Two years ago, I wrote Dan... What Can I Say. So I figured I'd follow up with a second one...
Back then, I complained about the $2.5 Billion and the $1.5 Billion tax increases. But I could never imagine that the deficit would reach a staggering $5 Billion. After tax increases like the ones above, you would think you'd be able to get the fiscal house in order.
But what you didn't count on was the effect such tax increases would have on the Connecticut economy. It didn't grow like it used to. I guess when you tax everything that moves, you'd have to expect that. But you didn't.
So now, we find we are in an even bigger deficit situation than any you have yet faced. And I have no doubt that you and your minions in the GA will still not learn the lesson. You'll end up closing that gap by raising taxes and fees, putting up tolls, and all kinds of other nonsense. The one thing you guys WON'T do is meaningfully cut the budget. And when I say cut the budget, what I mean is LAY PEOPLE OFF. Sure, there will be idiots who talk about how laying off government workers won't be good for the economy. But here is the issue Dan... you're not getting an economic boost by paying those people with my money! The idiot will say, look at all that money they won't be spending. I say, look at all the money I won't be spending when you raise my taxes again! And there are a lot more of me than them.
To those reading this - a desperate plea: Raising taxes will NOT solve the problem. The GA and this, or the next, governor will spend all of it and more. And we'll end up with the largest budget deficit in history yet again. And they will rub their necks, and say "Shoot... this one is BAD" and they will raise your taxes again. And that flushing sound... the sound of people leaving the state will get louder and louder... and the tax receipts will go down again. The Death Spiral as I alluded to in my original post.
Look up the Laffer Curve. The idea is that there is an optimal rate of taxation, and that as you go above that rate, increases in the rate result in LESS revenue to the government. Dan talks about how our Sales Tax is "middling" nation wide, when you take into account local sales taxes. Let's take him at face value. So. Suppose you're shopping for a new washer/dryer. It's $1,200 for the pair. At 6.35%, that is $76. Can you drive to NH cheaper than that, load up the same washer/dryer, and drive home? Probably. If you restock your liquor cabinet while you are there, you save even more. If you smoke, buy a couple of cartons of smokes too. And remember to fill up on gas up there. What a pleasant day! "Middling" might be right nationwide, but when you have a state like NH basically next door, you can't think in those terms.
I assume that the governor and the GA will do the same thing it has always done. And that will continue us on the road to ruin. So brace yourselves for it everyone. Sure, it may not hurt right away, but an analogy comes to mind...
If you boil a pot of water and throw in a frog, he'll jump right out. If you put a frog in a pot of water and bring it to a boil, well, then you got boiled frog. Don't be a boiled frog everyone!
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Out On A Limb
The title of this post, I think, is very appropriate. If this falls into the wrong hands, if the wrong people complain, if someone has an axe to grind, then it is very possible that I could lose my job. See, this post will be accessible by some of the people that I'm writing about, and they could, but I hope they won't, take offense. I'll explain that more a little later on. Also, this could be a VERY long post, and for that I apologize for in advance. The only thing I ask is that if you have read this far, but don't think you'll read the whole thing, please just don't read this at all. Missing parts of it, or the ending, will change completely the meaning of what I'm conveying.
So first, the background. As many of you know, I work in Information Technology. I've worked for the company I'm at for the last 14 years. I started as a "Senior Software Engineer" which at this company means I was really just an experienced programmer. And so I "coded" which is what us programmers call programming. I very much liked writing code, especially the code I was there to write. At the time, it was brand new. It was "object oriented" programming. It's still the type of code we write today, although since I've moved up the ranks during those 14 years, I no longer write code and haven't written code for several years. Sometimes I miss it. I had no employees. I had one system to look after. I designed the code, wrote the code, and when it broke or didn't work, I fixed the code. There was no QA team. I was the QA team. And it worked because I knew I was gonna support the system I worked on, and that meant that I was damn sure gonna make sure it was coded right!
The second background. I've been binge watching "The West Wing" on Netflix. I've seen them all once already. I'm watching them all again. If you've never watched the show, you should. So much of the politics is still relevant today. The show came on the air 15 years ago. And the episode I just watched was, funny enough, aired about 12 years ago. Two years after I got my latest job.
This particular episode concerned a trade deal that was going to be signed in the next few days. Everything was cool until the wrinkle (there is ALWAYS a wrinkle) developed. The wrinkle was that India had suddenly decided to join the trade agreement. And then a company that sounded a lot like IBM had a leak, that 17,000 programming jobs were being moved to India. So there was a bit of a panic in the administration. They verified that this number was not only correct, but that over the next 10 years, 3.3 MILLION programming jobs would be moving to India across the entire industry!
Now, let me get to the part that is gonna get me in trouble. The show was spot on. In fact, my guess is that they underestimated the numbers. When I first started working at my company, I worked with people named Mark, Lance, Doug, Keith, Andy, Missy, Jeannie, and Jackie. None of them worked for me because I hadn't yet moved up the ladder. In fact, none of them ever would work for me. But that was the way things were. Some of them were managers, some business analysts, and some were programmers like me.
I won't go through all the specific details, but I will say that at one point, I got my first direct report, even though he worked for a consultant firm. His name was Shiva. He was the onsite coordinator for a team of offshore consultants based in India. He was working to take over support for a system that ironically I now own. At the time, I didn't work with that system at all. But it didn't matter, because I was an independent employee whose job it was to see that this transition go well. I was on loan to a newly created "resourcing" department whose job it was to lower support costs. And this was the pilot project.
The employees who did own the system (whose names I won't share) were vehemently opposed to this pilot. They didn't want it to work. They threw up roadblocks at every turn. Part of my job was tearing those roadblocks down and making sure this pilot was a success. All of the players in this game were foul, including the resourcing manager I worked for. They were all foul in distinct and varied ways, but ironically, the only person I came away trusting at the end of this engagement was Shiva. Like me, he was just trying to make the new model work.
Rolling the clock forward to today, this is the current situation. Mark, Lance, Doug, Keith, Andy, Missy, and Jackie all still work for the same company. We were the lowest people in the technology ladder at the beginning. Now we all work with large teams of people. None of us lost our jobs. Jeannie left the company of her own accord long ago. But none of us are programmers anymore. Most of us are Vice Presidents now, running these large teams. Here is my example.
I now have 4 employees that report to me. Their names are Raja, Jai, Deepak, and Gauri. None of them were born in the US. But they are employees, and in all cases are Technical Leads that generally oversee the work product of the next group of people that work for me. I have about 12 "onsite coordinators" that are all from India (I won't list all their names). They have offshore counterparts that number somewhere around 75 consultants. They all work in 3 or 4 different cities in India. I suspect none of them were born here.
Now, let me say a few things here because I know that I'm rubbing shoulders with abject racism here. And I don't think I'm being racist and will explain why. But the problem is that most racist don't think they are racists. So I'm leaving that possibility open. So disclaimer done, now you be the judge.
I love all of the people that work for me. My direct report employees, my onsite coordinators, and my offshore programmers. With out exception, they are all hard working, ethical, honest, easy going, and productive people. I don't care what color their skin is and I don't care what country they hail from. They do their best to please me, they take criticism well and act on it to change, and they own up to mistakes they make. In short, they are some of the best people to work with, and I genuinely like them.
I also like to think that I treat them well. The ones that work in my office have family half way around the world. Frequently there are deaths or sicknesses in the family. When I find out about it, I tell them to forget about work, get on the next flight, and take care of what they need to take care of. Families are everything in the Indian culture. Weddings take 4 weeks to do! So they often take no vacation time for 2 years and then burn 4 weeks all at once on their trips back. It only makes sense. When you have to take a full day to fly home, and a full day to fly back, you ought to spend some time when you are there! From a business perspective, this can be disruptive. However, this is just part of the deal. Nobody told me this. I learned it. Learned to adapt, and whole heartedly support them. I will continue to do so until someone I work for tells me I can't.
I'm hoping none of that was racist. And I hope you get that I don't have any personal animosity for the people that work for me.
Now back to the West Wing episode. It turned out that the President and his administration knew all along this was going to happen, that programming jobs were gonna move offshore. They knew American programmers were going to be thrown out of work. And while the show is fiction, it sure rings true to me.
They started the episode talking about good high paying jobs the free trade deal would create. At the end of the episode it was painfully clear that we already had good high paying jobs that were gonna go to India. A lot of them. Maybe most of them. Or in the case of my company, ALL of them.
And that's my point here. While me and Andy and Keith and the rest of us didn't lose our jobs, there were no new jobs for the next round of Americans looking for good high paying jobs. Those positions simply don't exist in my company any more. We've outsourced all the programmers. And the senior programmers. And we're losing Assistant Vice Presidents - those tech leads I talked about. Those are high paying jobs. And when the company (yes, "when" not "if") outsources those positions, the transition will be complete. Our company will "own" but have no clue about our intellectual property. No one who draws a paycheck on company checks will know how the code was written, where it's weak points are, what it's failure points will be, and how to fix it. Our "partners" will have that knowledge, not us. And so while we will own the code in name only, they will be the real owners.
I don't hold any ill will against our Indian partners. Is it bad that fewer Indian children have to scour garbage dumps for their next meal? Of course not. And so if they got some programming gigs, I have no problem with that. But do they have to own the whole industry? That feels wrong.
This situation is not their fault. And they are following a tried and true model. Witness the Television. When first invented, we made them all. The Japanese were relegated to making those clunky old radios. That's okay, we said, we make the TVs. And the Japanese used that opportunity to learn how to make TVs. But they made Black and White TVs. 'Mericans made COLOR TV! So it's okay to give them the B&W TV market.
Can you buy an American TV today?
I don't blame the Japanese. Don't hate the players, hate the game. And we've seen the same thing with phones, computers, microchips, and in the past 15 years, software and programmers. Now I'm not a protectionist at heart. I don't like protectionism. I get free trade. But I guess its easy to be for free trade when it is only the crappy jobs that get outsourced. This hits me where I live. Too close to home.
When kids and young adults ask me if they should go into technology, I tell them sure. But don't learn to program. Learn to be a business analyst or a project manager. Companies won't feel secure offshoring those jobs. But programming? That ship already sailed my friends. It's a dead art in America. Heck, I don't even really know how to code anymore. And since its so technical and business leaders don't really understand it, its easy to make the uninformed decision, save a lot of money, and outsource it. "We have to" they tell themselves. We'd be noncompetitive if we didn't. And they sleep well in their stylish homes and their comfy beds.
I tell kids today to go into the trades. Plumbing, electrical, HVAC. No way to outsource that. And we will always need it. And the pay is good. Especially when you realize that you don't have to pay $120,000 and up for a college education. Mike Rowe and Norm Abrahms have the right idea.
So cudos to the writers of the West Wing. Not many people can predict the future 15 year hence. And they nailed this one.
Finally, a warning.
You may think this doesn't affect you. To my banker friends, to my claim handling friends, to my broker friends, to my underwriting friends, to all my friends in the services industries. Be on watch. If you think programming is some special kind of skill that was easily outsourced, but that yours is not, think again. Programming is hard. Don't believe me, try it. Spend 4 hours and see how your first program turns out. If you can't get a "Hello World" application built in those 4 hours, then what makes you think your job is so special? ("Hello World" should take you about 10 minutes)
Be on guard. It's a global world out there. And someone wants to eat your lunch. And if they don't want yours, they may be aiming at your kid's lunch.
So first, the background. As many of you know, I work in Information Technology. I've worked for the company I'm at for the last 14 years. I started as a "Senior Software Engineer" which at this company means I was really just an experienced programmer. And so I "coded" which is what us programmers call programming. I very much liked writing code, especially the code I was there to write. At the time, it was brand new. It was "object oriented" programming. It's still the type of code we write today, although since I've moved up the ranks during those 14 years, I no longer write code and haven't written code for several years. Sometimes I miss it. I had no employees. I had one system to look after. I designed the code, wrote the code, and when it broke or didn't work, I fixed the code. There was no QA team. I was the QA team. And it worked because I knew I was gonna support the system I worked on, and that meant that I was damn sure gonna make sure it was coded right!
The second background. I've been binge watching "The West Wing" on Netflix. I've seen them all once already. I'm watching them all again. If you've never watched the show, you should. So much of the politics is still relevant today. The show came on the air 15 years ago. And the episode I just watched was, funny enough, aired about 12 years ago. Two years after I got my latest job.
This particular episode concerned a trade deal that was going to be signed in the next few days. Everything was cool until the wrinkle (there is ALWAYS a wrinkle) developed. The wrinkle was that India had suddenly decided to join the trade agreement. And then a company that sounded a lot like IBM had a leak, that 17,000 programming jobs were being moved to India. So there was a bit of a panic in the administration. They verified that this number was not only correct, but that over the next 10 years, 3.3 MILLION programming jobs would be moving to India across the entire industry!
Now, let me get to the part that is gonna get me in trouble. The show was spot on. In fact, my guess is that they underestimated the numbers. When I first started working at my company, I worked with people named Mark, Lance, Doug, Keith, Andy, Missy, Jeannie, and Jackie. None of them worked for me because I hadn't yet moved up the ladder. In fact, none of them ever would work for me. But that was the way things were. Some of them were managers, some business analysts, and some were programmers like me.
I won't go through all the specific details, but I will say that at one point, I got my first direct report, even though he worked for a consultant firm. His name was Shiva. He was the onsite coordinator for a team of offshore consultants based in India. He was working to take over support for a system that ironically I now own. At the time, I didn't work with that system at all. But it didn't matter, because I was an independent employee whose job it was to see that this transition go well. I was on loan to a newly created "resourcing" department whose job it was to lower support costs. And this was the pilot project.
The employees who did own the system (whose names I won't share) were vehemently opposed to this pilot. They didn't want it to work. They threw up roadblocks at every turn. Part of my job was tearing those roadblocks down and making sure this pilot was a success. All of the players in this game were foul, including the resourcing manager I worked for. They were all foul in distinct and varied ways, but ironically, the only person I came away trusting at the end of this engagement was Shiva. Like me, he was just trying to make the new model work.
Rolling the clock forward to today, this is the current situation. Mark, Lance, Doug, Keith, Andy, Missy, and Jackie all still work for the same company. We were the lowest people in the technology ladder at the beginning. Now we all work with large teams of people. None of us lost our jobs. Jeannie left the company of her own accord long ago. But none of us are programmers anymore. Most of us are Vice Presidents now, running these large teams. Here is my example.
I now have 4 employees that report to me. Their names are Raja, Jai, Deepak, and Gauri. None of them were born in the US. But they are employees, and in all cases are Technical Leads that generally oversee the work product of the next group of people that work for me. I have about 12 "onsite coordinators" that are all from India (I won't list all their names). They have offshore counterparts that number somewhere around 75 consultants. They all work in 3 or 4 different cities in India. I suspect none of them were born here.
Now, let me say a few things here because I know that I'm rubbing shoulders with abject racism here. And I don't think I'm being racist and will explain why. But the problem is that most racist don't think they are racists. So I'm leaving that possibility open. So disclaimer done, now you be the judge.
I love all of the people that work for me. My direct report employees, my onsite coordinators, and my offshore programmers. With out exception, they are all hard working, ethical, honest, easy going, and productive people. I don't care what color their skin is and I don't care what country they hail from. They do their best to please me, they take criticism well and act on it to change, and they own up to mistakes they make. In short, they are some of the best people to work with, and I genuinely like them.
I also like to think that I treat them well. The ones that work in my office have family half way around the world. Frequently there are deaths or sicknesses in the family. When I find out about it, I tell them to forget about work, get on the next flight, and take care of what they need to take care of. Families are everything in the Indian culture. Weddings take 4 weeks to do! So they often take no vacation time for 2 years and then burn 4 weeks all at once on their trips back. It only makes sense. When you have to take a full day to fly home, and a full day to fly back, you ought to spend some time when you are there! From a business perspective, this can be disruptive. However, this is just part of the deal. Nobody told me this. I learned it. Learned to adapt, and whole heartedly support them. I will continue to do so until someone I work for tells me I can't.
I'm hoping none of that was racist. And I hope you get that I don't have any personal animosity for the people that work for me.
Now back to the West Wing episode. It turned out that the President and his administration knew all along this was going to happen, that programming jobs were gonna move offshore. They knew American programmers were going to be thrown out of work. And while the show is fiction, it sure rings true to me.
They started the episode talking about good high paying jobs the free trade deal would create. At the end of the episode it was painfully clear that we already had good high paying jobs that were gonna go to India. A lot of them. Maybe most of them. Or in the case of my company, ALL of them.
And that's my point here. While me and Andy and Keith and the rest of us didn't lose our jobs, there were no new jobs for the next round of Americans looking for good high paying jobs. Those positions simply don't exist in my company any more. We've outsourced all the programmers. And the senior programmers. And we're losing Assistant Vice Presidents - those tech leads I talked about. Those are high paying jobs. And when the company (yes, "when" not "if") outsources those positions, the transition will be complete. Our company will "own" but have no clue about our intellectual property. No one who draws a paycheck on company checks will know how the code was written, where it's weak points are, what it's failure points will be, and how to fix it. Our "partners" will have that knowledge, not us. And so while we will own the code in name only, they will be the real owners.
I don't hold any ill will against our Indian partners. Is it bad that fewer Indian children have to scour garbage dumps for their next meal? Of course not. And so if they got some programming gigs, I have no problem with that. But do they have to own the whole industry? That feels wrong.
This situation is not their fault. And they are following a tried and true model. Witness the Television. When first invented, we made them all. The Japanese were relegated to making those clunky old radios. That's okay, we said, we make the TVs. And the Japanese used that opportunity to learn how to make TVs. But they made Black and White TVs. 'Mericans made COLOR TV! So it's okay to give them the B&W TV market.
Can you buy an American TV today?
I don't blame the Japanese. Don't hate the players, hate the game. And we've seen the same thing with phones, computers, microchips, and in the past 15 years, software and programmers. Now I'm not a protectionist at heart. I don't like protectionism. I get free trade. But I guess its easy to be for free trade when it is only the crappy jobs that get outsourced. This hits me where I live. Too close to home.
When kids and young adults ask me if they should go into technology, I tell them sure. But don't learn to program. Learn to be a business analyst or a project manager. Companies won't feel secure offshoring those jobs. But programming? That ship already sailed my friends. It's a dead art in America. Heck, I don't even really know how to code anymore. And since its so technical and business leaders don't really understand it, its easy to make the uninformed decision, save a lot of money, and outsource it. "We have to" they tell themselves. We'd be noncompetitive if we didn't. And they sleep well in their stylish homes and their comfy beds.
I tell kids today to go into the trades. Plumbing, electrical, HVAC. No way to outsource that. And we will always need it. And the pay is good. Especially when you realize that you don't have to pay $120,000 and up for a college education. Mike Rowe and Norm Abrahms have the right idea.
So cudos to the writers of the West Wing. Not many people can predict the future 15 year hence. And they nailed this one.
Finally, a warning.
You may think this doesn't affect you. To my banker friends, to my claim handling friends, to my broker friends, to my underwriting friends, to all my friends in the services industries. Be on watch. If you think programming is some special kind of skill that was easily outsourced, but that yours is not, think again. Programming is hard. Don't believe me, try it. Spend 4 hours and see how your first program turns out. If you can't get a "Hello World" application built in those 4 hours, then what makes you think your job is so special? ("Hello World" should take you about 10 minutes)
Be on guard. It's a global world out there. And someone wants to eat your lunch. And if they don't want yours, they may be aiming at your kid's lunch.
Friday, January 20, 2017
Inaguration Day
So just to let you know, this will be a rant.
I just watched the Inauguration speech, and I've been reading Facebook all morning. And since I live in the People's Republic of Connecticut, I've gotten a healthy dose of what has become what I call "the usual" - posts about how deplorable Trump, his appointees are, and such.
So here is my first thing: One of the posts is from a teacher who is going to be working hard to help those students who are so full of fear because of our new President. I quickly commented that he needed to get a grip, and he totally misunderstood my meaning.
Let's address this "fear" thing head on. If there are students and children out there whose teachers and parents are now trying to deal with their children's "fear" then they have no one to blame except one person. No, it's not Trump. It's that person that shows up in their mirror every morning.
Kids instinctively know what to fear in their lives. They are afraid of that dog down the street that constantly barks and bares its teeth. They are afraid of brussel sprouts. They are afraid of the bully that steals their lunch money. When I was a kid, I was afraid of killer bees, and nuclear weapons, and the bully who wanted to steal my lunch money. Never once did politics make me fearful.
If our kids are afraid of a Trump presidency, it's because we told them to be. Just like I was afraid of nukes because my dad left civil defense pamphlets lying around in his workshop. ("if a second nuclear bomb falls, it won't make more destruction, it will only make the impact crater bigger" - WHAT?) So the first thing I want to say to all the teachers and parents (and religious organizations!) is "GET A GRIP" He's been president for all of 10 minutes. Tonight he's gonna go to some inauguration balls. He won't start really doing anything until tomorrow. And tomorrow is Saturday. So can we maybe just give him until next Monday before we start judging and fearing him? And if you are worried about the children, well here's an idea - tell them to suck it up. This is how our democracy works. You can still protest. You can still speak your mind. You can still worship as you wish. You still have the right not to incriminate yourself. You still have everything you used to have - so why are you so afraid?
There are rational fears and irrational fears. When you are climbing a cliff, it is rational to have a fear of falling. However, it is irrational to be afraid that books will become sentient and take over the world, as books are inanimate objects. Now you can argue all you want about Trump's speeches giving you a rational fear. But your just rationalizing. Cool your jets. This isn't the first time we've elected someone unqualified for the office. The last one was first elected just 8 years ago!
And the latest evidence of your irrational fears? Well, it is Trump's inauguration speech. If you didn't like him in the first place and already had begun fearing him, what you heard was a divisive speech about how fearful you should really be, which is more now than before the speech.
If you listened to it with an open mind, what you basically would have heard was this: Our politicians have failed us, and today we give the power back to the people, and I pledge to do that in the oath I just took.
Trump rightly pointed out that when you chart the government in the US, be it federal, state or local, there is always one box at the very top that has these words in it: The People. He is beholden to the people, just as the judiciary is, just as the legislature is. Not just during the election but ALL THE TIME. I found that both refreshing and inspiring. For too long, we've had governments that see the people as serving the government, not the other way around.
Here is an example: When CT looks at legalizing pot, the questions that come up are things like "How much tax revenue could we get from it?" Well, that question should be easy - so easy that it need not be asked. Sales should be subject to the sales tax, and the business that grow and sell it should be subject to the business income tax. But no. Immediately our reps start trying to figure out what sort of "sin" tax can we assign to it? How is that serving the people? Well, they will say, we can spend the money on new programs! New programs because we came up with a new source of revenue? Do we even need the new program? Shouldn't the default be to leave as much money as possible in our CONSTITUENTS pockets? Naw, we serve the PEOPLE they say, when they really mean THE PEOPLE SERVE US!
This is why Trump was elected. There are far too many people in this State that just don't get it. That's why we're looking at yet ANOTHER tax increase after the last two LARGEST increases in state taxes since Malloy was elected. Trump is about what the people want, not what the government wants, or the special interest wants, or about what the unions want. It's anathema to you people. Always one more deserving program. Always a few more government jobs. Always more more more! It doesn't serve the people - it ENSLAVES them!!!
Okay, so I need to cool MY jets. Agreed. But I've had about enough of all the posts about how HORRIBLE Trump is. Go look for my posts about how horrible Obama was gonna be. There aren't any. Because though I had concerns, I never let those elevate to fears. Sure, he was gonna shove socialized medicine down my throat (I was happy with my old insurance plan and doctor) but let's wait and see what happened. And what happened was what I predicted... they didn't understand insurance, so they took away all possibility of staying clear of adverse selection, while making the insurance cheap. So people didn't sign up until they got sick. And the system died of its own weight. Worse still they went to the Supreme Court that decided that THE GOVERNMENT CAN FORCE YOU TO BUY ANYTHING THEY TELL YOU YOU HAVE TO BUY. All you people outraged by Citizen's United, do you really think that is a bigger deal than giving the government the power to tell you WHAT YOU MUST BUY??? Let me know when the next major US automaker gets into trouble again, and the government tells you that you have to buy a crappy Chrysler minivan!
Disagree with your president? Sure. You should when you disagree with him. Fear him? No. not until he starts really doing things that should make your fear rational. And is he your president? Yes. Yes he is. Obama was my president. Now Trump is YOUR president.
Can't get on board with that? By all means, sneak across the Canadian border. Or shut up. I don't care which one. But if you can't get on board with Trump being your president, then you are Unamerican and I won't be listening to you any more.
I just watched the Inauguration speech, and I've been reading Facebook all morning. And since I live in the People's Republic of Connecticut, I've gotten a healthy dose of what has become what I call "the usual" - posts about how deplorable Trump, his appointees are, and such.
So here is my first thing: One of the posts is from a teacher who is going to be working hard to help those students who are so full of fear because of our new President. I quickly commented that he needed to get a grip, and he totally misunderstood my meaning.
Let's address this "fear" thing head on. If there are students and children out there whose teachers and parents are now trying to deal with their children's "fear" then they have no one to blame except one person. No, it's not Trump. It's that person that shows up in their mirror every morning.
Kids instinctively know what to fear in their lives. They are afraid of that dog down the street that constantly barks and bares its teeth. They are afraid of brussel sprouts. They are afraid of the bully that steals their lunch money. When I was a kid, I was afraid of killer bees, and nuclear weapons, and the bully who wanted to steal my lunch money. Never once did politics make me fearful.
If our kids are afraid of a Trump presidency, it's because we told them to be. Just like I was afraid of nukes because my dad left civil defense pamphlets lying around in his workshop. ("if a second nuclear bomb falls, it won't make more destruction, it will only make the impact crater bigger" - WHAT?) So the first thing I want to say to all the teachers and parents (and religious organizations!) is "GET A GRIP" He's been president for all of 10 minutes. Tonight he's gonna go to some inauguration balls. He won't start really doing anything until tomorrow. And tomorrow is Saturday. So can we maybe just give him until next Monday before we start judging and fearing him? And if you are worried about the children, well here's an idea - tell them to suck it up. This is how our democracy works. You can still protest. You can still speak your mind. You can still worship as you wish. You still have the right not to incriminate yourself. You still have everything you used to have - so why are you so afraid?
There are rational fears and irrational fears. When you are climbing a cliff, it is rational to have a fear of falling. However, it is irrational to be afraid that books will become sentient and take over the world, as books are inanimate objects. Now you can argue all you want about Trump's speeches giving you a rational fear. But your just rationalizing. Cool your jets. This isn't the first time we've elected someone unqualified for the office. The last one was first elected just 8 years ago!
And the latest evidence of your irrational fears? Well, it is Trump's inauguration speech. If you didn't like him in the first place and already had begun fearing him, what you heard was a divisive speech about how fearful you should really be, which is more now than before the speech.
If you listened to it with an open mind, what you basically would have heard was this: Our politicians have failed us, and today we give the power back to the people, and I pledge to do that in the oath I just took.
Trump rightly pointed out that when you chart the government in the US, be it federal, state or local, there is always one box at the very top that has these words in it: The People. He is beholden to the people, just as the judiciary is, just as the legislature is. Not just during the election but ALL THE TIME. I found that both refreshing and inspiring. For too long, we've had governments that see the people as serving the government, not the other way around.
Here is an example: When CT looks at legalizing pot, the questions that come up are things like "How much tax revenue could we get from it?" Well, that question should be easy - so easy that it need not be asked. Sales should be subject to the sales tax, and the business that grow and sell it should be subject to the business income tax. But no. Immediately our reps start trying to figure out what sort of "sin" tax can we assign to it? How is that serving the people? Well, they will say, we can spend the money on new programs! New programs because we came up with a new source of revenue? Do we even need the new program? Shouldn't the default be to leave as much money as possible in our CONSTITUENTS pockets? Naw, we serve the PEOPLE they say, when they really mean THE PEOPLE SERVE US!
This is why Trump was elected. There are far too many people in this State that just don't get it. That's why we're looking at yet ANOTHER tax increase after the last two LARGEST increases in state taxes since Malloy was elected. Trump is about what the people want, not what the government wants, or the special interest wants, or about what the unions want. It's anathema to you people. Always one more deserving program. Always a few more government jobs. Always more more more! It doesn't serve the people - it ENSLAVES them!!!
Okay, so I need to cool MY jets. Agreed. But I've had about enough of all the posts about how HORRIBLE Trump is. Go look for my posts about how horrible Obama was gonna be. There aren't any. Because though I had concerns, I never let those elevate to fears. Sure, he was gonna shove socialized medicine down my throat (I was happy with my old insurance plan and doctor) but let's wait and see what happened. And what happened was what I predicted... they didn't understand insurance, so they took away all possibility of staying clear of adverse selection, while making the insurance cheap. So people didn't sign up until they got sick. And the system died of its own weight. Worse still they went to the Supreme Court that decided that THE GOVERNMENT CAN FORCE YOU TO BUY ANYTHING THEY TELL YOU YOU HAVE TO BUY. All you people outraged by Citizen's United, do you really think that is a bigger deal than giving the government the power to tell you WHAT YOU MUST BUY??? Let me know when the next major US automaker gets into trouble again, and the government tells you that you have to buy a crappy Chrysler minivan!
Disagree with your president? Sure. You should when you disagree with him. Fear him? No. not until he starts really doing things that should make your fear rational. And is he your president? Yes. Yes he is. Obama was my president. Now Trump is YOUR president.
Can't get on board with that? By all means, sneak across the Canadian border. Or shut up. I don't care which one. But if you can't get on board with Trump being your president, then you are Unamerican and I won't be listening to you any more.
Friday, July 8, 2016
Okay... so I've been weeping tonight...
Not a very mirthful post I'm afraid. Today 12 police officers were shot in Dallas, following the shootings this week of two black men caught on tape which will turn your stomach. Random thoughts...
- The outpouring of flowers and memorials on the two police cruisers in Dallas are both sad and inspirational
- Diamond Reynolds, the significant other of Philando Castile who was shot and killed by police in her car, has incredible poise. Her narration of the video showing an officer still pointing a gun at her dying boyfriend was precise, remarkably collected, and calm.
- Diamond was later interviewed and asked about the Dallas police shootings. Her response was absolutely spot on - she began to cry and she offered obviously heartfelt condolences to all the families of the officers killed in that shooting, and conveying the notion that she and they were both mourning the loss of their loved ones - in essence saying they were all in the same boat and how wrong it is that they are.
- David Brown, the Dallas police chief, made an opening statement that if you have the chance to hear in its entirety is well worth watching. He is a man with a foot in both "camps" for lack of a better word. His main message? Things must change. They cannot stay the way they are.
- Tonight, CNN is cutting between footage of the Dallas memorials, and the Black Lives Matter rally tonight in Atlanta that they didn't have the good sense to postpone.
- Talking heads on both sides of this are fueling the fire, while others are trying to dampen the tension. Cudos to the latter, and shame on the former.
- Sadly, it seems that many black men, and many police officers feel exactly the same way - they feel like they are in danger when they go out. They are afraid they will get shot - that people are out to kill them.
- One black police officer I saw was asked if he is afraid of the police when he's off duty. He said he was. That he had forgotten his wallet one day, so had no id as a police officer or his right to carry. He said he was very scared that day.
- It is all so sad and useless. I want to help. I don't want to take sides. I wish there was a Black and Blue Lives Matter movement.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Encrypted Terrorism?
The news media is all a buzz about encrypted communications in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. I've seen multiple segments on it, and have heard about "going dark" on NPR on my ride home yesterday. Most news outlets (sans the New York Times) have been careful to note that the jury is still out on whether or not the Paris terrorists actually used any encrypted communications to plan and/or execute their attacks. However, they breathlessly listen to law enforcement or intelligence agency wonks on how they MUST have used encrypted communications in these attacks because the French and US intelligence agencies didn't hear a whisper about the attacks before they happened.
First, let's acknowledge that encryption is nothing new. PGP encryption was first published in 1991 by Phil Zimmerman. Sure, it was a bit cumbersome to use, what with all those encryption keys and digital certificates. But if you wanted to communicate securely without the government being able to listen in, you have been able to do that for the past 25 years.
Leaving the history aside, let's consider two scenarios. The first is that the terrorists have finally embraced this 25 year old technology to be able to communicate in a way that the law enforcement/intelligency agencies (LE/IA) types are now saying they are doing. The second scenario is that the LE/IA wonks fell down on the job and mucked this one up good. Now, considering the two scenarios, which do you think is more likely?
But that isn't my main point here. The bottom line is that either way, THEY DID THIS TO THEMSELVES. Either they were grossly incompetent, which proves my point above sufficiently, or they created the situation with encryption themselves!
Let's assume that the terrorists are using encryption, or at the very least, will use it going forward given how "scared" our LE/IA wonks are of it. Why is encryption so easy to use now?
Well, once upon a time, it was easy to listen in on secure communications. The feds required telecoms to help them do it. They co-located listening devices in all the switching centers the telcos had. They required the telcos to make modifications to their equipment so it would be easier to let the government listen in. When emails and IM came on the scene, the LE/IA types required the same thing of Internet Service Providers (ISP). Then they did the same thing, or at least tried to, with the cell phone service providers, AND the cell phone manufacturers.
They asked for, and got, kangaroo courts (I'm looking at you, FISA) where secret search warrants were issued to all of these players. And they had to spend more and more of their time servicing these warrants, which allowed the LE/IA types to suck up all kinds of data and metadata on who was communicating with who, and where possible, what they were saying. The CIA invented CARNIVORE and other software that would allow LE/IA to search huge databases of information instantly.
As the stories about these things broke, via Wikileaks and the various "traitors" who divulged the types of information being collected, people started demanding more and more secure communications. Worse, computer and cell phone companies began making their products encrypted as well, and even worse than that, they took themselves out of the business of having to service these warrants and such by not keeping the keys to their customer's data. It made sense... these companies were increasingly having to comply with more and more onerous demands of the LE/IA establishment, they could get out of it by not being physically able to do their bidding. This would allow them to "stick to their knitting" rather become an arm of the LE/IA cabal.
So now these whiny LE/IA types are all over the news, complaining that this "evil" encryption thingy is stopping them from preventing TERRORISM. It's all a ploy to get the government back into the business of your cell phone manufacturer, your cell phone service provider, your computer, which you pay for with YOUR money. Their target is your fear, they want you to want what they want, which is unfettered access to your private communications.
Don't fall for it.
First, let's acknowledge that encryption is nothing new. PGP encryption was first published in 1991 by Phil Zimmerman. Sure, it was a bit cumbersome to use, what with all those encryption keys and digital certificates. But if you wanted to communicate securely without the government being able to listen in, you have been able to do that for the past 25 years.
Leaving the history aside, let's consider two scenarios. The first is that the terrorists have finally embraced this 25 year old technology to be able to communicate in a way that the law enforcement/intelligency agencies (LE/IA) types are now saying they are doing. The second scenario is that the LE/IA wonks fell down on the job and mucked this one up good. Now, considering the two scenarios, which do you think is more likely?
But that isn't my main point here. The bottom line is that either way, THEY DID THIS TO THEMSELVES. Either they were grossly incompetent, which proves my point above sufficiently, or they created the situation with encryption themselves!
Let's assume that the terrorists are using encryption, or at the very least, will use it going forward given how "scared" our LE/IA wonks are of it. Why is encryption so easy to use now?
Well, once upon a time, it was easy to listen in on secure communications. The feds required telecoms to help them do it. They co-located listening devices in all the switching centers the telcos had. They required the telcos to make modifications to their equipment so it would be easier to let the government listen in. When emails and IM came on the scene, the LE/IA types required the same thing of Internet Service Providers (ISP). Then they did the same thing, or at least tried to, with the cell phone service providers, AND the cell phone manufacturers.
They asked for, and got, kangaroo courts (I'm looking at you, FISA) where secret search warrants were issued to all of these players. And they had to spend more and more of their time servicing these warrants, which allowed the LE/IA types to suck up all kinds of data and metadata on who was communicating with who, and where possible, what they were saying. The CIA invented CARNIVORE and other software that would allow LE/IA to search huge databases of information instantly.
As the stories about these things broke, via Wikileaks and the various "traitors" who divulged the types of information being collected, people started demanding more and more secure communications. Worse, computer and cell phone companies began making their products encrypted as well, and even worse than that, they took themselves out of the business of having to service these warrants and such by not keeping the keys to their customer's data. It made sense... these companies were increasingly having to comply with more and more onerous demands of the LE/IA establishment, they could get out of it by not being physically able to do their bidding. This would allow them to "stick to their knitting" rather become an arm of the LE/IA cabal.
So now these whiny LE/IA types are all over the news, complaining that this "evil" encryption thingy is stopping them from preventing TERRORISM. It's all a ploy to get the government back into the business of your cell phone manufacturer, your cell phone service provider, your computer, which you pay for with YOUR money. Their target is your fear, they want you to want what they want, which is unfettered access to your private communications.
Don't fall for it.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Rantings and Ravings
So I have a few rants and raves to share... hope you enjoy!
The Pope: The Pope seems like a good man, but frankly, I've had enough of his visit at this point. All channels seem to have changed to "The Pope" channel, all the news is about the Pope, whether he is a lefty or righty, when he arrives, when he departs, what he said here and there. I'm pooped!
Very soon is Back to the Future day. October 21, 2015 is the date that Marty McFly goes into the future, and we get to see Robert Zemenkis' promises for the future. So... where is my Hoverboard? Where are my self tying sneakers? And where is my damn FLYING CAR! I want my flying car! I was promised one from multiple people. Robert! Get me my flying car!
Donald Trump. 'Nuff said.
Yesterday I found a bunch of deleted Hillary Clinton emails in the archive folder of my email client at work. They were a good read. You should see what she says about Bill behind his back!
Speaking of my work email client... I'm only allotted 5GB of space for my work emails. That might sound like a lot, but I have lots of emails that are larger than 5MB... the biggest one is over 50MB. So I have to spend a lot of time archiving old emails and deleting them from my client. It is a total waste of time. But here is the kicker... I'm currently using about 4GB of 15GB that Google gives me FOR FREE. I've never deleted an email from my personal account because I never go above 20% used. How is it I can get 15GB free, but work gives me one third of that space???
Why are we bringing back rotaries? People don't know how to use them, are too shy in entering them, and they fail under load.
What's the deal with the new Col. Sanders? First Darryl Hammond is him. Then Norm MacDonald is him. But he talks about being the REAL Colonel, but then fails the lie detector test. Does that mean Darryl Hammond is the real Col. Sanders? Even still... it's funny.
Why is it that Big Brother ends on the same day that Survivor starts? Can I get at least a 2 week break from this nonsense... It's almost as bad as baseball.
That's it for now...
The Pope: The Pope seems like a good man, but frankly, I've had enough of his visit at this point. All channels seem to have changed to "The Pope" channel, all the news is about the Pope, whether he is a lefty or righty, when he arrives, when he departs, what he said here and there. I'm pooped!
Very soon is Back to the Future day. October 21, 2015 is the date that Marty McFly goes into the future, and we get to see Robert Zemenkis' promises for the future. So... where is my Hoverboard? Where are my self tying sneakers? And where is my damn FLYING CAR! I want my flying car! I was promised one from multiple people. Robert! Get me my flying car!
Donald Trump. 'Nuff said.
Yesterday I found a bunch of deleted Hillary Clinton emails in the archive folder of my email client at work. They were a good read. You should see what she says about Bill behind his back!
Speaking of my work email client... I'm only allotted 5GB of space for my work emails. That might sound like a lot, but I have lots of emails that are larger than 5MB... the biggest one is over 50MB. So I have to spend a lot of time archiving old emails and deleting them from my client. It is a total waste of time. But here is the kicker... I'm currently using about 4GB of 15GB that Google gives me FOR FREE. I've never deleted an email from my personal account because I never go above 20% used. How is it I can get 15GB free, but work gives me one third of that space???
Why are we bringing back rotaries? People don't know how to use them, are too shy in entering them, and they fail under load.
What's the deal with the new Col. Sanders? First Darryl Hammond is him. Then Norm MacDonald is him. But he talks about being the REAL Colonel, but then fails the lie detector test. Does that mean Darryl Hammond is the real Col. Sanders? Even still... it's funny.
Why is it that Big Brother ends on the same day that Survivor starts? Can I get at least a 2 week break from this nonsense... It's almost as bad as baseball.
That's it for now...
Friday, July 24, 2015
Everybody's Favorite Subject: Abortion
Abortion is probably the most polarizing issue in our political landscape. This was masterfully represented in a Seinfeld episode, where various characters, including pizza makers, boyfriends, and customers in a restaurant all get hot and bothered by the issue. Seinfeld himself instigated most of the consternation by bring the topic up, knowing full well that there is seemingly no middle ground on the issue.
Well, I occupy that middle ground. And I think a lot of people do, just like me. So what am I? I'm Pro Choice. I'm also Pro Life. That's the way I see myself on the issue. But the Pro-lifers would never have me, nor would the Pro-choicers either.
See, for me, I'm Pro Life, because I think that at some point, that zygote/fetus/whatever becomes a human being with human rights. Example: I find partial birth abortion abhorrent, and I have not heard of any evidence that suggests that the procedure is needed other than for the mother to be free of the baby - yes BABY - at that point. This nonsense about this being a decision between a woman and her doctor is just that - nonsense. In such a case, they are leaving the unborn baby's rights out of the picture.
On the other hand, I'm Pro Choice, because I can't agree that "life" begins at conception. I don't believe that a 4 or 8 or 4096 celled zygote is a human life, any more than a billion cell cancer tumor is. Example: a morning after pill that prevents a fertilized egg from implanting is not much different than a fertilized egg not implanting and being removed from the body by the, forgive the expression, monthly wash.
As a result, neither the Pro Life nor the Pro Choice movements would claim me as a member. No "Pro" group speaks for me.
Of course, these are the ends of the spectrum. The hard part is where to draw the line in the middle somewhere. Our courts have used "viability" as the yard stick, and I think that is a good start. However, medical advances continue to pare down the number of weeks viability "happens" and certainly, late term abortions happen with viability a receding dot in the rear view mirror. I've been told that 20 weeks is possible. 24 weeks is almost assuredly viability with the correct natal care. And none of this takes into account the mother's responsibility in this regard... is 4-5 months enough time to give the mother the chance to decide whether she wants an abortion? Is 8 months enough? How about 9?
But here is the critical point I want to speak to today. I've shown that both groups are extremists. Pro Choice people want unrestricted abortion, and would prefer to make it available on demand, and at government expense. Pro Life people want nothing to stop a pregnancy, not even an RU486 pill, and will coerce, or kill, medical providers that offer them. Rereading that, I realize I really don't want to be a part of either of those groups!
However, Pro Lifers have become much more clever. Instead of killing abortion doctors and giving public sympathy to the Pro Choice folks, they have hired actors and bought hidden cameras to expose the excesses of the Pro Choice crowd. Namely Planned Parenthood. They've show horrific video of the "behind the scenes" activities of Planned Parenthood. Public sympathy is with the Pro Lifers today.
Beware Pro Choice movement! The excesses are what will destroy you. Remember ACORN? If Planned Parenthood doesn't get its act together, and fast, they will end up in the same place.
I have been a Planned Parenthood supporter in the past. They provide contraception for young people so they DON'T get pregnant. They provide breast cancer screening. They provide STD services. I really don't want to see them go down the tubes. On the other hand, I've had to hold my nose on the abortions they perform. Partial Birth abortions are called "Late Term Abortions" by PP. Here's what a "Late Term Abortion" means: A baby is delivered vaginally until the head is outside the mother's body. The baby's head is then opened surgically and their brains are removed. This effectively kills the baby. The corpse is then delivered naturally, and discarded. I'm sorry to have to call it what it is, that that is it in a nutshell. Barbaric. The type of thing Dr. Mengle would have though of.
So I want to help because I think Planned Parenthood could continue its work and even continue to do abortions if it simply did the following:
And even with all this sound advice, I don't expect the Pro Life movement to thank me, much less invite me to join their ranks. I have no doubt I'm an apostate to them.
Well, I occupy that middle ground. And I think a lot of people do, just like me. So what am I? I'm Pro Choice. I'm also Pro Life. That's the way I see myself on the issue. But the Pro-lifers would never have me, nor would the Pro-choicers either.
See, for me, I'm Pro Life, because I think that at some point, that zygote/fetus/whatever becomes a human being with human rights. Example: I find partial birth abortion abhorrent, and I have not heard of any evidence that suggests that the procedure is needed other than for the mother to be free of the baby - yes BABY - at that point. This nonsense about this being a decision between a woman and her doctor is just that - nonsense. In such a case, they are leaving the unborn baby's rights out of the picture.
On the other hand, I'm Pro Choice, because I can't agree that "life" begins at conception. I don't believe that a 4 or 8 or 4096 celled zygote is a human life, any more than a billion cell cancer tumor is. Example: a morning after pill that prevents a fertilized egg from implanting is not much different than a fertilized egg not implanting and being removed from the body by the, forgive the expression, monthly wash.
As a result, neither the Pro Life nor the Pro Choice movements would claim me as a member. No "Pro" group speaks for me.
Of course, these are the ends of the spectrum. The hard part is where to draw the line in the middle somewhere. Our courts have used "viability" as the yard stick, and I think that is a good start. However, medical advances continue to pare down the number of weeks viability "happens" and certainly, late term abortions happen with viability a receding dot in the rear view mirror. I've been told that 20 weeks is possible. 24 weeks is almost assuredly viability with the correct natal care. And none of this takes into account the mother's responsibility in this regard... is 4-5 months enough time to give the mother the chance to decide whether she wants an abortion? Is 8 months enough? How about 9?
But here is the critical point I want to speak to today. I've shown that both groups are extremists. Pro Choice people want unrestricted abortion, and would prefer to make it available on demand, and at government expense. Pro Life people want nothing to stop a pregnancy, not even an RU486 pill, and will coerce, or kill, medical providers that offer them. Rereading that, I realize I really don't want to be a part of either of those groups!
However, Pro Lifers have become much more clever. Instead of killing abortion doctors and giving public sympathy to the Pro Choice folks, they have hired actors and bought hidden cameras to expose the excesses of the Pro Choice crowd. Namely Planned Parenthood. They've show horrific video of the "behind the scenes" activities of Planned Parenthood. Public sympathy is with the Pro Lifers today.
Beware Pro Choice movement! The excesses are what will destroy you. Remember ACORN? If Planned Parenthood doesn't get its act together, and fast, they will end up in the same place.
I have been a Planned Parenthood supporter in the past. They provide contraception for young people so they DON'T get pregnant. They provide breast cancer screening. They provide STD services. I really don't want to see them go down the tubes. On the other hand, I've had to hold my nose on the abortions they perform. Partial Birth abortions are called "Late Term Abortions" by PP. Here's what a "Late Term Abortion" means: A baby is delivered vaginally until the head is outside the mother's body. The baby's head is then opened surgically and their brains are removed. This effectively kills the baby. The corpse is then delivered naturally, and discarded. I'm sorry to have to call it what it is, that that is it in a nutshell. Barbaric. The type of thing Dr. Mengle would have though of.
So I want to help because I think Planned Parenthood could continue its work and even continue to do abortions if it simply did the following:
- Fire the people on the videos. They will find other jobs.
- Change their abortion practices to declare that they will not perform "late term abortions"
- Offer to refer patients who wish to have one to a qualified medical professional, not affiliated with Planned Parenthood
- Provide counseling services - discuss adoption, and other possible courses of action that might meet the patient's needs
- Refer them to service providers based on their feedback
- Limit political coordination with the Pro Life movement
- Limit their body parts business to early and middle term abortions, and to only donate what naturally becomes available, rather than customizing abortion procedures to recipient desires
And even with all this sound advice, I don't expect the Pro Life movement to thank me, much less invite me to join their ranks. I have no doubt I'm an apostate to them.
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