Note to Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-8)

Are you for res publica or res donalda?

Res publica is Latin for public things.  I am all for a political party that puts the public before special interests. Sadly, I have seen few examples of Republicans who put the public before special interests.  Since 2016, I have seen few Republicans who put the public before the interests of Donald Trump.

I once was a Republican precinct finance chair.  I even was 3rd in fund raising of 13 precincts.  But Ronald Reagan’s nomination over John Anderson was a disappointment.  The only Republicans I was interested in after that were Bill Frenzel and Arne Carlson.

George Washington in his Farewell Address warned about factions.  I hope you will take the time to read his address.  You can find it on the Senate website (https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf).  You can also find the Constitution on the Senate website (https://www.senate.gov/reference/Index/Constitution.htm).  Please note that it calls for three equal  branches of government, not a government for the interests of the President.

Sent to Pete Stauber, Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith 2019-12-04

School performance: are we asking the right questions?

Much ink has been spilled on school performance, but are we asking the right questions?

Most of it is directed to de facto segregation.  That is, schools with mostly minority students perform worse than schools with mostly white students.  But is that right question?

I think a better question is what is the balance of performers vs. disruptors.

I have been in public schools with majority white and I’ve been in schools with a big mix of students.  In both kinds of schools I have found performers of all kinds of backgrounds and disruptors of all kinds of backgrounds.  The success of the schools depends more on how the students and staff encourage the performers and minimize the impact of the disrupters.

If you move the performers to “better schools” will you deprive some of the remaining students of the “protection” and role models of the performers?

What happened to "law and order" Republicans?

If Republicans wonder why I vote for Democrats, the recent attack by a group of Republican representatives is one of the reasons.  It amazes me that members of the "Law and Order" party would stoop to vandalism in the House of Representatives.  Their protests were even more ridiculous because several Republicans were in the closed meeting.

See https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/us/politics/republicans-storm-trump-impeachment-hearing.html.

I would like to vote for Republicans, but only when they live up to their name: res publica (public things). Instead they seem to be working overtime to promote Redonaldcons.  I didn't care for Ronald Reagan, but Donald Trump certainly makes Reagan look like St. Ronnie!

Take back your mind

There are thousands of brain snatchers all over the web.  Some snatch your brain by putting other people down.  Some snatch your brain by getting you to act against your best interests.

You can take your mind back by staying away from social media.

Instead of getting your news from social media sites, read several online mainstream newspapers.  You can read many of them free, but you can support them by subscribing.  And you will find a variety of opinions in all of them.

I myself read the Duluth News Tribune, Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul), Washington Post, and New York Times.  I also listen to podcasts of God Morgon Världen, Science Magazine, and To The Best of Our Knowledge.

This blog entry was inspired by a library book that was displayed on a little stand at my eye level: TEN ARGUMENTS FOR DELETING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS RIGHT NOW by Jaron Lanier.

Consider that the Russians didn’t interfere with our election.  It was far easier to interfere with the minds of people who get their news on social media.

And distrust anyone who rails against “lame stream media”.

Reagan’s words to today’s “conservatives”

Would Ronald Reagan admonish today’s so-called “conservatives” with “There you go again”?

I supported and voted for John Anderson in 1980 because I saw him as a real Republican who was concerned with “res publica” (public things).  Rather than have a laundry list of “ills of what was wrong” he concerned himself with balancing issues.

Unfortunately the Republican Party has devolved into a blame machine in which Democrats can do no right.

If the Republicans were real conservatives, wouldn’t they be all in favor of considering many ideas rather than be in lockstep on one set of ideas?

If they were real conservatives, wouldn’t they read the Constitution very carefully instead of corrupting it to fit their own ideas?

If they were real conservatives, wouldn’t they heed Washington’s advice in his farewell address to avoid factions?

Once upon a time the Senate was called the “greatest deliberative body in the world.  Now it has a Majority of one who obstructs any legislation that he doesn’t like.

Don't protest Trump! Boycott him!

The Star Tribune had an article today titled "Trump's rally in Minneapolis targets Democratic fortress" by Jessie Van Berkel.  I sent her an email suggesting that protesters stay away because he feeds on opposition.  I suggested that they hold alternative events all over the city with the closest no more than five blocks.

Like this little blog, this suggestion won't be acted on by many, if any.

Why bother?

In a galaxy far, far away, I started this blog with the hope of earning a few dollars every so often.

At first, most readers were from the U.S. and Canada.  Now I get dozens of visits from Russia or Italy.  These are probably trolls who are hoping I will click on their URLs which they hope will trap me into some nefarious scheme.

The few dollars never got to the level at which Google would send me a check.  With only a few dollars to go to that level, the meter stopped.  Then Google sent me an email that I hadn’t made certain changes or something or other.  I’ve long forgotten how to edit the site and really don’t want to figure out how to do it again.

If you’ve been a long time reader, I thank you.

Maybe I’ll post something else here now and then; maybe I won’t.  Che séra, séra!

New and improved??

I have been using computers for over 60 years, starting with a cards in/cards out IBM 650 to Univac mainframes to the earliest personal computer to “The Computer for the Rest of Us” (The Macintosh).  Look up the ad “Why 1984 will not be 1984”.

Unfortunately, 1984 arrived with Apple’s OS X.  Everything has changed from gradual changes to complete changes that make previous data unusable, requiring days and weeks to update.  Many of these changes are difficult to decipher or many hours to undo (like an update that moved giga-bytes of data to the cloud.

Now Yahoo! had done that with it Finance pages.

For years, I have kept a spreadsheet of weekly data for several stocks or mutual funds.  I had Yahoo! set up to give me closing prices every Friday.

I missed a week and when I tried to have Yahoo! give me my data, nothing happened.  i went to bed frustrated not knowing what had changed.

On Saturday, I figured out that I had to completely rebuild my list.  When I requested the list, I found out that it had the high and low prices but not the closing prices which is what I really wanted.

I went to Yahoo! help section and found out that I was not alone.  Many commenters were very upset about the changes.

Well, back to figuring out how to get the data I want.

https://yahoo.uservoice.com/forums/382977-finance/suggestions/38499625-think-your-changes-out-before-springing-them-on-us

Let’s run government like a business

For many decades, there have government critics who think government would be better if it were run like a business.  Be careful what you ask for; you might get it.

If government were run like a business, then the president (or governor) would be approved every year by the Senate.  This approval would be almost automatic every three years. The President would hold his position until he retires, quits, or is fired by the Senate.  If  the Senate fires him, there would be few if any hearings

The President would appoint new members to the board as previous members quit or die.

Every year, the voters would get to approve a third of the current members of the board.   They would have two choices: for or abstain.

Rather than have a variety of public services available to all citizens, there would be fees for every service.

You want to get mail, you would have to pay an annual fee or by piece each day.

You want to drive somewhere, you would have to pay an annual fee to each jurisdiction you drive in or pay a toll each time you drive in a certain jurisdiction.

You want to have a quick response if you have a medical emergency, a fire, or a robbery, you would have to pay an annual fee to each entity or pay before you get the help.

And on and on it goes to where we might have to put coins in our refrigerator to open it.

None of us really likes to pay taxes, but without taxes our lives would be chaos.  Supposedly, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said, “I like taxes, they buy me civilization.”  And he was a Republican!!

Quote of the day: Populists can't look forward

“Populists can’t talk about the future, only the past”
- Timothy Snyder
Heard on https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=438&artikel=7229514

Sorry, I can't make the link work properly.

He speaks in English.  Interviewer's comments are in Swedish.

Some of his books are:
On tyranny : twenty lessons from the twentieth century 
The road to unfreedom : Russia, Europe, America.  This book was the subject of his interview (he spoke English).

Bloodlands : Europe between Hitler and Stalin

These are available in the Duluth Public Library.

Letter to Rep. Pete Stauber - MN-8

What would Republicans like Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower, and even Ronald Reagan think of Donald Trump and how he has taken over the Republican Party?  I can just hear Ronald Reagan saying, “There you go again.”

I would think they would be appalled.  Instead of Res Publica (public things) he has turned the party into Rex Donald.  It’s all about him, the public be damned.

I was a Republican precinct finance chair when Reagan was nominated, I voted for John Anderson.  I kept my party position next year (coming in third again in money collected).  But I haven’t voted for a Republican since except Arne Carlson twice.

I really don’t care to vote for Democrats, but the current Republican Party doesn’t give me much choice.  Staying away is not an option.

How to tell “liberal” from a “conservative”

A conservative now seems to be anyone who calls anyone who disagrees with him or her a “liberal”.

How to tell who is a “liberal”?  I don’t know.  There are so ,many varieties.

In the current political climate. Abraham Lincoln and Dwight Eisenhower would be considered “liberals”.  Probably even Mr. Republican, Robert Taft!!

It also seems that the “conservatives” are being very “liberal” with their interpretation of the Constitution: corporations are people and the Second Amendment means the people have no right to regulate a militia of one person.  I would imagine that the conservatives that wrote these documents would be appalled at these interpretations.

Trump: Instincts or impulses?

Newspaper writers often refer to Trump’s instincts; but should they refer (as some do) to his impulses?

An instinct would be to draw your hand from a hot stove.  To many it seems that he has the impulses to put his hand on hot stoves.

Aid to Cyclone Idai victims

If you would like to donate to help cyclone victims in Mozambique, see https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org.  It will only take a few minutes.

Hello to my Duluth readers.

Every so often somebody in a store or coffee shop will recognize my face and ask if if i am still writing.

And sometimes a person will ask me if I’m still writing for the Duluth Reader.  I answer this question with “Are you still not reading the Reader?”

I gave up on writing for the Reader when the editor/publisher bumped me too many times.  I had started writing again when he asked me at a public event to write again.  I don’t remember how long it was before he didn’t publish my articles again.  After he published none of my articles for four issues, I gave up writing for him at all.

I also have given up on writing letters to the Duluth News Tribune.  Chuck Frederik often rewrites any he publishes, sometime changing the meaning of what I wrote.

I also have given up writing letters to the Star Tribune.  Changing the meaning has happened with the Strib also, but not very often.

In the case of both papers, it is a gamble if any letter will be published, and so why should I bother.

I do get most of my sidebar comments to New York Times articles published.

I get all of my sidebar comments to the Washington Post because they have “instant gratification”: only the most egregious comments are pulled.

Both of these national papers allow comments to comments.  One does put oneself out there to other writers who take a complete different views.

Also, I should note that I am not “popular”.  I generally get less than ten likes, compared to 20 to 50 likes or even more.

Of course, I should also admit that I get almost no comments to articles I write here by anybody who knows me.  Most of my readership is trolls from Russia or Italy (Russian trolls masquerading as Italians).

So, if you know me and like anything I write here, please tell me the next time you see me.  Better yet, tell a friend.

Even if you don’t tell me that you read anything I write, I will see a blip in readership from the U.S. and a few other countries.

And of course, a big thank you to anyone who reads this blog regularly.

My inattentiveness or corporate inefficiency?

A message to Park State Bank in Duluth MN

Park State asks for resetting passwords too frequently.  I don’t remember ever having to do it with Pioneer National Bank (which was bought by Park State).

I messed up on making one of these required updates this week and was locked out of my account.  I went to the Mt. Royal branch and Therese helped me get my iPhone and iPad accessing  my account.

When I returned home, I successfully accessed my account.  However, I could not access my account with a Mac Book Pro (10.9.5) or a MacBook Air (10.14), both of which I have been using for some time to access my account.

I called the Lincoln Park office and was reminded that my password was the last four digits of my Social Security number.

I made the update on all four devices, but I still cannot access my accounts with the laptops.  I obviously can access my account my iPad.

Has Jack Henry made some errors in its latest update to Park State Bank?  If so, it is  ironic!  I  moved my account several years ago from Republic Bank to Pioneer National Bank because Jack Henry did not work properly with my Consumer Cellular phone.  In fact, Jack Henry did not even list Consumer Cellular in its list of providers.  Consumer Cellular has full page ads in the AARP magazine!  That phone worked fine with Pioneer’s provider.

P.S. the characters on this page are very tiny and I found no way to enlarge them.   4pt is very hard on senior eyes!

End of edited message to Park Bank.  I corrected all my typos that I didn’t spot because of the tiny print.  I also found that Park Bank doesn’t want recognize my iPad as it did yesterday.

So, we’ll have to go to the main office sometime in the coming week to walk through this will all of our devices.

Essentia Health Center move

See https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/healthcare/4570199-essentia-moving-fitness-center-mall

I posted the following response at https://www.essentiahealth.org/patients-visitors/compliments-complaints/

Fitness center to Younkers
Plus - Free Parking
Minus - Walking from parking spot to building in rain or snow or on ice
Minus - No direct busses for most users
Minus - Can't go to Fitness Center before/after medical appointment

Alternatives:
University for Seniors members can use UMD facilities
Resume work-out at home (this has the advantage of being free of TV advertising fast foods)
If Mt. Royal Pines resident, use Pines equipment.
Walk the halls of Essentia

I had a dream

No, my dream was not as profound as that of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It was much more prosaic.

I dreamt that an online prayer site was concerned that another online prayer site had move visits than it did.  I wondered what difference the number of prayers would make in obtaining the desired outcomes.

Then I thought about Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address.  I didn’t watch it but I wondered if he would end it with “God Bless America”.  But what difference would God’s Blessing make in correcting all the mistakes of government that have been and will be made by politicians, no matter the party?

Where did the “computer for the rest of us” go

Where did the “computer for the rest of us” go.

I have been programming and using computers since 1959, some self-taught, some with help of others.

I wrote my first small program for Ohio Oil on an IBM 650 (cards in, cards out).  I started with Elliot Organik’s Programming the IBM 650 and the help of other programmers.

I next encountered the Burroughs 3500(?) as a graduate student at Case Institute of Technology.

Then I worked nearly 20 years at Univac working on the Univac 1107 and later models.

Then the personal computer became more interesting and I went out on my own.  Then in 1984 Apple came out with the Macintosh.  This was the “Computer for the Rest of Us”.  It was simpler to use, almost intuitive.  I was smitten and have moved up whenever I chose or could afford to.

But somewhere along the way Apple lost its way.  Each new group of Apple programmers had to change the Mac OS to their way.

One of the most gratuitous changes was a couple of years ago when printer orientation went haywire.

For a long time I could put an envelope in the back tray of an Epson WF-3640.  Push it in so far and tell my Mac to print the envelope.  Whoosh!  Done!

Then somebody in Epson or Apple decided to change the software.  The orientation displayed on the Mac was different.  I forgot all the little things I had to do differently.  The envelope had to be put in the back tray opposite what was shown on the tray.  I forget all the details but sometimes the envelope went through without even being printed.

I just looked up on the Epson website about printing envelopes from one of the front trays.  I followed all the directions, but the printer insisted on an envelope being in the back tray!!!

Enough debugging for the day.  I would rather read a history book.

Can we “Normanize” Trump?

Norman was the head humanoid robot in the Star Trek episode “I, Mudd”.

In front of Norman, a crew member pointed at another crew member and said, “He always tells the truth.”  The second crew member pointed to the first and said, “He always lies.”  They continued this back-and-forth as Norman looked from one to the other.  Eventually, in true movie fashion, Norman’s head began to smoke and he became inoperative.

I don’t wish to see Trump’s head smoke, but is there any contradiction of his that could be used to get him to resign because the job has become too hard?  He has walked out of deals before.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/prisoner-of-his-own-impulse-inside-trumps-cave-to-end-shutdown-without-wall/2019/01/25/e4a4789a-20d5-11e9-8b59-0a28f2191131_story.html?utm_term=.beae40a2ec9c

Don’t believe everything you see

This evening we watched a Hercule Perot DVD, “The Big Four”.  It is about illusion and countering illusion.

After we watched the video, I checked my email.  One messages was from The Atlantic giving a link to “Stop Trusting Viral Video” by Ian Bogost (https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/viral-clash-students-and-native-americans-explained/580906/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20190121&silverid-ref=NTExMzk2MjAyNDU4S0).

It is about the supposed clash between a Catholic high school student mocking a Native American elder beating a drum.  Even after reading the story, I am uncertain about the details, but they are not as simple as many news stories have asserted.

I’ll let you be your own judge of what really happened.

Trump’s wall will increase boat sales

If Trump’s wall goes up, people-smugglers will buy boats.  Instead of smuggling people over the Rio Grande they will be taking them to isolated beaches in California, Texas. Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Don’t think it can’t happen?  Consider the thousands that smugglers have taken across the Mediterranean, often with fatal consequences.

And if Trump insists on putting walls up on all these beaches, do you think the local boaters and fisherman will be happy?

Sent to Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-8) and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.

Good news! Sort of!

I just learned today that at least one part of the U.S. Government is working.  The Internal Revenue Service!

I made no assumptions about the IRS being open or closed by Donald Trump's shutdown.  I sent my quarterly estimated Federal Income Tax payment by the due date.  Normally, the IRS takes a few weeks to cash my check.  When I checked my bank balance this morning, I found that my check had been cashed by someone.  I can only assume that it was the IRS; the image of the back of the check is hard to read.

Trump and foreign trade

From Yahoo! Finance: 2019-01-04
AAPL
CNBC Videos • Fri 1:57 PM
Trump: China is paying us tremendous tariffs

AAPL
Fox Business Videos • Fri 1:59 PM
Trump: I want Apple to make their products in the US

AAPL
CNBC • Fri 2:53 PM
Trump says he's not concerned about Apple because it builds products in China

Who is paying the “tremendous tariffs?  It is not the Chinese.  They just pass those tariffs on to the U.S. customers.

But the complexity gets worse.  Do U.S. manufacturers cut their costs by manufacturing in other countries.  If they cut their costs, do they pass those savings on to their customers or do they just add them to their profits.

If the savings are passed on, the customers benefit.  If the savings are considered profits, do those at the top get bigger bonuses or do the share-owners get bigger dividends or bigger profits when they sell their stock.

How to lose friends and be influenced by dictators

A new book by Donald Carnage.

Inspired by Max Boot (Corrosion of Conservatism) and George Will (“The shabbiest President ever is an Inexpressibly sad specimen”) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-a-misery-it-must-be-to-be-donald-trump/2019/01/18/d0e05eea-1a82-11e9-8813-cb9dec761e73_story.html?utm_term=.7bf9d512df93

When “conservative” columnists don’t like “conservative” presidents, something must be wrong with the “conservative” president.

Justice Thomas and the Second Amendment

Justice Thomas and others seem to believe the Second Amendment reads "The people have no right to regulate a militia of one person".

Do they also believe that that one person has a right to fire into a crowded theater?  The Supreme Court long ago limited free speech by stating that a person cannot yell "Fire" in a crowded theater.

If someone were to claim that Justice Thomas was getting paid one million dollars a year from  the arms industry, wouldn't Justice Thomas be justified in suing to limit that persons right to free speech?

On the other hand, Justice Thomas should get an honorarium from the Federalist Society to cover travel expenses.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/opinion/guns-second-amendment-supreme-court.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage#commentsContainer,   Linda Greenhouse

Netflix: To boycott or not to boycott

This afternoon my wife read an article in the Daily Kos about a boycott of Netflix.  The reason is that Netflix bowed to a Saudi Arabian request not to make available an episode of a series that was critical of Saudi Arabia.

I cancelled our Netflix account which was rather easy.

But then I did my own reading about the boycott.  See https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hasan-minhaj-responds-netflix-saudi-arabia_us_5c2cf80be4b0407e90875e85.

The request was limited to not making it available in Saudi Arabia.  Still, I think I’ll let the cancellation stand.  If I get any meaningful explanation from Netflix, I’ll consider re-subscribing.  Meanwhile, we’ll visit the public library more often for DVDs.