"Indeed we do have an entitlement problem; some feel so entitled to power & wealth that they're willing to undermine our economy and our democracy."
- Annabel Park, founder of the Coffee Party
Click here for original.
Let's see! Is the CEO of U.S. Bancorp entitled to $9,311,164 for 2012 compensation? Or did he earn it? Who decided this? Did the shareholders or the self-selected board of U.S. Bancorp? If Richard Davis earned it, did he do it with his own "hard work" or did thousands of employees contribute to the success of U.S. Bancorp and earned far less than one-hundredth of what he received. If the latter, did they receive a bonus for their hard work? Now these are the people who are entitled to better pay.
See "CEO pay watch: U.S. Bancorp's Richard Davis", Patrick Kennedy, Star Tribune, 2013-03-13
Friday, March 15, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Insecure corporations
Ring! Ring!
Hello!
This is XYZ Corporation. Would you like to take a survey about your recent experience with us?
No, thank you! Click!
Bing! You have email!
Please take a moment to answer a few questions about your recent visit to our site.
Delete!
Do you have enough fingers to count the surveys you've been asked to take in the last month? Maybe even the last week?
Your car repair garage wants to know what you thought after you had an oil change. If you are regular customer, isn't that enough?
After you report a problem to Netflix, the truly friendly folks want you to hang on for a brief survey. After you told them how helpful and friendly they were!
You visit a doctor for a preliminary visit before some minor surgery. The clinic calls you to ask if you would take a brief survey about your visit. Can't the clinic wait until after the post-op visit? Even then, I'll tell the doctor whether I was pleased or not.
The big, bureaucratic insurance company I've been using for several years mailed me a survey about its service. I just answered everything in the middle and sent it back.
It seems like the large corporations measure everything and know the value of nothing.
Hello!
This is XYZ Corporation. Would you like to take a survey about your recent experience with us?
No, thank you! Click!
Bing! You have email!
Please take a moment to answer a few questions about your recent visit to our site.
Delete!
Do you have enough fingers to count the surveys you've been asked to take in the last month? Maybe even the last week?
Your car repair garage wants to know what you thought after you had an oil change. If you are regular customer, isn't that enough?
After you report a problem to Netflix, the truly friendly folks want you to hang on for a brief survey. After you told them how helpful and friendly they were!
You visit a doctor for a preliminary visit before some minor surgery. The clinic calls you to ask if you would take a brief survey about your visit. Can't the clinic wait until after the post-op visit? Even then, I'll tell the doctor whether I was pleased or not.
The big, bureaucratic insurance company I've been using for several years mailed me a survey about its service. I just answered everything in the middle and sent it back.
It seems like the large corporations measure everything and know the value of nothing.
Quote of the day: Sex education
"There is a pawnish settlement in the south in which they do not teach their children anything of sex. It is kept a great mystery. The belief of this sect is that this ignorance will keep their children from harm. As a result, they value virginity highly and it is virtually unknown among them."
- The True Game, Sheri S. Tepper
Pawns are those used by the big players in the Game.
I wonder if Tepper had some real-life places in mind when writing this. Most of us are certainly pawns of many in Washington and on corporate boards.
- The True Game, Sheri S. Tepper
Pawns are those used by the big players in the Game.
I wonder if Tepper had some real-life places in mind when writing this. Most of us are certainly pawns of many in Washington and on corporate boards.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Use and misuse of words: theory and hypothesis
"'I am taking what you have told me, and what is in this book, and what I have seen and heard, and making an imagining from them.'
"'A hypothesis,' I said, 'That is what Windlow called it. A hypothesis; an imagining which might be true.'" - "The True Game: Wizard's Eleven", Sheri S. Tepper
How often have you heard an idea is "only a theory", for example, evolution? Often others retort that gravity is only a theory, but don't walk off a cliff.
All of us should learn to use each word in its proper context. A hypothesis is an idea that has some basis in facts, but not enough facts are known yet. A theory is an idea that has a preponderance of facts to substantiate it. The "four corners of the earth" was a hypothesis based on limited geographical knowledge. A round earth is a theory based on so much evidence that few of us question whether the earth is round or not.
How many of us are going to use "hypothesis" instead of "theory"? My hypothesis is that few of us, including me, are going to use these words properly.
"'A hypothesis,' I said, 'That is what Windlow called it. A hypothesis; an imagining which might be true.'" - "The True Game: Wizard's Eleven", Sheri S. Tepper
How often have you heard an idea is "only a theory", for example, evolution? Often others retort that gravity is only a theory, but don't walk off a cliff.
All of us should learn to use each word in its proper context. A hypothesis is an idea that has some basis in facts, but not enough facts are known yet. A theory is an idea that has a preponderance of facts to substantiate it. The "four corners of the earth" was a hypothesis based on limited geographical knowledge. A round earth is a theory based on so much evidence that few of us question whether the earth is round or not.
How many of us are going to use "hypothesis" instead of "theory"? My hypothesis is that few of us, including me, are going to use these words properly.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Quotes of the day – governance
"That philosophy, simply put, holds that government is necessary and can be a powerful influence in making and creating a healthy social, economic and political climate." – "Opposing view: Reinert betrays values of the left", Will Munger DNT 2013-03-11
Will, a friend of mine, wrote this in response to "Other view: Minnesota at best when colored purple" about the "Purple Caucus", an attempt by Democratic State Senator Roger Reinert, Republican State State Senator Jeremy Miller, and others to work together to get something done for the benefit of the state.
I think Will is missing the point that the Purple Caucus was formed so that government works instead of having ideological purists demand the other see things their way.
The other quote is how polarization isn't addressing what most people want.
"Most of the country, it turns out, fits the mold of moderately conservative, a place from which careful, thoughtful change comes in a logical, rational, fact-based package that remains remarkably free of sound-bite-driven hyperbole." – Michael Charney, "Unconventional Wisdom: Barbara Olschner's 'The Reluctant Republican'".
Charney, a Coffee Party conservative, wrote the above in his article on Barbara Olschner's unsuccessful attempt to get the Republican nomination for Florida's 2nd District. She came in fifth trying to be reasonable. She wrote "The Reluctant Republican: My Fight for the Moderate Majority" about her experience.
My question to the Purple Caucus, Charney, Olschner, and others, when will this "moderate majority" show up at election time?
Will, a friend of mine, wrote this in response to "Other view: Minnesota at best when colored purple" about the "Purple Caucus", an attempt by Democratic State Senator Roger Reinert, Republican State State Senator Jeremy Miller, and others to work together to get something done for the benefit of the state.
I think Will is missing the point that the Purple Caucus was formed so that government works instead of having ideological purists demand the other see things their way.
The other quote is how polarization isn't addressing what most people want.
"Most of the country, it turns out, fits the mold of moderately conservative, a place from which careful, thoughtful change comes in a logical, rational, fact-based package that remains remarkably free of sound-bite-driven hyperbole." – Michael Charney, "Unconventional Wisdom: Barbara Olschner's 'The Reluctant Republican'".
Charney, a Coffee Party conservative, wrote the above in his article on Barbara Olschner's unsuccessful attempt to get the Republican nomination for Florida's 2nd District. She came in fifth trying to be reasonable. She wrote "The Reluctant Republican: My Fight for the Moderate Majority" about her experience.
My question to the Purple Caucus, Charney, Olschner, and others, when will this "moderate majority" show up at election time?
Monday, March 11, 2013
If corporations are people, tax them like people
When I lived in Europe, as a U.S. citizen I had to file and pay U.S. income taxes. I received credit for any foreign taxes I paid. If I paid more foreign taxes than I would have paid for the same salary in the U.S., Univac reimbursed me for the difference. Of course, that reimbursement was also taxable in the U.S.
I think this still holds.
However, a U.S. company doesn't pay any taxes on its foreign earnings unless it brings the money back to the U.S.
If a corporation is a person, then it should pay taxes like a person. If a corporation is not a person, then it should not be able to indulge in "political speech".
But if this leads to justification for not paying taxes, then consider that the corporation uses a lot of infra-structure paid for by taxes. Should not a corporation pay for the roads that it depends on for moving goods and people? Should not a corporation pay for the court system that it uses to sue others: corporations and people? Should not a corporation pay for the military that protects its interests around the world?
Is this effort to avoid corporate taxes another instance of the deception and oppression of the public that Adam Smith warned about? See "The Invisible Adam Smith".
I think this still holds.
However, a U.S. company doesn't pay any taxes on its foreign earnings unless it brings the money back to the U.S.
If a corporation is a person, then it should pay taxes like a person. If a corporation is not a person, then it should not be able to indulge in "political speech".
But if this leads to justification for not paying taxes, then consider that the corporation uses a lot of infra-structure paid for by taxes. Should not a corporation pay for the roads that it depends on for moving goods and people? Should not a corporation pay for the court system that it uses to sue others: corporations and people? Should not a corporation pay for the military that protects its interests around the world?
Is this effort to avoid corporate taxes another instance of the deception and oppression of the public that Adam Smith warned about? See "The Invisible Adam Smith".
Friday, March 08, 2013
Quote of the day: History and Religion
"I tell you, lad, that men will believe if one says, 'The Gods say…' They will believe if one says, 'I had a vision…' They will believe if one says, 'It was told me on a tablet of hidden gold…' But if one says, 'History teaches,' then they will not believe."
"The True Game: King's Blood Four", Sheri S. Tepper
And men do not believe what their historical heroes say if it does not fit their own notions. The Revolutionary General, George Washington, warned of "overbearing military" but men want the biggest military in the world. Adam Smith wrote of the importance of labor but men want to only believe about his "invisible hand". Abraham Lincoln spoke of "government of the people, by the people, for the people" but men only want to believe in "government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations".
"The True Game: King's Blood Four", Sheri S. Tepper
And men do not believe what their historical heroes say if it does not fit their own notions. The Revolutionary General, George Washington, warned of "overbearing military" but men want the biggest military in the world. Adam Smith wrote of the importance of labor but men want to only believe about his "invisible hand". Abraham Lincoln spoke of "government of the people, by the people, for the people" but men only want to believe in "government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations".
Thursday, March 07, 2013
Admission of the day - I goofed
Somehow I didn't put in the first line of yesterday's quote of the day, that is, the quote of the day. I updated the entry with
"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." – Stanislas Jerzy Lec
I admit responsibility and have corrected the original entry. My apologies to the five people who read it before I made the correction.
"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." – Stanislas Jerzy Lec
I admit responsibility and have corrected the original entry. My apologies to the five people who read it before I made the correction.
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
Quote of the day – responsibility
"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." - Stanislas Jerzy Lec
This was a quote used by Dr. Anita Nowak of McGill University in her keynote address at the program "Cultivating Compassion, Empathy, Leadership, and Social Change" at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, today. Her speech was entitled "Empathic Action Rocks: Join the Movement That Can Change Your Life and Change the World.”
It was the only note I took because I couldn't keep up with her presentation and take notes, too. I wanted to double check it before posting, but in doing so, I found the same thought a couple of centuries earlier.
"Aucun flocon de neige ne se sent responsable de l'avalanche." - Voltaire
"No snowflake feels responsible for the avalanche."
I think Nowak's point was that we should feel empathy for those who have problems whether we contributed to those problems or not. And empathy is beyond sympathy; it is doing something to help solve another's problem.
Putting the quote another way, no one person taking water from a well will feel responsible for the well running dry.
This was a quote used by Dr. Anita Nowak of McGill University in her keynote address at the program "Cultivating Compassion, Empathy, Leadership, and Social Change" at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, today. Her speech was entitled "Empathic Action Rocks: Join the Movement That Can Change Your Life and Change the World.”
It was the only note I took because I couldn't keep up with her presentation and take notes, too. I wanted to double check it before posting, but in doing so, I found the same thought a couple of centuries earlier.
"Aucun flocon de neige ne se sent responsable de l'avalanche." - Voltaire
"No snowflake feels responsible for the avalanche."
I think Nowak's point was that we should feel empathy for those who have problems whether we contributed to those problems or not. And empathy is beyond sympathy; it is doing something to help solve another's problem.
Putting the quote another way, no one person taking water from a well will feel responsible for the well running dry.
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
A cap on exec pay!
Shareholders to have say in exec pay. See "Swiss Voters Move to Restrict Pay of Executives", Raphael Minder, New York Times, 2013-03-04.
Hm! Arguments have been that the responsibility of corporate management is to give value to shareholders and all else is unnecessary, including shareholders having a competitive list of directors to choose from.
Then why do so many executives take value out of the company without shareholders' approval.
Will the Swiss vote be an exception to shareholder apathy or the start of an economic revolution?
Hm! Arguments have been that the responsibility of corporate management is to give value to shareholders and all else is unnecessary, including shareholders having a competitive list of directors to choose from.
Then why do so many executives take value out of the company without shareholders' approval.
Will the Swiss vote be an exception to shareholder apathy or the start of an economic revolution?
Spousal banter
My wife and I often follow certain traditional marital roles. She does most of the cooking and cleaning, and I do most of the "heavy" lifting like lawn mowing and snow shoveling.
But not always. Sometimes I cook and sometimes she shovels snow and often we help one another.
This evening while she was preparing dinner I ground coffee for after dinner. When we were done eating, she said, "You may take the dishes to the kitchen, and you may bring the coffee to the living room." I replied, "What? I'm the lord of the manor and you're supposed to do what I say." She went to the living room. Oops! The coffee is ready and I'd better go get it.
We've been friends, lovers, companions, combatants, and many other relationships for over fifty years. Many times one decides to do something outside the house without much thought of the other's plans. Many times we co-operate on planning an activity of a moment or for years. Our vows did not include "obey".
What has sustained us in the give and take of daily life is knowing that the other is there "in sickness and health."
But not always. Sometimes I cook and sometimes she shovels snow and often we help one another.
This evening while she was preparing dinner I ground coffee for after dinner. When we were done eating, she said, "You may take the dishes to the kitchen, and you may bring the coffee to the living room." I replied, "What? I'm the lord of the manor and you're supposed to do what I say." She went to the living room. Oops! The coffee is ready and I'd better go get it.
We've been friends, lovers, companions, combatants, and many other relationships for over fifty years. Many times one decides to do something outside the house without much thought of the other's plans. Many times we co-operate on planning an activity of a moment or for years. Our vows did not include "obey".
What has sustained us in the give and take of daily life is knowing that the other is there "in sickness and health."
Your chance to comment on the Irregular Blog
I have chosen not to permit comments on this blog, but I learned that Google does have a survey form. If you would like to fill out the survey, click here.
Thanks for your participation.
Thanks for your participation.
Sunday, March 03, 2013
An expected by-product of rigid thinking
When I wrote "Quote of the day - Separation of church and state" I thought about how many groups with rigid thinking believe those who believe differently also have rigid thinking. All the foo-foos, who have very strict ideas about being a real foo-foo, believe that all the oof-oofs have rigid thinking, even though the oof-oofs have a wide range of beliefs.
Some of the Lake Superior Freethinkers are what I call evangelical atheists and are ready to knock any church dogma with sweeping generalizations. Many church dogmatists are ready to knock Freethinkers and atheists with sweeping generalizations. The truth is that many church members and many Freethinkers have a more generous view of those with different views.
Some of the Lake Superior Freethinkers are what I call evangelical atheists and are ready to knock any church dogma with sweeping generalizations. Many church dogmatists are ready to knock Freethinkers and atheists with sweeping generalizations. The truth is that many church members and many Freethinkers have a more generous view of those with different views.
Quote of the day - Separation of church and state
The following quote was included by George Erickson in the Lake Superior Freethinkers Newsletter for March 2013. I found a more complete extract by a Google search.
"Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and private schools entirely supported by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate."
- President Ulysses S. Grant, Des Moines, Iowa, 1876
From "Ulysses S. Grant: the Separation of Church and School", Encyclopedia Britannica Profiles: The American Presidency http://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9116880
The rest of the speech in the article is worth reading. In some parts he sounds like modern Republicans, but in other parts he is far removed from what modern Republicans practice.
"Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and private schools entirely supported by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate."
- President Ulysses S. Grant, Des Moines, Iowa, 1876
From "Ulysses S. Grant: the Separation of Church and School", Encyclopedia Britannica Profiles: The American Presidency http://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9116880
The rest of the speech in the article is worth reading. In some parts he sounds like modern Republicans, but in other parts he is far removed from what modern Republicans practice.
Wrong person, wrong street, but right broadcast
After I posted "Remember where you were when you heard…" I started thinking about the Wikipedia entry on Lillian Hellman. The broadcast about the famous person's death mentioned her sister, but the Wikipedia entry on Lillian Hellman didn't mention a sister. Then I realized I was thinking about Lillian Gish. Then I started to rethink my location when I heard the broadcast. The Crystal Post Office was not on 42nd Street but Bass Lake Road east of Broadway.
But my short-term memory is failing me more and more. This morning I could think of the first names of a couple we sat with at a church dinner last night but I couldn't remember their last name. And we've known them for years. I won't go into the details, but a mundane set of unrelated observations set up the link in my head to their last names.
But my short-term memory is failing me more and more. This morning I could think of the first names of a couple we sat with at a church dinner last night but I couldn't remember their last name. And we've known them for years. I won't go into the details, but a mundane set of unrelated observations set up the link in my head to their last names.
Coleen Rowley, Iraq War, and good quotes
I sent a note to Coleen Rowley about her op-ed column "Ten Years After Iraq" in today's Star Tribune. I included a couple of the relevant quotes from Washington's "Farewell Address. I also went to one of her web pages that included several relevant quotes. Note that some of them are from well-known Republicans or conservatives like Theodore Roosevelt and Margaret Chase Smith.
Saturday, March 02, 2013
Quote of the day: Republicans and Domestic Violence
Somehow I missed including this quote from Timothy Egan's "Science and Sensibility" in "Duh idea of the day - fair trial".
"Their position, in the apt phrase of the writer Melissa McEwan, is to 'protect the sanctity of traditional domestic violence.'”
"Their position, in the apt phrase of the writer Melissa McEwan, is to 'protect the sanctity of traditional domestic violence.'”
An efficient private-public co-operation
I've written before about how well NetFlix and the Postal Service work together. A couple of weeks ago I had a real surprise on how efficient that co-operation can be.
We returned a Netflix DVD on a Saturday morning. On the following Monday, President's Day, a federal holiday, we received an email from NetFlix that we would receive the next DVD "on or about" Wednesday. We received it on Tuesday!
I post these because I am tired of anti-government types who take a few incidents and blow them up to regular occurrences. Any large organization makes many mistakes; consider my complaints about Apple and its many unsolved problems. That doesn't mean that an organization that makes mistakes doesn't do a lot of other things well. I've done a lot of useful things with my Apple products. I just won't be in a rush to get the latest major upgrade of any of its software. I'll wait until I have to buy a new device with the software installed.
BTW, DVDs by mail beat streaming. Many call postal mail "snail mail". Try streaming a movie any evening with a moderate speed connection. A snail keeps moving. A streaming movie can stop without warning.
We returned a Netflix DVD on a Saturday morning. On the following Monday, President's Day, a federal holiday, we received an email from NetFlix that we would receive the next DVD "on or about" Wednesday. We received it on Tuesday!
I post these because I am tired of anti-government types who take a few incidents and blow them up to regular occurrences. Any large organization makes many mistakes; consider my complaints about Apple and its many unsolved problems. That doesn't mean that an organization that makes mistakes doesn't do a lot of other things well. I've done a lot of useful things with my Apple products. I just won't be in a rush to get the latest major upgrade of any of its software. I'll wait until I have to buy a new device with the software installed.
BTW, DVDs by mail beat streaming. Many call postal mail "snail mail". Try streaming a movie any evening with a moderate speed connection. A snail keeps moving. A streaming movie can stop without warning.
Friday, March 01, 2013
Duh idea of the day – fair trial
"Oh, but bringing these brutes to justice in the jurisdictions where they commit their crimes would be unconstitutional, says Representative Eric Cantor, the House Majority leader. A jury of Indians, well — they’re incapable of giving a white man a fair trial. Such was the view expressed by Senator Charles Grassley, the mumble-voiced Iowa senator known for his 19th-century insight."
"Science and Sensibility", Timothy Egan, NYT, 2013-03-01.
Although Abraham Lincoln let stand some death sentences for the Sioux Uprising, he also commuted many more because he didn't think the evidence merited the conviction. Could it be that these pardoned red men did not get a fair trial by white juries? Can we be sure that those hung got fair trials?
In other words, according to Cantor and Grassley, it's OK for white men to rape red women, but not OK for red men or black men to get a fair trial for being accused of raping white women.
"Science and Sensibility", Timothy Egan, NYT, 2013-03-01.
Although Abraham Lincoln let stand some death sentences for the Sioux Uprising, he also commuted many more because he didn't think the evidence merited the conviction. Could it be that these pardoned red men did not get a fair trial by white juries? Can we be sure that those hung got fair trials?
In other words, according to Cantor and Grassley, it's OK for white men to rape red women, but not OK for red men or black men to get a fair trial for being accused of raping white women.
Remember where you were when you heard…
Tonight we watched "Julia" with Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave, a tight, engrossing movie about Lillian Hellman and her friend Julia. I won't get into the veracity of the story, but I would like to mention my own personal incident concerning Lillian Hellman. At the conclusion of the movie, I remembered where I was when I heard that she had died!
In the summer of 1984 I was driving on 42nd St. in Crystal, Minnesota when I heard a tribute to her on Minnesota Public Radio. I was a block west of the Post Office.
I also remember where I was when I heard Jack Kennedy was shot, Walt Disney died, Marshall Dodge the Maine storyteller died, about 9/11, and 54 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange the day before.
BTW, what is your name again?
In the summer of 1984 I was driving on 42nd St. in Crystal, Minnesota when I heard a tribute to her on Minnesota Public Radio. I was a block west of the Post Office.
I also remember where I was when I heard Jack Kennedy was shot, Walt Disney died, Marshall Dodge the Maine storyteller died, about 9/11, and 54 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange the day before.
BTW, what is your name again?
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