VETERANS: Vets are the casualties of war

Monday, May 30, 2016

2016-May-30

Speaking in Oslo in 1964, Martin Luther King declared:

Man’s proneness to engage in war is still a fact. But wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete. There may have been a time when war served as a negative good by preventing the spread and growth of an evil force, but the destructive power of modern weapons eliminated even the possibility that war may serve as a negative good. If we assume that life is worth living and that man has a right to survive, then we must find an alternative to war.

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VETERANS: Memorial Day

Monday, May 30, 2016

*** begin quote ***

Memorial Weekend is upon us. Please keep our military and all the folks that were affected by the Memorial Day floods in your prayers. 

*** end quote ***

To all the ersatz patriots out on the internet, the best way to “celebrate” Memorial Day is to stop creating more vets!

Dona Nobis Pacem

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I made my own meme for Facebook. Feel free to share.

STOPMAKINGTHEM

 

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LIBERTARIAN: Libertarian Party Rejects Principle, Nominates Republicans

Sunday, May 29, 2016

http://freekeene.com/2016/05/29/libertarian-party-rejects-principle-nominates-republicans-except-nh-vt/

Libertarian Party Rejects Principle, Nominates Republicans (Except NH & VT)
by Ian | May 29, 2016 | Libertarian, National, New Hampshire, Politics, Republicans

*** begin quote ***

The national LP is hopeless, yet activists across the country toil away trying to wrest control of the organization from the hands of the republicans who have had control of the party for about a decade. To those remaining principled libertarians I implore you:

GIVE UP ON THE LP!

Your party is dead and has been for years. Your efforts are being wasted on the national and even your state LP. Start planning your move to New Hampshire to get involved with the only proven successful strategy in the liberty movement: concentrating activists in one geographic area.

In New Hampshire we’ve had more political successes in a decade – meaning people being elected who are principled libertarians – than the LP has had in forty years. If you want to keep losing, stay where you are. If you want to see liberty advance, you have to get together with like-minded people and get active here in the Shire.

*** end quote *** 

Such a shame.

While Austin Peterson wasn’t perfect — who is? —  the Gary Johnson / Bill Weld is a joke. 

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Get rid of ling Gooferment lawyers!

Sunday, May 29, 2016

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/05/andrew-p-napolitano/contagion-government-lying/

The Contagion of Government Lying
By Andrew P. Napolitano
May 26, 2016

*** begin quote ***

I would have barred all lawyers who lied to me from ever appearing in my courtroom, and I would have removed them from the case. I would also have referred what I knew about them to ethics prosecutors in the states and federal districts where they are admitted.

Lawyers have an obligation of candor to the judges before whom they appear. That duty is no less serious when the lawyers work for the government than when they work for private clients.

Because the government prosecutes people who lie to it and its liars almost never can be prosecuted, government lying is grave. It is equivalent to government lawbreaking because when people to whom the government lies — judges or litigants or members of Congress or the public — rely on those lies, they often do so to their detriment. They lose a right or an opportunity that often cannot be recaptured.

*** end quote ***

Can’t private citizens ask the appropriate bar associations to disbar these lawyers?

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I would have barred all lawyers who lied to me from ever appearing in my courtroom, and I would have removed them from the case. I would also have referred what I knew about them to ethics prosecutors in the states and federal districts where they are admitted.

Lawyers have an obligation of candor to the judges before whom they appear. That duty is no less serious when the lawyers work for the government than when they work for private clients.

Because the government prosecutes people who lie to it and its liars almost never can be prosecuted, government lying is grave. It is equivalent to government lawbreaking because when people to whom the government lies — judges or litigants or members of Congress or the public — rely on those lies, they often do so to their detriment. They lose a right or an opportunity that often cannot be recaptured.

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CLOUD: FACEBOOK has new “forgot password” hurdle

Saturday, May 28, 2016

2016-May-28 1020

Last night I was playing “tech support” and helping a noob get setup on my “loaner chromebook” while his win doze machine was at the Geek Squad for some kind of service. (Sounds like a motherboard failure.)

Of course, like most people — even those who should know better — he doesn’t remember his passwords.

(Of course, he doesn’t use LASTPASS, KEYPASS, or any other the other countless utilities. Argh!)

So we walked him through “forgot my password” on GMAIL, FACEBOOK, etc. etc.

All was going well, until FACEBOOK allowed him to reset his password, but then locked him out for 24 hours. 

(I could not get a screen shot of it. Others were at the controls “to learn” cause I go to fast. Argh!)

So be advise, FACEBOOK has put another wrinkle in your way.

https://lastpass.com/getlastpass1.php

Argh!

#FACEBOOK

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: The Statute of Limitations should only start on discovery

Saturday, May 28, 2016

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/05/23/short-circuit-a-roundup-of-recent-federal-court-decisions-4/

The Volokh ConspiracyOpinionShort Circuit: A roundup of recent federal court decisions
By Eugene Volokh May 23 at 4:18 PM 

*** begin quote ***

Audit: Florida law-enforcement officers accessed the state’s motor-vehicle database over 500 times for a glimpse of a female (former) deputy’s personal information. Eleventh Circuit: The statute of limitations began to run when the (alleged) violations occurred, not when plaintiffs found out about them. So this suit (one of many) is dismissed.

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but that’s just not fair and sections official misconduct.

The Statute of Limitations should only start on discovery.

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Set Puerto Rico free

Friday, May 27, 2016

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/05/save-puerto-rico-by-setting-island-free.html

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016
Save Puerto Rico by Setting the Island Free!
By Veronique de Rugy and Tad DeHaven 

*** begin quote ***

There’s an old saying about raising children that “healthy birds fly away from the nest.” Applying this concept to territories of the United States, it may be time to consider setting a timetable for Puerto Rican independence as part of any effort by federal policymakers to help the beleaguered island regain its financial health.

*** end quote ***

It’s time to set free the USA’s “colonies” — Puerto Rico, Guam, Hawaii, Alaska, and anybody else.

Puerto Rico’s problems are partly of their own doing and partly Washington’s.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/280982-ryan-secures-big-win-with-bipartisan-puerto-rico-deal

*** begin quote ***

Ryan secures big win with bipartisan Puerto Rico deal

*** end quote ***

And, the débâcle will continue.

Give PR a fresh start and let them find their own way.

We’ll all be better off. 

The USA can’t afford the luxury of “high living” off the backs of the Taxpayer class.

Argh!

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INOVATION: Changing memes about housing

Thursday, May 26, 2016

https://medium.com/@PaulBromford/tiny-homes-wiki-houses-and-co-living-the-future-of-housing-isnt-more-of-the-same-268a67a604e7#.au9q5vsgk

Tiny Homes, Wiki Houses and Co-Living: The Future of Housing Isn’t More of the Same

*** begin quote ***

It’s some way off yet — but we are on a road leading to low cost 3D printing and self-manufacture:

* A road where homes need to be endlessly adapted and customized for individual need.

* A road where underutilized spaces will need to be repurposed for a sharing economy.

* A road where the cars themselves may be driverless.

*** end quote ***

Everything IS changing and we have to adapt.

One of the biggest Information Technology challenges I faced was the “legacy infrastructure”.

All plans had to transition from where one is to where you want to be. 

Can’t throw it all away. Not because of the sunk costs — they’re just gone, but one rarely has the budget to completely replace it. As a matter of fact, the biggest disaster I ever saw was from an attempt to do that “replace everything”.

So, housing and travel have to adapt to the new realities of life. 

Will there come a time when humans once again stay with a few miles of home and work?

Interesting concept to think about?

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald needs a pink slip

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/23/va-secretary-disney-doesnt-measure-wait-times-so-why-should-va.html?intcmp=hplnws

VETERANS
VA secretary: Disney doesn’t measure wait times, so why should VA?
By Sarah Westwood  Published May 23, 2016

*** begin quote ***

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Monday compared the length of time veterans wait to receive health care at the VA to the length of time people wait for rides at Disneyland, and said his agency shouldn’t use wait times as a measure of success because Disney doesn’t either.

“When you got to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what’s important? What’s important is, what’s your satisfaction with the experience?” McDonald said Monday during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with reporters. “And what I would like to move to, eventually, is that kind of measure.”

*** end quote ***

Argh!

You MUST be kidding me.

How tone deaf can a bureaucrat be?

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RANT: Found something worse than TSA, Mexican Immigration, USA Customs, and USA Immigration

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Went to Cancun, actually Playa Del Carmen, from EWR.

TSA 15 minute wait. Everyone was pleasant and efficient.

Mexican Immigration 5 minute wait. Everyone was pleasant and efficient.

Coming home, ditto. Couldn’t have been better.

However the private free market screwed up royally.

Have Lomas Travel for the transfer from Cancun to the hotel. Waited in the sun 90 minutes while they fumbled and bumbled to arrange a ride. Argh!

Arrives at the Hotel (Sandos Playa something). Waited 30 minutes to check in. I was next in line the whole time. There were three clerks checking in: one couple, one trio, and one quartet. In that 30 minutes, the mob gathered. There was no line aka queue. No one much gave a <synonym for excrement>. Argh!

I have some other rants about the hotel — like they don’t give you a map of the property — or explain that the internal shuttle stops running at 11PM and it’s a big place — the room arragnements for the group were screwed up for everyone . But those were minor in comparison.

Argh!

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Shouldn’t confiscated motorcycles be sold?

Monday, May 23, 2016

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/05/17/nypd-crushes-dozens-confiscated-motorcycles-live-on-facebook/?intcmp=hpff

NYPD crushes dozens of confiscated motorcycles live on Facebook
Published May 17, 2016 FoxNews.comFacebook

*** begin quote ***

The New York City Police Department “crushed it” on the internet on Tuesday.

So said NYPD Commissioner William Bratton, who oversaw a Facebook Live broadcast of the destruction of a few dozen off-road motorcycles and ATVs, that were confiscated for being illegally operated on city streets.

The hashtag? #UseItAndLoseIt

*** and ***

Several suggested that they should have been resold to raise money for the city, or donated to charity, instead.

*** end quote ***

Argh!

The arrogance and stupidity of politicians and bureaucrats on full display.

How does this help anything?

The waste reminds me of BHO’s “cash for clunkers” that raised the cost of used cars and hurt everyone. 

Leaving aside the “theft of private property” for the “crime” of using the taxpayer paid for streets, how does the size of the crime match the punishment.

Argh!

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RANT: Is “global warming” today’s version of the 1970’s “global cooling”?

Sunday, May 22, 2016

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/05/butler-shaffer/state-enforces-idea-doubt/

The Benefits of Global Warming
By Butler Shaffer
May 21, 2016

*** begin quote ***

Religious dogmas can find their roots in scientific as well as theological thinking. Questioning either the “intelligent design” or “big bang” explanations for the origins of the universe can evoke angry responses from true-believers on either side of the issue. In the case of the High-Church Warmingists, a verifiable fact (i.e., increased temperature) is merged with an empirically unfounded assertion (i.e., human activity is the causal explanation) to provide true believers the rationale for their rule over mankind. Those who deny this article of faith are targeted for dismissal in academia and even televised weather shows.

*** end quote ***

It’s all about the “rule over mankind”.

Like the “High Priests” of old, it’s nice to have job where you don’t sweat and live high on the hog.

Of course, those who live too high on the hog at the expense of the rabble, soon find themselves on the guillotine.

Wonder when the rabble will revolt against the Hollywood “stars”, politicians, and bureaucrats?

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TECHNOLOGY: United Wifi “aint”

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Have to buy it as 4$/hour.

We’re currently  out of coverage

We are outside of the coverage area or are experiencing difficulties with our connection. You can continue to access the United Wi-Fi home page, including our personal device entertainment options, and watch for notification when the system reconnects. Internet service is available over the continental U.S.

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POLITICAL: The end of the road for free speech

Friday, May 20, 2016

2016-May-18

Shame on the U.S. Supreme Court for Making a Mockery of the First Amendment
By John W. Whitehead
The Rutherford Institute
May 18, 2016

*** begin quote ***

No wonder interactions with politicians have become increasingly manufactured and distant in recent decades. The powers-that-be wants us kept at a distance. Press conferences and televised speeches now largely take the place of face-to-face interaction with constituents. Elected officials keep voters at arms-length through the use of electronic meetings and ticketed events. And there has been an increased use of so-called “free speech zones,” designated areas for expressive activity used to corral and block protestors at political events from interacting with public officials. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have used “free speech zones” at various conventions to mute any and all criticism of their policies and likely will do so again this year.

We’re nearing the end of the road for free speech and freedom in general, folks.

*** end quote ***

Argh!

The politicians and bureaucrats don’t want to be bothered by the rabble!

Gooferment censorship leads to self-censorship.

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No wonder interactions with politicians have become increasingly manufactured and distant in recent decades. The powers-that-be wants us kept at a distance. Press conferences and televised speeches now largely take the place of face-to-face interaction with constituents. Elected officials keep voters at arms-length through the use of electronic meetings and ticketed events. And there has been an increased use of so-called “free speech zones,” designated areas for expressive activity used to corral and block protestors at political events from interacting with public officials. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have used “free speech zones” at various conventions to mute any and all criticism of their policies and likely will do so again this year.

We’re nearing the end of the road for free speech and freedom in general, folks.

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: End the TSA

Thursday, May 19, 2016

http://www.jasonstapleton.com/examining-the-tsa-why-government-fails-at-everything/

Examining the TSA. Why Government Fails at Everything
By Jason Stapleton –  May 16, 2016

*** begin quote ***

If you’ve been watching the news recently, you’ve not doubt seen the long lines of travelers waiting hours to pass through TSA checkpoints. According to a recent article, more than 4,000 people have missed flights due to delays caused by the TSA.

So why does TSA do such a poor job at its primary function? Simply put, because it’s government.

It turns out the TSA his a top-heavy, bureaucratic, administrative nightmare. The do everything poorly. The recruit poorly, they train poorly, and they perform poorly.

And what do we get for our long lines and humorless security providers? Not much it turns out. When the TSA did its own internal audit recently over 97% of the contraband made it through TSA screenings.

*** end quote ***

The answer is simple.

End the TSA.

We can NOT afford “security theater”.

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RANT: Anyone following the “news”?

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Seems like a lot of folks are registering to vote in New Jersey or switching parties.

Could this be the “groundswell” of all those people who never vote?

That could change the whole electoral political landscape.

I think it may be the Libertains time.

Fiscally conservative with very small Gooferment and a classical liberal approach to social issues (i.e., myob).

If the USA survives, like the USSR, “big” is bad.

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ECONOMICS: 2% inflation = 47 cents of purchasing power after 30 years

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

http://contrakrugman.com/ep-35-debt-default-good-or-bad/

Ep. 35 Debt Default: Good or Bad?
15 May 2016     |     Tom Woods     |    

You’ll never guess: Krugman contradicts himself this week, but only Bob Murphy, who knows Krugman’s columns inside and out, caught him. This week the topic is whether it’s a good idea at some point to repay the national debt at less than face value. Krugman is horrified, so maybe it’s a good idea….

Krugman Column“The Making of an Ignoramus” (May 9, 2016)
“Keynesians on Treasury Default: Depends Who’s in the White House,” by Robert P. Murphy
“Trump’s Right — Paying Back the National Debt with ‘Discounts’ Is Already Official Policy,” by David Stockman
“Repudiating the National Debt,” by Murray N. Rothbard

Related EpisodeEp. 33 Krugman and Hamilton Sitting in a Tree

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Key takeaway: 

If the Fed does meet its target inflation rate of 2%, then arithmetically over thirty years your dollar’s purchasing power is down 53%.

It’s a silent theft of your wealth.

Good luck saving with that scenario. Back to the analogy — what do you want find a pirates chest full of: US “dollars”, Confederate dollars, or gold coins?

Argh!

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ECONOMICS: One great reason to raise the minimum wage

Monday, May 16, 2016

http://tomwoods.com/podcast/ep-659-afraid-of-president-trump-how-about-presidents-in-general/

Ep. 659 Afraid of President Trump? How About Presidents in General
12th May 2016
Tom Woods

*** begin quote ***

Michael Malice makes his triumphant return to the show with a discussion of a possible President Trump, and why Trump Derangement Syndrome seems to make people forget how bad the other presidents have been.

*** end quote ***

Michael Malice hit a great reason to raise the minimum wage.

Get the stupid people who screw up your order out of the process.

Look at Wendys putting in the kiosks.

Wawa and QuickCheck has.

Feel sorry for the unemployable.

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HEALTHCARE: The Gooferment should NOT be involved in “health”, “health care”, or “health care insurance”

Sunday, May 15, 2016

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/05/13/stossel-hospital-bureaucracy-is-toxic-for-patients-heres-my-solution.html?intcmp=hpff

HEALTH CARE
Stossel: Hospital bureaucracy is toxic for patients. Here’s my solution
By John Stossel  Published May 13, 2016  FoxNews.com

*** begin quote ***

But Goldhill points to one favorable trend. “Increasingly, people have high deductible (insurance) plans … (I)t’s the most promising thing in health care.”

Many patients hate high deductibles. But they are useful because they make us realize that care is not “free.”
Patients with high deductibles and Health Savings Accounts ask important questions: “Doc, do I really need that test? What does it cost?” They shop around.

Suddenly, there’s the beginning of an actual market. When patients shop, doctors strive to please patients rather than distant bureaucrats. More doctors give out their email addresses and cellphone numbers, and shorten waiting times. Their bills are easier to read because the providers want customers to pay them!

Government and insurance companies don’t make health care free. Such third-party payments just hide the cost, which increases the costs and makes payment more complicated.

*** end quote ***

I’ve had really close contact with hospitals twice in my life where I was NOT the patient but the Patient Advocate. (Or PIA!)

The system is a mess.

I’m aware of one case involving my OLD friend where to break a log jam I volunteered to drive a blood sample from Charlotte to Chicago because the first one they took spoiled due to the delay in transport.

(Have to admit my OLD friend reported shocked look on the docs faces when he told them what he wanted to do. Magically the “problem” was “solved”. I knew that would be the response since I had a similar response at one point in my deceased wife’s care where I threatened — at 3PM in the afternoon — to take her out on the hospital driveway, draw a blood sample (I was a credentialed EMT at the time), and have it delivered by limo / escorted by a relative to the appropriate lab in NY. After they put their eyes back in the sockets, “magic” happened and the test was completed by the next morning! Never underestimate the value of a crazy PIA patient advocate.)

The disconnect between the “golden rule” (“he who has the gold makes the rules”) and good medical care is so obvious that only a fool would not make the connection.

Argh!

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SECURITY: Tell me that this is for MY benefit

Saturday, May 14, 2016
Dear Ferdinand,

As we move closer to joining together with Starwood®, we want you to continue taking advantage of everything the Marriott Rewards® program has to offer by making sure your account information is current and secure.

It is our ongoing priority to ensure your personal information is protected. For your continued security, we will be implementing enhanced password protections over the next few weeks. 

You are receiving this email because your account password needs to be updated to comply with our revised security measures. We encourage you to log in and follow the steps below as soon as possible to ensure uninterrupted access to your account when the new password requirements take effect.

As a reminder, experts recommend that you periodically change the passwords you use to access websites as a precaution. Changing your Marriott Rewards password is easy. All you will need to do is:
• Log in to your Marriott Rewards account on your desktop or laptop
 
• Select “My Account”
 
• Select “Profile”
 
• Select “Edit” in the Password section
 
• Enter current and new password
 
• Confirm your identity if you are not using a registered device
Log on now to your Marriott Rewards account to take action. Thank you very much for taking the time to update your password information. 

Sincerely,

Argh! I’m SURE that this id for MY benefit.

Argh! Laugh!

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ECONOMICS: So much for a “great economy”!

Friday, May 13, 2016

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/05/michael-snyder/global-depression-begun/

Rail Traffic Depression: 292 Union Pacific Engines Are Sitting In The Arizona Desert Doing Nothing
By Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse
May 11, 2016

*** begin quote ***

Because rail traffic is down so dramatically, many operators have large numbers of engines that are just sitting around collecting dust.  In his article, Wolf Richter shared photographs from Google Earth that show some of the 292 Union Pacific engines that are sitting in the middle of the Arizona desert doing absolutely nothing. 

*** end quote ***

All the politicians and bureaucrats squawking about the “great economy” can’t make it so.

Argh!

What we need is to unleash the entrepreneurs.

* A ten year moratorium on new regulations, laws, tax policy changes, and other Gooferment diktats.

* A 10% tax rate for individuals and corporations.

* Ten years of zero Gooferment deficits.

* and put all mandates and liabilities must be put on a track to be fully funded in 10 years.

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INSPIRATIONAL: Children are undervalued

Thursday, May 12, 2016

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/teen-makes-stellar-discovery-previously-unknown-maya-city-005856?nopaging=1

9 MAY, 2016 – 22:03 MARILO
Teen Makes Stellar Discovery of Previously Unknown Maya City

*** begin quote ***

William Gadoury, a 15 year-old Canadian from Quebec, has revolutionized the academic world by using ingenious reasoning to discover a previously unknown Maya city. Based on his own theory – that the Maya chose the location of their cities following constellations, he realized that there must be another undiscovered city in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Satellite images of the area have confirmed his hypothesis.

*** end quote ***

“Children will no longer waste the first 25 years of their lives. Adults will no longer be tossed on the rubbish pile for the last 50 years of their life.”  — CHURCH 10●19●62 Volume 2 Page 370

Here’s an excellent example of the waste of human resources.

Sorry, that it’s a sad fact. We went from “child labor” to complete insanity. At least, “child labor” made economic sense in a subsistence economy. (That’s why the USA imposing its social mores on Third World countries with sub-subsistence economies is not understandable!)

There has to be a better compromise!

Like Sheldon on #TBBT, we have to figure out a way to “exploit” the talent that is going to waste.

Argh!

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POLITICAL: Miners walk on Hillary; when do Black Americans do the same to the Democrats

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/05/10/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-west-virginia-trump-nebraska/84185016/

Sanders defeats Clinton in West Virginia
Heidi M Przybyla, USA TODAY 10:29 p.m. EDT May 10, 2016

*** begin quote ***

Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton in West Virginia’s Democratic primary Tuesday, while Donald Trump, with no remaining challengers, claimed an easy victory there and in Nebraska among Republicans.

At a rally in Salem, Ore., following his win, Sanders, a Vermont senator, told supporters “it appears that we won a big, big victory in West Virginia.”

“West Virginia is a working-class state, and like many other states in this country, including Oregon, working people are hurting,” he said. “And what the people of West Virginia said tonight, and I believe the people of Oregon and Kentucky will say next week, is that we need an economy that works for all of us, not just the one percent.”

*** end quote ***

May I offer Bernie another interpretation?

The D’s have long been anti-coal. Here’s the average working-class joe sixpack sending HRC a message.

I’d be astonished if WV does go big for Trump.

Bill Clinton, for all his faults, was spot on with “It’s the economy, stupid!”

The only think I wonder is when Black Americans will wake up like West Virginians? Their loyalty to the Democratic Party has been both misplaces and abused. Go through the classic Civil Rights legislation and count the Democrats who opposed it and Republican who did. Go through the litany of cities with Democratic mayor and machines, count the ones that for all intents and purposes are little better than war zones. Some Iraqi and Syrian cities look better than Detroit. Finally, go thru the casualties in the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs” and the Welfare State’s destruction of the black families and the black churches.

Then tell me how good the D’s are for the country! (Not that the R’s are that much better. But one must pick the prettiest horse in the glue factory coral.)

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INTERNET: Is there such a thing as “fitbit hypochondria”?

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

https://www.reddit.com/r/HealthAnxiety/comments/3myqes/fitbit_heart_rate_monitor/

http://www.medicaldaily.com/dr-google-breeds-hypochondria-scaring-people-thinking-worst-332316

*** begin quote ***

Zuccon argues the resultant “cyberchondria” people experience — the fear that they have something worse than they actually do — isn’t entirely people’s fault. The Internet isn’t a luxury anymore. People demand up-to-the-minute information about their health, and the tools of search engines must be smart enough to accommodate that need. Unfortunately, the sites’ algorithms prioritize results according to different metrics.

*** end quote ***

In the last decade, I’ve been a bad sleeper. I charged it off to old age. My last primary care physician said “normal for my age” and to ignore it.

Well, I ,too, got a fitbit to track my sleep.

And this is a typical night:

FITBIT 1 1

A typical crappy night for me.

But what shocked me was this picture:

FITBIT 1

Now I am freaking out. Did my heart stop at some point? I have NEVER seen this before; I’ve been watching for the last few months.

OR have I now “infected” myself with the “fitbit hypochondria” virus (akin to the Doctor Google hypochondria)? It’s a meme-borne virus of the brain!

Argh!

First thought was to RUN to a cardiologist I know.  Second thought was to stop looking at data that I neither could understand, interpret, or take action on.  Third thought was to bring it up to my new primary care provider at a already scheduled appointment in a few weeks. (Assuming I survive that long! If I don’t, I don’t have a care in the world and my “inheritors” will be happy. Not as happy as if I won the powerball, but still happy.)

So, wish me luck while I wait.

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Posted by reinkefj

INTERNET: To leave Apple — or not?

Monday, May 9, 2016

Perhaps it’s time to leave Apple, its crappy planned obsolesce strategy, and its mediocre software behind once and for all.

QUESTIONS:

* What do I lose completely?

* Is the decision iPhone / MacBookAir versus Samsung / Chromebook or mix and match?

* My current iphone5 has at least two bugs: 
    — no sound other than podcast and alarms. Annoying but not a killer.
    — Address Book doesn’t sync. Annoying and maybe a killer.

* My MacBookAir will probably soon be obsolete?

Comments?

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Posted by reinkefj

PRODUCTIVITY: Stop multitasking!

Sunday, May 8, 2016

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/05/04/multitasking-is-actually-kind-of-problem-for-kids-and-adults/

The SwitchMultitasking is actually kind of a problem — for kids and adults
By Hayley Tsukayama May 4 

*** begin quote ***

Parental advocacy group Common Sense Media came out with a new study Tuesday that looks at how parents and their children view their own media habits — and whether they feel as if they’re “addicted” to their screens.

But it also takes aim at another common modern behavior: multitasking.

Chances are that we all multitask. (Case in point: In the course of writing this post, I have taken four calls for three stories, sent seven emails and participated in two work chats.) It has become easier than ever with the advent of new technologies that let us juggle screens — and even multiple things on each of those screens.

*** end quote ***

I am writing this while watching TV.

Maybe I need to change?

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