America is not falling apart and the current generation is doing just fine.
The old days weren't better, we were just younger.
Live the best you can and treat others with respect.
If you let a rabble rouser get you excited, it makes you rabble.
We really need to take care of the world we are in, don't have any others.
We only get to use it for a time before we have to give it to the next generation.
If someone came into your house and released a bunch of noxious fumes, you would be pretty pissed off.
Bad things happen to good people, its not their fault.
Remember, news is not the whole story, just report mostly bad things.
Don't worry about what everyone else is doing, do all the good you can.
We all live in a world that we create, make it a good one.
Have some fun.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Friday, August 26, 2016
Lying with Statistics
If the statistics don't tell the story you want, you can probably find a way to make them fit it.
Take the recent AP stat that half of Clinton's meetings were with donors to the Clinton foundation. Well no, it was half of the meetings after the vast majority of meetings were excluded as being "job" related.
Even then, half the meetings were to people who didn't donate so it sort of makes the pay to play idea inaccurate.
So AP twisted the statistics to create a story, not the first time and not the only organization.
We see statistics used like this all the time and it is generally accepted at face value by the majority of people.
In many cases the underlying story gives the actual facts and if you read the AP story, nothing wrong was actually reported. Some innuendo and misinformation but nothing factual.
Just modern yellow journalism I guess.
Pity.
Take the recent AP stat that half of Clinton's meetings were with donors to the Clinton foundation. Well no, it was half of the meetings after the vast majority of meetings were excluded as being "job" related.
Even then, half the meetings were to people who didn't donate so it sort of makes the pay to play idea inaccurate.
So AP twisted the statistics to create a story, not the first time and not the only organization.
We see statistics used like this all the time and it is generally accepted at face value by the majority of people.
In many cases the underlying story gives the actual facts and if you read the AP story, nothing wrong was actually reported. Some innuendo and misinformation but nothing factual.
Just modern yellow journalism I guess.
Pity.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Dig you must
There is a general feeling among many Americans that the Clinton's have done something wrong and got away with it.
Now we know that Bill had a well publicized incident with a White House intern and lied about it. Its also likely that he had other extra-marital affairs. However, besides this, the accusations fly constantly about people disappearing, dying, getting lied too, being given special treatment etc. etc. etc.
What we have factually comes down to that Mrs Clinton used a private e-mail server while Secretary of State and that some donors to the Clinton Foundation had some access to certain aides and the Secretary.
Use of the private e-mail server was not criminal and there is no allegation that information was leaked or even hacked, although that possibility existed. When asked to turn over official Government e-mails, she deleted the ones that weren't official which immediately sets off our conspiracy people. Of course saying there is a cover up doesn't mean there is one, and the real question is what they think she is covering up? Some equate what she did with the e-mails at the DNC which indicated some frustration that Sanders didn't drop out of the race when it was clear what the outcome was, and while they shouldn't have been sent it is of course perfectly OK for candidate Clinton to express that view, so its not about her.
The accusations that large donors had better access to the Secretary than other people, to some extent, is what we call the American political system. It should be noted that despite intense efforts, no actual favors have been found that were related to her official position and these were all people who were influential and generally rich. Even in the somewhat questionable AP analysis, half of the contacts of non-Government and non-Foreign donors were people who had not donated to the foundation. The AP needed to twist the statistics to get a headline, but if donation was a requirement who were the people who didn't donate? Maybe if you call or e-mail the State Department requesting a meeting they respond to you regardless.
No one denies the Clinton Foundation does some great things and no evidence has come to light showing it did anything illegal or inappropriate.
In all honesty, based on the amount of digging and the number of people doing it, it seems that Ms Clinton is one of the most honest and trustworthy people in the country. Keep digging.
Now we know that Bill had a well publicized incident with a White House intern and lied about it. Its also likely that he had other extra-marital affairs. However, besides this, the accusations fly constantly about people disappearing, dying, getting lied too, being given special treatment etc. etc. etc.
What we have factually comes down to that Mrs Clinton used a private e-mail server while Secretary of State and that some donors to the Clinton Foundation had some access to certain aides and the Secretary.
Use of the private e-mail server was not criminal and there is no allegation that information was leaked or even hacked, although that possibility existed. When asked to turn over official Government e-mails, she deleted the ones that weren't official which immediately sets off our conspiracy people. Of course saying there is a cover up doesn't mean there is one, and the real question is what they think she is covering up? Some equate what she did with the e-mails at the DNC which indicated some frustration that Sanders didn't drop out of the race when it was clear what the outcome was, and while they shouldn't have been sent it is of course perfectly OK for candidate Clinton to express that view, so its not about her.
The accusations that large donors had better access to the Secretary than other people, to some extent, is what we call the American political system. It should be noted that despite intense efforts, no actual favors have been found that were related to her official position and these were all people who were influential and generally rich. Even in the somewhat questionable AP analysis, half of the contacts of non-Government and non-Foreign donors were people who had not donated to the foundation. The AP needed to twist the statistics to get a headline, but if donation was a requirement who were the people who didn't donate? Maybe if you call or e-mail the State Department requesting a meeting they respond to you regardless.
No one denies the Clinton Foundation does some great things and no evidence has come to light showing it did anything illegal or inappropriate.
In all honesty, based on the amount of digging and the number of people doing it, it seems that Ms Clinton is one of the most honest and trustworthy people in the country. Keep digging.
Freedom of the Press
One of the things that is great about America is the freedom we guarantee the press. Of course on of the things that is troubling about America is the fact that so many published or broadcast items are simply not true or at least not the whole truth.
It is the responsibility of the public to determine what is a reliable vs unreliable source and try to determine the truth. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the time to do this and rely on sources that are in many cases entertaining but not comprehensive.
All the press whatever their political leanings or lack thereof has to "sell" their product. In the current era this is generally selling advertising space of spots in order to go on. The amount that you can get is dependent on the number of readers or viewers or hits you have. If you simply report lots of boring items you won't have much of an audience, so you have to find something that can be turned into a headline to grab people's attention.
Quoting people who make outlandish claims is always a good way to report something attention grabbing without actually promoting a false story.
Now the press or media is able to uncover things that we should know about but a lot of exposes' aren't particularly informative. They are trying to find something that will grab our attention and get us to read, watch or listen to the story they are promoting in order to make money.
Freedom of the press is a great thing and while it allows a lot of misinformation to get posted it is far better than censorship.
It is the responsibility of the public to determine what is a reliable vs unreliable source and try to determine the truth. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the time to do this and rely on sources that are in many cases entertaining but not comprehensive.
All the press whatever their political leanings or lack thereof has to "sell" their product. In the current era this is generally selling advertising space of spots in order to go on. The amount that you can get is dependent on the number of readers or viewers or hits you have. If you simply report lots of boring items you won't have much of an audience, so you have to find something that can be turned into a headline to grab people's attention.
Quoting people who make outlandish claims is always a good way to report something attention grabbing without actually promoting a false story.
Now the press or media is able to uncover things that we should know about but a lot of exposes' aren't particularly informative. They are trying to find something that will grab our attention and get us to read, watch or listen to the story they are promoting in order to make money.
Freedom of the press is a great thing and while it allows a lot of misinformation to get posted it is far better than censorship.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
American Values 3
One of the rights we have is the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Like all our rights this is designed to protect us from the Government oppressing us. The only problem with this is that the right only exists if you are alive and we currently see too many examples of suspects not making it that far.
It is also obvious that the suspects in most danger are often young and black. There are a number of reasons for this, one of which has to be a certain degree of racism. I don't believe that most police officers are racist, but I do think that the police have a bias against young black men because experience tells them they are more likely to be dangerous.
Now clearly not all are and I don't pretend to know the percentages. There are a whole lot of economic and social factors that impact young men without opportunities added to the fact that this age group tends to have some underdeveloped judgement skills, no matter what ethic background.
Human nature being what it is the reactions are more drastic based on the perceived danger. This has led to some incidents that are tragic and in some cases hard to fathom.
I certainly don't want to attack the police who have a terribly difficult and dangerous job and who obviously have the right to protect themselves. However, there have clearly been some instances caught on camera where the reactions are excessive and inappropriate.
Every person has the right to life. We also are presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of our peers. Apprehending suspects who resist is clearly a dangerous situation with an uncertain outcome.
We need well trained police who can protect all the people effectively. We should support them but not accept blatant racist or criminal behavior by anyone in an official capacity.
If the police operate as an occupying force then they are not serving the public. If the policeman or woman feels that the people they are supposed to protect are actually the enemy we have a formula for tragedy. Certainly all lives do matter, but the ones frequently at risk are black ones, so I see nothing wrong with reminding everyone that they matter too.
It is also obvious that the suspects in most danger are often young and black. There are a number of reasons for this, one of which has to be a certain degree of racism. I don't believe that most police officers are racist, but I do think that the police have a bias against young black men because experience tells them they are more likely to be dangerous.
Now clearly not all are and I don't pretend to know the percentages. There are a whole lot of economic and social factors that impact young men without opportunities added to the fact that this age group tends to have some underdeveloped judgement skills, no matter what ethic background.
Human nature being what it is the reactions are more drastic based on the perceived danger. This has led to some incidents that are tragic and in some cases hard to fathom.
I certainly don't want to attack the police who have a terribly difficult and dangerous job and who obviously have the right to protect themselves. However, there have clearly been some instances caught on camera where the reactions are excessive and inappropriate.
Every person has the right to life. We also are presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of our peers. Apprehending suspects who resist is clearly a dangerous situation with an uncertain outcome.
We need well trained police who can protect all the people effectively. We should support them but not accept blatant racist or criminal behavior by anyone in an official capacity.
If the police operate as an occupying force then they are not serving the public. If the policeman or woman feels that the people they are supposed to protect are actually the enemy we have a formula for tragedy. Certainly all lives do matter, but the ones frequently at risk are black ones, so I see nothing wrong with reminding everyone that they matter too.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Whats Going Well
There are a lot of people and news channels focused on whats wrong with America and we certainly have some problems, but there are an awful lot of things going really well.
Our Auto Industry has rebounded and is competitive.
We have developed lots of domestic energy sources.
The price of energy has come down dramatically.
The amount of renewable energy being used keeps increasing.
Access to the power of the internet has become normal.
Unemployment is near historic lows.
Consumer spending has rebounded.
We in general are more accepting of alternate lifestyles.
We have increased health coverage although still not to everyones.
Stocks are near historic highs.
And so much more.
Now some people would and might respond to each of these items with whats not going well, and I agree there are challenges we need to face and fix but we need to appreciate what we do have from time to time.
Our Auto Industry has rebounded and is competitive.
We have developed lots of domestic energy sources.
The price of energy has come down dramatically.
The amount of renewable energy being used keeps increasing.
Access to the power of the internet has become normal.
Unemployment is near historic lows.
Consumer spending has rebounded.
We in general are more accepting of alternate lifestyles.
We have increased health coverage although still not to everyones.
Stocks are near historic highs.
And so much more.
Now some people would and might respond to each of these items with whats not going well, and I agree there are challenges we need to face and fix but we need to appreciate what we do have from time to time.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Saturday Thoughts
Generally most people have few interactions with the Federal Government, if you exclude getting mail, which most of us take for granted. Why is everyone so agitated?
Don't believe everything you hear.
People are just people.
Calling a group "those people" says more about you than it does about them.
Too many people are willing to send other people's children into danger.
Its always easy to decide what went wrong after something did.
Killing anybody is problematic, even if they really deserve it.
Trend data is often the most unreliable so if someone uses it, make sure you know how.
The Earth is getting warmer, we put a lot of trapped carbon back into the atmosphere.
People are better at solving problems than the Government is.
If you decide to do the wrong thing because everyone else is, you are still doing the wrong thing.
If you find a couple of aberrations in a large sample, that's normal.
Every dominant power before America has met there downfall. Might want to remember that.
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