Author Archives: admin

Freedom of Speech

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I have a few friends that have been very concerned about the first amendment to our constitution. They feel that over the last few years “freedom of speech” has been infringed on because some people get offended and they shouldn’t (according to my friends). Also some commercial websites don’t want to have people spreading lies and slandering people. And that should be allowed. But now we have a presidential administration that will advocate for free speech by intimidating the press, banning certain words from public releases by federal agencies, targeting law firms that defend clients suing the federal government, summarily dismissing minority members of the FTC, and deporting legal visitors for expressing an opinion that disagrees with the administration’s. Now this…

Trump order targets ‘improper ideology’ at famed US museums

“Improper ideology”? Wrong thoughts?

I Need a Break

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I apologize (if anyone reads this) for the rash of political stuff. It’s hard to ignore. However, on the personal front I bought one of these…

Monster Receiver

Sort of an impulse. “But wait” you say, “Doesn’t that look a lot like the one you got from Goodwill years ago for $15? (shut up)

Yeah, it’s a known quantity, that’s why. I owned a Sansui 7900z and gave it back to Goodwill because, nevermind. I’ve had that apart before, and De-Ox’d it so I’m familiar with the build quality. And you must admit it looks cool, and this one has 125 watts per channel!! Yeah!

Sherrod Brown Gets It

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There are few voices in the Democratic Party I feel are knowledgeable and observant of the real issues. Bernie Sanders is by far the best. Here is a guy who can go to Liberty University and get applause (to the shock of the administration there). Hillary couldn’t get applause there if she told the audience she was paying their tuition. But second to Bernie I always liked Sherrod Brown, a man who always seemed perennially wrinkled and disheveled. Brown understood that the party lost its way when it moved away from being the party of labor, the party of the working man. Brown should have won his re-election, but if he lost it should have been to a normal human like Matt Dolan, not to a slimy car salesman who kowtowed to Trump better. Oh well.
Former Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown Launches Dignity of Work Institute

Here We Go Again

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Well this will impact red states more than blue ones, considering where hurricane and tornadoes tend to occur. But the idea that FEMA isn’t necessary is insane. On the heels of yesterdays revelation about “amateur hour” at the Defense department comes this great news…

As the Carolinas burn, Homeland Security head Kristie Noem says Trump administration is going to ‘eliminate’ FEMA

Trump’s only condition for employment is loyalty to Trump. Knowing your job is not important.

The Real “Trump Delusional Syndrome”

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Trump said it himself back in 2016, “I could “shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters”. We’ve all see it. Once they embrace the Donald, suddenly everything he does in excusable. It’s really weird. No horrible thing he says or does seem to bother his adoring fans. He’s like Taylor Swift like that. Case in point…

ICE Took a Trump Supporter’s Wife as They Returned from Their Honeymoon. Still, He Says, ‘I Don’t Regret the Vote’

saaay what? That’s weird. Unless you consider this…

Just Another Story About the Arrogance and Stupidity of Elon Musk

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Earlier this week he demands and then gets, a health care bill killed in the Senate because he didn’t understand it. Now this…

The truth about ‘condoms for Gaza’: DOGE canceled $33 million USAID contract treating 350,000 HIV patients

I mean we all knew it was a lie when Elon and Trump said it, but was all because he didn’t know there is a region of Mozambique in Africa called “Gaza”. The money was not for condoms, but was for the treatment of AIDS victims. A program designed early in the George W. Bush administration. Without the aid the health system in one of the poorest countries on Earth will collapse and thousands will die.

Great people. Remember when he fired all folks on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and then had to hire them back. As Bugs would say “What a Maroon”.

Oh and by the way, 50% of all Teslas are made in China.

R.I.P. George Foreman

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I saw him on David Letterman many, many years ago. He was funny and self depreciating. But as he talked all I could think about was, “How many times did Ali get hit in the face with that fist?” Jeeze. His fist was the size of my head! He became a heavyweight champion a second time at 46, the oldest ever, then retired at 48. Through a fluke endorsement deal, he became rich and famous again for selling indoor grills. He named all his kids George (for the girls, some female variation). What a life.

George Foreman, heavyweight boxing champion, dies at 76

More DOGE insanity

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It is becoming more and more apparent that Elon Musk has no idea what he is doing. But he’s sure he’s doing the right thing. However, no one who understands audits, or working at the Federal level, seems to agree with him on that. Elon is used to being the smartest guy in the room. That’s fine as long as you don’t start thinking you’re ALWAYS the smartest guy in the room. Which is where I think old Elon is right now. A poster child for the Dunning-Kruger effect.

‘It’s a Heist’: Real Federal Auditors Are Horrified by DOGE

For a better look at Musk as a person, how about the perspective of his first wife…
“I Was a Starter Wife”: Inside America’s Messiest Divorce

Killing Solar Power in Ohio

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From the Plain Dealer…

Ohioans and their elected representatives have killed enough solar development to roughly power the state’s three largest cities in the three years since state lawmakers passed one of the nation’s most stringent restrictions on new solar development.

Those political efforts to block or preempt 2,000 megawatts of new energy coming online are the product of 2021 legislation that gave new power to project neighbors and local elected officials to stop development.

Many of these projects were killed by local Republican officials doing the bidding of the oil and gas industry. Just last week, developers behind a proposed 500-megawatt solar farm in Logan County withdrew their permit application, ending a $500 million development. Regulatory staff recommended the Ohio Power Siting Board reject the application, given opposition from local activists and Republican political power at the state and local level.

Enough power to power all three of Ohio’s biggest cities, with no carbon emissions. The Republican party is not a forward looking party. It is a party that holds Ohio (and the country) back. As they force America off the world stage they leave greater and greater openings for China to be a world leader.

Plain Dealer Stories (behind a paywall)
Solar development plunged in Ohio after new, restrictive state law
How NIMBYism and Republican politics killed a $500M solar farm in Ohio

A Deliberate Plan

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make no mistake as to the intent…

EXCLUSIVE: Memo details Trump plan to sabotage the Social Security Administration

UPDATE: More lies. Social Security is a separate tax, not part of income tax. However the funds raised are treated like general funds. The U.S. congress has misappropriated Social Security funds for years. It does NOT add to the deficit. This is a narrative they are trying to sell.

Even more…
Musk uses immigration and claims of voter fraud to sell Social Security Administration cuts

Clean Drinking Water More Cheaply

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More Cheaply? Doesn’t sound right. Anyway, This new technology relies on a 3D printing method to make membranes for reverse osmosis desalinization plants. As long as it doesn’t create another problem with the used membranes (unlikely) any help in lowering desalinization cost would be very helpful.
Experts develop 3D-printed device that could reshape our drinking water: ‘This … is what makes our technology special’

Privatizing Medicare and Social Security

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Social security is the most successful poverty ending program in history. So much so that is has been copied by many countries. Elon wants rid of it. No one voted for that, no one wants that. I’m lucky enough to have a few pensions. My teaching job has given me a “Defined Benefit” pension and a “Defined Contribution” pension. The first is a traditional pension where the company you work for agrees to pay you a certain amount each month when you retire. The kind of pension our fathers and grandfathers may have enjoyed. The second is a more modern pension where you put money into an investment account and draw off it when you retire. Despite record growth in the stock market guess which one pays me more? As traditional retirement plans have disappeared, have average Americans become more secure in their retirement or less?
Privatizing Social Security will create massive poverty amongst our elderly. How do I know? We have already been there and done that. That’s why the program was created in the first place. Same with Medicare. If it were privatized costs would soar. How do I know that? Compare the efficiency of Medicare with a private health care plan. Many people have and Medicare always wins.
The Trump/Musk administration represents the greatest danger to the security and stability of our country since the Civil War. These are bad people and their plans for our country are a disaster. But I do know of one guy who’s cheering them on, but he lives in Russia.

Ionic Thrusters

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Back in 2002, our Physics teacher introduced me to a student who wanted to build an ionic thruster. I had never heard of one, but I was able to tell the young man where to obtain a high voltage power supply (and give him a long lecture about safety). A few days later he popped by to show me a device constructed of balsa wood, aluminum foil and stainless steel wire that would levitate (it was anchored by its power supply wires) when connected to about 15,000 volts. I was kind of blown away to say the least. That young man is an engineer now and ionic thrusters have continued to be developed by NASA. Here is a further demonstration…

Great series.