Please Vote

Please Vote

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Please consider that the self centered attitude that President Donald Trump exhibits is tearing the United States apart.  American citizens who also are self centered to the point of being ignorant that their actions of supporting a fringe element or their inactions of not voting may result in destroying this nation.  You may need to understand that this country is all about us in total and not just about me.  

If we share a common dream of inclusiveness, to keep the United States together as one nation of all individuals that will work for the betterment of every citizen and not just a minority, then that intellectual glue that we are all in this together followed by your actions to sustain this nation as a democracy by going to the poles to vote should better protect this nation from being stupid, ruined, and destroying this democracy.   

Please vote in the next election.  We need you to be a part of the national team and protect this nation by your participation in the process of governance.

 

 

Posted June 7, 2020
Revised: June 9, 2020

Empirical Indicator Seems To Reveal Minnesota Politics Has Major Problems

Empirical Indicator Seems To Reveal Minnesota Politics Has Major Problems

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One of the major take away lessons from being a sociology major was the concept of “empirical Indicator” which means that some real life items we view in life stand for something else which often times is way more important.  Another aspect for finding an empirical indicator is it frequently stands true for other similar situations.  So, you can often times make a collection of these indicators to carry with you for future encounters.  Often times they help you to look behind the facade of life for a deeper understanding of more important issues.

The use of lethal force upon a black man by multiple police officers, killing him slowly and with way less regard for his existence due to his skin color is an empirical indicator for the obvious bigotry of that police department.  It was multiple officers that killed the man so this indicator stands to be broad, not specific to one person.  This indicator of bigotry in the Minneapolis police department also probably stands for multiple significant other factors such as that government’s alleged endorsement of racial inequality for putting that police force in power and to exist.  You might even examine the possibility that county and state politicians also support this racial inequity in other more distant areas of the state’s operation.

The empirical indicator we come away with in this instance is the killing of person of color who was treated differently.  This incident is the indicator; it reveals what is more important which is a high level of believing, viewing and treating people who are different.  It indicates that there is inequality in this portion of that city’s government.

Taking this empirical view as a possible core take away for the more hidden meaning of bigotry in this one government agency we can then sit back and witness how the politicians react to this event and measure if they get the reality of what is going on.  They do not for these reasons:

  • No mention of reforming the Minneapolis police department.
  • Attacking the protesters for their riotous behavior, which is ok but never a follow up of we need to reform our own government attitudes and operations.
  • Telling the public that all the people who were arrested for rioting came from out of state may be true but is a deliberate diversion of attention away from what is going on.

Using the empirical indicator that we found significant alleged bigotry in the Minneapolis Police Department, we can then use that “fact” as a possible measuring tool.  And, so far, the results are quite awful.  No politician seems to understand the underlying message that the empirical indicator revealed. 

 

Further Reading:

Violent protests are not the story.  Police violence is.
ACLU Finds Severe Racial Disparities In Low-Level Arrests By Minneapolis Police

 

 

Posted May 31, 2020
Updated June 1, 2020

Some Macintosh Computer Keyboard Keys Fail To Respond.

Some Macintosh Computer Keyboard Keys Fail To Respond.

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All Apple keyboards failed and I tried three different ones.  This occurred when typing some of the keys on my new iMac keyboard and older keyboards.  For example: 7, 8, 9, (, 0, U, u, I, I, O, o, J, j, K, k, L, l fail to respond!  The solution is to press the keyboard OPTION key 5 times!  Incredible!  The Logitech keyboard I purchased at COSTCO obviously did not have this problem.  I was fearful I had to send the computer in for service.  I found the answer on YouTube where this solution was explained.

Note:  When you press the OPTION key 5 times a message comes up on the computer screen “Mouse Keys On”.  Press OPTION key again 5 times and screen shows “Mouse Keys Off”.

Blackvue DR900S-2CH Dash Camera Fails To Reliable Connect To WiFi

Blackvue DR900S-2CH Dash Camera Fails To Reliable Connect To WiFi

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I recently, (APRIL 2020) had a Blackvue DR900S-2CH Dash Camera installed in my car.  Everything about this device is quite good except it would fail to reliably connect to the cell phone WiFi.  I quickly found the solution.  I use an Android LGV30 phone.  I went into the cell phone settings and chose Network & Internet portion settings.  All I had to do was to turn Mobile Date Off.  Then the BlackVue cell phone application held a solid connection when I chose the BLACKVUE WI-FI menu selection on my cell phone.  I even drove around a while with my cell phone showing the live front dash camera signal.

Caution:  I did find a possible problem with turning off Mobile Date.  I drove over to Starbucks to buy a drink and I always pay using my cell phone Starbucks application in the phone.  Every time I open the Starbucks cell phone application I must choose “Scan in store”, a small sub menu option.  Pressing that small menu button then presents a new screen that the Starbucks people can scan to take money out of my account.  It would not work.  Was this because I turned off Mobile Data?  Or did I loose Internet?  I was forced to pay cash!  If this happens to you, just turn Mobile Data back on.

Just to check other cell phone menu options out:  I went into the sub menu of Mobile Data, after Network & Internet.  By pressing on that menu selection, “Mobile data”, I found two sub menu items:

  • Mobile: You can scroll down and view all the applications using mobile data.  BlackVue is one of them.  There are two on/off buttons you can choose.  I turned on both Background data and Unrestricted data usage.
  • Wi-Fi:  You can scroll down and view all the applications using mobile data.  BlackVue is one of them.  There are two on/off buttons you can choose.  I turned on both Background data and Unrestricted data usage.

Other Settings: 

  • Special Access > Modify system settings:  BlackVue showed “No”  (I have no opinion for this setting except to say that it was set to “No”.
  • Special Access > Wi-Fi Control > BlackVue “Allowed”  Allow app to control Wi-Fi.  It looks like you had better turn this on if not on already.
I Sincerely Apologize.

I Sincerely Apologize.

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I would like to apologize to everyone who visits this web site.  I have been away from this web site since the end of January 2020, due to my sister developing brain cancer.  I am the only living relative that she has.  I was given power of attorney for all of my sister’s affairs.  My whole life has changed dramatically.  I drove about 91 miles one way to visit her each week for months.  My duties were to take over all of my sister’s investment and banking assets, billing, home maintenance, health care payments and cremation.  Most days I spend almost eight hours a day or more taking care of all of the required affairs.  I just can not believe the large to do list that comes with taking over the end of life responsibilities.  Also, it seems that there is some new issue that I have to take care of that I never expected.  I totally love my sister and I came to discover that I failed to be a closer brother to her upon receiving lots of remembrances from her friends, stories that revealed things I never knew about her.

My sister’s passing took place during the corona virus.  Each time I visited her at the Santa Barbara Serenity House, I had to face a new visiting restriction.  At first I had to answer questions as to my health before I was allowed up the parking garage elevator.  Next visit my temperature was taken.  Next trip they asked the same questions, took my temperature and was asked to wash my hands.  Then they restricted visits to only 2 people at a time and then to 1 PM to 4 PM.  The weather during her final months was stormy with lots of rain.  It was almost like the gods had to add really dark theatrics backdrop of a pandemic, weather darkness with rain to her final days.  This also made me feel like I was more important than my sister, that I was being taught some sort of life lesson because of being thrown inside this new movie like theater of amazing dark occurrences.   I really loved my sister and I failed to fully realized how much until I lost her.  I guess the lesson for me is I should attempt to be closer to those who I love but only to the extent they will allow.

 

Is President Trump Moving Toward Being Authoritarian?

Is President Trump Moving Toward Being Authoritarian?

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Opinion with citations.

It has occurred to some that the United States of America seems to possibly be progressing toward being a dictatorship.

For example, Transparency International lowered the rank of the United States in 2016 = 74 to 2019 = 69, a drop of at least 5 points for being the least corrupt country.  The United States resides between France and the United Arab Emirates in this ranking. Also, Transparency International stated that the United States is “experiencing threats to its system of checks and balances”, along with an “erosion of ethical norms at the highest levels of power” since Donald Trump took office.

Following is a list of factors that may determine totalitarianism for Donald Trump: The Six Factors That Enable Totalitarianism by Tyler DeBrauwere.  

Factor one: The dictator and his lieutenants are unified by their political ideology and any individual that breaks this unity within the dictator’s administration will be eliminated. This also includes individuals within the dictator’s political party will be heavily pressured to conform.

President Donald Trump instills obedience through these following measures of demanding loyalty through these mechanisms:

Factor two: A totalitarian state is based upon an ideology.  For Trump, being so self centered and selfish his ideology is for him to win.   “Personalist dictatorships” are regimes in which all power lies in the hands of a single individual. It is up to government employees to understand this requirement to keep their jobs by making that single individual happy. Donald Trump appears to be a personalist dictator type.

Factor three: “Propaganda and the Terror is the whip that keeps the population in line.”
Donald Trump has Fox “News”, a sham example of a news organization because it fails evidence and truth. Fox is Donald Trump’s propaganda organ owned by a Australian-born American, “giving up his Australian citizenship, to satisfy the legal requirement for U.S. television network ownership”. “Since Donald Trump became the US President, Murdoch has shown support for him through the news stories broadcast in his media empire, including on Fox News.”  Donald Trump offers “a glorious, yet imaginary, future to a frustrated population” through is promise of “making America great again.

Side Note – Russian Intervention: Russian Putin has acted to enhance the standing of Donald Trump to diminish the United States by making some changes to the results of the 2016 election.  Russia is an enemy of the United States so why did that country help Trump?

Factor four: A directed economy where the different state’s economic sectors are appointed by and controlled by the dictator.  No evidence yet this is taking place.

Factor five: To “detach the individual from their individuality, transmuting the individual into the mass man; a member of the collective whose only purpose is to serve the regime and live by the regime’s ideology.”
We have seen this during the impeachment hearings where the members of the GOP Senate were cowered to abide by Trumps demands. We viewed a host of past renowned lawyers and politicians loosing their self identity, their integrity, for this cult personality.

Factor six: “seeks to monopolize weapons and armed combat in order to obtain further control of the populace.” The gun lobby is way too powerful to allow this to happen.

It becomes a bit clear that President Trump is not a complete calculating dictator yet. Because he is an alleged pathological narcissist, his behavior out of that alleged affliction matches some of the behaviors of a dictator because there is a parallel similarity . Sadly, in conjunction with the presidents affliction, there are other aiding factors that aids the president’s behavior.

It appears that President Donald Trump fits or comes very close to meeting four out of Mr. Tyler’s six factors. He fits being a totalitarian by creating a cult of personality but not yet using police and military, to force his will. A major component of this rising cult of personality appear to be members of the Republican Party which he controls through the help of Mitch McConnell. Many of the GOP come from former confederate states. This is because “over the course of the 20th century, the evangelical coalition entwined theology, whiteness, and conservative politics” and “in the 2016 election, 81 percent of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump”.

President Donald Trump appears to have some clear similarities to being a authoritarian but so far we might reason this is because of his alleged narcissism.  But beware that Hitler was also considered a pathological narcissist by some.

Recommended Reading: History of Totalitarianism

 

 

Revised: Feb 8, 2020