Opuscula The “wisdom” Of Microsoft

I have an HP laptop with Windows 10.

Shortly I will have an HP laptop WITHOUT Windows 10.

In fact, it will be “Microsoft free.”

Why? Read on.

Because my computer is in a protected environment (now that the grandchildren have left) and no one uses it except this scrivener, I removed the log-on password – long ago.

This evening, when I went to log on to check email, MicroStupid demanded a password.

OK, MS – remember, the “S” is for “Stupid” – offered to help me reset the password that was not set.

How was MS going to do this?

It was going to send an email.

Brilliant.

I don’t have (nor do I want) a “smart” phone.

The ONLY way I can access my email is via this machine.

The term “Catch 22”¹ comes to mind.

Fortunately my second born is a geek and equally fortunately he was on the phone as I tried to access the computer.

Could I start the machine in Safe Mode?

Doubtful.

Try pressing a specific Function key once every second until the system shows something.

I did.

After the HP logo –about as necessary as web feet on a crow – the MicroStupid background (that I once managed to bypass) displayed and, after a brief trip for a required break, I returned and found I could see the desktop.

Yes, I did thank my son for his expertise.

What is the solution?

There are several options.

Throw out the HP and buy a Mac. My geek son loves his Macs.

I used Macs at a couple of companies. Old Macs; single floppy Macs.

The problem with Macs is the cost. To my mind almost everything from Apple is over-priced, and if the Mac computers are anything like the Apple cell phones, they are updated frequently to enhance the company’s ROI.

Two of my many complaints about Windows is that (a) it changes the UI with every iteration and (b) it obsoletes some really good applications while replacing them with garbage.

The other option, and one I prefer, is the Linux operating system. Ubuntu is Linux-based.

The Linux OS is – brace your self – F R E E.

It has a wealth (and variety) of applications, including several F R E E excellent replacements for MicroStupid’s Office.

This blog is created using LibreOffice Writer. It does everything Word does, including reading Word files and saving in Word format as well as its native OpenOffice format. I’ve been using LibreOffice Writer for several months and, once past the initial learning curve – about the same as moving from one Word version to another – it has been most satisfactory; as good as, or better than, Word.

LibreOffice has been updated several times without changing the UI and without any additional cost to the still free OpenOffice software.

OpenOffice is mostly volunteers with a few salaried personnel. It “lives” on donations. OpenOffice is a worldwide cooperation among developers and users. Consider OpenOffice as one monster User Group. (Actually, there are several specific user groups, but I have yet to see any reluctance to share information. It reminds me of the early days of HTML.)

One often overlooked advantage of Linux is that because it has a relatively small user base, compared to MS or Mac, it is less a target of malicious code.

LibreOffice has just about everything MS Office has:

Access = Base

Excel = Calc

PowerPoint = Impress

Paint = Draw

Word = Writer

LibreOffice also includes “Math,” an equations and formulas editor.

There is a line-by-line, in-depth feature comparison of LibreOffice and MS Office at
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Feature_Comparison:_LibreOffice_-_Microsoft_Office

What LibreOffice lacks – Outlook and Calculator, both of which are Windows applications (vs. MS Office applications) – can be made up by selecting from numerous Linux applications that do the same job.

As an aside, LibreOffice has a version that can run on a Windows platform so potential users can try it on their Windows boxes. It uninstalls exactly as any other program running under MicroStupid’s operating system. LibreOffice also can share drive space (if it is available) with Windows’ OS.

I was a Microsoft fan since Word for DOS was introduced in 1983 via PC World magazine. I suffered through the expensive upgrades that complicated and redesigned the UI through Office 2007. Likewise, I moved along with Windows as it passed through the well thought out XP to Win 10, now on the “laptop.”

However, since MicroStupid’s last stunt – telling me I have a password when I don’t and then telling me to check my email that I cannot access for a code to change a non-existent password, I know it is time to cut the cord and move on to a grown-up's OS.

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Sources

1. A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules. The term was coined by Joseph Heller, who used it in his 1961 novel Catch-22. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_(logic)

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on MicroStupid

Opuscula Politicians Need to put America first

HAVING WATCHED TOO MUCH OF the Brett Kavanaugh dog and pony show I came to the conclusion that America needs law makers of both parties to “put America First.”

Not the President Trump “America First,” but the real thing – to do what is best for America regardless of party affiliation.

I’VE SEEN A NUMBER of elections, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, but I cannot recall ever seeing one that ended up so dividing a nation.

I blame America’s current condition on both Hillary Clinton and her cronies, and Donald Trump and his knee-jerk tweets.

I’ll ignore the numerous scandals attached to Mrs. Clinton and focus on the election results.

She conceded but never congratulated Trump on the victory; she encouraged her followers to riot and destroy on her behalf.

In every other election in which I voted, and that’s more than a few, the loser congratulates the winner and encourages his or her followers to work with the winner. Not only did Mrs. Clinton NOT do that, she encouraged anarchy.

Mr. Trump is not better.

Even though he let Mrs. Clinton “off the hook” for numerous possible crimes – emails, Benghazi to name but two – he has used Twitter as his main weapon from a bully pulpit. His tweets frequently – all too frequently – have been knee-jerk reactions, often incorrect, and just plain uncivilized; hardly worthy of America’s president.

As their “leaders” go, so go the followers – the Democrat and Republican politicians.

There ARE exceptions, but they are few and far between.

There ARE a few reasoned heads in both parties, but they are a very small minority.

Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford

As President Nixon would say, “Let me be perfectly clear,” I do NOT condone sexual assault. I was offended as much by Wm. Jefferson Clinton’s under-the-desk escapade with an underling as I was by his disregard for “that woman”; not even dignifying Ms. Lewinsky by calling her by name.

I believe the only decent president we’ve had in my lifetime was Harry S Truman. No scandal – certainly no sexual scandal -- was attached to his political career. There may be others similarly free of sexual pecados, but the list of presidents who “behaved badly” is long.

I have to wonder – and I’ve heard the stories – why it took Mrs. Ford 38 years to come forward with her claim. Her “coming out” to Dianne Feinstein late in the vetting process – and Sen. Feinstein’s releasing the letter at the last minute suggests a witch hunt.

Kavanaugh claims the Ford-Feinstein charge is fabricated. Other than “he said-she said” claims, was there ANY “suitable for a courtroom” evidence submitted?

Sen. Jeff Flake called for a brief, focused FBI investigation in an effort to bring the nation together. He noted in front of the cameras that the nation has been divided by the Kavanaugh hearing and other events and needs to heal. Flake is a Democrat.

The FBI already has performed a background investigation of the Supreme Court nominee. If it found anything, it would be reported to the nominating committee.

Sen. Flake wants to re-open the background inquisition and told the cameras he will ask President Trump to order the FBI to do a “brief and focused” (re-)investigation.

In my opinion, President Trump would be foolish to deny the senator’s request. It’s a matter of “image,” both his and Kavanaugh’s.

The episode should NOT be a Democrat vs. Republican or even a female vs. male issue, although it seems to boil down to those two warring factions – or perhaps the media is fomenting the war between the sexes.

When I was much younger I was a print reporter and editor. Even then some media made the news rather than reported the news. Now, I’m glad I no longer am associated with the media.

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Sources

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Kavanaugh-Ford

Opuscula When is lifetime Warranty less Than a lifetime

WE HAVE A LOCAL KIA DEALER who advertises that his cars have a “lifetime warranty.”

We have another Kia dealer who “doubles the life of the warranty.”

Only one is telling the half-truth.

KIA, AS DOES HYUNDAI, comes from the factory to U.S. dealers with a five year bumper-to-bumper warranty and a 10 year power train warranty.

I have an 11-year-old Hyundai that, save for a thermostat, has been trouble free.

How long is a KIA “lifetime warranty”?

For the KIA dealer – also the mayor of my town – “lifetime” is 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Even that’s not 100 percent accurate.

The 10-years is on the power train – engine and transmission.

The vehicle’s body – the “bumper-to-bumper” part of the warranty -- is only five years.

My Hyundai’s interior is starting to show its age, but as far as the power train goes, it’s great.

The dealer who “doubles the factory warranty” of 10 years/100,000 miles doubles the power train warranty to 20 years/200,000 miles. The same dealer doubles the warranties on several other manufacturers’ products as well, but none come close to 20 years/200,000 miles.

If you challenge a sales person at the mayor’s dealership “How long is a ‘lifetime warranty’?” the sales person will answer honestly: “10 years or 100,000 miles.”

Never mind the huge bill board at the dealership that proclaims a “lifetime warranty.”

Makes you wonder about honesty in local politics.

The 20 year/200,000 mile (on the power train) dealer is “less dishonest.” While no one advertises “on the power train”, given the vehicles’ “from the factory to the U.S.” warranty makes the warranty’s limitations clear,

The problem with the 20 year/200,000 mile dealer is the service department. The mechanics often either do the wrong thing first (and have to redo the work) or they fail to check their work. The dealerships DO honor the warranty and they do correct their mechanics’ faux pas on the dealer’s tab.

The 20 year/200,000 mile dealer gives back to the community with several events throughout the year. I can’t think of the mayor’s dealership doing anything similar (but that is not to state his dealership does nothing – I just don’t recall anything.)

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Lifetime warranty

Opuscula Patience main Requirement For Medicare

MEDICARE THE PROGRAM IS NOT the problem.

Dealing with Medicare Advantage plan providers IS the problem.

MY SPOUSE IS becoming eligible for Medicare and I’m looking for a new plan provider.

We each have specific criteria.

I go through this exercise almost every year, so I know where to look for answers to me requirements. For the record, I check each providers’
Most recent Evidence of Coverage (EOC)
Providers’ List
Formulary.

The EOC tells me what the plan promised Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a/k/a CMS. (What happened to the second “M” is beyond my ken.) The EOC is the one document that is cast into concrete and cannot be changed from January 1 to December 31.

The Providers’ List tells me who I can have as my Primary Care Provider (PCP), what specialists I MAY be able to see, what hospitals are contracted with the plan vendor, what urgent care facilities, and similar information. This list is “subject to change”; the vendor may add/change/delete providers on a whim.

The Formulary is the list of prescription drugs the plan will cover and what the co-pay is for each. Different plans rate the same drugs at different “tiers” or co-pays. As with the Providers’ List, the formulary is “subject to change.” (The co-pays are fixed by the EOC, but the drugs, and their “tiers” can change.)

Since my Spouse’s coverage start date is at hand, I checked several plans.

Most plan vendors are willing to send a sales person to the prospective customer. In an area with a high “geezer” population, Medicare Advantage vendors are highly competitive.

Still, it pays to follow the Coast Guard (and Boy Scout) motto: Be Prepared.

With the Spouse’s requirements before me I went to the Florida Blue Cross/Blue Shield, a/k/a Florida Blue, site.

Blue forces prospective clients to travel to one of its often inconvenient offices to confirm what it promises on the web.

Armed with a list of things to be confirmed, things I culled from Blue’s web site, we made an appointment and fought traffic to one of Blue’s sales offices.

When we arrived at the agreed upon hour, we discovered that keeping appointments is NOT important to Blue sales folks. After about a 10 minute wait we were shown into a cube where we met a gentleman with English as his second language. (My Spouse speaks several languages [to my two], none of which was the sale clerk’s primary language.)

The clerk looked at our list of concerns – things we read were available from Blue’s web site – and one by one he ticked them off as “not available.”

Apparently everything on Blue’s web site is a lie . . . or perhaps the sales clerk lied to us. We’ll never know, and frankly, Scarlet . . .

In any event, we decided Blue as not suitable.

We had two other primary options.

AvMed and Humana.

Both plans offered the providers we want, and both plans sent sales people to the house.

Humana – a company with which I have a year’s experience – limits its Primary Care Provider (or Physicians or Practitioners – take your choice) to specific specialists.

My critical specialist is on Humana’s Providers’ List, but he is not on my PCP’s capitated list. (I like my PCP, but because of the Humana limitation, this will be the second time I leave his practice for the same reason.)

AvMed, my first Advantage plan, has a lot going for it, but it, too, is starting to limit the specialists to whom a particular PCP can refer.

My problem with AvMed is that it charges a co-pay for one of my medications that is greater than the retail cost at Publix, my favorite pharmacy.)

Humana’s co-pay for the same medication is US$0 if I use the plan’s captive mail order pharmacy.

Humana offers my Spouse her preferred PCP and has other PCPs who can refer to my critical specialist.

Never mind that I had to contact the PCP candidates on my own to ask about a referral to my critical specialist.

AvMed has some additional charges Humana does not.

For example, AvMed gives hospital in-patients the first 5 days with zero co-pay. As my first AvMed sales person told me, and as my experience proves, most acute hospital stays are five days or less.

With Humana, on the other hand, all in-patient days are free of co-pays.

As good as Humana looked on paper, we had some concerns.

Humana’s sales person sat at out dinner table and electronically completed my Spouse’s application for coverage.

He confirmed that her PCP choice was on the vendor’s Providers’ List. He confirmed that a critical specialist also was on the Providers’ List.

When he pressed SEND we thought everything was in order.

AND THEN

And then the Spouse received a letter from Humana telling her that her PCP “couldn’t be found” on the vendor’s Providers’ List.

I found the physician in the Providers’ List sans problem. Am I smarter than a Humana clerk? Rhetorical question.

Of course when I tried to log on to Humana’s site using the Spouse’s ID – a temporary one issued a week before – the system returned “ID unknown.” I managed to get to the Providers’ List claiming to be a potential customer (which I was).

The Clerks-on-the-loose, since they were unable to find the PCP I so easily found, took it upon themselves to assign my Spouse to a PCP in another town, probably going by the ZIP code.

The Spouse called Humana’s main office and, after telling the clerk that yes, the PCP she wants IS on the list and “here is his Humana ID.” The Humana clerk, confronted with the evidence – the PCP’s Humana ID – agreed to change her PCP back to the one originally agreed upon and a new ID was sent out.

Humana sent my Spouse her ID card, but addressed to our street in a neighboring town. Again, a ZIP-code assumption. Somehow, the local post office distribution center went only by the 5+4-digit ZIP and delivered the card to the correct address. (Since some of our letter carriers cannot read NUMBERS, the fact that the USPS got the mail to the correct address is noteworthy.)

The Spouse called again to straighten out the address.

We know the sales person entered the information correctly because he was sitting with us when he keyed the data.

This does NOT bode well.

Granted, the clerks at Humana HQ are fixing the problems, but meanwhile the Spouse is wasting time having to call to correct clerical errors that should never have been made in the first place.

My concern is that as a Humana subscriber, if she uses the plan she’ll have to waste more time with the clerks to get the plan to do what it promises in the CMS-approved Evidence of Coverage.

On the other hand, she can sign up with a different provider until December 7, 2018 for the coming year.

My only complaint with Humana when I had it for a year was discovering that my PCP was unable to refer me to my specialist. That problem never occurred when I had AvMed “back in the day.” Then, as now, the AvMed’s medication co-pays caused me to look elsewhere.

AvMed had, perhaps still has, another problem that bothers this former Enterprise Risk Management practitioner. It gives – gave? – each customer a personal customer service person. Great idea.

The problem was that this person would get sick or go on vacation and no one was assigned to handle that person’s email and phone calls.

It you promise customer support, provide it; make certain someone fills in for the missing support person. AvMed failed to understand that.

AvMed apparently also fails to do any competitive analysis.

MEANWHILE there are fewer and fewer independent Advantage companies. Major players, such as Anthem and Aetna, are buying up smaller, usually local area companies. Most of the Anthem and Aetna properties are similar to Humana in that they limit their PCP’s referral options.

TO THEIR CREDIT, both Humana and AvMed – unlike Florida Blue – web sites are accurate; the information is confirmed by their sales staffs, albeit sometimes with a little “encouragement” from the consumer.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Medicare Advantage

Opuscula CLERKS! One faux pas After another

MY SPOUSE JUST SIGNED UP with a Medicare Advantage plan.
She sat with the salesman in our dining room and together they filled out the forms, making certain all the i’s were dotted and t’s crossed.

AND THEN the clerks got involved.

The Spouse received a letter from the plan the other day.

The letter informed her that the Primary Care Provider (PCP) was not listed as a PCP but as a specialist.

Being a reasonable person, I went to the plan’s web site.

The first requirement was to enter the Member ID.

I entered the Spouse’s Member ID and the system returned that the ID was “not found.”

She received a temporary ID “card” more than a week before the plan told me she didn’t exist.

I took a “just looking” approach and got to the provider gateway.

I entered the practitioner’s name and מצאתי (also Eureka, ¡Lo encontré!, and Je l'ai trouvé!) – I found it. (We live in an area where many different languages are spoken, sometimes even English.)

The doctor is listed in the plan’s Provider List – all on line – as a PCP. He ALSO is listed as a specialist.

If I can find the physician’s information on the plan’s on-line list of providers – the plan no longer publishes a paper list – WHY DID THE CLERK FAIL TO FIND THE INFORMATION?

As my geek son would mutter: “Does not compute.” What my cop son would say isn’t suitable even for an R-rated blog. How my daughter would react -- I won't go there.

So, the plan, thanks to lazy clerks is two for two – two errors for two tries. Not an auspicious beginning. The Spouse called the sales agent who also promised to be her personal representative to give him a chance to straighten things out. She is waiting for a call back. Will the agent redeem the plan? Will the agent actually call back?

The clerk arbitrarily assigned her to a PCP who is totally unknown to her.

She can, and will, change her PCP choice back to the original – the one the clerk was unable to find on the plan’s web site. Medicare allows a change at the first of each month, so the clerks have a few days to correct their blindness.

The Spouse also can start with a different plan in January (making her decision on or before Pearl Harbor Day). Unless you flunked history, you know that Pearl Harbor Day – a “day that will live in infamy” – is December 7.

(Sept. 28) Humana FINALLY got the PCP issue resolved, but it still sends information to the wrong town. (We get the mail thanks to the 5+4 ZIP.)

WHEN I WAS A newspaper printer about to become a cub reporter, I asked a rewrite man what I needed to succeed.

Mr. Lidel, the rewrite guy and very experienced reporter, told me

Keep the leed to 10 words or less and Spell the person’s name correctly.

The 10-word limitation on “leeds” (the lead paragraph) applied only to news, not features. Mr. Lidel knew that headline writers often grabbed the headline from the first (leed) paragraph. He was – as usual – correct.

I saw a tv advertisement for a new-to-me Medicare Advantage plan provider. I asked for some additional information – the plan’s 2018 Evidence of Coverage, the cast-into-concrete agreement with CM(M)S¹ on what the plan will provide subscribers, the plan’s Provider List, specifically one specialist, and if the plan’s PCPs were “capitated.”

“Capitated” PCPs are allowed – perhaps they agree – to refer patients to specific plan specialists, even if there are many more specialists available in the plan.

I received an email addressed to Mr. Glen.

Error Number One, and to a former reporter (and later editor) a Major Faux Pas.

My name was clearly given on my initial contact with the company. Even the email address included my surname.

Yet the “blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other” clerk managed to misspell my name.

She blamed CMS for her inability to provide the requested information, but if I contacted her after 1 October she could provide the information.

A little research on my part – research I should have done before my email – showed me that the company was a start-up, albeit one “not ready for prime time.”

Apparently it pitched its product to CMS, as all Medicare Advantage plans must do, and CMS had not yet approved the product.

The clerk should have, had she been honest, responded that the company was awaiting CMS approval and that was expected on or before 1 October.

Plans may add or delete practitioners and may add, delete, or change pharmaceuticals during a calendar year, but the plan’s Evidence of Coverage, is cast into concrete. The EoC spells out exactly what the plan will provide and any co-pays or deductibles. All Medicare Advantage plans must offer at least what Medicare offers (see Medicare & You²). Many plans’ EoCs include a table listing what the plan promises and what Medicare provides.

I am bothered that the clerk was unable to answer the basic question: Are (will) plan PCPs be allowed to refer to ANY specialist on the plan’s Provider List. Even if she was unable to answer my question about a specific specialist, she should have been able to answer the capitation question.

I understand Medicare Advantage plan providers are in a highly competitive business, especially in areas with high concentrations of geezers – I’m happy to claim that appellation – but to advertise sans product seems akin to going to a formal party without trousers.

By this stage, the plan should have a stable of physicians signed up, hospitals agreeing to accept the plan, medical labs, and so on (and on and on). If nothing else, it should know how it intends to operate … and it should share it’s plan with the clerks who answer emails.

I have not written off this plan, but it has enough strikes against it to generate suspicion.

Two plan providers – one well established – have entrusted their subscribers information to, apparently, incompetent clerks. Thanks to these clerks, both plan providers have more “pas” than a red “faux.”

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Sources

1. CMS: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

2. https://www.medicare.gov/medicare-and-you

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Fox Paws

Opuscula But can She sing?

MARGARET TRUMAN^{1, 2}, PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN’s only child is one of my favorite authors. She wrote a number of mysteries based on Washington and its denizens. She wrote many more books than I have read so I expect I have much more enjoyable reading ahead.

My reading is rather eclectic. I’m also a fan for Colin Cotttrell’s mysteries set far, far from Foggy Bottom.

Unlike many readers of mystery novels, I don’t try to figure out “Who done it” before the author’s denouement of the scoundrel.

Truman-Daniels works send her characters around the country and around the globe. The book currently before me is Murder in Foggy Bottom . while the title would suggest all the action would take place inside the beltway (the I-495 rush hour parking lot), she has included Moscow as a major player in the plot.

She authored 24 Murder in ... mysteries, as well as non-mystery works.

I get my books from my Local Lending Library; if my nearby branch lacks a title, neighboring libraries are checked. The search does not stop at either the county line or the state line. Wonderful, the library network.)

This exercise is NOT a book review. It is not intended to be a book review. It is to make anyone who enjoys mysteries aware of the late author.

It also is a chance to introduce Colin Cotterill³ and his works.

Cotterill, currently writing from Thailand, has his characters living in Laos and Thailand. (Different characters for each country, but regulars in his novels.)

Most of his works are set in the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos. (“Laos” I learned has a “silent ‘s’.”) A lesser number of works are set in capitalist Thailand.

An acquaintance who lives in Singapore – the Internet is a marvelous thing – commended Cotterill and my Local Lending Library has managed to locate many of this 30 or so titles. Most of the books are “day books”; that is, if you can devote the time, the books can be read “cover-to-cover” in a day.

Similar to Tolstoy, Pushkin, or Dostoyevsky, some of the characters’ names in Cotterill’s works are a hard to pronounce. Cotterill will, if asked politely, send an *.mp3 file with a softly-spoken woman pronouncing the names of the major characters and places. Perhaps he, too, has a problem with pronunciation?

There is no comparison between the Murder in ... novels and Cotterill’s works. Both are, in my not-at-all-humble opinion, worth a trip to the Local Lending Library for a sampling.

Of course if mystery is not your “thing,” the Local Lending Library most assuredly will have something for you. If not a book, then perhaps a CD or DVD.

I’ve had a library card since first grade – yes, Virginia, books were being printed in those long-ago years – it just keeps getting better. You may as well take advantage of these tax supported facilities; even renters help fund them so use them.

ABOUT “CAN SHE SING?”

Then reference in the head about “can she sign” refers to an unkind critic’s review of then Miss Truman’s operatic singing abilities and her father’s retort. That exchange can be found on several sites, including https://www.trumanlibrary.org/trivia/letter.htm

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Sources

1. https://www.trumanlibrary.org/mtd-bio.htm

2, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Truman

3. http://www.colincotterill.com/

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Mysteries

Opuscula High school stupidity Haunts candidate Twenty years later

PERHAPS THIS SHOULD BE CALLED “Grasping at straws.” What it is NOT is a pass for bad behavior.

THE DEMOCRAT party’s leadership, more and more similar to Dilbert’s “PHB,” says it found a woman who, 20 years ago, claims Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee for the SCOTUS, molested a young woman while they in high school. He, allegedly in a drunken moment, (no excuse) tried to undress her in a bedroom at a “party.”¹

At least that is the part of the story the “leadership” presented to the “unbiased” media that ran to publish the disgraceful behavior and, both Democrats and media hope, derail Kavanaugh’s candidacy . . . at least until the mid-term elections in which the “out” party has high hopes of becoming the “in” party.

This is not the first time the Democrats have accused a GOP-sponsored SCOTUS candidate of sexual misconduct. Previously, they fought Clarence Thomas’s nomination, by President George H. W. Bush, and, at the time, lost by the narrowest margin to date: 52 yeas to 48 nays. Thomas is a conservative, as is Kavanaugh, and Thomas was accused of sexual misconduct.²

As with Kavanaugh, the misconduct was a last minute “eureka moment” for the Democrats. According to CNN³, Reports surface two days before the scheduled Senate vote on Thomas's confirmation that law professor Anita Hill told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Thomas had sexually harassed her while she worked with him at the Education Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Assuming the leftists again will lose and Kavanaugh will be confirmed, their next move, particularly if they take control of the House and Senate, will be to bring impeachment proceedings against Kavanaugh and, possibly, Thomas.

It’s interesting that no one uttered a word about FDR’s infidelity or JFK’s womanizing; even Teddy Kennedy’s Chappaquiddick accident that took the life of Mary Jo Kopechne was quickly dismissed and he was easily re-elected.⁴ Even Wm. J. “I did not have sex with that woman” Clinton was unscathed, as was his wife’s tenure as Secretary of State for which she is justly infamous for Benghazi and emails.

If Georgie Porgie⁵ ran for office in the U.S. he would be pilloried for his sexual escapade.

I suppose that in all the alleged instances of sexual misconduct – I am NOT considering rape or child molestation as “misconduct”; these are reprehensible crimes – the female took no part nor did she provoke the attack by any means. All the females are absolutely innocent victims, dressed like nuns going to meet the pope. I am suggesting that the male should have controlled himself despite any provocation. In Kavanaugh’s case, if the assault really happened, than his first mistake was getting drunk and losing control.

I’m curious why this alleged victim of Kavanaugh’s lust waited 20 years before going public. I’m always suspicious of very belated accusations. This sudden recall of things long past seems to be a Democrat trademark.

What has Kavanaugh done as a jurist; has he ruled fairly? Are his decisions reasonable based on the facts before him? Have his rulings been over-turned? These are the things the inquisitors should be considering. Sexual misconduct as a teenager 20 years ago? How doe that define the SCOTUS candidate today?

It’s time for the Democrats to get real and to vote on his judicial record.

In Hebrew the term for teenagers is “Te-pesh-esray.” Rough translation: Stupidteen.

Only a fool would condemn an adult for something he – or she – did as a teenager. That’s why the books are sealed on juveniles’ crimes.

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Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/y8ubca9r

2. http://tinyurl.com/ybvn5oyc

3. http://tinyurl.com/ydffatcd

4. http://tinyurl.com/yaqqw58w

5. http://tinyurl.com/ycu8fvfs

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Kavanaugh

Opuscula Sex victims Will loose out To budget cuts

ACCORDING TO THE OCCASIONALLY HONEST New York Times – infamous for its “anonymous” op ed letters – Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is overhauling regulations governing Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded schools.

An analysis by the Education Department has found that its proposed new rules for handling allegations of sexual misconduct on campus would substantially decrease the number of investigations by colleges and school districts into complaints of sexual harassment, assault and rape, and save educational institutions millions of dollars over the next decade.

The analysis was conducted to study the effect of proposals drawn up by Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, to overhaul regulations governing Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded schools.

The proposed regulations, which have not been officially published but were previously reported on by The New York Times, seek to bolster the rights of students accused of sexual harassment, reduce liability for institutions and require schools to provide more support to victims.

According to the NY Times article, the approximately 6,000 universities and colleges in the U.S. would save about US$19 million by reducing the number of 1.18 sexual harassment investigations from 1.8 a year per college or university to 0.72 per year under the proposed rules.

The 17,000 U.S. elementary and secondary school districts could save US$54 million by reducing the number of investigations from 3.23 per year to 1.61 per school per year.

It’s all about money

The department officials believe the suggested modifications would drive down the bulk of the complaints, and generate savings to the tune of $19 million for colleges and universities and $54 million for school districts. The entire regulation, the department projected, would save $327.7 million to $408.9 million over the next decade.

But at what cost?

According to Elizabeth Hill, a spokeswoman for the department, the regulation “is still under development, and therefore it’s too early to speculate the cost of a new rule.”

That, unfortunately, is only the DOLLAR cost.

Apparently not worthy of consideration is the physical and mental health costs associated with sexual misconduct.

It costs local and state governments thousands of dollars a year just trying to remove drunk drivers from the streets – and judges regularly let the drunks off with a “Shame on you.” How many innocent people are maimed or murdered by these drunk drives, even counting only recidivists. Should police ignore drunk drivers to save a few dollars at the cost of lives?

The proposed rules would require a victim to file a formal complaint “with an authority figure” before the institution would be obliged to investigate an incident.

The proposal also would absolve schools – as perhaps it properly should – of activities off campus. Off campus complaints should, in my opinion, be taken to the police or district attorney.

Allowing the schools to determine if an incident can be resolved via an “informal” action – however that is defined – seems to be taking the crime out of a blatantly criminal action.

It seems to me that reducing school responsibilities only opens the school, its personnel, and the students to more frustrated, potentially dangerous reactions to ignored, or perceived as ignored, attacks on personal dignity.

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Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/y99laqze

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on To expensive to investigate

Opuscula Acquaintance In Singapore Intros new author

AN EMAIL ACQUAINTANCE I’VE NEVER MET suggested a new-to-me author who quickly became a favorite.

My pal in Singapore, who I know thought Enterprise Risk Management, told me about a fellow named COLIN COTTERILL (http://www.colincotterill.com/)

Cotterill is a pretty good mystery writer and a, by me anyway, an interesting cartoonist. (I wish he would illustrate his mysteries, but that won’t happen to the ones already in print.)

Cotterill’s mysteries that I’ve read have two venues: Laos (pronounced Lao – sans “s” – for those who are pedants and exist for the picayunish pleasure of being precise when no one else cares) and Thailand. He lived in Laos and now writes from Thailand. The two countries are separated conveniently by the Mekong River. The border is compliments of the colonial French (vs. the colonial English or colonial Germans or …).

Cotterill has other books; my library just doesn’t have them.

His books cost US$24 (C$29); I’m not sure how much they cost in kip (Laos currency) or baht (Thailand) – obviously they are educational; I now know the names of currency in two new-to-me countries. I confess, I pay for my books as part of my annual taxes to support the Local Lending Library, a/k/a L³.

Both his Dr. Siri and Jimm Juree books (the former set in the Lao Democratic Republic and the latter set in Thailand) have a cast of recurring characters and a number of “supporting” cast members. A reader doesn’t need to know everything about each of the regulars, but it’s nice to know.

I apparently started reading the Dr. Siri series someplace in the middle. I discovered this when I read Anarchy and Old Dogs, obviously one of the first books in the series. Dr. Siri is Laos’ “trying to retire” national coroner by default. He is, by curiosity, a solver of crimes, always with a little help from his friends.

Jimm Juree by contrast, is a small paper reporter whose main support comes from her family and an openly gay policeman. She gets involved with crime solving as an aside to her (attempts) at reporting.

While I enjoy the books, I wish Cottrell had the forethought to include a pronunciation guide somewhere in the book. I don’t worry too much about place names – although I DID download maps of Laos and Thailand as any pendant would – but the characters’ names. For example, there is a nurse in the Dr. Siri series named Dtui and a friend of the doctor’s named Civilai. At least Civilai is pronounceable, but is it Civil-ai or Civi-lai? Inquiring minds and all that.

My L³ currently has 15 Cotterill books; I have 10 to go. How many books has Cotterill penned – perhaps “keyed” is more accurate; pedantics again – may be determined by visiting his web site (ibid.). I’m pretty sure the L³ lacks a few.

All his Dr. Siri and Jimm Juree are good reads. There are many more of the former, but that might be because Cotterill lives in Laos before moving – for whatever reason – to Thailand.

Cotterill’s books, compared to many I borrow from the L³, are “short stories” of less than 300 8 ½ by 5 ½ inch pages. By comparison, John Verdon’s Peter Pan Must Die – which I have yet to open – is 440 hardcover size pages.

The Cotterill mysteries are good recreational reads. Easily put down and picked up again. Certainly worth my time.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Colin Cotterill

Opuscula NY Times gives “Anonymous” Undeserved credibility

ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK TIMES, the word of an anonymous senior administration official deserves play on its OpEd pages.

What’s wrong with this?

A new low in “journalism.”

BACK WHEN HECTOR WAS A PUP I worked first as a reporter and later as an editor at a number of newspapers all over this land.

Some dailies with large circulations and some dailies with lesser circulations. I did not work for, nor did I aspire to work for, The NY Times.

One rule in ALL the newspapers for which I worked was that information received from an anonymous source was NOT printable. If it could be attributed to a “real” source, fine; if not, then the information was filed in the nearest “circular file” as having zero value.

In fact, except for the Editorial Page, all information HAD TO BE ATTRIBUTED. No attribution, no space in the newspaper.

Anonymous “tips” were accepted and reporters tried to find attributable sources, but lacking attribution, as far as honest reporters and editors were concerned, an anonymous tip, no matter how tempting, was just an anonymous tip; not in itself newsworthy.

The biggest competition for a legitimate newspaper was rumor. Rumors abound in big cities and small towns. An almost 24-7 job for reporters was tracking down rumors and either laying them to rest with attribution or confirming them with attribution.

The operative word: ATTRIBUTION.

Apparently the NY Times has become politicized to the point where an anonymous source, allegedly a senior administration official – another qualification (allegedly) the NY Times chose not to publish – is accepted as truth personified.

The editors of the NY Times apparently accepted without investigation that the anonymous source actually WAS a senior administration official – after all, that apparently is what the “senior administration official” claimed to be. No evidence, of course.

With an abundance of “weasel words” available to literate NY Times staffers, words such as “allegedly,” the Powers That Be at the once respectable rag have shown total disregard for attribution. If the NY Times believes the anonymous letter writer is indeed a “senior administration official,” then we – all the people who read or hear the writer’s comments from any source – must believe it. “The NY Times said so.” (Correctly, “as it was written in the NY Times. Granted, that is picayunish, but that is the burden of an honest reporter or editor – even one who put away pad and pencil years past.)

I don’t know if what the anonymous “senior administration official” told the NY Times is true or not. I DO know than Clinton’s former Secretary of State John Kerry expresses the same opinion as the anonymous “senior administration official” lending suspicion that the writer is from Hillary Clinton’s camp rather than someone the president can trust. (http://tinyurl.com/y7926vos )

ACCORDING TO THE NY TIMES (http://tinyurl.com/ycev2rwl ),

James Dao, the paper’s Op-Ed editor, said that the material in the essay was important enough to the public interest to merit an exception (to the NY Times rule prohibiting publication of anonymous posts).

“This was a very strongly, clearly written piece by someone who was staking out what we felt was a very principled position that deserved an airing,” Dao said.

If those are the criteria for getting an anonymous OpEd article published anyone with a command of the language and the ability to communicate persuasively can have anonymously authored fairy tales and pipe dreams published on the NY Times OpEd page. As long as the screed agrees with the NY Times political views, the welcome mat is out for Ms, Mr., and Mrs. Anonymous.

Since in my not-at-all humble opinion, this is NOT the way to run a newspaper or news web site, I’m glad I left it all behind.

Unfortunately for this scrivener, I still am bothered by the lack of professionalism of today’s media.

Anonymous, indeed.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Anonymous

ERM, BC, COOP School safety Is more than Active shooter drills

ACCORDING TO THE (DAYTON OH) JOURNAL-NEWS, School safety needs to go beyond focus on shooters.

Bravo ! Someone gets it.

THE ARTICLE¹ BEGINS

Active shooters dominate talk about school safety in America, with many area schools adding fortifications or armed response plans. But security experts are encouraging schools to focus on smaller, day-to-day student issues as well, saying these are more common and are sometimes the root cause of the bigger tragedies.

“As a society we have gotten a tunnel vision focus on active shooters,” said Ken Trump, president of the Cleveland-based National School Safety and Security Services. “There are many potential scenarios such as non-custodial parent concerns, bullying, and other threats that are lower-impact but higher probability of being faced by school administrators. School safety planning requires a balanced and comprehensive approach.”

Trump said more money for non-firearm based security upgrades are overall more effective.

In risk management terms, "probability" vs. "impact" and the infamous "tic-tac-toe" box.

If anyone looks at what went on BEFORE an active shooter incident they usually will find warning signs from the shooter(s).

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has missed the obvious on many occasions and even when it DID catch the warning signs (as in the case of the Marjory Stillman Douglas/Parkland FL shooting), it failed to share the information with local agencies that might have been able to prevent the tragedy.

This same agency, charged with protecting Americans on U.S. soil, also missed the warning signs that preceded 9-11-2001 and failed to share information within the agency.

The Dayton paper went on

In the past two years, state education officials have pushed schools to also focus on creating day-to-day positive school climate, by supporting at-risk students, providing mental health services and using school-wide messaging.

“Threat assessment is a reactive process” in handling school safety issues, said Erich Merkle, past president of the Ohio School Psychologists Association. “The best approach is employing positive behavior intervention supports (PBIS) to shift school culture … as the proactive strategy.”

Merkle encourages students and school staff to reach out to students who are disconnected from the school society, who go through major life trauma, or are having academic and behavioral problems. While cautioning against overly broad profiles, Merkle said several student shooters have had those experiences.

Once again, the keys to school safety are

* Encouraging students active on social media to report threats to any student or to the school

* Encouraging students to report bullying, harassment, and other torments to fellow students by students and by non-students

* Observing student behavior in the classroom, in the halls, and on buses

* Training teachers to monitor changes in student’s behavior

It is unfortunate that some level of physical security must be implemented. Measures such as

* Non-students are restricted to office areas and must be escorted if allowed past the entrance area; this means the entrance area must have limited and controlled access to other areas

* Photo IDs for personnel allowed to take students from school – that means MATCHING a driver’s license or similar photo with an on-file photo submitted by at least one parent or guardian; checking a driver’s license photo and address is NOT sufficient – there must be a photo already on file

* Push bar alarmed emergency exits

* Single point of entry with a metal detector

* Vendor entry control (as vendors usually have a separate entrance)

The foregoing are BASIC processes that can, should, be implemented at all schools. Many of the suggestions are no or low cost. Some seem to this scrivener to be “no brainers.”

All of the above does NOT negate the need for fire drills, lock down drills, and any other drills already in place.

It also does not eliminate the presence of a school “resource” officer (SRO) – normally a city or county cop – who has a multi-functional role: to show that cops can be good guys, to help prevent petty crime, and to keep the peace. The selection of an SRO is critical to the position’s success.

FINAL THOUGHT No two schools are alike. Each school’s plan must be developed specifically for that school and its population. Get local authorities involved in the school’s, the students’, and the staff’s safety. If there is a professional Enterprise Risk Management practitioner available, recruit that person, too.

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Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/y9qcx5my

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on School Safety

Opuscula Poorly timed Cheap shots

BECAUSE PRESIDENT TRUMP said John McCain was not a hero – Trump NEVER said McCain was a coward, contrary to Democrat lies – McCain’s daughter and a few others used McCain’s lying in state as a bully pulpit to castigate the president.

If the late Arizona senator wanted to, as he claimed, “bring the nation together,” she chose to speak enthusiastically against his hope.

MCCAIN invited political foes to eulogize him, which they did, and specifically did NOT want President Trump at his lying in state.

McCain’s daughter, without naming the president, attacked him by stating:

We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness; the real thing," McCain said. "Not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who lived lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served."¹

Interesting. She could have been reviling invited speakers Obama and Bush. Obama never saw a day of military service and Bush dodged real service by joining the Texas Air National Guard. Obama keeps company with fellow Democrat Wm. Clinton.²

Vice President Pence, like Obama and Clinton, also managed to avoid military service³. Joe Biden “got a draft notice but flunked the physical due to asthma,” according to a 1987 Washington Post profile.

No argument that McCain served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot. Also no argument that being the son and grandson of Navy admirals McCain had “Vitamin P” that helped get several wrecked Navy planes forgiven⁴ and gained for him special treatment in the Navy.

It is true that McCain refused repatriation (early release) from a Vietnamese prison believing it unfair to other prisoners. There are those who suggest that McCain may have earned the Vietnamese offer due to his father’s position.

If bombing people you cannot identify from a fast moving aircraft is heroic, then John McCain was a hero.

McCain, on return from Vietnam, was promoted to Navy Captain (O-6) and assigned to Washington D.C.⁵ He and his first wife divorced and he married an Arizona woman whose influential father helped his new son-in-law enter politics.

McCain twice ran for president in GOP primaries.

In 2000, he lost his primary bid to Geo. W. Bush (who he invited to speak at his lying in state.) Bush defeated Al Gore in the infamous “hanging chad” election.

In 2008, after winning a majority of delegates in the Republican primaries, he selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate for Vice President.

He lost to Obama in the general elections. It might be suggested that the election was race vs. sex (Obama the mulatto and Palin the woman.)

In both cases, McCain kept his seat in the Senate.

Interestingly, while McCain supported normalization with Vietnam, he was against President Trump’s efforts to denuclearize North Korea. McCain’s daughter, who vilified Trump at the lying in state,

slammed President Trump on Tuesday (6/12/18) for his "buddy-buddy" meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom she denounced as a "dictator."⁶

The cohost of ABC’s “The View” and daughter of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said from her bully pulpit that, though she was initially on board with the summit, she was disturbed by the symbolism of both nations’ flags flying together in Singapore.

“We are not the same,” she continued. “[Kim’s North Korea] is completely and utterly the closest thing to Hitler’s Germany that exists in modern time. My problem was how far it went with the buddy-buddy, and there was no talk whatsoever of the human rights violations going on in that country.”

No doubt her description of North Korea’s government is correct, but someone had to open communications with China (Nixon) and look what that got the U.S. Her father pressed for normalization with Vietnam despite its treatment of him and other U.S. POWs. The U.S. still deals with Saudi Arabia – in fact Obama bowed to a Saudi price (but he bowed to many people).⁷ It also deals with a host of undemocratic governments that suppress human dignity. The only “excuse” is that no progress can be expected if there is no communication between governments.

You can’t catch a fish unless you go where the fish live.

I understand McCain’s daughter’s pain at the loss of her father, but using the lying in state as an opportunity to castigate her father’s sometime political opponents was unfortunate and in bad taste. For once Trump showed some restraint (something he should practice more often).

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Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/yawg6jvp

2. http://tinyurl.com/qjumhq5

3. http://tinyurl.com/y7xvyppz

4. http://tinyurl.com/y959bgwp

5. http://tinyurl.com/y8fu22nr

6. http://tinyurl.com/ybpvmxsu

7. http://tinyurl.com/ya7983kz

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Poor timing