today I heard those 3 little words I've waited 8 years to hear - "I screwed up."
President Obama said that today about some cabinet choices that had to withdraw. After 8 years of nobody being wrong or able to admit they were responsible, it is change that I've needed to hear. Let's hope for much much more change for the better.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
#43 --> #44
President Obama is now the President. George W. Bush stood on the platform and watched as his Presidency quietly ended and Barack's Presidency was quietly started. The peaceful transfer of power is the reason we outlive Communist countries and Monarchies. It is one of the overlooked features of our Constitution so take a moment and appreciate the genius of the men who crafted it.
I was worried that the Bush regime would ignore the elections and the two-term limitation on the Presidency. I was worried that the October surprise would be that a made-up national threat would 'appear' and W would be forced to suspend the elections for our country's safety. I'm breathing a lot easier today.
I was worried that the Bush regime would ignore the elections and the two-term limitation on the Presidency. I was worried that the October surprise would be that a made-up national threat would 'appear' and W would be forced to suspend the elections for our country's safety. I'm breathing a lot easier today.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Constitutional Control System
One of the major methods to control processes and manufacturing plants is the PID controller. PID stands for Proportional, Integral, and Differential control and these terms come right out of calculus and electronics.
The Differential control reacts fast to errors (but might react too much). The Proportional control reacts proportional to the size of the error and is slower than the differential. The slowest is the Integral control which reacts to cumulative errors.
I always thought the checks and balances were like rock-paper-scissors. Now I think our government is similar to a PID controller. The executive branch can react quickly, the Legislative branch ponders issues more than the executive, and the slowest of all is the Judicial.
The analogy isn't perfect but it has helped me think of how well crafted the Constitution is. The founders were very smart and very lucky.
The last 8 years should be a caution to us all of what can happen when our Constitutional control system fails.
The Differential control reacts fast to errors (but might react too much). The Proportional control reacts proportional to the size of the error and is slower than the differential. The slowest is the Integral control which reacts to cumulative errors.
I always thought the checks and balances were like rock-paper-scissors. Now I think our government is similar to a PID controller. The executive branch can react quickly, the Legislative branch ponders issues more than the executive, and the slowest of all is the Judicial.
The analogy isn't perfect but it has helped me think of how well crafted the Constitution is. The founders were very smart and very lucky.
The last 8 years should be a caution to us all of what can happen when our Constitutional control system fails.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Our long national nightmare is over
OK just like the zillion other blogs with that title, I'm amazed. Once again the brilliance of the Constitution shines forth. No, it's not just the vote, certainly not the Electoral College, that makes democracy work, it is succession. This is what beats all other types of governments - strong men die and leave countries to chaos, kings die and leave countries to relatives; often those times of change result in instability and the breakdown of civil society. In the United States (and lots of other countries too) Presidents live on but pass power on to others.
This Bush administration has pushed the limits of succession. Maybe it was just me but I have been worried that some October Surprise would 'force' the Bushies to suspend the election. Maybe a November, December, even January Surprise could delay the turnover but I think not. We the People expect a new President and we will get that.
This Bush administration has pushed the limits of succession. Maybe it was just me but I have been worried that some October Surprise would 'force' the Bushies to suspend the election. Maybe a November, December, even January Surprise could delay the turnover but I think not. We the People expect a new President and we will get that.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Commodity Futures Modernization Act
Last night, Sixty Minutes ran a story about the CFMA and how it essentially allowed gambling on stocks, commodities, real estate loans, etc. This is one of the prime reasons the economy failed.
If you look up Commodity Futures Modernization Act on Wikipedia, you'll find one of John McCain's financial advisors is former senator Phil Graham.
The House and Senate bills were included in an omnibus spending bill without any debate and I suspect many members didn't realize it had happened.
My question is: Can McCain fix the economy with advisors like that?
60 minutes:
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml
If you look up Commodity Futures Modernization Act on Wikipedia, you'll find one of John McCain's financial advisors is former senator Phil Graham.
The House and Senate bills were included in an omnibus spending bill without any debate and I suspect many members didn't realize it had happened.
My question is: Can McCain fix the economy with advisors like that?
60 minutes:
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Social Security
Looking at the financial mess happening around us now, aren't you glad President W wasn't able to fool us into putting our Social Security retirement funds in the stock market?
College Financial Homework
The idea is to figure out the links among Boards of Directors in corporate America. Executive pay is clearly out of control and the people who should reign it in are the boards of directors. Problem is, many board members are executives in other companies whose board members run other companies. This leads to an "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" scenario where boards approve high exec salaries and perks because those well paid execs sit on their companies boards.
So, class, your assignment is to write a web spider to crawl through corporate America's websites and collect the names of execs and board members and build a multi-node graph that, er, connects the dots. Seeing how interbred the companies are should shed some interesting light on this problem.
So, class, your assignment is to write a web spider to crawl through corporate America's websites and collect the names of execs and board members and build a multi-node graph that, er, connects the dots. Seeing how interbred the companies are should shed some interesting light on this problem.
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