Update: Windows 10 and The Case of the Disappearing CD/DVD Optical Disc Drive

Yesterday I lost my CD-DVD drive. Well, it seemed that way.

A friend loaned me a DVD with some chess material and when I put it in the drive it just whirred a few seconds and then went quiet. When I clicked on "This PC" (an icon on my  Desktop) it showed the top levels of my file system and there was no optical drive in sight. OMG, what happened? Has it died?

I started up Device Manager and it wasn't listed there as an attached device. How could this calamity befall me now?

My next step, after the inevitable hot sweaty panic and the cooling down phase, was to go onto the Internet. Oh wait, that's not working either. What the heck is going on here?

Total freakout phase begins...

I restarted my PC and that didn't help, so I had to reboot the Wireless device, remove its battery, put it back together (not a long process) and then restart again. Thankfully that worked to make the wireless access point reboot and I had internet access again. Whew.

Thought the world was falling apart for a few minutes there.

So, as I was saying, I went onto the Internet and began to look for solutions to my optical drive problem. Time for another Trump-like digression? Did I mention the time? It was already closing in on midnight and I haven't been able to study for school. These problematic interventions aren't helpful. I went to Microsoft and HP (maker of my PC) and neither seemed terribly helpful, though I did learn HP also wants to intrude onto my PC  with their Personal Assistant software and regular updates (of what I know not). Everybody wants to steal my computer and I don't mean the hackers.

Somewhere in my browsing I came across an article saying a few people had gone to their BIOS configuration program (reached at reboot/restart time by pressing a function key which your PC maker specified). This isn't necessary to fix the problem, but for those who are comfortable with this kind of thing it's helpful to realize your BIOS still recognizes the optical drive hardware is still there and in good working order. In fact, the main thing your BIOS software does at startup is to check your RAM, CPU, Keyboard and other things to see if you have a working computer and only after a few things like that does it begin to load the operating system (Win 7, Linux, etc.). Well, my PC's BIOS showed the optical drive was still there. Whew! Now, why wasn't the operating system (oh, wait Windows 10 is new) recognizing it.

A little more browsing and I found a Microsoft discussion forum with the answers.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-files/windows-10-dvd-drive-missing/f246ef3d-ff9a-4cd2-9746-7de01184c258

Apparently there have been some other people who "lost" their CD/DVD drive after Windows 10 was installed. Why hadn't I thought of that? I had lost use of my printer right after Windows 10 was installed and just doing a device driver update solved that problem. The big difference was that my PC hadn't completely lost sight of the printer. Now my PC wasn't even recognizing there was hardware on my PC.

When I first read through the forum discussion I wasn't sure I could trust them. The answer seemed odd and I don't like messing with things which I'm not absolutely certain are broken. But, reading the discussion showed several people had tried the 'solution' and it had worked. Finally, the HP "help guy" also endorsed it as THE solution.

So, I did it and it worked immediately.

By now it was about 1:30am, but I was feeling like a weight had been lifted.

The solution was to go to Device Manager, click on the IDE/ATA Controllers list and uninstall the shorter ones. One by one and suddenly the OS says it's time to Restart your computer NOW. After the Restart the optical drive is back and working fine. Easy.

Is this the answer for all problems? No, but for this specific problem of the disappearing CD/DVD drive it worked like a charm.

Now back to studying.

Windows 10, etc.

I downloaded Windows 10 and it took forrrrreeeeevvvvver. I don't know why exactly, but I can point to a couple of things as warnings for everyone else who will be doing this.

1) If you have a screen saver or auto-sleep mode set (these save power when nobody is using the PC for some time), turn them off (to "never") until you're done with the d/l. When they go into effect the download isn't recognized as activity which should keep the machine 'awake'. Apparently the only things they recognize are user-inputs like mouse, keyboard or other user devices. A running program to Microsoft is not 'activity'. This happened to me several times before I wised-up. Lots of wasted time and money there with no error message or warnings. When my machine went to "sleep" it stopped net activity and that led to the net going "dormant" and that meant no connection, so the Win10 download was stopped! I had tried to let it go all night, but apparently it stopped in about an hour and in the morning there was nothing to show for it. There is no pause (and resume later) for this download.

2) Make sure you have a secure internet connection for the entire download. I started with less than 3 GB and in the middle of the download had to load my Virgin Mobile account with some money and then apply that to get more 'data' for the next month. Then something truly horrible happened (apparently), I had to reboot and that destroyed my download. Yep. It all went away. All the time spent, all the internet connection money, gone. I had to start over. Similarly, if your internet connection dries up the downloader program (Windows Update I suppose) will stop and you probably lose it all.

After downloading it the set-up took a very long time. I went and had dinner and when I came back to look it was still working. It reboots your computer several times in the process. It's not hard to tell when it's done though. There is a good on-screen message showing how far along the process is and when it's done.

One note about the installation: consider this very personal question carefully, do you want a Custom or Express install? An Express installation lets Microsoft grab a lot of information from your PC for their commercial purposes, but a Custom installation lets you decide if you don't want some things and doesn't take long to go through. I suggest Custom, so you can tell Microsoft you don't want to give them anything about your personal life (as recorded on your PC).

So, now I have Win10 and it's not too bad. I just lost my internet connection and printer and have a bunch of metro "live" tiles on my start menu.

1) The default printer became the MS printer-to-PDF (as I recall), so the driver (it may be on your PC, but probably since it's a new OS it's to be found on the MicroSoft site or on the manufacturer's site where you originally found it) for your real printing device has to be re-found (just update the driver). Then, to use the printer properly it has to be set to DEFAULT. I actually did this several times with no effect, but somehow managed to get it to stick. I'm still not sure precisely where or how I did it when it really took effect. I suppose the advice is: just KEEP AT IT until it sticks.

2) OTOH, my wireless internet connection was well and truly killed. I talked to Virgin Mobile help-desk people and they told me the dongle I used to get wireless internet (like a cell phone contacting a cell tower) was simply incompatible with Win10. Darn. So, how much for a new one that will work? They don't have one. They suggest only one product (which I bought). It's the NetGear Mingle hotspot for Virgin Mobile (a wireless access point for everyone in the neighborhood to try hacking into). I bought it at Best Buy (they're great) for about $50 and, like most electronics, it's small and seems fragile. Well, so does my HP PC, so that's not unusual. If I take care of my stuff it should be alright. In this case my PC has no built-in wireless capability, so I feel somewhat lucky the Mingle has a cable which attaches it via mini-USB (on the Mingle) and USB (on my PC) to receive electrical power and, naturally, to let me use it via the wire. This makes it pretty much the same as a dongle except that it's also broadcasting to the neighborhood (though it does have a account & password security). I'd prefer to turn that off altogether and not broadcast the SSID.

Okay, so I fiddled with it and somehow turned it off, disabled it or something. It took a few tries for me to figure out how to use it. Calling Virgin Mobile is helpful if you need it.

The first thing that's neat is that it gets charged by the PC and can remain on and going even when my browser is off. Yeah, the neighborhood can see it even when I'm logged-off.

Second, with the auto settings it can be powered on and off automagically when my PC boots up or shuts down -- that's handy. I don't have to turn it on & off!

When it's off and you try to get it started there's one important trick. It doesn't have the IP address of the VM site, so you have to type in the IP address for your browser (it's in the instruction booklet). However, after it gets going you could just use the standard http:// address to get there. I must have fiddled with it for several hours before I figured that out.

They weren't kidding when they called the WWW the World-Wide Waste-of-time. You can waste a LOT of time watching Win10 download or fiddling with novel gadgets which almost work intuitively, but not quite.

Now when I start the browser it logs-in to the Mingle home page, I 'connect' and open a new tab to use the net. It provides pretty good speed (about 3.1Gbps). Previously I was supposedly getting 4G speed (about 8-100Mbps), but was really only getting about 4-5Gbps max. So, the speed now is good, but noticeably slower when I'm trying to load a webpage with a lot of graphics/pics or perhaps get my e-mail from Google GMail. But, with Google I don't know if the problem is with my Mingle or them -- they are often slow because they serve so many customers.

In conclusion:

Am I satisfied? So far it's been pretty good. There are some nifty things others might use more than me (Cortana, live tiles, snapping apps, the Edge browser, etc.) but I guess all the things I liked about Win7 are still there and quite usable. Will I "live happily ever after" with Win10? We'll see.

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PRIVACY UPDATE:

Microsoft has said their search box on the taskbar sends some information back to the home base. How much information it's sending isn't quite known. You can remove this search box from the taskbar, but if you right-click on 'Start' it will still be in the list (if you must use it). Another detail not known is whether local searches of your PC (not the net) return information to MS when next you logon to the Internet.

The Long Gas & Water Problem on my Street Continues

Hi. I know it's been a while since I've written. I've been busy with school this summer and just recently I caught a cold. Still, I'm writing today because the odyssey of the gas & water problems on my street has continued.

You would think it should have ended when they dug up the entire street (well, almost) laid new plastic piping for a block and covered it all back over, paved it and opened the street. It looked so nice, like a black & gray patch-work quilt.

But, this morning when I awoke I didn't have hot water. I checked the water heater and furnace and there was simply no gas. I know I had hot water yesterday evening, what could have happened in the night.

I called the gas company and they sent out a fellow to check it out. He said the problem was likely in the new piping they had just put down and there were fixtures underneath the street which would possibly have to be dug up. But first, they can open each end and blow air through the pipe to clear out any water there might be. I just happened to watch at the moment when it blew out. There probably was about a cup of water, just enough to be a problem. But, how did the water get into the pipe?

They checked the line for pressure and found it wasn't sound. So, today, as on so many other days over the past few months, there are gas company trucks and backhoe on my street digging up the areas just freshly paved a week or two ago.

Fortunately they feel certain there's no problem in the part of the line from the sidewalk to my house. That's certainly good news. It's not a big surprise though. That piping was replaced about 5 years ago with plastic and it's been working fine since. It's the new work recently completed which was apparently not quite airtight.

You could say it began last winter when I wrote about a giant spray of water in the middle of the coldest day of winter, but really this problem goes back much further.

Years ago we had a leak which led to the replacement of the pipe to the house. This is a problem which is fighting to stick around. Why? I don't know.

Trump to the Rescue?

When Donald Trump says he can make a better trade deal "for us" I have to wonder who would benefit from his or any Republican trade deal. In the 1980s the Republicans sold down the river a lot of union workers by creating trade deals which were good for big business, but which also off-shored a lot of union jobs. Now they're working for minimum wage at McDonald's in a "career".

Donald Trump has trumpeted himself as a deal-maker, but it has always been (obviously) trades meant to benefit his company. If he were president his responsibility would be to 300 million Americans, but would he know how to do a deal which benefited anyone besides himself?

Some people criticize Pres. Clinton for having signed NAFTA and he has tried to argue it was good for the economy, but it's hard to see good-paying jobs replaced by lower-paying jobs and not wonder if there isn't a problem with the American Dream. Are our leaders only capable of seeing 'the big picture' and not of analyzing a little deeper to see how well everyone is doing? It's ironic since most politicians are said to only pay attention to interest groups, but when it comes to the economy it seems they only see the macro-economic picture.

But, today the wealth gap is enormous and a lot of boats aren't floating at all.

It's time for a better deal for all Americans, not just those who don't look like Donald Trump!

Terrorists Learned to Fly. Will Terrorists Learn to Network?

At the local college there is likely to be an program (called IT or perhaps another name) which is teaching young minds about computers and networks. How likely is it that a terrorist, or the assistant to a terrorist, is learning about computers, networks, how to manage them, their weaknesses and how to destroy them?

And, if there were such people, here and there around our country or at similar kinds of schooling in other places of the world (and computers & networks are used everywhere), how difficult would it be for our national security people to discover them and discern whether the person studying is just like you & me or if that person has some other intentions we would disapprove?

Does it mean anything if that student does their Islamic prayers in the classroom in full view of everyone? Would it be any different if they prayed elsewhere? Would it matter if they had come from another country or if they were born & raised in America? How can you know someone's mind until they act?

I hope our government has been studying such questions and has some procedures which will help keep us safe.

Second Smoothie of Summer

It came time to try another smoothie and I thought I'd try some different ingredients.

Ingredients

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Liquid Base:  Low-cal Orange juice, non-sugar carbonated cherry limeade, milk

Medium:  non-sugar vanilla ice cream

Fruits:  banana and MANGO

Results

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Mix it up and it's got a nice mellow fruity flavor.

Comments

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I don't think the carbonated cherry limeade helped and I wouldn't use it again.

It didn't hurt, just didn't help either.

I also have some strawberries and a cantaloupe to try some other flavor

combinations. It's going to be experimental and tasty!

Smoooooothie

I've begun a Community College program to study computer things (what they call IT) and it will expand my knowledge into areas I haven't studied before. Today I had a "mid-term" (for the Summer term) and scored over 90%. For this I decided to do something special. I bought some ingredients to make a smoothie.

I already had a few strawberries and bananas, so that was easy.

I also had some orange juice and milk.

I bought vanilla frozen yogurt and a plastic 2 quart Rubbermaid pitcher to blend in.

I had been interested in smoothies for some years and had seen them a few places at exorbitant prices. So, last year I bought a blender. It's one of those single-prong things which weights less than 1 pound.

Today, I put several scoops of frozen yogurt and the strawberries & bananas in the pitcher, poured some orange juice and milk over that and blended away. It's delicious.

I know some people add crushed ice, but I don't have that.

I could have added some fizzy carbonated lemon-lime or cherry-limeade drink, but didn't think of it until I had finished, maybe next time.

Summer is nearly here and I'm ready.

Who Decides America's Foreign Policy ?

President Obama wanted to remove al Assad from Syria after he used chemical weapons on his people. Congress asked him to let them decide the issue and they chose not to do anything, so he stepped back. Of course, now they complain that he hasn't done anything.

In regard to ISIS President Obama didn't wait. He stepped up to the plate and told the world we would help Iraq and others to fight ISIS until they were destroyed. That was several months ago. Has Congress asked him to let them decide the issue? Well, they implied they were interested and said they would review the AUMF issue and perhaps write another one more appropriate for ISIS and the terrorism of today.

What have they done? When Democrats were in charge of the Senate the Foreign Relations Committee wrote an AUMF, but never voted on it. Since then there has been nothing. They don't want to get their pudgy hands dirty. Republicans have taken over the Senate and you would think they would be happy to authorize violence anywhere and everywhere, but even they aren't interested. Perhaps it's the idea of working with this president they detest that hinders them.

Without Congressional authorization and with the argument, coming from both Democrats and some Republicans, that ISIS is not a part of al Qaeda and should not be considered part of al Qaeda (though it originate from within al Qaeda) it would appear they don't want the U.S. military to fight ISIS. That raises the Constitutional issue of what authority the president has to continue the fight.

I have no doubt that if he were to retreat the Republicans would excoriate him and claim the end of the world was nigh. But, if Congress is to have the reins to restrain an out-of-control presidency (and the Republicans claim they want that all the time), then what else could he do?

Similarly, the president has joined five other countries in discussions with Iran to trade a lifting of economic sanctions if they will cease and desist from developing a nuclear bomb program. The Republicans wrote a letter to Iran telling them the president, or some future president (perhaps a Republicans), would not be held to a political agreement if it didn't also have the approval of the U.S. Congress. In short, they are declaring that a simple political deal should no longer exist and that only formal treaties are acceptable. They want to tie the hands of President Obama, even if it means the likelihood of war with Iran is tremendously increased.

Republican partisanship has stopped the president from removing Assad and now from fighting ISIS and perhaps from arriving at a useful political deal with Iran (thus leading the world to believe our government can't follow-through on promises in the area of foreign policy or any sort of treaty or political deal). America would pay a very high price for such behavior, but it is our form of government that we must work together (the branches of government) or nothing should happen. And, that's where our government stands today.

The American people need to know how dangerous this Republican policy of obstruction is and what its consequences could be.

Assad remains, fighting and killing his people. ISIS still exists and if we leave Iraq they will likely remain and perhaps even grow. If the Iranians decide a political deal is worthless because it can't be depended upon in future administrations then they may decide to build a nuclear bomb to force us to lift the sanctions. These are all quite real possibilities and all due to the Republican political policy.

Baked Beans Supreme

I just made some baked beans and they were terrific. So, I thought I'd post the recipe in case anyone needs inspiration for their own dish.

Start with a big can of "pork & beans". Mom used to like Showboat brand, but Walmart didn't have 'em, so I used Campbell's (I like them better anyway).

These days that means beans in a light sauce with a bit of bacon fat for flavoring. I haven't seen any pork in pork & beans for a very long time. I use a big can and make a big dish because mom always did it that way.

For flavoring add:

Mom liked...

a diced onion (as much as you like),

ground clove (lightly sprinkled on top and then stirred-in),

a dollop or two of catsup,

brown sugar or (I use) a few tablespoons of molasses,

I also like...

one dollop of your favorite barbecue sauce (not too much as it can overwhelm) and

Note: brown sugar is just sugar with molasses in it. As I don't eat sugar the straight molasses is good.

Mom used to put a few strips of bacon on top during the cooking, but if you're going to make Pork & Beans Supreme you must add smoked sausage (in small bite size chunks) or add a package of lil' smokies (which are about like small hotdogs with a bit of smokey flavor).

Stir it well.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 325-375 F for about 1 hour - 1 hour 30 minutes. Take a look to see when they have achieved the look you want (longer cooking and they get thicker). I wouldn't be surprised if you could fix them in a slow-cooker. I was tempted to do that, but didn't want to risk it on a dish I didn't want to experiment with.

The mixture of those flavors is wonderful and the sausage makes it a real dinner meal.

Enjoy!

Extreme Partisanship in Washington

The two parties are fiercely fighting and the Republicans are arguing President Obama's policy wrt ISIL is perhaps helping Iran. With this they're arguing he may not have any sincere desire to defeat ISIL or to stick to the fight for long. Another argument they're making along these lines is that his proposed AUMF (wrt ISIL) is too limited. Tjhen there is the recent letter to Iran by 47 Republicans in Congress, arguing Iran should be careful to not sign a deal with the president because the next president could overturn it with the stroke of a pen.

In this environment it would seem to me the Right would dearly love (despite public appearances of course) for there to be a terrorist attack on America, especially one labeled ISIL or Iran or even Russia. That would let them call the president feckless (though they already have) and incapable of leading America.

This (a terrorist attack) is something the administration should be on heightened guard to avoid.

Congress Wants to Aid Ukraine

It always amazes me to hear members of Congress begging for war. Haven't they checked with their constituents. Polls have showed for a long time the public doesn't want any part of war and "boots on the ground".

I know we have a Memorandum of Understanding which says we should defend them, so their argument Ukraine deserves support with defensive weapons is at least reasonable. It would certainly be easier if we weren't already engaged against ISIL in Iraq and if we weren't trillions in debt and if the problem in Ukraine weren't the nuclear power Russia.

Given all that it would behoove a leader to speak to the public about this issue. It's not enough to hear only Congress, who have other influences on them. It requires public discussion, like many many other issues today. If members of Congress are insistent, then they have to publicly discuss this and debate it with those who aren't eager to be that involved in Ukraine.

Public support can be built as the president has shown with out involvement in Iraq -- particularly if it's of a limited nature. Talk to the public and see if there is any support for this at all! I would also say the individuals who wish to become president after the next election could (and perhaps should) discuss their view on this issue.

Republicans Claim They Know How To Govern

I. Climate Change Deniers

Senator Coburn of Oklahoma brought a snowball to the Senate floor to "prove" there is no climate change. Senator Whitehouse replied: "rips senator snowball"

What I wonder is if the climate change deniers understand mathematical averaging. Do they realize that 95 and 31 do not average to 31, but to a higher number than 94 and 31? Climate change is slow and the highs may become higher and the lows lower with the average climbing very slowly: 97 + 28 may average the same as 95 + 30, but the higher highs and lower lows bring us dramatically worse weather.

If we have to bring a math teacher to these deniers it would be helpful to the world. But then, we know they aren't stupid -- they're just pretending to be on television.


2. Stealth Legislating

Republicans who have an agenda that's not actually appealing to the public have sometimes campaigned without admitting to their real goals. In Congress there has always been pork-barrel legislating where spending for the home district is snuck into someone else's legislation. Now they stuff the legislation with stealth agenda items. Republicans slip anti-abortion language into an EDUCATION bill.

3. Who's In Charge, John Boehner or the TEA partiers?

Steve Scalise was treated roughly in the recent race for House Speaker and he may be in the mood for some revenge. Did Steve Scalise just screw John Boehner?

4. What's Behind Republican Politics?

There has always been a race for campaign contributions, but now there are a few super rich individuals who are backing campaigns. The Koch brothers are but two. GOP race starts in lavish haunts of rich donors!

So, this is governing? I don't think they're doing a very good job of it. Is this what the public wants? No, they've said repeatedly they want everyone to work together to get important things done.

And, I'm not even bringing up the delay in funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Important Issues Today And For The 2016 Election Campaigns

There are a lot of issues and policy goals each political party has: many influenced by lobbyists or electoral groups. The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal, Net Neutrality, Solvency of Social Security are a few and there are many more. There are dozens. Here are a few broad areas which will likely be discussed in the 2016 election campaigns, particularly at the presidential level.

Economy

-- A Rising Tide That Doesn't Lift All Boats: Poverty and Wealth Disparity --

On several recent occasions in recent months there have been Republicans speaking about Poverty and how to be rid of it. Rep. Paul Ryan (Republican candidate for Vice President in 2012) and JEB Bush (son of former President George H. W. Bush, brother of former President George W. Bush, former governor of Florida and possibly the Republican party's candidate for President in 2016) are examples. They have yet to directly addressed the economics ideas which have led to the problem of wealth disparity and the fact the profit from all new growth is going to a very few people in America. The product of American labor is not being shared by everyone. The tide is rising and many people are simply drowning and the Republicans have yet to publicly recognize that fact, much less propose policies to address it.

What is Paul Ryan's suggested new tax reform? Tax cuts for a few people -- greater wealth disparity.

What was JEB Bush's comment on the topic of poverty in today's discussion? That we need much better education for people. Well, President Obama suggested a program to give free education at the community college level to anyone who can keep their grades up, but Republicans oppose it.

If we can't find a way to better share the product of our labours, then how can we say the government is upholding the Constitutional decree that "We the People" are in charge in America and that America is supposed to be for the benefit of everyone living here?

-- Education, Unemployment, Foreign Trade and Unions --

What is the proper role of the American corporation today? How do all the stakeholders have their say and have a significant impact on their world? What is the proper role of the union today, and in particular unions of government employees?

Energy

We are living in a transitional era, post-agricultural post-slavery and with new kinds of energy and mechanization to serve us. But, our fuels: coal, oil and natural gas are available in only finite quantities. We have to prepare for a future without those. The only other major energy source we use is nuclear and that's not currently acceptable for automobile and truck and aircraft transportation (except to power batteries). It's also unacceptable for many other purposes. Ridding ourselves of the waste and preventing dangerous people from committing acts of great vilence are great challenges. We need to develop safer nuclear energy or renewables or some other new sources. We need to do that rapidly. Even if someone discounts climate change as irrelevant it is inevitable fossil fuels will disappear and we have to have alternatives.

The Republicans have been involved with the oil industry a very long time. Especially Texan oil men have supported Republicans and the Bush family in particular. It's no surprise we've had two Bush presidents and now a third is running for the office. This doesn't mean we should allow their money to buy an election rather than having a better vision for the future.

Foreign Policy

Today, JEB Bush did something quite similar to Ronald Reagan -- he didn't entirely disagree with Pres. Obama's policies, but simply expressed the view that the president didn't have a policy or strategy or any effectiveness. By dismissing the president's foreign policy in one go he opens the way to express anything he likes and to describe it as new and wonderful. Of course, that's not the truth of the matter. At this point his circle of advisers are familiar faces from previous Republican administrations.

Democrats have the public interest at heart and not just some ideological drive to "free the world". We can easily claim to be upholding the Constitution more than the Republicans who have argued we must spread Democracy and free people. That isn't in the Constitution. Defending America, an isolationist view, is what the Founders wanted. They preferred to do commerce and leave warring to the Europeans of those days. Since those days, especially since America has grown stronger (during the 20th century) we have become more evangelical and not only protected people from disaster, but we've tried to convince them to join our economic system and to do business with us and to adopt our other political Values. Pres. George W. Bush even referred to promoting Democracy as one of the ideas behind the invasion of Iraq. The public doesn't much favor that today and our government's large debt argues against it too.

This could be a significant issue in the presidential campaign, but it would likely be a difficult one for any candidate to win. Foreign Policy tends to be a slippery issue where successes and failures may be confused for decades. Still, the Democratic candidate needs to argue for our positions and stake out any new direction they want to go. It might be true that 'direction' is more important in Foreign Policy than any specifics.

Values & Civil Rights

For some years, since the death of Jerry Falwell and the decline of Pat Robertson and some other religious leaders, the Christian Right hasn't been very vocal. I suppose they still vote regularly, but most of their policy positions haven't been given much attention. I wouldn't be surprised if the Republican campaign strategists try to cobble together a coalition which pushes various policies to gain stronger support. In 2012 their candidate Mitt Romney got very strong support among men and whites and still lost. I would expect the Republicans to seek a broader coalition, though they have failed to convince their base to accept Latinos and their acceptance among any people of color or non-Christian beliefs isn't very strong.

Democrats can discuss Values because we support the Equal Rights (sometimes referred narrowly to Civil Rights) provisions of the Constitution and fight to enforce them in reality. We fight for voting rights, fair jail sentencing, fair treatment by police on the streets, fair educational opportunities and equal chance to succeed in any realm of life. Democrats' support for women, gays and other major groups in America can be a valuable electoral support. When Libertarians argue for greater Liberty the Democrats can reply that they've been fighting for that a very long time.

The Role of Government

There are some who look at the Constitution and see little purpose. There are some who see abstract phrases which can encompass many things. There is a significant belief on the Right today that there is less and less purpose in a federal government -- at least when a Democrat is president. They consider shutting down (all but essential services) government as not a big decision. They complain endlessly about an abusive IRS or an over-reaching NSA or all-powerful EPA or wasteful Education Dept. or the incredibly complex Dodd-Frank law and the opaque Federal Reserve and argue these should be eliminated. This comes mainly from the more Libertarian-leaning Republicans, but even more traditional Republicans have a history of resenting many government rules and regulations. There is also a strong business contingent which lobbies for less regulation and taxation.

Simply making the case for the federal government, and in particular the many regulatory functions and social programs, could be a significant part of the campaign. It depends in part on who the Republican candidate would be.

Any Democratic candidate for President should be prepared to argue for policies and paint a clear picture of the damage alternatives the Republicans might suggest could do and have done.

Congressional Corruption

The corruption of an individual member of Congress isn't either common or rare and it's sad to hear. Usually the party of that person suffers a bit and they are jettisoned quickly, with little concern for their personal lives. But, when an entire party or (indeed) all the political class is seen as bought & paid for it damages all of America. The image of a party leader handing out money to members of the House to ensure passage of a bill is pretty disgusting. There is also the idea that the rich can simply buy the legislation they want. It corrupts individuals, a party and everything.

https://www.facebook.com/dailykos/posts/10153118864109255

This alone is a good reason to prevent the Keystone XL pipeline from ever being built.

Crazy Day Update

Indeed it has been a crazy day here. This evening, about 8pm I suppose, one of the workmen came to the door and said my gas had been off and that he was going to turn off my meter and I should wait at the garage door for someone to come and restart it. I asked him what had happened and he said something about the water and gas lines being crossed one over the other and that in the digging large holes were made (probably like a silver dollar around) in the lines. Naturally, this meant they had to dig out the hole to about 6 feet square and 4 feet down and turn off the water & gas to fix the lines. It took a very long time.

Their man came along and restarted my furnace and water heater. After that they began packing up and moving out. Apparently the houses along my side of the street were affected, but nobody else. I'm glad they got it fixed before night. It's been extremely cold here.

Oh, I mentioned earlier the spray of water had frozen onto the overhead power/phone lines and made icicles, but I didn't know until later this evening it had also frozen onto power poles and equipment. A line had fallen down and was sparking on the guys working in the hole with water. Zoweeie! That's not good. They got the electric company to fix that problem, but there's still ice all over the power pole and equipment at the top.

We need some warm weather to melt the ice.

The one thing which will remain obvious for some time is that the hole they dug is covered with gravel and they clearly won't be able to re-pave it until warm spring weather comes along.

Yes, it's been a crazy day in front of my house. I hope it's warm where you are.

More Excitement On My Street

Today I was on the phone and just then I started hearing jackhammering. It looked out the window and there were two guys who had marked out a space on the asphalt street just across the alley from my house. A little while later there was a backhoe with a jackhammer on the end (never seen that before) and they were digging a hole where they had marked it earlier. After a while it got quiet, so I looked out again. One of the men was down in the hole they had dug about 4 feet deep.

Some time later I heard noise and when I looked out I saw several trucks, a bunch of men and a huge spray of water about 50 feet high, mostly aimed at the house across the street.

Woo hoo!

Some time later I went out to exercise at the gym and they had the street blocked off with trucks and men everywhere and the water spray was still going.

When I came back I came in from the other end of the street and parked in front of my house (behind some trucks from the water company). I saw a guy who looked happy to talk and asked him what was going on (all innocent like). He explained they had hit the water line and maybe the gas line and both might be off. Hmmm, I just checked and my water is running. Maybe it's from the water tank, but there's pressure you don't usually get unless the main line coming into the house is going. They're still out there making noise, so there must be something yet to fix.

I looked up to see if the water was still going and saw ice hanging from the power or phone lines overhead. It was surreal. Where the men had dug the hole there appeared to be snow and we don't have snow on the ground (haven't for days).

I may have to update this article later, but for now it's a mess with the road blocked and noise and who knows what.

This is excitement in my part of the world.  :-)

Can Technology Save Us?

In some places there is effort wasted on silly things:

Fatwa Prohibits Building Snowmen in Saudi Arabia


Yes, in America too...

Judge Takes Away Minimum Wage from Home Care Workers


Then, there is technology development which may improve all our lives:

Offshore Wind Jobs and Energy

Electrified Truck Power-Train to Cut Fuel Use in Half

Solar Panels Made with Perovskite Mineral are Cheaper and More Efficient Than Ever Before

Mutated Gene Receptor and Stem-Cell Technology Could Lead to an HIV Cure


China may be leading the world in some "green" energy areas!

China to Create a Cap & Trade Market

Wealth Inequality and Revenue Sharing -- When the Music Plays You Dance

Recently the topic of wealth inequality has come to the fore. The economy in the 1990s was doing very well and the incomes of the middle-class went up, so everyone was pretty happy. Still, the gap between the 1% or even the 0.1% and the rest of us grew larger and larger. Today we have realized that since the most recent recession began the wealthiest among us has gotten every single new dollar of growth from the economy. There's something very strange about that. Worker productivity has gone up and they get nothing?

The root of the problem lies in our past as we began to see the wealth disparity beginning about 1980. In an article for the Prospect magazine there is an explanation of some economic ideas which may have been the root of this. It's an excellent article for describing this issue, it's beginnings and even current trends.

When Shareholder-Capitalism Came to Town

We need to study this and ways to roll back its worst effects!

Senate Speeches Today by Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) and Sanders (D-VT)

The Senate has rules and traditions aplenty and one was contravened today in a way which was valuable. Senator Cornyn of Texas spoke about Republican interest in working on the economy with legislation. There wasn't anything very specific in his speech, just a hint they were interested. Next up was Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Usually I don't enjoy his speeches as his voice is deep and he does a lot of hand-waving and he often gets red-faced while appearing angry. But, his speech today was wonderful. He spoke more of the Democratic Party's views of the economy and legislation needed to improve things. Early in the speech he did some hand-saving, but that faded and he kept his hair in place so as to not look like a wild man. He mentioned Sen. Cornyn and the Republicans without being too offensive.

The main things were that he told a story about "trickle-down" economics with a chart showing how much of the country's new GDP went to 1% of our more wealthy citizens and how much went to the lowest 90%. It was incredibly shocking to see the portion going to the 90% shrinking steadily from the 1950s (slowly), but then taking a nosedive about 1982 when Ronald Reagan was in office and Republican economics were front-and-center in the nation's political discussions. Then the portion of our new GDP going to the 1% rose and rose until today it is 100%. Now the wealth and income gap is immense.

I would suggest going to C-SPAN.org to see his speech, but it's not there yet (give 'em a day or two to put it on their webpage). It's worth anyone's time.

Energy Legislation

The Keystone XL pipeline isn't popular among Democrats in Congress. It just isn't going to help America very much. Why spend so much time on it?

On the other hand, we have an abundance of natural gas and there is legislation about Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) coming out of Alaska. That's much more appealing. It's produced in America, shipped to America or perhaps exported to Europe and we get continuing employment and profits for Americans.

Of course, Republicans have proposed the bill, so there's a chance they want to do the project in protected placed. That's not good. But, aside from that it's probably a winner.

Since there are innovators trying to build electric cars, solar panels, wind turbines and the like it's natural somebody would be working to use this natural gas we're producing. I just happened upon a great article today which highlights one of those.

Electrified Truck Power Train Can Cut Fuel Use By Half

America is an innovative & creative place. We can solve our energy problems and produce useful products for the world while employing more people at good-paying jobs.

It's Early, But Speeches Are Being Written -- Presidential Poltics 2015-16

You can see a campaign as being like a story or like a legal argument or a speech, but in the effort to win-over voters there is going to be the competition and how the potential voters hear and interpret what is being said. This makes the campaign into a war-like struggle. Yes, there are many voters who are already committed or leaning to one side or the other, but there are other purposes than to win votes. It's important to state clearly to Americans and the world what you would do as president. It's important to explain your positions in some detail -- those will be studied and perhaps picked apart by the economists, retired general and other 'experts'. It's important to make your case for the voters, but also to show it in contrast to the likely alternative(s). And when the opponent(s) start yelling "You lie!", or worse, it's important to have self-control and to behave as a president would. America needs to know it can depend upon its leaders and a campaign is one of the best ways we've devised to learn which we trust and want to lead.

As a competitive event it helps if you have lots of help, lots of resources and can put them to their best use. This makes the campaign more like a war effort where goals are set and focused on until met, where individuals are deployed like weaponry to tackle this or that problem and where pragmatism has to weigh more than it would in our daily conversations about a party's ideas and policies and track record. Who can run a giant campaign better is also a determinant of who can run the U.S. government well enough (at least that's the assumption). Very often in international affairs or in efforts to pass legislation a president is called upon to "win support" for an effort. Campaigning is the quintessential example of that and as such is a pretty good indicator of success.

What can make a person more successful at this? Some intelligence, a lot of humor, a crazy perseverance and a great feeling of the importance of public service. Without these the public won't even be interested in supporting a candidate. And then there is EXPERIENCE. It's not always necessary for a candidate who has experienced campaign people around them, but it certainly helps. Even more, it's the specific kind of experience which is relevant. The closer one's experience is to the mountain yet to be climbed the more likely they have the skills needed. A lot of Representatives never run for the Presidency and most never run for a Senate seat. Simply running for a state-wide position is different than running within a district (often carefully composed by the party's Gerry-mandering process). Running for a state-wide position like senator or governor is much more similar to running for president (which is a set of state-wide races, sometimes all in play at once).

Some politicians seem to be made of gold: they never lose. Some fight fight fight and struggle for a long time before winning (Ronald Reagan, for example, only won the presidency on his 3rd try). Once they win nobody cares about the past. The public cares about the future!

I, like most people, have had sporting teams I favor. But, there have been many times when I simply wanted to see excellence and I root for that, regardless of which team or individual exhibits it. Not having favorites is less depressing, but it's a bit less fulfilling too. In politics I think the American public often feels they know who the loser will be every time -- them. Politicians who can bring hope for a better day to the American public will at least get their attention. Leaders who can in fact create or build a better day will be re-elected and regaled as Great Presidents. I have too often felt America was lacking in those, so I always hope for that above all else and that's what I will fight for!

Obama's State of the Union Speech and the Republican Responses

President Obama spoke in two parts: one was his view of our country and the Democratic Party's ideas for moving forward; the other was about common ground and how the American people believe in things we don't often see expressed by government (especially when it comes to the legislative process).

Some years ago the president was roundly criticized for saying what he thought should be done, things he thought could get done, and now he's saying things he thinks should be done from the Democratic perspective. Next comes the process where the Democrats and Republicans try to find common areas of agreement or at least areas where they can get something done.

The response from Senator Ernst (a freshman senator from Iowa) and from some other Republicans who were interviewed immediately after the speech was depressing. They had little good to say about the president's overall views of America or of any of his policy ideas. They seem to think America is still in crisis -- despite the facts -- and that it is Congressional Republicans who will set America's agenda. They should review history and how the president's role in legislating was set by Pres. Washington long ago. They should reconsider the practical aspect of getting legislation turned into law without a president's views being taken into account. The president is still in office and his (and the Democratic Party's) views will not be ignored. And, if they think they can just play politics for two years in hopes of getting the presidency before trying to govern, then they should be prepared to hear the Democrats remind the public repeatedly that the Republicans in Congress aren't doing their job.

Sen. Capito of West Virginia even said the president didn't say anything about working together. Wake up senator. He spoke about it more than most presidents. He's talked about it for years.

And, for the Republicans who continually say America hasn't stabilized after the economic crisis, look at the economic numbers or reread the president's speech where he talks about our successes. We've created more new jobs since the recession than all the advanced economies of the world combined.

There are many bi-partisan or non-partisan issues the president talked about which should move forward. If the Republicans can't see those they should be aware the president can remind the public over and over (in campaign mode if you like) for years, so the public will be well aware of what isn't getting done that should be if the Republicans were actually governing.

It's time to govern. Turn the page and start.

Hypocrisy or Stupidity, You Decide

Here in America:

"From 2007 to 2010, the median net worth of American families decreased by 40%, from $135,700 to $82,300. Rapidly plunging house prices and a stock market crash were the immediate contributors to this shellacking."  -- Quentin Fottrell (in an article for Marketwatch.com)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/prepare-for-the-largest-wealth-transfer-in-history-2015-01-13

But, ...

Jamie Dimon Whines Banks are Under Assault

===============================================================

In France:

Je suis Charlie Hebdo!  (The slogan of those who support free speech in France after the terrorists killed editor & staff at the free speech magazine Charlie Hebdo.

But, ...

Massive Free Speech March - France Arrests Comedian over Facebook Comments

A Few Reasons the Left Worries for America

Money in politics:

Your Job Is To Make Money -- (former) West Virginia Coal Mine Operator Blankenship Indicted

Too Much Money In Politics - Corporations Paying ZERO Taxes


Corporate involvement in ALEC leading to bad laws:

Florida Court may Relieve Gun Owners of Burden-of-Proof

Texas Joins Florida in Jumping Off the Cliff wrt Guns


Leading to this outcome:

Americans More Likely to Die from Shooting than from a Car Accident

Albuquerque Cop Mistakenly Guns-Down Undercover Narcotics-Officer

Cops Arrested after TON of Cocaine Vanishes


If we could rely on science & technology to solve our problems it would be easier. There are new developments every day.

2014s Most Important Discoveries

Top 11 Physics Discoveries of 2014

New Teflon-Like Technology for Ocean-Going Vehicles

New Anti-Biotic - 1st in 30 Years  A YouTube.com link.

Everyone Needs a Strong Economy

During the recession of 2001 (during the presidency of the Republican George W. Bush) and thereafter the federal government employed more and more people. Did the Republican politicians argue this was hurting the economy by crowding out public investments and employment? Did they say the people needed to keep more of their hard-earned money instead of wasting it on government workers? No. But, when President Obama was facing a much worse recession they insisted on shrinking the federal government -- the sequester!

Today I heard Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) talking about how the economy was doing much better because government spending was much smaller. I hear Republicans say such things and I'm amazed. Do their voters really believe that a bigger government when Bush was president is good and when Obama is president it's bad? Don't the voters deserve more honesty than that?

All economists say the sequester (spending cuts) has dragged down the GDP output of the country, by perhaps 2.5 - 3.0 percentage points. Instead of our current 2.5% annual GDP growth we might have had 5.0 - 5.5 % growth without the sequester. But, Sessions says the opposite, that reducing government spending has made it easier for the private sector to grow. It's no wonder the Republicans drive the economy into the ground when they're in charge. They see the world upside down.

My question is this: if we're borrowing 30 - 40% of all money the federal government spends, does reducing that spending somehow free that borrowed money to be used by American corporations? American corporations already have trillions of dollars in the bank and can invest it any time they want. Some are using their savings to buy back their outstanding shares of stock. Why on Earth would they borrow money? No, it's money and government employees just sitting idle and reducing GDP.

Similarly...

Republican politicians have argued against the Affordable Care Act (the ACA or Obamacare) because they say it's destroying the economy. But, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scored the legislation when it was first being considered as saving the government money. It pushes for more and more people to have healthcare insurance and to be able to receive healthcare more easily. How would more people seeing the doctor lower the GDP?

Contrary to that, the Republicans support wars as a driver of the economy. Yes, Mitt Romney, in 2012, said that increased military spending was their economic plan. Can you imagine starting a war just to increase spending (on war materiel and personnel)? How immoral can you be?

Democrats set the economy on an upward path and the Republicans have done everything they could to stop that, saying the Democratic changes would destroy the economy. It's been growing at a fairly steady 2.5% annually. The recession Republicans gave us drove hundred-year-old companies into bankruptcy and the unemployment rate over 10%. Today the unemployment rate is back down to near-normal levels and we're still growing and employing more people every month.

The facts are obvious: Democrats can grow the economy and get people working and the Republicans are terribly confused about economics.

Finally...

It may be incredible, but of all the politicians in Congress today, all the Democrats were elected with about 20 million more votes than all the Republicans. Yet, the Republicans control Congress. They have the majority in both the House and the Senate. This indicates something terribly strange and wrong. The Republicans have said we must return control to the voters, yet the 20 million more Democratic voters won't have their say.

The Republicans need to listen more to Democratic voters and their representatives in Congress on the economy and stop serving the very narrow interests of a few rich billionaires.

The Year of UnQE

The economy has been getting better and I suspect that will continue. There are obviously going to be surprises along the way, as there always are, but there is no reason to believe current trends will not continue for a while.

The most obvious thing which we expect and plan for, but which will be a bit unpredictable is how the unwinding of the QE program will affect the economy. It is for that reason I suspect we will see it begin when the economic numbers show an upturn of inflation or further decrease in unemployment or a combination of other good results. The question in everyone's minds after that will be how the Fed would want to continue that. Will it be a steady amount every month, the way they put it into place? Will it be less every month to avoid depressing the economy? Will the amount vary from month to month or quarter to quarter?

As this is really the first time they will have done this (to my knowledge) I suspect they will go slowly, either rolling back a smaller amount each time or spacing out the rollbacks -- for example, one every quarter or every other month. This would give them time to look at the effects and to make any necessary adjustments. A small tick up or down in the amount to relate this process to the ups and downs of the economy could be necessary.

Whatever method they choose it should be cautious. The sequester is likely to still be in effect and unless the economy suddenly goes into overdrive we won't be seeing a lot of inflation for a while. And, using the unQE to neutralize inflationary pressures could be very useful to keep everything in balance for a long time.

In short, I believe their method should be slow, with time after acting to observe the effects, and with adjustments to relate to economic performance.

Science Continues to Advance

I am regularly amazed by the stories of new scientific or technological achievements. This article provides links to some of those articles.


HIV evolves and becomes less deadly!

Biologists Discover Why Cells Split

How and Why Lung Cancer Spreads

Birth Control Implant Facts

A New Scanner that Decodes DNA in 90 Minutes - and Cops have it

New Topaz Solar Power Plant - 550 Megawatts AC

Germany to Focus on Renewable Energy Sources

Tesla Announces Roadster Upgrade - 400 miles per charge!

Algae to Clean Old Mines