled by the people in the trenches. While these positions have a lot of skill involve and techniques, they look pretty much like big guys trying to knock each other down. They enable the skill players to excel or fail by how well they do their job.
At the end of a football game, both sides can shake hands and go about their business preparing for the next opponent. The crowd has victory or defeat to discuss and goes home generally unscathed.
Politics on the other hand is serious business.
The result can have a profound impact on peoples lives.
When the Nazis won in 1933 Germany, not many would have predicted the consequences.
That is a bit of an extreme example, but each election impacts us, and in our case the world we live in.
Presidents and congress send young men off to fight, they determine how to spend our tax money, they have a profound influence on the stock market.
Unfortunately, we live in an age where I see many people treating politics as a game, thinking nothing is going to change anyway so I'll vote for this outrageous candidate because I can.
Well things do change.
Wars happen.
Young men die.
Economies collapse.
You may not think your vote matters, but it does and you should really make sure you use it wisely.
It is the greatest benefit of being part of a free society we have.
Use it wisely, it will impact your future.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Saturday Ramblings
I do support the police, they get paid with my taxmoney.
I also expect them to do their job to the best of their abilities.
When they shoot someone, it is always a serious matter.
If they are too afraid to do their job properly they need to move on.
Its a tough and dangerous job that needs to have our best doing it.
I'm also not aware that they can decide to not do their job if they don't agree with someone's protest.
They need to be there to protect all citizens and residents, not just some of them.
I also expect them to do their job to the best of their abilities.
When they shoot someone, it is always a serious matter.
If they are too afraid to do their job properly they need to move on.
Its a tough and dangerous job that needs to have our best doing it.
I'm also not aware that they can decide to not do their job if they don't agree with someone's protest.
They need to be there to protect all citizens and residents, not just some of them.
Friday, September 23, 2016
How do we stop the killing?
Police officers have to deal with dangerous situations all the time and at times have to make split second decisions.
But sometimes, and more so in instance where black citizens are involved, the incident seems to stem from police making a situation worse than it needed to be.
An example, a black man is sitting in his car waiting for a bus to drop off someone. The police, in plainsclothes is looking for a burgler and see him there. Now I don't have the full details, but he emerged from the car carrying either a book or a gun and ended up dead.
I realize that an investigation was ongoing but being upset because you got distrurbed for what would seem like no good reason should not result in your being dead.
Similarly, having your car break down is also not something that should result in getting shot.
Now, I'll even accept that the two victims might not have fully cooperated with the police and one of them may even have had a gun. But how does it get there?
Neither had committed a crime, at least not a crime the police were aware of, and they ended up dead.
It happens all too frequently and it happens to young black men the most.
it has to stop and maybe the police need more training. Mabe preserving people's lives should be the highest priority.
I don't want them to put themselves in danger, but maybe they don't need to be in a rush to end these incidents while protecting themselves.
I just know that something has to change.
But sometimes, and more so in instance where black citizens are involved, the incident seems to stem from police making a situation worse than it needed to be.
An example, a black man is sitting in his car waiting for a bus to drop off someone. The police, in plainsclothes is looking for a burgler and see him there. Now I don't have the full details, but he emerged from the car carrying either a book or a gun and ended up dead.
I realize that an investigation was ongoing but being upset because you got distrurbed for what would seem like no good reason should not result in your being dead.
Similarly, having your car break down is also not something that should result in getting shot.
Now, I'll even accept that the two victims might not have fully cooperated with the police and one of them may even have had a gun. But how does it get there?
Neither had committed a crime, at least not a crime the police were aware of, and they ended up dead.
It happens all too frequently and it happens to young black men the most.
it has to stop and maybe the police need more training. Mabe preserving people's lives should be the highest priority.
I don't want them to put themselves in danger, but maybe they don't need to be in a rush to end these incidents while protecting themselves.
I just know that something has to change.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Hiding something?
Its a bit of a mystery to me and I guess its me, because an awful lot of people are convinced that Hillary Clinton is untrustworthy and hiding something.
Well, guess something about her personality is guarded and maybe she gives off that vibe.
I don't get it,
Since the polls tell me that and certain news stations love to dwell on it, I guess the question I have to ask is what do they thing she's hiding?
I mean I am trying to imagine anyone who has been scrutinized more than her and whatever its supposed to be has simply not turned up.
Now there have been rumors and allegations about the Clinton's from their days in Arkansas and except for Bill's infidelity they have gone no where.
I understand that the conspiracy theorists are never going to be satisfied but what does everyone else think she is covering up, some terrible illness, she died and that's not really her anymore, a murder spree, that she goes through mobile devices faster than most?
Even if you think she is hiding something, despite being in the public eye as a Governor's Wife, a President's Wife, a United States Senator and the Secretary of State, I want to know what it could be?
Maybe she's hiding that warm, caring, funny and delightful personality. Wish she would stop and confess to it.
Well, guess something about her personality is guarded and maybe she gives off that vibe.
I don't get it,
Since the polls tell me that and certain news stations love to dwell on it, I guess the question I have to ask is what do they thing she's hiding?
I mean I am trying to imagine anyone who has been scrutinized more than her and whatever its supposed to be has simply not turned up.
Now there have been rumors and allegations about the Clinton's from their days in Arkansas and except for Bill's infidelity they have gone no where.
I understand that the conspiracy theorists are never going to be satisfied but what does everyone else think she is covering up, some terrible illness, she died and that's not really her anymore, a murder spree, that she goes through mobile devices faster than most?
Even if you think she is hiding something, despite being in the public eye as a Governor's Wife, a President's Wife, a United States Senator and the Secretary of State, I want to know what it could be?
Maybe she's hiding that warm, caring, funny and delightful personality. Wish she would stop and confess to it.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Protest Vote
Some folks don't like the candidates chosen by the two major parties and have decided to cast a protest vote or not vote at all.
This is certainly their right, but the question that raises is what are they protesting?
The prrimary process is geared to help those who prepare for it the best. Now, as seen in the results of the Republican primaries, an outsider can steal elections if the "mainstream" candidates are numerous and disorganized.
The domocratic primaries elected the favorite going in, but the outsider did pretty well.
Now if you get behind a candidate fully and lose, its disappointing. You might convince yourself that it was unfair because everyone you talked to at your rallies supported your candidate so how did he lose?
This sort of naive behavior is cute in a way, but it is also a reflection of a lack in teaching students civics in a real way.
I don't know what is being taught, but based on what I see in various interviews on the news, the way our process works doesn't seem to be well understood.
Now our democracy is threatened by this lack of knowledge. First, the results are important. Citizen apathy is the thing that allows the rise of dangerous candidates.
When only ten percent of the population bothers to vote in the primaries, the candidates selected only need to have more fervant supporters than the the ones that lose. This allows fringe element candidates to win or do well.
If you are concerned about the country and the future we influence that by voting. Everyone can decide who to vote for, its a free country, but that vote is important even if you don't think so.
But how does voting for a candidate with no real chance of winning serve as a protest?
Now if that candidate really reflects your views ten you should vote your conscience. I only object to people who think this serves as some sort of protest.
In effect you are protesting the voters, which therefore is in effect protesting yourself.
This is certainly their right, but the question that raises is what are they protesting?
The prrimary process is geared to help those who prepare for it the best. Now, as seen in the results of the Republican primaries, an outsider can steal elections if the "mainstream" candidates are numerous and disorganized.
The domocratic primaries elected the favorite going in, but the outsider did pretty well.
Now if you get behind a candidate fully and lose, its disappointing. You might convince yourself that it was unfair because everyone you talked to at your rallies supported your candidate so how did he lose?
This sort of naive behavior is cute in a way, but it is also a reflection of a lack in teaching students civics in a real way.
I don't know what is being taught, but based on what I see in various interviews on the news, the way our process works doesn't seem to be well understood.
Now our democracy is threatened by this lack of knowledge. First, the results are important. Citizen apathy is the thing that allows the rise of dangerous candidates.
When only ten percent of the population bothers to vote in the primaries, the candidates selected only need to have more fervant supporters than the the ones that lose. This allows fringe element candidates to win or do well.
If you are concerned about the country and the future we influence that by voting. Everyone can decide who to vote for, its a free country, but that vote is important even if you don't think so.
But how does voting for a candidate with no real chance of winning serve as a protest?
Now if that candidate really reflects your views ten you should vote your conscience. I only object to people who think this serves as some sort of protest.
In effect you are protesting the voters, which therefore is in effect protesting yourself.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
To Serve and Protect
People who enter law enforcement do so for many reasons, but they all take an oath at some point that probably includes the words to serve and protect.
The reason we have laws and law enforcement is because there are criminals. Criminals are defined by what they do, not what they look like.
Criminals do bad things and can be very dangerous. Dealing with them can certainly impact someone in law enforcement and further, can create a distorted view of the world when you deal with the criminal element so frequently.
Now add in terrorism and law enforcement becomes more difficult and more risky. They certainly have the right to defend themselves and should be given the benefit of the doubt if a situation poses a believeable threat.
However, they have to be held to certain standards, not allowed to gun down unarmed people because they got nervous, or didn't know what was going on, or failed to control their weapon. Use of deadly force is not reversible.
I see videos of police actions that are deeply disturbing. In some cases I realize the video might not be the entire story and wait for the authorities to sort it out.
Howevr there was another young black man shot dead in Tulsa who was unarmed, had his hands in the air and seemed to be complying with police orders.
Yes he was a large man but it seems like his car had a problem and the police arrived, but for some reason they treated him as if he had done something wrong.
Now the situation is in process when the video starts, but he is seen walking with his hands in the air and going to his car followed by a number of police. Maybe they gave him some order he didn't follw, it looked like he was going to get proof of ownership when they tasered him and then almost immediately shot him dead for some unexplainable reason.
So a college student has a car problem, has no weapons and ends up dead.
I cant understand it and can't imagine it would have ended that way if he had been a white man.
This has to stop.
The reason we have laws and law enforcement is because there are criminals. Criminals are defined by what they do, not what they look like.
Criminals do bad things and can be very dangerous. Dealing with them can certainly impact someone in law enforcement and further, can create a distorted view of the world when you deal with the criminal element so frequently.
Now add in terrorism and law enforcement becomes more difficult and more risky. They certainly have the right to defend themselves and should be given the benefit of the doubt if a situation poses a believeable threat.
However, they have to be held to certain standards, not allowed to gun down unarmed people because they got nervous, or didn't know what was going on, or failed to control their weapon. Use of deadly force is not reversible.
I see videos of police actions that are deeply disturbing. In some cases I realize the video might not be the entire story and wait for the authorities to sort it out.
Howevr there was another young black man shot dead in Tulsa who was unarmed, had his hands in the air and seemed to be complying with police orders.
Yes he was a large man but it seems like his car had a problem and the police arrived, but for some reason they treated him as if he had done something wrong.
Now the situation is in process when the video starts, but he is seen walking with his hands in the air and going to his car followed by a number of police. Maybe they gave him some order he didn't follw, it looked like he was going to get proof of ownership when they tasered him and then almost immediately shot him dead for some unexplainable reason.
So a college student has a car problem, has no weapons and ends up dead.
I cant understand it and can't imagine it would have ended that way if he had been a white man.
This has to stop.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Chronic Conditions
People are pretty adaptable. Conditions that start off as unbearable somehow become tolerable as they continue. We adjust to the environment and while the objective measure of pain, irritation or annoyance may be the same our reaction to it tends to mitigate it over time.
I recently went to a facility near a processing plant of some type where there was this horrific smell permeating the air in the early morning. I had to sign in at security and mentioned it and they told me what it was and that it happened once a week, but they hardly noticed it anymore.
This is the sort of adjustment we all do to things like that since they don't go away.
Its a normal human response and a survival techniques allowing us to continue to function under adverse conditions.
We are seeing a bit of this in the reaction to the republican nominee.
The outrageous and clearly untruthful positions he has espoused can fill pages. He calls anyone who disagrees with him a name. He claims he knows more about things than experts do, when really its pretty obvious he knows very little. He slanders nations and nationalities, admires dictators, supports torture, insults our allies and lies about things that are public knowledge.
But over time this becomes part of the background noise that we learn to ignore.
Of course in this case, accepting this behavior as normal is dangerous.
To be honest, there is no way to know his real views. They change based on who he is talking to and he reassures some of his supporters with a bit of a wink and a nod.
No one should be reassured, he has no real substance. His whole adult life has been dominated by his desire to be a public figure. Oddly, it is pretty obvious that he doesn't actually share his own supporters positions on things. He is a creation of the media and twitter with a little reality TV thrown in. How much is an act and how much is real is impossible to tell.
His main campaign theme is "its going to be great, trust him".
Well, there you go!
I recently went to a facility near a processing plant of some type where there was this horrific smell permeating the air in the early morning. I had to sign in at security and mentioned it and they told me what it was and that it happened once a week, but they hardly noticed it anymore.
This is the sort of adjustment we all do to things like that since they don't go away.
Its a normal human response and a survival techniques allowing us to continue to function under adverse conditions.
We are seeing a bit of this in the reaction to the republican nominee.
The outrageous and clearly untruthful positions he has espoused can fill pages. He calls anyone who disagrees with him a name. He claims he knows more about things than experts do, when really its pretty obvious he knows very little. He slanders nations and nationalities, admires dictators, supports torture, insults our allies and lies about things that are public knowledge.
But over time this becomes part of the background noise that we learn to ignore.
Of course in this case, accepting this behavior as normal is dangerous.
To be honest, there is no way to know his real views. They change based on who he is talking to and he reassures some of his supporters with a bit of a wink and a nod.
No one should be reassured, he has no real substance. His whole adult life has been dominated by his desire to be a public figure. Oddly, it is pretty obvious that he doesn't actually share his own supporters positions on things. He is a creation of the media and twitter with a little reality TV thrown in. How much is an act and how much is real is impossible to tell.
His main campaign theme is "its going to be great, trust him".
Well, there you go!
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Pulling Together
I may be wrong but we seem as a country to be more divided than ever before, except the civil war. Oddly we don't actually have a lot of disagreements with each other, we argue over shared values.
We argue over the right way to show patriotism.
We argue over the way to protest.
We argue over how to achieve good policing.
We argue over how to combat terrorism.
We argue over how to control immigration.
We argue over how to provide more jobs.
We argue over how to provide medical care.
We argue over what constitutes good government.
It would seem that if the goal is to provide the best health care to the most people we could discuss the varying strategies and come to a consensus. But there like everything else it seems, we decided its not something we can compromise over and call the other side names.
When did everybody become so convinced they were experts on these things?
It just seems that both in congress, the media and the public we all have decided to hate half our fellow citizens for not seeing the light.
I don't know how this can get better, but I sure do miss being able to actually discuss things to come to a shared solution.
We argue over the right way to show patriotism.
We argue over the way to protest.
We argue over how to achieve good policing.
We argue over how to combat terrorism.
We argue over how to control immigration.
We argue over how to provide more jobs.
We argue over how to provide medical care.
We argue over what constitutes good government.
It would seem that if the goal is to provide the best health care to the most people we could discuss the varying strategies and come to a consensus. But there like everything else it seems, we decided its not something we can compromise over and call the other side names.
When did everybody become so convinced they were experts on these things?
It just seems that both in congress, the media and the public we all have decided to hate half our fellow citizens for not seeing the light.
I don't know how this can get better, but I sure do miss being able to actually discuss things to come to a shared solution.
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Saturday Ramblings
Little chill in the air, sign of fall.
Theres a difference between empty promises and promises, we have to figure out the difference.
Some things are possible today and some things aren't. Accept that.
One person reducing their carbon footprint is not the whole solution to climate change, but it is part of the solution.
Each of us needs to be responsible for our actions.
I support everyone who serves the public until they fail to serve the public.
The public includes everyone.
If serving the public is too hard for you to do it correctly, get another job.
I live in an America where most people act pretty much the same as they always did.
A few examples of people acting badly is just that, a few people acting badly.
If you are in favor of the constitution you should respect the freedoms it provides.
Guns are dangerous, if you own one act responsibly.
Freedom of speech can be dangerous too, act responsibly.
If you respect America, you should respect Americans, they are America.
Theres a difference between empty promises and promises, we have to figure out the difference.
Some things are possible today and some things aren't. Accept that.
One person reducing their carbon footprint is not the whole solution to climate change, but it is part of the solution.
Each of us needs to be responsible for our actions.
I support everyone who serves the public until they fail to serve the public.
The public includes everyone.
If serving the public is too hard for you to do it correctly, get another job.
I live in an America where most people act pretty much the same as they always did.
A few examples of people acting badly is just that, a few people acting badly.
If you are in favor of the constitution you should respect the freedoms it provides.
Guns are dangerous, if you own one act responsibly.
Freedom of speech can be dangerous too, act responsibly.
If you respect America, you should respect Americans, they are America.
Friday, September 16, 2016
TGIF
I guess Friday still represents the end of the workweek for a lot of people although its certainly not as high a percentage as it once was. Thats neither good nor bad just a change.
We all tend to look back fondly at events we experienced even if at the time the event was painful or disturbing. Now I'm not talking about grief here, that is something that stays with us, but consider childbirth. The fact that women have second babies is probably proof enough of what I'm saying.
You read a lot of things that talk about how overcoming difficulties forged better people. Maybe it did, or maybe it didn't, you only know the path you took, not the ones you didn't take.
There are very successful people who never really faced any serious challenges. Born into money sent to the best schools, gilded career path open to them. Of course they will come up with things they had to overcome, a distant parent, or some other childhood event that forged their character. However, compared to someone born to a crack addict prostitute they didn't have it so bad.
It this randomness that makes the need to help others a moral imperative. There but for the grace of God go I is a common theme in religion. Not sure God is the decider as much as luck. Recent studies show that the best perdictor of a persons future lifestyle is to look at the lifestyle of their parents.
Obviously the fact that its Friday is much more relevant to a business man than it is to a drug addict. The second's addiction doesn't care about weekends.
Some people are in fact able to raise their status and others lose theirs. But the few exceptions are just that, exceptions.
If you're fortunate enough to have the weekend off, enjoy it.
We all tend to look back fondly at events we experienced even if at the time the event was painful or disturbing. Now I'm not talking about grief here, that is something that stays with us, but consider childbirth. The fact that women have second babies is probably proof enough of what I'm saying.
You read a lot of things that talk about how overcoming difficulties forged better people. Maybe it did, or maybe it didn't, you only know the path you took, not the ones you didn't take.
There are very successful people who never really faced any serious challenges. Born into money sent to the best schools, gilded career path open to them. Of course they will come up with things they had to overcome, a distant parent, or some other childhood event that forged their character. However, compared to someone born to a crack addict prostitute they didn't have it so bad.
It this randomness that makes the need to help others a moral imperative. There but for the grace of God go I is a common theme in religion. Not sure God is the decider as much as luck. Recent studies show that the best perdictor of a persons future lifestyle is to look at the lifestyle of their parents.
Obviously the fact that its Friday is much more relevant to a business man than it is to a drug addict. The second's addiction doesn't care about weekends.
Some people are in fact able to raise their status and others lose theirs. But the few exceptions are just that, exceptions.
If you're fortunate enough to have the weekend off, enjoy it.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Just Thursday
Gas is cheap, mortgage rates are near record lows, the unemployment rate is very low, household income is up. More attempts to rig the election!
A lot of people hold our founding fathers in a sort of reverence. If you look at them closely they were just a bunch of politicians mostly.
The fact that we speak English in America mostly is just an historical consequence of the imperialistic British Empire,
Speaking about rigging elections, look at how congressional districts get configured in most states.
We sometimes act like our major political parties are arms of the Government, they're not.
There are stupid questions and wasted votes.
The more people think that nothing ever changes, the more likely they are to be correct.
The one good thing about presidential elections is that they give the economy a boost every four years with all the money they spend.
Most people really don't have a clue about how big the federal budget is and where the money goes.
Eliminating all the salaries and perks paid to Senators and Congressmen would be barely noticeable.
A lot of people hold our founding fathers in a sort of reverence. If you look at them closely they were just a bunch of politicians mostly.
The fact that we speak English in America mostly is just an historical consequence of the imperialistic British Empire,
Speaking about rigging elections, look at how congressional districts get configured in most states.
We sometimes act like our major political parties are arms of the Government, they're not.
There are stupid questions and wasted votes.
The more people think that nothing ever changes, the more likely they are to be correct.
The one good thing about presidential elections is that they give the economy a boost every four years with all the money they spend.
Most people really don't have a clue about how big the federal budget is and where the money goes.
Eliminating all the salaries and perks paid to Senators and Congressmen would be barely noticeable.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Spiteful Americans
There are a fair number of people in this country who are convinced that someone is making things worse, possibly on purpose.
I've discussed before that certain economic and global trends negatively impact certain people, similar to other trends in the past.
The globalization of industry, the mechanization of labor, the move to renewable energy and automation of routine tasks hurts factory workers, coal miners, various clerical workers and others.
These forces represent to some extent the invisible hand of the economy that will continue much like earthquakes and hurricanes.
If you are not prepared for the changes it can be painful.
We had similar events throughout history, the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution to name two.
Now, if you believed that you were guaranteed a good paying job if you went to high school and stayed out of trouble, you were wrong.
These displaced workers are blaming the politicians, and its not really party specific.
These forces are so powerful that they can't be turned back no matter how much you close your eyes and scream at the top of your lungs.
We are in the anger phase of the transition and the anger has led to spite.
We have a national spite movement that has decided to support the most rediculous figure to run in a long time.
He is willing to promise anything and says he will make things "great" again.
He won't, because he can't.
If we don't prepare for the future and the new economic reality, we will be surpassed by other countries.
We have spiteful people ready to cut off thier nose, probably not the best idea.
I've discussed before that certain economic and global trends negatively impact certain people, similar to other trends in the past.
The globalization of industry, the mechanization of labor, the move to renewable energy and automation of routine tasks hurts factory workers, coal miners, various clerical workers and others.
These forces represent to some extent the invisible hand of the economy that will continue much like earthquakes and hurricanes.
If you are not prepared for the changes it can be painful.
We had similar events throughout history, the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution to name two.
Now, if you believed that you were guaranteed a good paying job if you went to high school and stayed out of trouble, you were wrong.
These displaced workers are blaming the politicians, and its not really party specific.
These forces are so powerful that they can't be turned back no matter how much you close your eyes and scream at the top of your lungs.
We are in the anger phase of the transition and the anger has led to spite.
We have a national spite movement that has decided to support the most rediculous figure to run in a long time.
He is willing to promise anything and says he will make things "great" again.
He won't, because he can't.
If we don't prepare for the future and the new economic reality, we will be surpassed by other countries.
We have spiteful people ready to cut off thier nose, probably not the best idea.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Deplorables in America
We don't have any kind of objective standard as to who would be considered deplorable. I found this definition of the word which seems relevant.
ADJECTIVE
1 Deserving strong condemnation; completely unacceptable:children living in deplorable conditions
1.1 Shockingly bad in quality:her spelling was deplorable
Now its probably safe to say that considering things we consider acceptable as a society, some supporters of both candidates might qualify as deplorable to the opposition. Republicans may feel that people who want to have national health care are deplorable.
Now there was some definition as to who Ms Clinton felt were members of the basket of deplorables,
Her quote follows;
"You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” Clinton said. “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.”
So the people in the basket would be racist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic. She took back the half estimate as probably too high, but still considers those people deplorable.
ADJECTIVE
1 Deserving strong condemnation; completely unacceptable:children living in deplorable conditions
1.1 Shockingly bad in quality:her spelling was deplorable
Now its probably safe to say that considering things we consider acceptable as a society, some supporters of both candidates might qualify as deplorable to the opposition. Republicans may feel that people who want to have national health care are deplorable.
Now there was some definition as to who Ms Clinton felt were members of the basket of deplorables,
Her quote follows;
"You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” Clinton said. “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.”
So the people in the basket would be racist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic. She took back the half estimate as probably too high, but still considers those people deplorable.
Now the Trump camp has said that Ms. Clinton has said half of his supporters are in this basket. Of course this is only true if you accept her gross estimate as to how many fit the categories she described.
We all know that he is appealing to these people and he knows it too. Some people clearly don't fit into any of these categories, but the only real question is how many do?
So if you think you belong in the basket, there's a good chance you are right.
If you are sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, racist, Islamophobic, and don't like having it pointed out, think about the people you hate and insult and how they feel.
And the fact that you are hiding behind political correctness makes most of you hypocrites.
You claim you like a candidate who tells the truth.
You are actually pretty deplorable, get used to it!
Monday, September 12, 2016
Random Thoughts
Football season and the baseball pennant races are driving out some of the hateful political posts.
Don't assume anyone else believes the same way you do, we are all different.
Terrorists don't represent Islam anymore than deranged shooters represent gun owners.
Everybody should take some deep breaths and appreciate being alive.
We need to make the world a better place while we are here.
Hate is distrucive and eats at us from the inside if we let it.
Every person has the same right to be here as you do. You have he same right as they do. Accept that.
Government is supposed to serve the common good, not special interests.
Term limits take away people's right to choose who they want, even if you don't like the winners.
Best weapon we have is to get out and vote.
Second best weapon is getting others to vote.
If most of the country supports something you don't agree with, that's called democracy.
If you only support some of the freedoms in the constitution, you don't support any.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
New Landmark
On September 11, 2001 terrorists were able to destroy two New York landmarks. Three of their four attacks reached their targets with the fourth being thwarted by the brave passengers on that flight.
I remember being told that a pane had hit the Trade Center and thinking some small plane pilot had made a tragic mistake until I got more information. You could see the smoke from where I was and it turned out that a work friend of mine had been on one of the planes.
Others suffered much closer losses and whatever the terrorists hoped to accomplish that day they failed.
Yes we lost two landmarks, but as a nation we now have a more permanent landmark of courage and sacrifice that is part of our great history.
Men and women died trying to save others, ignoring the very real danger around them.
Remember those who fell, they are our countrymen and victims of terror.
But also remember the selfless bravery of the men and women who did everything they could to find survivors and help them survive.
Their courage and bravery is our new landmark that we can look at with pride and sadness.
Never Forget!
I remember being told that a pane had hit the Trade Center and thinking some small plane pilot had made a tragic mistake until I got more information. You could see the smoke from where I was and it turned out that a work friend of mine had been on one of the planes.
Others suffered much closer losses and whatever the terrorists hoped to accomplish that day they failed.
Yes we lost two landmarks, but as a nation we now have a more permanent landmark of courage and sacrifice that is part of our great history.
Men and women died trying to save others, ignoring the very real danger around them.
Remember those who fell, they are our countrymen and victims of terror.
But also remember the selfless bravery of the men and women who did everything they could to find survivors and help them survive.
Their courage and bravery is our new landmark that we can look at with pride and sadness.
Never Forget!
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Being an American
What makes someone an American?
Do you have to be a citizen?
Do you have to be here with the approval of the Government?
Do we have some qualifying standard?
Do you have to say the pledge of allegiance or salute the flag or stand for the national anthem?
I think being an American has pretty much always meant trying to be free and trying to improve yourself.
Our defining characteristic is that we are a nation of immigrants who came here at some time for a better opportunity. (Even native Americans came here from Siberia).
This desire to have freedom and the right to succeed is in my opinion the heart of the American spirit that is the defining characteristic.
Being an American doesn't mean you have to always support the Government. Going back to abolitionists, woman suffragettes, the civil rights movement, the fight for sexual equality, real Americans disagreed with the Government and demanded change.
This is because they love freedom.
We don't have cookie cutter Americans, we are all different and we all have the right to fight for what we believe in.
We can disagree with each other and we can fight for things that might be polar opposites, but as Americans we should respect each others right to fight for what they believe in.
Otherwise we dishonor all those who died defending that right.
Do you have to be a citizen?
Do you have to be here with the approval of the Government?
Do we have some qualifying standard?
Do you have to say the pledge of allegiance or salute the flag or stand for the national anthem?
I think being an American has pretty much always meant trying to be free and trying to improve yourself.
Our defining characteristic is that we are a nation of immigrants who came here at some time for a better opportunity. (Even native Americans came here from Siberia).
This desire to have freedom and the right to succeed is in my opinion the heart of the American spirit that is the defining characteristic.
Being an American doesn't mean you have to always support the Government. Going back to abolitionists, woman suffragettes, the civil rights movement, the fight for sexual equality, real Americans disagreed with the Government and demanded change.
This is because they love freedom.
We don't have cookie cutter Americans, we are all different and we all have the right to fight for what we believe in.
We can disagree with each other and we can fight for things that might be polar opposites, but as Americans we should respect each others right to fight for what they believe in.
Otherwise we dishonor all those who died defending that right.
Friday, September 9, 2016
Crimes and Allegations
A lot of people who should probably know better like to treat allegations as proof of guilt. Take the planned parenthood video which was highly edited and really didn't show any crime (getting pai for expenses is legal).
Considering the state of anti-abortion fervor, if they had committed a crime they would certainly been prosecuted. However I see many people act like they were found guilty of something when they never were and in fact were never even legally accoused.
Now I don't care how you feel about abortions, not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about American values and the presumption of innocence which so many have sacrificed for political or moral reasons.
Now anyone can believe someone did something wrong. I'm pretty convinced that OJ Simpson murdered two people, but legally he was acquitted. So hes not guilty of that crime, no matter what I think.
Now the level of debate in this country has reached levels of animosity and hyperbole that might be unprecedented, although I gather some of our early elections were pretty hotly contested.
I realize that one tactic is to get the attention on issues that distract the American public from actual issues that the next president will have to deal with.
I would like to think that professional journalists would know better but I gather they don't, discussing irrelevant allegations instead of dealing with real issues.
Lets hope the American people are smarter that that and take a hard and honest look at the two candidates based on their experience, qualifications and yes honesty.
Considering the state of anti-abortion fervor, if they had committed a crime they would certainly been prosecuted. However I see many people act like they were found guilty of something when they never were and in fact were never even legally accoused.
Now I don't care how you feel about abortions, not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about American values and the presumption of innocence which so many have sacrificed for political or moral reasons.
Now anyone can believe someone did something wrong. I'm pretty convinced that OJ Simpson murdered two people, but legally he was acquitted. So hes not guilty of that crime, no matter what I think.
Now the level of debate in this country has reached levels of animosity and hyperbole that might be unprecedented, although I gather some of our early elections were pretty hotly contested.
I realize that one tactic is to get the attention on issues that distract the American public from actual issues that the next president will have to deal with.
I would like to think that professional journalists would know better but I gather they don't, discussing irrelevant allegations instead of dealing with real issues.
Lets hope the American people are smarter that that and take a hard and honest look at the two candidates based on their experience, qualifications and yes honesty.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Sexism in America
Well, last night I watched another display of sexism in action on TV.
The moderator had no problem badgering Hillary Clinton, about a subject he obviously knew little about and which was pretty unrelated to the theme of the evening, after which he continued to badger her about time while allowing the male candidate to meander and lie.
I gather the moderator is on a morning show and I don't watch them primarily because, well, why would I?
He obviously is a person not used to dealing with serious issues but has a perhaps subconcious sexist attitude towards women.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/09/lauers-pathetic-interview-made-me-think-trump-can-win.html
.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/us/politics/matt-lauer-forum.html
The moderator had no problem badgering Hillary Clinton, about a subject he obviously knew little about and which was pretty unrelated to the theme of the evening, after which he continued to badger her about time while allowing the male candidate to meander and lie.
I gather the moderator is on a morning show and I don't watch them primarily because, well, why would I?
He obviously is a person not used to dealing with serious issues but has a perhaps subconcious sexist attitude towards women.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/09/lauers-pathetic-interview-made-me-think-trump-can-win.html
.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/us/politics/matt-lauer-forum.html
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Economics
Its becoming increasingly difficult to find dire news about the economy. By most measures things are going pretty well, so the issue they raise is things could be better.
Well of course they could, they could also be worse.
Economies are always evolving in reaction to changes in technology, domestic and internatinal events.
Not as many video stores around as there used to be.
Lot more Apple Stores.
If you were to get a group of video store clerks together and promise to save their jobs you would be a fool.
So the outreach to certain industries that are not part of the new economic reality is just the same thing.
Coal mining is a dangerous and unhealthy occupation that contributes to destroying the earths environment. Coal miners need to be helped, not preserved like museum pieces.
Boring repetitive manufacturing jobs are easily done by robots now, lots less people involved.
Many, many office jobs have been replaced by technology from typists to telephone receptionists.
This isn't new, in the classic movie the Grapes of Wrath there is a discussion how men in tractors were replacing hundreds of small farmers driving them off their land.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpPSIF8zIHo
Its called progress and while some would like to stop it, it really can't be stopped.
Any campaign that promises a return to some golden past is either simply naive or lying.
We need to look to the future, not the past.
America was great and is still great. Lets keep it great going forward.
Well of course they could, they could also be worse.
Economies are always evolving in reaction to changes in technology, domestic and internatinal events.
Not as many video stores around as there used to be.
Lot more Apple Stores.
If you were to get a group of video store clerks together and promise to save their jobs you would be a fool.
So the outreach to certain industries that are not part of the new economic reality is just the same thing.
Coal mining is a dangerous and unhealthy occupation that contributes to destroying the earths environment. Coal miners need to be helped, not preserved like museum pieces.
Boring repetitive manufacturing jobs are easily done by robots now, lots less people involved.
Many, many office jobs have been replaced by technology from typists to telephone receptionists.
This isn't new, in the classic movie the Grapes of Wrath there is a discussion how men in tractors were replacing hundreds of small farmers driving them off their land.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpPSIF8zIHo
Its called progress and while some would like to stop it, it really can't be stopped.
Any campaign that promises a return to some golden past is either simply naive or lying.
We need to look to the future, not the past.
America was great and is still great. Lets keep it great going forward.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
About Polls
Polls, polls polls, so many come out every week we get quite conflicting forecasts.
With the number of polls going on you would think we are all being inundated with people asking for our opinion. Who are the people in the polls?
Since I don't answer the phone is I don't know the caller and don't click on questionable links I know I'm not in there.
In fact it is a big generally undisclosed issue with polls about who they are reaching and how representative that group is. They publish a margin of error, but I doubt that's as accurate as it should be based on the sample problems.
A perfect poll would get a random snapshot of the people of this country. That would includes all demographic categories and be verifiable. This is essentially an impossible task so the pollsters have to adjust for this in some way.
I'm not questioning the statistical skills or dedication of the pollsters, although some do have a point of view, but they tackle an impossibility and have to adjust for the unreachable.
So ultimately it becomes a bit of a Scientific Wild Assed Guess (SWAG) meaning its correct if all the uncertainties sort of balance out.
What is actually surprising is how close they come, much of the time considering beside the people they can't reach, the possibility that the people they do reach are lying to them.
Now most American are honest and reliable, but some aren't and giving the opportunity they may take delight in trying to hack a poll.
Its hard to say who is underrepresented in the polling although there have been some allegations that certain Trump supporters are embarrassed to tell the pollsters they support him. This doesn't seem like any of the Trump supporters I have met, but of course it is possible.
Now some sites average the polls together to get a less variable outcome. Of course there are statistical issues with this as well, but it is likely to be more accurate than any individual poll.
With two months to go it is likely that we will be bombarded with hundreds of polls and many will show significant variations. They are indicative of what they sample and as a statistical person I find them interesting, but remember they are trying to predict using flawed samples and statistical adjustments. They may be presented by the media as conclusive when in fact they are SWAG.
This is a good discussion on how to read polls.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/13-tips-for-reading-general-election-polls-like-a-pro/
With the number of polls going on you would think we are all being inundated with people asking for our opinion. Who are the people in the polls?
Since I don't answer the phone is I don't know the caller and don't click on questionable links I know I'm not in there.
In fact it is a big generally undisclosed issue with polls about who they are reaching and how representative that group is. They publish a margin of error, but I doubt that's as accurate as it should be based on the sample problems.
A perfect poll would get a random snapshot of the people of this country. That would includes all demographic categories and be verifiable. This is essentially an impossible task so the pollsters have to adjust for this in some way.
I'm not questioning the statistical skills or dedication of the pollsters, although some do have a point of view, but they tackle an impossibility and have to adjust for the unreachable.
So ultimately it becomes a bit of a Scientific Wild Assed Guess (SWAG) meaning its correct if all the uncertainties sort of balance out.
What is actually surprising is how close they come, much of the time considering beside the people they can't reach, the possibility that the people they do reach are lying to them.
Now most American are honest and reliable, but some aren't and giving the opportunity they may take delight in trying to hack a poll.
Its hard to say who is underrepresented in the polling although there have been some allegations that certain Trump supporters are embarrassed to tell the pollsters they support him. This doesn't seem like any of the Trump supporters I have met, but of course it is possible.
Now some sites average the polls together to get a less variable outcome. Of course there are statistical issues with this as well, but it is likely to be more accurate than any individual poll.
With two months to go it is likely that we will be bombarded with hundreds of polls and many will show significant variations. They are indicative of what they sample and as a statistical person I find them interesting, but remember they are trying to predict using flawed samples and statistical adjustments. They may be presented by the media as conclusive when in fact they are SWAG.
This is a good discussion on how to read polls.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/13-tips-for-reading-general-election-polls-like-a-pro/
Monday, September 5, 2016
Being Wrong on Climate Change
Let's admit it upfront, everyone has been wrong about at least one thing in their lives. Now thats part of being human, we make choices based on facts, opinions or some intuition and we can't alway make the right one.
Now most of us would agree that certain decisions are more important than others. For example things like getting married, having children, buying a house are significant issues that we hope to get right. Sometimes they are made impetuously or acidentally but we judge tham by the consequences and know these have significant ones.
Deciding what to order at a restaurant or what to buy for dinner at the store is something that we know normally has minor consequences so most of us can do that fairly quickly, although I often am accused of overthinking these myself.
Now when you consider our elected officials, they sometimes let politics decide how they vote on an issue. Similar to our decisions this may or may not have significant consequences. For example, despite the clear science, many politicians from "Tobacco" states refused to accept that these products were harmful. How many died or got ill because of their "politics" is hard to say, but they have to live with what they did.
Looking at our current congress and senate, politics seems to be the only thing they concern themselves with. Whos the next Supreme Court Justice is one of those issues but honestly, that probably is something that will be resolved politically and while who it is may be extremely significant, the country will survive the delay.
However those who refuse to accept the science behind climate change are a whole different animal. The science is as conclusive as science can get and the consequences to our future are enormous. This is not something we can afford to be wrong on and yet we are seeing efforts to address the issue stymied for political reasons. Whatever short term threat ISIS might present, is nothing compared to the millions of people who will be displaced as the ice sheets continue to melt.
The people who continue to deny this may or may not have to live with the consequences, but others certainly will.
Now most of us would agree that certain decisions are more important than others. For example things like getting married, having children, buying a house are significant issues that we hope to get right. Sometimes they are made impetuously or acidentally but we judge tham by the consequences and know these have significant ones.
Deciding what to order at a restaurant or what to buy for dinner at the store is something that we know normally has minor consequences so most of us can do that fairly quickly, although I often am accused of overthinking these myself.
Now when you consider our elected officials, they sometimes let politics decide how they vote on an issue. Similar to our decisions this may or may not have significant consequences. For example, despite the clear science, many politicians from "Tobacco" states refused to accept that these products were harmful. How many died or got ill because of their "politics" is hard to say, but they have to live with what they did.
Looking at our current congress and senate, politics seems to be the only thing they concern themselves with. Whos the next Supreme Court Justice is one of those issues but honestly, that probably is something that will be resolved politically and while who it is may be extremely significant, the country will survive the delay.
However those who refuse to accept the science behind climate change are a whole different animal. The science is as conclusive as science can get and the consequences to our future are enormous. This is not something we can afford to be wrong on and yet we are seeing efforts to address the issue stymied for political reasons. Whatever short term threat ISIS might present, is nothing compared to the millions of people who will be displaced as the ice sheets continue to melt.
The people who continue to deny this may or may not have to live with the consequences, but others certainly will.
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Random Thoughts
I guess if Trump was to win we would declare bankruptcy, thats a tried and true tactic of his.
Everyone is already tired of this election and we have two months to go,
It seems like Hillary is running against the symbol of the Democratic Party this year.
Everyone seems to suspect Hillary of wrongdoing, but they can't actually say what it is because she is so good at covering up. If she was we wouldn't even suspect her.
The same people who say the Government is totally incompetant also think it secretly runs everything in our lives. Scary thought that.
If your life sucks you may want to consider what you can do about it instead of just complaining.
All of the racists who support Trump think he is being phoney in his outreach to minorities just to get elected but is perfectly straight with them.
I don't think Trump is a racist, he is really a Trumpist, since everyone not Trump is inferior.
Clearly Hillary has to work on her people skills, since so many think she is good at people kills.
It amazes me that the e-mail issue is still even an issue. No clasified information was compromised and it was a couple of years ago. Indicates how few real issues there are.
Most people have never dealt with classified information and if those documents were actually properly classified they were not marked correctly. That fault lies with the sender.
The Clinton Foundation does charitable work worldwide and has foreign donors. Not sure why thats an issue.
Trump has a doctor who says he would be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency and lawyers who tell him not to release his tax returns until the audits are completed. Really?
Got to thank Billy West for these, they are maybe the best thing in the election.
https://twitter.com/hashtag/MakeAmericaBrannigan?src=hash
Everyone is already tired of this election and we have two months to go,
It seems like Hillary is running against the symbol of the Democratic Party this year.
Everyone seems to suspect Hillary of wrongdoing, but they can't actually say what it is because she is so good at covering up. If she was we wouldn't even suspect her.
The same people who say the Government is totally incompetant also think it secretly runs everything in our lives. Scary thought that.
If your life sucks you may want to consider what you can do about it instead of just complaining.
All of the racists who support Trump think he is being phoney in his outreach to minorities just to get elected but is perfectly straight with them.
I don't think Trump is a racist, he is really a Trumpist, since everyone not Trump is inferior.
Clearly Hillary has to work on her people skills, since so many think she is good at people kills.
It amazes me that the e-mail issue is still even an issue. No clasified information was compromised and it was a couple of years ago. Indicates how few real issues there are.
Most people have never dealt with classified information and if those documents were actually properly classified they were not marked correctly. That fault lies with the sender.
The Clinton Foundation does charitable work worldwide and has foreign donors. Not sure why thats an issue.
Trump has a doctor who says he would be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency and lawyers who tell him not to release his tax returns until the audits are completed. Really?
Got to thank Billy West for these, they are maybe the best thing in the election.
https://twitter.com/hashtag/MakeAmericaBrannigan?src=hash
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Where's the Middle
Most American as I have stated previously actually share most of the same values. We generally want everyone to be treated fairly and given equal opportunity.
Even considering the role of Government, when you poll people about the things Government actually does, they tend to be pretty supportive of it. Note that every Government program is passed and funded by a congress and signed by the President. While some of the programs may be legacies from an earlier period, if they really were as bad as some commentors claim, they would have been investigated and defunded. Even the Aforable Care Act, as often as its attacked, has provisions that most Americans support and want to keep.
Of course the most noise is made by those on the right and the left, about doing too little or doing too much, and that is good political discourse. However, the debates have taken on a decidedly nasty character where character assasination and outright falsehoods have replaced actually debate.
This sort of tactic has a certain impact where disgruntled people buy into a platform built on lies and we see how the primaries are so vulnerable because of the low voter turnout in general. It was almost the case that this year we had someone from the far right running against someone from the far left in our election.
That didn't happen and no matter how much the right wants to paint the Democratic candidate as an extreme leftist, her policies clearly don't support such allegations. Of course they have turned to personal attacks but that's normal for them.
It is clear that in a general election, the number of people voting is much greater and the extreme candidates can't prevail. Our elected representatives should reflect the will of all the people, so everyone needs to get out and vote.
Even considering the role of Government, when you poll people about the things Government actually does, they tend to be pretty supportive of it. Note that every Government program is passed and funded by a congress and signed by the President. While some of the programs may be legacies from an earlier period, if they really were as bad as some commentors claim, they would have been investigated and defunded. Even the Aforable Care Act, as often as its attacked, has provisions that most Americans support and want to keep.
Of course the most noise is made by those on the right and the left, about doing too little or doing too much, and that is good political discourse. However, the debates have taken on a decidedly nasty character where character assasination and outright falsehoods have replaced actually debate.
This sort of tactic has a certain impact where disgruntled people buy into a platform built on lies and we see how the primaries are so vulnerable because of the low voter turnout in general. It was almost the case that this year we had someone from the far right running against someone from the far left in our election.
That didn't happen and no matter how much the right wants to paint the Democratic candidate as an extreme leftist, her policies clearly don't support such allegations. Of course they have turned to personal attacks but that's normal for them.
It is clear that in a general election, the number of people voting is much greater and the extreme candidates can't prevail. Our elected representatives should reflect the will of all the people, so everyone needs to get out and vote.
Friday, September 2, 2016
Taco Trucks on Every Corner
Not sure if this is a new campaign slogan, like a chicken in every pot, but assuming the taco trucks are run by Meicans is would seem like we shoud keep some around.
I like Tacos and generally speaking the people I know of Mexican heritage are nice people too. Of course like any nationality, being people, some of them turn to crime and do bad things. I'm not familiar enough with gangs to know which gangs are exclusive to any specific nationality but I would probably want to avoid gang bangers of any nationality most of the time.
I also would like to point out that the Obama administration has taken a lot of heat because of all the deportations it has performed.
obama-has-deported-more-immigrants-than-any-other-president-now-hes-running-up-the-score/
So this rheoric about all the immigrants being let in is pretty much just that.
I can't decide if he dislikes the Mexicans or the Syrians more. Of course the Syrians should remind him to some extent of the Hungarian refugees we let in back when he was a child. This country has a long history of providing refuge to refugees. The cases where we acted like Trump wants us to are really a black mark on our history
us-government-turned-away-thousands-jewish-refugees-fearing-they-were-nazi-spies-no-ist
They weren't and despite Mr Trumps extensive research the Syrian refugees fleeing the horrors of that war aren't generally terrorists. Are a few of them? Maybe, but once again they already go through an extensive vetting process.
We have enough issues with our home grown criminals and terrorists that we really don't need to demonize others.
The bigest potential problem facing this country now is the possibility we will put a clown in the White House just to get some Taco Trucks.
I like Tacos and generally speaking the people I know of Mexican heritage are nice people too. Of course like any nationality, being people, some of them turn to crime and do bad things. I'm not familiar enough with gangs to know which gangs are exclusive to any specific nationality but I would probably want to avoid gang bangers of any nationality most of the time.
I also would like to point out that the Obama administration has taken a lot of heat because of all the deportations it has performed.
obama-has-deported-more-immigrants-than-any-other-president-now-hes-running-up-the-score/
So this rheoric about all the immigrants being let in is pretty much just that.
I can't decide if he dislikes the Mexicans or the Syrians more. Of course the Syrians should remind him to some extent of the Hungarian refugees we let in back when he was a child. This country has a long history of providing refuge to refugees. The cases where we acted like Trump wants us to are really a black mark on our history
us-government-turned-away-thousands-jewish-refugees-fearing-they-were-nazi-spies-no-ist
They weren't and despite Mr Trumps extensive research the Syrian refugees fleeing the horrors of that war aren't generally terrorists. Are a few of them? Maybe, but once again they already go through an extensive vetting process.
We have enough issues with our home grown criminals and terrorists that we really don't need to demonize others.
The bigest potential problem facing this country now is the possibility we will put a clown in the White House just to get some Taco Trucks.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
September Thoughts
September is back to school month for most, happy days for parents!
Its the first day of September but its been Halloween in the stores for weeks.
After labor day supposed to stop wearing white, if you were wearing white all summer.
I always associate Setember with hurricanes although the worst ones seem to be in October.
Also time for the new TV season to start although with all the new streaming seems a bit old fashioned.
Baseball expands rosters now during the heat of the pennant race. Still call it that although more of a playoff race now.
Two months left in the campaign cycle but probably most have already made up their minds. Could be some surprise of course.
Fall is the season that makes living in the Northern part of the country pretty spectacular with the brisk air, crisp apples and colorful leaves rolling right into Christmas. No need to think about what comes after that.
Its the first day of September but its been Halloween in the stores for weeks.
After labor day supposed to stop wearing white, if you were wearing white all summer.
I always associate Setember with hurricanes although the worst ones seem to be in October.
Also time for the new TV season to start although with all the new streaming seems a bit old fashioned.
Baseball expands rosters now during the heat of the pennant race. Still call it that although more of a playoff race now.
Two months left in the campaign cycle but probably most have already made up their minds. Could be some surprise of course.
Fall is the season that makes living in the Northern part of the country pretty spectacular with the brisk air, crisp apples and colorful leaves rolling right into Christmas. No need to think about what comes after that.
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