Three unrelated items were in the news today, and from my perspective, all three represented positive developments. The first was the signing of an executive order by Governor Gavin Newsom of California that will place a moratorium on the death penalty in California. At a news conference in Sacramento today, Newsom noted that there are 737 … Continue reading Lots of Good News Today, from My Perspective
I came across this interesting web site that is meant to help you see where you fall on the political spectrum. All you have to do is answer 11 questions that were part of a national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. The quiz takes less than 10 minutes, and in my case, seemed … Continue reading Where Do You Fall on the Political Spectrum? Here’s My Result…
I was reading Annie Duke's wonderful book, "Thinking in Bets", and at one point she was discussing the power of having a diverse set of viewpoints within a group. Such diversity, she argues, leads to better decisions. Duke then mentioned the Dissent Channel, and when I first heard the phrase I thought it was a … Continue reading The Dissent Channel and Red Teams
I've never been a fan of censorship, but... But sometimes, the real issue is bigger than censorship. And that is the case with Pinterest and anti-vaccination propaganda. According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal: Pinterest has stopped returning results for searches related to vaccinations, a drastic step the social-media company said is aimed … Continue reading Kudos to Pinterest
The Weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal is always my favorite. It's not all business, and with its Review and Off Duty sections, there's sure to be sure a story or two that captures the reader's interest. Since today's paper was no exception (even though there was no column from Dan Ariely), I thought … Continue reading From Sports to Politics to Aristotle to Teenagers, Highlights from Today’s Wall Street Journal
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, here is a compilation of some of his favorite songs. Those who knew him say hymns, spirituals, and other religious songs helped carry him through troubled times. While I found several songs mentioned as among his favorites, a few seemed to be mentioned repeatedly. First among these is … Continue reading Music Monday: Martin Luther King’s Favorite Music
That's one of the memorable lines from the book, Educated, which I just finished reading. Here's a brief summary of the book from the author's (Tara Westover) website: Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of … Continue reading “I teach them not to piss on their hands.”
For more than 80 years, pollsters have been asking Americans from all walks of life to share their opinions and experiences on pretty much every imaginable topic. Thousands of those surveys are archived by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University. As the end of 2018, HuffPost wanted to see how things have ― and … Continue reading American Attitudes, Then and Now
Yesterday I wrote about a phrase I had never heard of before, "dead cat bounce". Today I came across another new word/phrase that I was unfamiliar with - "ratioed". According to Merriam Webster, the term refers to the negative response that a tweet gets. In particular, it is used in situations where a tweet gets more replies … Continue reading Another Day, Another New Word
Among President Trump's tweets this week were the following: “Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.” You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & … Continue reading When President Trump Tweets, He Rarely Gets Off Scot-Free
Borden's Blather 