Issue 372 4th of July July 4, 2014

Today is America's Independence Day.  

We celebrate our countries birth, the sacrifices made to make it and then hold it together.  

We honor our soldiers who sacrifice for us and those who made this nation great.  

Yes America has gone through sever trials and tribulations, but we always come through and we always seek to correct our mistakes.

Today we celebrate our founding and our principles that made our nation so strong and resilient.

We will continue to grow, stumble and then set ourselves back in the right direction.  

However, we can only do this through the people who call America home.

It is the American people who make up our nation and to whom we owe a debt of gratitude to for our continued perseverance.

So God Bless the people of the United States for you are what makes this country strong.

Happy Fourth of July.

Issue 371 Computerized Education is Feared?! July 3, 2014

Why computer is based learning feared by teachers?  Well it is simple, it revolutionizes teaching so much that it may make a lot of teachers lose their jobs.

Why it's feared:  Computer based education does not require numerous teachers to be trained and employed.  In fact, the smallest number of teachers needed is one.  That is right, one teacher who is really good at presenting information can teach the entire country via computer.  While realities of competition will mean there will be more than one and that children may learn better with one teacher based on teaching method than another, there will be much less need for teachers to even exist.  You see, that same teacher who is teaching a video can end up teaching for 100 years or more without the need to be replaced even after they die.  Let's face it, if a teacher is that good at teaching via computer, then why hire someone else to take their place.  So what happens to all those other teacher's?

The other teachers may never see a classroom. Reason being is that there will be no need.  While the teacher teaching via the computer can sit back after doing one single lecture which will be viewed by millions while they reap the copyright benefits, the other teachers will be relegated to a support role.  They will have two key roles, grading essays and providing one on one sessions for those who have questions on the material.  A teacher will never have to grade a multiple choice test ever again as that can all be done via computer.  They will never have to issue report cards and progress reports, or tell where the student is having trouble as the computer is easily able to pinpoint that.  So when it comes to something a computer cannot do, it means these supporting teachers will be grading essays and other documents written by students.  The other job they will do is be there like a tech support person to answer questions and troubleshoot where a student gets stuck on a part of the material they are studying.  So these one on one trouble shooting sessions will be these teachers niche roll, possibly with a rating system so that even these individuals can be in demand and receive special privileges like their video teacher counterparts.

Unions:  In this future where students learn at their own pace, unions will lose lots of money as there will be very little teachers left to represent, and even then, the teachers they do represent may not need them as they will be contracting directly with parents and students rather than government bodies or private institutions.  Basically, you will have private tutor capable of teaching a million kids at once and be paid for it.  So why would a teacher subject themselves to union dues and rules?  The fact is that they will not.  And as such, the teachers unions and its supporting bodies will cease to exist as we know them.

Conclusion:  The future of education is looking bright for our children and our wallets, but is dismal for the profession of teaching.  This is not a bad thing though as those horrible teachers that give other teachers a bad name will be completely pushed out, and the teachers who are better at grading (being tough on students written work) will be able to focus on that to insure students become better at reading and writing in general through tests.  Also, who knows how much education will evolve in the future once teaching becomes almost exclusive to computer based learning.  The sky is the limit and we may even see a resurgence of a new form of teacher instead of the near extinction of the ones we have now.

Issue 370 Stay at home Representatives July 2, 2014

 It has been debated and discussed since computers and the internet have become so reliable and world changing.  That debate centered on seeing if our representatives can vote via the internet so that they may be closer to us the people they represent.  So what are the arguments for and against?

For:  One of the key reasons that some want their elected Representatives closer to home is because they are typically unreachable.  Many stay in Washington for most of the year and thus the only way for a constituent to reach them is by phone, via a home office staffed by interns and employees who may not forward your message or to spend large sums to go to Washington D.C.  When a Representative is far away they lose touch with the wants and needs of their constituents and are thus more susceptible to special interests.

Right now it is easier for special interest groups like lobbyists and others who want their causes funded or supported by government to manipulate and bribe our elected officials.  It is easy because the Representatives that make law and dictate where money is spent are all concentrated in one place.  Thus, they only need to rent an office to lobby on the cheap.  If Representatives where to vote from home, it would be much less feasible for these special interest groups to meet up and bribe our politicians.  Also, cause they will be at home, we the people will know who outside of the community is meeting up with our Representatives and when.  Thus, it makes it harder to bribe politicians by keeping them in their home districts and keeping them decentralized.

This decentralized approach has another advantage.  It protects our politicians from terrorist attacks.  If a terrorist wants to attack our government, they have only to attack while congress is in session.  But if all the Representatives are voting from home, then there is no centralized target to attack.   

Against:  The biggest fear is hacking or some form of disruption of the voting process.  Voting by proxy of computer has the same issues as voting using a messenger or by mail.  It can either be intercepted or changed, or not arrive in time due to some other form of disruption.  So Meeting in person is much more secure with respect to keeping such corruption from occurring.

Conclusion:  While I am in favor of Representatives being home more often, I am not in favor of computer based voting by our lawmakers.  While voting for a representative is much more easily fixed if the constituents vote via computer, the idea that a law can be easily fixed after it has been corrupted is not.  So I am open to other alternatives that are more secure.

Issue 369 Characteristics of the wise July 1, 2014

What are the key characteristics of the wise?  I think I know what they are.  So let's discuss.

On thought:  When a wise person obtains new information, they listen.  It is the unwise that ignore information or outright dismiss it.  In short, the unwise will choose to remain ignorant.  However, the wise man/woman will say to themselves "I have never thought of it that way before."  The wise man/women seeks knowledge and understanding as they believe that they are right, but know still that they could be wrong on those issues, facts or opinions.  So they open their minds to all information, process it and then see if they come to the same conclusion they had previous, or if their opinion has changed.  Wise people do not regret having the wrong opinion either as they are instead great full that they were able to gather the information to improve upon themselves.

On Intentions:  A wise person can also see through others intentions.  In essence they can perceive the motivations behind what people say and do.  This is something that comes with a wise men/woman's ability to accept and process new information.  If the wise man/woman is incapable of absorbing new information even if it is counter to their own, then they will not have the ability to judge why and how people present certain information and opinion in a specific way.  As such, once a person absorbs information they can then gain the ability to make judgment calls based on how and why people talk and act a certain way.  In fact they may even be able to see why, over time, those other people’s opinions change based on how society itself changes. Interesting right?

Conclusion:  I hope that I am a wise man.  Though I think that I like debate more so I have my doubts.  But I enjoy learning and I know, depending on the subject and how it is presented, you all do too.  So all that knowledge that you accumulate throughout your life, no matter how small, means something.  You, one day, can be wiser and you will be.  It’s just that some people limit themselves which makes it a much slower process.

Issue 368 Backing Money without Gold? June 30, 2014

You have all heard of the arguments to go back to the Gold Standard. But you probably do not know what that actually means or that there is an alternative to the Gold Standard as well.  Let's discuss.

Backing Money:  When they say they want to go back to the Gold Standard, they mean financially backing the currency by giving it an almost one for one value with gold.  The most simplistic way to describe how this works is that a government cannot print more money than the amount of gold in the government’s possession. This keeps the value of the currency from decreasing and thus prevents inflation.  At one point the United States looked at the Silver Standard which would have allowed the United States to print more money to pay its debts (along with people already indebted as more money at less value is much more easily earned to pay off debts in the first place).  As such, the United States does not have to rely solely on the Gold Standard.

Other backers:  Anything that holds value can be used to back money so long as it can be monetized. So this means coal, platinum, uranium, and other valuable items can be used to back the dollar or any currency for that matter.  Interestingly enough, Omar Qaddafi the now dead dictator of Libya wanted to create an international currency for Africa backed by its oil resources.  This meant that if a country wanted to pay back their debts to Libya or any other country using this African currency, they would be forced to possibly pay it back in barrels worth of oil. As such, depending on what you use to back your money, you can control the world economy.  The reason why Gold is typically used is because there is such a limited supply that its value can only go up.  It has been actually said on the show "Americas Book of Secretes" on History Channel that the total amount of Gold in the world is equivalent to a regulation size tennis court and about three stories tall.  Thus you can see why there is a search for alternatives to Gold. 

Conclusion:  We may need an alternative to Gold to get us out of the financial distress our country is in.  So the question is, is it actually worth it?  I think so, as the floating dollar we have now is too unstable for it to survive.

Issue 367 Bug Vaccines!!! June 27, 2014

Did you ever think there would be a day that you want to be bit by a blood sucking mosquito?  Well that day may be coming.  Here is why. (Compliments of Popular Science Magazine).

They are a delivery system:  Scientists have been discussing ways to use mosquitos as a delivery system for vaccinations directly to people with little to no expense.  Right now, vaccines cost a lot of money to not only produce, but to store, and then inject into people.  By using an animal based delivery system, it will allow for cheap effective delivery.  But how does it work.

Varying Methods:  One method is to place a weaker form of the disease into the animal (mosquito) for it to infect a person with so that the body can build up a natural immune response on its own.  Another is to place a bacteria, or special proteins inside the animal which when delivered to the person will have already attached themselves to the disease, but because of these bacteria or proteins it will make it easier for the body to detect and destroy.  Finally, you have retro viruses that boost the immune system, or add another element in the body that will attack the disease for the body, before the body itself reacts and destroys the retrovirus.  All these are feasible with today's technology and expertise.  

Conclusion:  This is a very interesting way to fight off things like malaria, and other pervasive pathogens.  It would be especially effective in Africa to fight off dengue fever and possibly in other countries to fight off polio and other diseases we have eradicated here in the United States.  So are you willing to be bit?

Issue 366 Island Prisons June 26, 2014

Let us talk about an old classical way of imprisoning the worst of the worst, an island prison or penal colony.  Why have we not brought this concept back to protect society from the worst of the worst?

Advantages:  In an island prison, the worst elements of society are stuck.  They have no escape save by boat.  As such, there is no need for walls, just obstacles to prevent landing by those who would try to get these people off the island.  Also, guards will not be needed for the prison is an island, there is literally no escape especially if its location is undisclosed.  At most, a patrol boat from a craft stationed off shore to prevent vessels from approaching would be optimal.  Well, this isolationist version is for condemned prisoners who the State does not want back into society.

The penal colony version of this is similar to the aforementioned, save that the prisoners work.  In this case, they will be made to grow their own food, with the excess being sold to businesses for them to sell.  Prisoners would also do factory work that is typically needed for the State, such as making photo identification, license plates and other unique tools and equipment that the government requires to be given out or used. In short, prisoners become cheap labor.  On top of this, it keeps the prisoners busy with work over fighting each other. It prevents them from banning together into cohesive groups as much as possible (if well designed) preventing the deepening of the gang and terrorist recruitment that now happens in jails today.

Negatives:  In the island prison version, you are essentially killing the prisoner off without actually physically killing them.  Instead, if they do not farm/harvest their own food they will die.  Also, they will be subject to the whims of their fellow inmates, which means many are likely to die harsh deaths.  

For the penal colony version, you essentially have slave labor. Slavery of course is forbidden in the United States under the Thirteenth Amendment with the sole exception of being a punishment for a crime (hence community service and prisoners being put to work in prisons).  However, we must be careful to maintain humane treatment, or we will be as bad as those who once oppressed people on the plantation, or sell children as sex slaves today.

Conclusion:  I want the prisoners to be put to work.  They need job skills in the first place.  Teaching them agriculture, factory work and other jobs can be useful once they finally get out of prison (depending on their sentence).  However, we must not give way to slavery like in the past.  We are supposed to have surpassed our failings.  On the other hand, an island prison to put terrorists, and condemned prisoners is appealing as we would give them what they need to survive by having them farm for themselves and slaughter animals, while also being able to maintain and build shelter.  This out of site self-sufficient island prison is an idea that will only be stopped by the guilty conscience of those who put them there.  So what do you think?  Are these classical forms of prisons updated for modern times worth it?