just like the old days

44 years ago--some things never change. 

Paul Manafort, Once of Trump Campaign, Indicted as an Adviser Admits to Lying About Ties to Russia - The New York Times

there is a solution:

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

LONG lines at lawyers' offices

get ready! there are going to be LONG lines at lawyers' offices. 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/26/560148936/george-h-w-bush-acknowledges-groping-multiple-women 

"Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities (such) as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape."

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault

I can see it now... A man and his wife (or girlfriend if he's not married) argue. He thinks about it and decides that he's at fault. He approaches his wife (or girlfriend if he's not married) and gives her a little squeeze on her derriere. She accuses him of sexual assault ("... any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit * consent of the recipient..."). 

* you'd better get it in writing, fellas--witnessed and notarized!

it's a GOOD time to be a lawyer!

stench of dirty politics

if you've ever been sprayed by a skunk, then you know that the only remedy is to burn your clothes.

Donna Brazile torches Clinton in new book - CNNPolitics

EDITORIAL: Robert Mueller's expensive Russian hounds may be barking up wrong tree - Washington Times 

americans have been sprayed by skunks for years.
one is the republican party and the other is the democratic party.
it's time to burn our clothes and get rid of the skunks.

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

correction, John McCain: not all draftees were poor

"Sen. John McCain appeared to take a swipe at President Trump in an interview that aired Sunday when he called out the “highest income” Americans at the time who found a doctor to say they had a “bone spur” so they could avoid the Vietnam draft.

McCain was interviewed on C-CPAN3, American TV and talked about the war. The interview was wide ranging, but he mentioned the draft.

“We drafted the lowest income level of America and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur,” McCain said “That is wrong. That is wrong. If we are going to ask every American to serve, every American should serve.”

The New York Times reported last year that Trump received a total of five military deferments during the war. Four were for education and one—in 1968—was the bone spurs in his heels. During that time, the U.S. inducted about 300,000 men into the military.

McCain slams Americans who dodged Vietnam draft with 'bone spur' | Fox News

I was one of those Americans drafted in 1968. I graduated from college in May 1968. Our daughter, Michelle, was born in October 1968. I received my draft notice shortly after that. In January 1969 I reported to Ft. Benning GA for basic training. After basic training I was assigned as an assistant instructor in the Management Committee, Leadership Department, Infantry Officers Advanced Course, US Army Infantry School, Ft. Benning GA. I was honorably discharged from Ft. Benning in January 1971.

I was not poor. My four sisters and one brother and I grew up in nice homes in Arlington VA. We went to private grade school (St. Ann's) and most of us went to private high school (I went to D J O'Connell). I went to a private college (Villanova University).

In my case, my draft board (Arlington VA) drafted a college graduate with a wife and a child. I was not the exception.

No, Senator McCain, not just the "lowest level income of America" were drafted.

Yes, Senator McCain, trump is a draft dodger.

Photos show Trump in military garb before dodging draft - NY Daily News

চিত্র:Donald Trump NYMA.jpg - উইকিপিডিয়া

Jenny, Michelle and me, Columbus GA, 1969-1970

receiving my soldier of the year award from the 
assistant commandant, US Army Infantry School, 
Ft. Benning, GA, 1970

let's make america great again

trump, bannon, paul, pelosi, schumer, warren, etc.

the list of the poster children for bad government goes on and on. 

hostile, divisive, shrill, combative *, etc.
* interesting that of the six pictured above that only bannon was in the military, and he wasn't in combat. 

these six are prime examples of what's wrong with the US' 2-party system of government. and, they're not the only ones.

let's make America great again. let's get rid of our disastrous 2-party system of government.

 who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

fallacies in trump's obsession with high IQ

"... (IQ) tests fall down when it comes to measuring those abilities crucial to making good judgements in real-life situations. That's because they are unable to assess things such as a person's ability to critically weigh up information, or whether an individual can override the intuitive cognitive biases that can lead us astray. This is the kind of rational thinking we are compelled to do every day, whether deciding which foods to eat, where to invest money, or how to deal with a difficult client at work. We need to be good at rational thinking to navigate our way around an increasingly complex world. And yet, says Stanovich, IQ tests - still the predominant measure of people's cognitive abilities - do not effectively tap into it."

"'IQ tests are overvalued, and I think most psychologists would agree with that,'" says Jonathan Evans, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Plymouth, UK. Indeed, IQ scores have long been criticised as poor indicators of an individual's all-round intelligence, as well as for their inability to predict how good a person will be in a particular profession."

"The problem with IQ tests is that while they are effective at assessing our deliberative skills, which involve reason and the use of working memory, they are unable to assess our inclination to use them when the situation demands. This is a crucial distinction: as Daniel Kahneman at Princeton University puts it, intelligence is about brain power whereas rational thinking is about control. 'Some people who are intellectually able do not bother to engage very much in analytical thinking and are inclined to rely on their intuitions,' explains Evans. 'Other people will check out their gut feeling and reason it through and make sure they have a justification for what they're doing.' An IQ test cannot predict which of these paths someone will follow..."

"In a study published last year, Stanovich and Richard West of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, found there was no correlation between intelligence and a person's ability to avoid some common traps of intuitive-thinking (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol 94, p 672)."

"...most researchers agree that, overall, the correlation between intelligence and successful decision-making is weak."

"Wändi Bruine de Bruin at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has shown that intelligence cannot be the only factor that dictates whether someone is a good thinker and decision-maker. In a study of 360 Pittsburgh residents aged between 18 and 88, her team found that, regardless of differences in intelligence, those who displayed better rational-thinking skills suffered significantly fewer negative events in their lives, such as being in serious credit card debt, having an unplanned pregnancy or being suspended from school (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol 92, p 938). Andrew Parker, now with the Rand Corporation in Pittsburgh, and Baruch Fischhoff at Carnegie Mellon found a similar association among adolescents. Those who scored higher on a test of decision-making competence drank less, took fewer drugs and engaged in less risky behaviour overall (Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, vol 18, p 1). This suggests that rational thinking may be more important than intelligence for positive life experiences, Fischhoff says. A potent criticism of Stanovich's theory is the lack of a proven test of rational thinking skills that could be used alongside IQ tests. 'It is not enough to say what intelligence is not measuring, you have to propose alternative ways of measuring rationality,' says Kahneman. Stanovich maintains that while developing a universal "rationality-quotient (RQ) test" would require a multimillion-dollar research programme, there is no technical or conceptual reason why it could not be done. There are already several contenders, such as the measure of decision-making competence used by Bruine de Bruin and Fischhoff. Would a valid RQ test be useful? 'Hypothetically, yes, because it would cover skills that are more directly related to what people will be doing in their jobs,' says Bruine de Bruin. Kahneman maintains that IQ tests, as measures of brain power, work well for academic selection. 'But I would very seriously consider RQ tests as a way of selecting managers or leaders, particularly if I wanted a style of leadership that is thorough and not overly impulsive,' he says. There is a drawback, however: unlike with IQ, it would be relatively easy to train people to do well on RQ tests. 'They measure the extent to which people are inclined to use what capacity they have,' says Evans. 'You could train people to ignore intuition and engage reasoning for the sake of the test, even if this was not their normal inclination.' The flip side of this is that everyone can improve their rational thinking and decision-making skills. Richard Nisbett at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and others discovered that just half an hour's training in statistical reasoning can improve a person's ability to use rational thinking in everyday situations. And we don't need formal training to improve: there are many tricks we can teach ourselves, says Perkins (see "How to avoid making foolish decisions"). We might also be better equipped to elect leaders that did the same."

Why a high IQ doesn't mean you're smart | Yale School of Management

trump boasts of his high IQ, his money and his power. 

I don't know what my IQ is. I do know that many, many people are smarter than me. I'm neither mega rich nor powerful. 

I don't admire or envy trump. with all of my faults and shortcomings, I prefer to be me; and, I prefer other imperfect people, who value honesty, humility, integrity, compassion, civility, manners and respect for others. 

two party system: breeding ground for extremists and political phonies

in professional sports the "kiss of death" for a head coach or general manager is when the owner says to the media: "I'm 100% behind _______." When a GM or coach hears this, they might just as well pack their bags, because they are gone.

take a look at trump. "They're great people" or "He (or she) is a great person." then comes the twitter hammer.

trump isn't the only one. our two-party system of government breeds extremists and political phonies. look at the present and the past. there are as many extremists and political phonies on the left as there are on the right. small wonder that they're always fighting; and, nothing constructive gets done.

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

trump and the sad state of our two-party system of government

trump is an embarrassment--to the US and to the presidency. 

Bob Corker and the fast-growing list of those close to Trump who talk about him like he’s a child - The Washington Post

let's make america great again. in the next election vote for anyone except a republican or a democrat.

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican.
soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die.
nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

is america up to the challenge?

Is America facing another sputnik moment?
Is America Facing Another Sputnik Moment? | The New Yorker
perhaps the real question should be: is america up to the challenge?

On the PISA math test in 2012, the U.S. average score of 481 fell below the OECD average of 494 and was lower than the scores of 21 other OECD nations. The U.S. math score was also lower than scores in several non-OECD regions/countries/economies, such as Shanghai-China, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong. U.S. students demonstrated higher mathematical literacy than students in only 5 out of 34 OECD countries. The U.S. average mathematics score in 2012 was not measurably different from average scores in previous PISA assessment years with which comparisons can be made (2003, 2006, and 2009).

is america up to the challenge?

kim jong un: menace to the world

Rockets bound for Egypt reveal North Korea's dark trade - Chicago Tribune

take kim out

when n korea itself and the UN won't take care of business, then the US and the rest of the free world may have to take matters into their own hands.

apologizing for your vote

by now i'm sure that many trump voters feel that they owe the rest of the country an apology for voting for trump.
don't feel bad, trump voters. 
if clinton had been elected, then many clinton voters would feel that they owe the rest of the country an apology for voting for clinton.

there's hope.

what "corrected behavior", you may ask?

simple--don't vote for republicans or democrats.

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

If you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

In the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican.
Soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die.
Nothing will be better for the United States of America.

trump's promises are worthless

for a guy who ran on "america first" and said that if he was elected that he'd back away from foreign conflicts, he's done exactly the opposite. cruise missile attack in syria, displays of force in korea, more troops in iraq and afghanistan and saber rattling directed at iran, china, russia, venezuela, etc.
trump is a liar.
maybe if trump had served in vietnam, then he'd be less of a saber rattler.

president theodore roosevelt said: "speak softly, and carry a big stick."
if n korea launches missiles towards the US, guam, or at any other US territory or ally, then whack n korea hard. there's no need to engage in exchanging threats with kim jong un or anyone else.
the same applies to any other country or terrorist that attacks the US.

grow up, trump.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grossplastik_Trump_Baby_G20_Summit.jpg

Jacques Tilly [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

donald trump--the reincarnation of p t barnum

Phineas Taylor "P. T." Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American politician, showman, and businessman remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Although Barnum was also an author, publisher, philanthropist, and for some time a politician, he said of himself, "I am a showman by profession...and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me", and his personal aim was "to put money in his own coffers".

Barnum wrote several books, including Life of P.T. Barnum (1854), The Humbugs of the World(1865), Struggles and Triumphs (1869), and The Art of Money-Getting (1880).

One of Barnum's more successful methods of self-promotion was mass publication of his autobiography. Barnum eventually gave up his copyright to allow other printers to sell inexpensive editions. At the end of the 19th century the number of copies printed was second only to the New Testament in North America. 

Often referred to as the "Prince of Humbugs," Barnum saw nothing wrong in entertainers or vendors using hype (or "humbug",  as he termed it) in promotional material, as long as the public was getting value for money.

P. T. Barnum - Wikipedia

Trump's "The Art of the Deal"

Barnum's "The Art of Money-Getting"

Trump's tweets

Barnum's self promotion

Trump's fake news

Barnum's humbug

Trump's hair

Barnum's ...

File:P. T. Barnum - 02176a.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

http://suttonhoo.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

not so much

There is a solution: 

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

In the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican.

Our nation will be better off if you do.

who else is tired of kim jong un running his mouth?

less carrot, more stick

historically, the carrot in the carrot and the stick approach hasn't worked in either n korea or iran. it's time to throw away the carrot, and use the club.

image by Joe Mabel

File:Battle of Smith Cove commemorative billy club 01.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Decertify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reimpose sanctions on iran. 

in the end, however, each of us is responsible for the conditions with which we live. if it had not been for this country's patriots in 1776, then the USA would have never been. likewise, our brave citizens, and those of our allies, during WWI & WWII defeated tyranny and preserved freedom.

n koreans and iranians must take first responsibility for the conditions under which they live. if they fail in their responsibility, then others may have clean up the mess because of the danger that their government poses to others in the world. in doing so, if the offending country's inhabitants are adversely affected, then so be it. the inhabitants of the offending country must rightly suffer the consequences.

Virginian Patrick Henry

"give me liberty, or give me death."

kim jong un, 25 million north koreans and the tenuous existence of madmen dictators

The dead body of Benito Mussolini next to his mistress Claretta Petacci and those of other executed fascists, on display in Milan on 29 April 1945, in Piazzale Loreto, the same place that the fascists had displayed the bodies of fifteen Milanese civilians a year earlier after executing them in retaliation for resistance activity. The photograph is by Vincenzo Carrese. File:Mussolini e Petacci a Piazzale Loreto, 1945.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

WAKE UP, north korean people!

superman's "truth, justice and the american way": a vietnam war casualty

I am a baby boomer who grew up in the 1950s.

In grade school i wore a jacket covered with army, navy and air force unit insignias, each one sewed on by my mom.

I loved superman.

"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!

Yes, it's Superman, strange visitor from another planet, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way."

I was drafted in 1968 at the height of the vietnam war. 

I was sent to ft. benning for basic training, and spent the rest of my two years there as an assistant instructor in the infantry officers advanced course. I was at Ft. Benning during the Calley trial. 

Ken Burn's documentary, the vietnam war, is a vivid reminder of the death of "truth, justice and the american way" for this baby boomer. Burns’ documentary centers on a needless war sustained by lies | Opinion | Eugene, Oregon

rest in peace, superman. 

image by Meutia Chaerani - Indradi Soemardjan

File:Vietnam-memorial-soldier.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

we seek truth. we get spin. let's do something about this.

"...spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to persuade public opinion in favor or against some organization or public figure. While traditional public relations and advertising may also rely on altering the presentation of the facts, "spin" often implies the use of disingenuous, deceptive, and highly manipulative tactics."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(propaganda)

you name it. in virtually every aspect of our lives we get spin instead of truth. the lack of truth is particularly evident in government and politics, in advertising and sales, and in the news media--tv, radio, print, and internet.

much of the spin in government and politics comes from the republican and democratic parties. 

This vector image was created with Inkscape 

by Anynobody, composing work: Mabdul.

File:Bullshit.svg - Wikimedia Commons

let's start the "war on spin" by getting rid of the republican and democratic parties. 

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

If you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

In the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican.
Soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die.
Nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for the US, for us and for truth.