Category: Musings

Some of my own contemplative thoughts, reflections, and ponderings on life and stuff and things…

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COVID-19 Q&A

Follow the science… Science-based, data-driven… It’s all about saving lives… We’ve all heard the slogans and catch phrases. I’m still wondering; if it’s all about ‘saving lives’ then why are abortion clinics considered “essential services”?12 Who’s the voice of advocacy for all those unborn children? After all, isn’t it #TheirBodyTheirChoice? I digress… There are thought-provoking […]

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Musings

Fool Me Not

There’s an old saying in Tennessee—I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, ‘Fool me once, shame on…shame on you. Fool me—you can’t get fooled again.’ George W. Bush, ‘Bushism’ Nashville, Tennessee (September 17, 2002) How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and [how] hard it is to undo that work […]

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Liars Figure…

A guide to number games by Bill Gates (March 14, 2015)
A guide to number games by Bill Gates (March 14, 2015)

Figures Don’t Lie, But Liars Do Figure The old saying is that “figures will not lie,” but a new saying is “liars will figure.” It is our duty, as practical statisticians, to prevent the liar from figuring; in other words, to prevent him from perverting the truth, in the interest of some theory he wishes […]

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Unperson
a.k.a.
Forced Disappearance

Voroshilov, Molotov, Stalin, with Nikolai Yezhov
Unpersoned by the Hidden Hand: Voroshilov, Molotov, Stalin, with Nikolai Yezhov.

Reshaping the [Digital] World in [Near] Real-Time Here’s a disturbing if not alarming trend I’ve noticed just recently. Last June (2019) I talked about the disturbing correlation of this technology to the frightening concept of forced disappearance or in Orwellian terms, becoming an ‘Unperson’. Since then, I’ve seen this technology trending, and on the rise, […]

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My Response…

Dear RBN Hosts, As you know, RBN relies on listener support to continue day-to-day operations. By working together, we can continue to provide the kind of information and analysis that people have become accustomed to hearing from everyone at RBN. John Stadtmiller would like to hear from all of you concerning the importance of RBN. […]

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Perfectionism is killing us

More people than ever say they’re feeling pressured to look and be the best. It’s taking a toll. So writes Christie Aschwanden in her recent Vox article. Once an issue that affected a select few, perfectionism is now a growing cultural phenomenon, fueled by modern parenting and social media and an increasingly competitive economy, researchers […]

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What’s In A Word…

So… this just happened… [For those who don’t know, I loathe that mindless expression, so the irony applies with force.] Somewhere in the process of working on other things, while mulling over the definitions of certain things – article, episode, incident, for instance – suddenly something dropped into the (mental) slot… and it finally occurred […]